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Yesterday I came across an article in the Harvard Business Review that framed a sad workplace truth for so many companies:
The implicit contract between organizations and their employees today is that each will try to get as much from the other as they can…Both individuals and the organizations they work for end up depleted…
Exactly! As a seminar leader I often get a bird’s eye view of the whole broken system. I’ve worked with dozens of employee groups who feel victimized by their companies. And I’ve witnessed managers at their wits end trying to motivate their staff.
The article (written by Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy of The Energy Project) offered this alternative:
We envision a new and explicit contract that benefits all parties: Organizations invest in their people across all dimensions of their lives…Individuals respond by bringing all their multidimensional energy wholeheartedly to work every day…
What does it mean to “invest in their people across all dimensions of their lives?” Here are just a few of the many activities they have introduced to their clients:
• Express appreciation of those you work with – be really specific and consistent
• Take short breaks every hour and a half to two hours – get up, take a walk, chat, visit someone, mix it up
• Eat just enough food to last 3 hours and keep refueling this way all daySimple enough, right? The Energy Project has conducted experiments with heavy hitter companies like Wachovia and the results were unequivocal. Intelligent wellness efforts like the ones listed above resulted in quantifiable increases in revenue. Yep, you heard it, not just fuzzy wuzzy feel good results, but revenue.
This is such a wonderful win/win, don’t you think? Click on the box below to see a video of Tony Schwartz sharing more of his smart ideas.
I like what Tony's talking about!
Thanks for sharing this, Jean. I agree wholeheartedly. I recently met up with some colleagues from 20 years ago. We spent the evening laughing and talking about how much fun our work environment had been. We remember working long and hard, and that we handled a lot of pressure, but we mostly remembered the fun! After hearing a few stories, some others present said, “I’d like to work at a place like that!” No one minds WORKING if it’s in a larger context of positive relationships and a meaningful goal. We are people, not machines!
Great to hear from you Fred. Thanks for reading and commenting. Maybe I’ll see you at the Chapter meeting tonight?!