Employment Playground
29 Jan
Hit me upside the head if you haven’t, by now, read something about “Top 5 Ways to Increase Employee Engagement at Work.” Same stuff – different day.
People can be happy at work. I, for one, believe that most people want to be happy at work. I know I don’t want to float through life in a cloud of sturm und drang. Drama is not for me either at home or at work.
And as I spend most of my waking hours each week at work it’s a place where I want to be joyful -peppy – fulfilled – energized. So how does my employer … or your employer … gauge that?
Twenty something years ago we mailed Climate Surveys to the homes of our employees so they could return them in pre-addressed mailing envelopes to a 3rd party address in Provo, Utah. Months later we received the results, poured over them, shared them with the ‘big boys’ (aka the C-Suite, cuz yeah, it WAS all boys), and took action. Months after the questions had been answered. At which point the people who were, you know, pissed-off, were long gone anyway. Now we do the same thing via email or online surveys. Faster results…potentially faster action. Meh.
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Why do our relationships with work grow sour? Why do we so often start off joyful -peppy – fulfilled – energized….and then grow sad – unhappy – unfulfilled – tired?
Bad hire? Wrong culture fit? Poor choice by either the organization or the candidate/employee? Have the leaders of the organization changed and thus, what we signed on for….changed?
Well…perhaps. We join a company/work group/organization based upon what we’re told or what we observe. What we feel. Perhaps how good (or bad) the recruiter has been at their task. Maybe we’re desperate. Maybe we convince ourselves it’s the right place to be. Maybe our cousin Sally works there and she said they have a great dental plan.
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I’m not sure that I want to play at work – or do I? God knows I don’t want to feel like I’m heading on the Bataan Death March every day when I head into the office.
Yet when I see stuff posted like this I wonder if it’s a bit much. Having a little fun with cake and punch in the breakroom for Carol from Purchasing’s birthday is one thing, but I can’t envision a lot of the coworkers from my past being up for some of this crap.
On the other hand, these folks in the article DO seem like they’re having fun. Those wild Rackers.
Can work, and employment, be a “playground“? Would that be soooooo wrong?
One of the challenges we have is that the work culture changed and it is a mammoth task to get the staff to change with it. They have to adapt to new ways of doing things and are being taken out of their comfort zone. They protest against any change, good or bad. Trying to find something motivational for them is difficult if they are set in their ways. We as Leaders need to be watchful for that and try to keep things “fresh” and inspiring.