Rethinking Your Work

Working with an accountability partner is a powerful way to increase your spirit at work and achieve the goals you have set for 2011. Have you committed to an accountability partner yet? If not, what is holding you back? Perhaps you are unsure of how to select someone. If so, here are some tips and questions to help you choose the person that is right for you.

What are you looking for in an accountability partner? Who you choose is one of the most important factors in your success. Look for someone who you are comfortable with and who inspires you, someone whose opinion matters to you and that you would feel poorly about letting them down. Choose an accountability partner who will challenge you and not shy away from asking those hard questions we tend to avoid ourselves. For this reason, a friend or a loved one is not usually the best choice.

While it works best to choose a person nearby, also consider partners that you can connect with by phone or email. Choosing the right person and maintaining consistency in meetings is more important than proximity.

Once you have clarity about the goals you intend to work on, use the following questions as a guide to finding the right accountability partner for you:

1. What am I looking for in an accountability partner?
2. Who do I respect and hold in high esteem?
3. Who would be comfortable to question me, challenge me,
and keep me focused?
4. Who am I confident that will maintain confidentiality?
5. Who would I never think of disappointing?
6. Is there someone who is also interested in growing personally
and professionally so that we can be accountability partners for each other?
7. Who knows me and my tendencies (For example: to procrastinate or to over commit)?
8. Who will follow through on this commitment to me?
9. Who has the time to help me?

Having identified a few possibilities, interview one or two people who best fit your criteria. Share your goals with each person and ask if they think they are a good match. Are they interested? Are they comfortable and willing to hold you accountable for achieving your goals? Do they have the time?

If you are unable to find a suitable person, consider the option of joining a group or contracting with a coach. You will be glad you did.

Want to learn more? Sign up for our monthly newsletter where we will explore this topic in more detail. Read the book Rethinking Your Work and learn how to create spirit at work.

Val Kinjerski, PhD, is a leading authority in the field of employee engagement and on the topic of “spirit at work.” A consultant, agent of change and professional speaker, she helps companies and organizations increase employee retention and boost productivity by reigniting employees’ love for their work. Check out her Spirit at Work Program and Inspired Leadership training at www.kaizensolutions.org. Val is the author of Rethinking Your Work and Rethinking Your Work Guidebook. Available now at www.rethinkingyourwork.com.

Have you made any resolutions this year? If so, did you tell anyone? People who make their New Year’s resolutions public are ten times more likely to succeed at their goal. Are you surprised?

The first day of the first month of a new year. What better time to stop and reflect on where we have been and where we want to go. How we want to be in this world. Many of us join in the tradition of creating New Year’s resolutions. Many of us do so knowing that the likelihood of follow through is slim.  Are we really committed to change or is making these resolutions just a fun tradition?

Passionate commitment carries many positive effects. It fulfills our need to connect with others and to belong as our commitment often involves social duties like helping others out. It empowers us as we take charge of our destinies and gain insight into ourselves. It reinforces our sense of autonomy.

The likelihood of pursuing and achieving our goals (including New Year’s resolutions) increases as we make our commitment public. Another reason for increased success is our desire to appear consistent to ourselves and others and to avoid embarrassment or awkwardness. Part of the reason is the increased support we receive from others.

Choosing an accountability partner will go a long way to helping you achieve your desired goals. The idea of having an accountability partner is to find someone who you respect and trust to give you feedback, a new way of looking at things, and a supportive nudge to move forward.  You will want to commit to working with someone who will question, challenge, encourage, and inspire you to achieve positive results.

Want to make those resolutions stick? Make your goals public and find an accountability partner.

Want to learn more? Sign up for our monthly newsletter where we will explore this topic in more detail. Read the book Rethinking Your Work and learn how to create spirit at work.

Val Kinjerski, PhD, is a leading authority in the field of employee engagement and on the topic of “spirit at work.” A consultant, agent of change and professional speaker, she helps companies and organizations increase employee retention and boost productivity by reigniting employees’ love for their work. Check out her Spirit at Work Program and Inspired Leadership training at www.kaizensolutions.org. Val is the author of Rethinking Your Work and Rethinking Your Work Guidebook. Available now at www.rethinkingyourwork.com.

How do you manage competing values? Competing priorities in the workplace? Or do you?

Most of us find it easy to name our values and priorities. But then what? Do you plan your work around them? Make conscious decisions with them in mind? Or do you simply react to the demands that come your way?

Sometimes competing values are called “shadow values” because they are more difficult to identify, yet they are powerful enough to influence our behaviour. Consider for example how our behaviour might be influenced if we are afraid to lose our job, or we want to be liked, or fear humiliation if we speak up.

Competing values or priorities in the workplace often result in conflict between your personal or professional values and your work. Alternatively, your values may be in conflict with those of your colleagues or your agency policy or goals.

Here are some examples of competing values in the workplace:

o A nurse or doctor is pro-life, but works in a health care setting that provides abortions.
o A lawyer knowingly defends a person who took the life of another.
o A social worker who values keeping children safe is directed by the courts to return a child to drug using and physically abusing parents.
o A hospital employee turns away a sick patient because he or she cannot pay.
o An employee in a manufacturing company knowingly uses materials known to cause cancer, but because they are less expensive.
o A druggist sells cigarettes because of the income it generates.
o A gas company turns off the gas to a family home because they are three months in arrears.
o A carpenter cuts corners in order to come in under budget.
o An employee works in a company whose goal is to make money, not serve its customers.
o An employee closes a deal by making promises he knows he cannot keep.

What are some examples of competing values and priorities in your workplace? How do they impact you, your relationships with others, and your work? How do they impact your spirit at work? How can you resolve them?

Want to learn more? Sign up for our monthly newsletter where we will explore this topic in more detail. Read the book Rethinking Your Work and learn how to create spirit at work.

Val Kinjerski, PhD, is a leading authority in the field of employee engagement and on the topic of “spirit at work.” A consultant, agent of change and professional speaker, she helps companies and organizations increase employee retention and boost productivity by reigniting employees’ love for their work. Check out her Spirit at Work Program and Inspired Leadership training at www.kaizensolutions.org. Val is the author of Rethinking Your Work and Rethinking Your Work Guidebook. Available now at www.rethinkingyourwork.com.

How would our workplaces be impacted if we made it easier for employees to gather over a cup of tea? If we created an environment for colleagues to come together for conversation and a sense of community? Like the CommuniTea Infusion van is doing for community residents?

The City of Edmonton and the non-profit Edmonton Learning Community have just made it easier for residents to come together for a cup of tea. Residents are encouraged to invite the CommuniTea Infusion van – a mobile tea house – to their community. All they have to do is let their neighbours know when it is coming.

At the predetermined time, the CommuniTea Infusion van drives to the established location and creates a town square where neighbours can gather, listen to music and share a cup of tea and conversation.

Ben Weinlick, a director with the learning community says the van “is a catalyst for people to come together. It is the simple idea that conversations can sow the seeds of stronger, more connected neighbourhoods.”

The CommuniTea Infusion concept is based on Portland’s T-Horse and Jim Diers, a Seattle-based community engagement expert. What if we used a similar notion to engage the community at work?

My research has shown that belonging and feeling that we are part of a community is a key dimension of spirit at work – that sense that we are fully engaged and that our work is meaningful and fulfilling. It is a matter of rethinking our work.

Want to learn more? Sign up for our monthly newsletter where we explore this topic in more detail. Read the book Rethinking Your Work and learn how to create spirit at work. Chapter two delves into the dimensions of spirit at work - a sense of community is one.

Val Kinjerski, PhD, is a leading authority in the field of employee engagement and on the topic of “spirit at work.” A consultant, agent of change and professional speaker, she helps companies and organizations increase employee retention and boost productivity by reigniting employees’ love for their work. Check out her Spirit at Work Program and Inspired Leadership training at www.kaizensolutions.org. Val is the author of Rethinking Your Work and Rethinking Your Work Guidebook. Available now at www.rethinkingyourwork.com.

How do people get to have spirit at work? And why do they have spirit at work and others don’t? Although we tend to experience spirit at work in a similar way, my research shows that we get there in different ways. Here is an excerpt from my book: Rethinking Your Work: Get to the Heart of What Matters.

Some people have always had spirit at work. For others, spirit at work develops over time, and at some point — often at midlife — it comes together. For a third group, spirit at work occurs as a response to a crisis or personal event — a response that, for many, becomes transformative.

Finally, there is a group of people who, shall we say, wear their spirit at work on their sleeves. Their experience of spirit at work is in direct relationship with their experience at work. If things are going well at work, they have spirit at work. If things are not going so well, they don’t have spirit at work.

I call these the four paths to spirit at work. I now want to introduce you to Larry, Noreen, Ben and Sheila, and briefly discuss the paths they took. Larry’s path was always there. Noreen took the coming together path. Ben experienced the path of transformative events and Sheila is on the contextual sensitivity path.

Always there. Larry has been a dentist for more than thirty years. He has always had spirit at work, has always loved his work. He describes himself as a people person who helps out, cares for others, and is simply dedicated to what he does. That was how he grew up; that is what his family did. For him, the experience of spirit at work was constant, with peaks but never valleys along the way. When I asked how he developed spirit at work, he credited “gifts I have been given.”

“It’s in me,” he added. Unlike people who believe everyone is born with spirit and each of us chooses whether to develop it or not, Larry believes we either have it or don’t. “You have to come into the world at least half-cocked,” he joked.

Coming together. Noreen, an educator, feels that while it is possible to experience fleeting moments of spirit at work as a young adult, she is more typical in coming across it later in life. Only in midlife had she acquired enough diverse experiences in life to make the connections. She describes her skills, faith and passion coming together such that she suddenly felt “at home.” All previous roles — as a mother, wife and teacher — worked to prepare her for the experience. Noreen believes that, “Spirit at work is related to midlife, a time when you are pulling everything together.”

Transformative events. Ben is a physiotherapist whose work has changed over time. The more experienced he became, the more his skill level increased, resulting in constant improvement. His transformation occurred when he took an acupuncture course where he learned about holistic medicine. This precipitated the biggest change in his life, both personally and professionally. He says that, “It was life-transforming. It changed everything.” Transformative events can relate to spiritual growth or a personal crisis. Later in this chapter, I will talk about the path of transformative events as a result of a personal crisis.

Contextual sensitivity. Sheila loves her work as a graduate coordinator and administrative assistant but experiences spirit at work only when her work setting allows it. For her, it’s up to how the leaders run the organization, how well they promote teamwork, and how they recognize and treat each employee. When her boss is supportive and inclusive, she has spirit at work. But when the organization casts a negative influence, she has seen herself change from a committed to a bitter employee. She was only able to regain her spirit at work by moving to a new organization. Sheila is on the contextually sensitive path to spirit at work, one that is dependent on the work environment.

These brief profiles illustrate the four distinct paths to spirit at work.

Can you identify the path you are on?

Want to learn more? Sign up for our monthly newsletter where we will explore this topic in more detail. Read the book Rethinking Your Work and learn how to create spirit at work.

Val Kinjerski, PhD, is a leading authority in the field of employee engagement and on the topic of “spirit at work.” A consultant, agent of change and professional speaker, she helps companies and organizations increase employee retention and boost productivity by reigniting employees’ love for their work. Check out her Spirit at Work Program and Inspired Leadership training at www.kaizensolutions.org. Val is the author of Rethinking Your Work and Rethinking Your Work Guidebook. Available now at www.rethinkingyourwork.com.

With employee engagement continuing to take a dip, employers are grasping at ways to turn it around. A recent study by Towers Watson – Capitalizing on Effective Communication: How Courage, Innovation and Discipline Drive Business Results in Challenging Times – points to communication as a key driver of engagement. Especially in difficult times.

Communication arises as a concern in almost every consulting project I am involved in. Employees simply not being informed. Not understanding how their work fits in with the big picture. The lack of communication clearly contributes to employee disengagement. Yet it is often overlooked as a contributor to employee engagement.

Employers that keep the lines of communication open are in the best position to keep employees engaged, retain key talent, provide consistent value to customers and deliver superior financial performance. In fact, companies with the most highly effective communicators had 47 percent higher total returns to shareholders over the last five years compared with firms that had the least effective communicators. Now that is worth taking note of.

To best position themselves to succeed in an uncertain future, Towers Watson conclude that employers need internal communication programs that are courageous, innovative and disciplined.

Successful organizations have the courage to talk about what employees want to hear. They explain the rationale behind difficult decisions, provide leadership training and actively address the impact on employees.

High-performing companies are innovative. By delivering messages on customer feedback and increasing productivity, they make sure employees see how they affect the business.  

They make greater use of social media to reach a diverse workforce in real time than do other organizations. They understand that failing to focus on these objectives now will compromise their ability to move ahead quickly when the business environment improves. 

High-performing organizations are disciplined. They take the time to document their communication plans and develop metrics to assess their success and identify areas for improvement. The best tie their measures to the organization’s strategic business goals and have a communication advisory group.

How is the communication in your organization? Is everyone clear about the direction your organization is going? The changes that are taking place?  The impact that will have on the employees and the people you are serving? How long has it been since employees were told that they were appreciated for their contribution?

 Want to learn more? Sign up for our monthly newsletter where we will explore this topic in more detail. Read the book Rethinking Your Work and learn how to create spirit at work.

Val Kinjerski, PhD, is a leading authority in the field of employee engagement and on the topic of “spirit at work.” A consultant, agent of change and professional speaker, she helps companies and organizations increase employee retention and boost productivity by reigniting employees’ love for their work. Check out her Spirit at Work Program and Inspired Leadership training at www.kaizensolutions.org. Val is the author of Rethinking Your Work and Rethinking Your Work Guidebook. Available now at www.rethinkingyourwork.com.

We all know about the impact of absenteeism on the workplace and productivity. But have you heard about “presenteeism”? Presenteeism is a term used to describe people who show up to work, but do not perform to their capacity.

Presenteeism was first used by Dr. Cary Cooper, an organizational psychology and health professor at Manchester University in the UK to describe the overwork and feelings of job insecurity resulting from downsizing and restructuring in the 1990s. When they feel at risk of losing their job, employees feel an overwhelming need to be putting in more hours, or at least appear to be working long hours.

Perhaps you have an employee or a colleague who continually shows up to work coughing and sneezing and spreading their germs. This is another form of presenteeism. Employees who come to work despite illnesses (asthma, migraines, back troubles, depression) are less productivity and may even cause a colleague to get sick. A study completed by Desjardins Financial Security indicated that 42% or Canadian workers went to work sick or exhausted at least once in 2007. Why? Concern about looming deadlines, workload pile-up, overloading colleagues and loss of income. In many organizations, missing work is frowned upon.

Presenteeism is also related to disengagement. Employees who are moderately engaged in or actively disengaged from their work show up, but do not produce. This has a significant impact on morale and productivity. Towers Perrin found that companies with the highest level of employee engagement achieve better financial results and are more successful in keeping their valued employees than those companies with lower levels of engagement. The reverse is also true.

Presenteeism is more common in tough economic times and when unemployment is high, likely because people are afraid to lose their jobs. A long-term study showed that absenteeism declines as unemployment rates increase, while presenteeism increases. Even though employees may be dissatisfied with their jobs and lack commitment to their organization, they will show up if they fear that they will lose their job. This doesn’t mean that they will work.

Researchers say that presenteeism can cut productivity by one-third or more. In fact, presenteeism has been shown to be more costly than its cousin absenteeism or disability. Some researchers believe that the cost of presenteeism could be around 7-9 times more than that of absenteeism.

It is time to rethink work. Rather than cutting back, forward thinking employers are spending to save. They know that employees want to be engaged. They want to feel good about the work they do and the contribution they make. They want to work for a secure organization that allows them to grow and develop a career. They want to work for an employer that they can feel good about. Forward thinking companies are helping employees become engaged.

How do you engage employees? Help employees discover spirit at work. We have found that employees can develop spirit at work and become fully engaged in their work simply by rethinking their work – which by the way is the title of my book. Here are some ideas to get you started:

o Get to the heart of what matters about your work. Be clear about what you are here for, who you are serving and the real point of your work. Connect to the deeper purpose of your work.

o Appreciate who you are and the contribution you (and your colleagues) make through work.

o See your work as an act of service. Who are you serving and why? How can you best help your client, customer or patient? After all, it is about them, not us.

o Refill your cup. Manage your energy. Take time to replenish and rejuvenate.

The responsibility for fostering spirit at work is shared between the employee and the employer. While several organizational conditions contribute to or impede spirit at work, we have found that the key is inspired leadership. It is the leader who sets the tone, creates the culture, inspires the vision and purpose, and recognizes the contribution of employees. More about this in another blog.

I work with employees and organizations to cultivate SAW and we have found that work attitudes improve, absenteeism and turnover go down, and as you would expect, presenteeism also decreases. Start rethinking your work today for a better tomorrow.

Want to learn more? Sign up for our monthly newsletter where we will explore this topic in more detail. Read the book Rethinking Your Work and learn how to create spirit at work.

Val Kinjerski, PhD, is a leading authority in the field of employee engagement and on the topic of “spirit at work.” A consultant, agent of change and professional speaker, she helps companies and organizations increase employee retention and boost productivity by reigniting employees’ love for their work. Check out her Spirit at Work Program and Inspired Leadership training at www.kaizensolutions.org. Val is the author of Rethinking Your Work and Rethinking Your Work Guidebook. Available now at www.rethinkingyourwork.com.

Research is showing us that what drives engagement is different for different groups, whether that be generations, sector, gender, or position. However, a study completed by the Kingston University for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), found that two factors were most important in driving up engagement, for all groups.  and employee voice emerged as the most important drivers, regardless of group or sector. The third most important driver was the way in which senior managers communicate with employees.

Meaningfulness of work

Here are three ways to increase employee engagement:

1. Connect to the meaning underlying the work

We want to know that our work matters. That we are making a difference. That someone or something is benefiting. Understanding the meaning underlying our work is key to being fully engaged and to experiencing spirit at work.

All work has meaning. While it is easier to see the meaning underlying a public sector position or a job of service such as teaching, nursing or social work, it is important to dig for the meaning in all jobs. Employers can help employees make the link between their work and the broader organizational goals and to connect with the organization’s deeper purpose.

Appreciating the contribution we make through our work goes a long way to increase our spirit at work and our sense of well-being. In my workshops, I help employees uncover the deeper meaning of their work, why it matters to them, and to appreciate themselves and their contribution. I also help them make the connection between their work and the deeper purpose of the organization.

2. Ensure that employee’s have a voice.

Regardless of what role we play within the organization, we want to be acknowledged and heard. Not surprisingly, being heard and having the ability to share your views upwards was the second engagement driver. We want to be involved. To participate. To be able to express our views. And to know that our opinions will be taken seriously by our immediate supervisor and senior managers.

There are several ways to give employees a voice. The most important is to create an environment where employees feel like they can contribute openly and honestly and that their opinions matter. Then, ask for their opinion and ideas. Give them an opportunity to participate in planning sessions. Ask for advice in meetings. Make sure that you let them know they are being heard.

3. Share the vision and make communication a priority.

I believe that the key role of senior management in any organization is to create a compelling vision for the organization. What is the purpose of this organization? What do we stand for? Where are we going? The next step is to share the vision and deeper purpose of the organization with employees and to inspire employees to fulfill that purpose and achieve the vision. To connect with the vision and see how their work contributes.

Communication is key. Almost every employee survey points to concern with communication. Yet, for employees to be fully engaged, they need to experience communication. Both ways. Earlier we spoke about the need for employees to have a voice. Here we are talking about information coming to the employee and senior management being open, approachable and transparent.

Want to learn more? Sign up for our monthly newsletter where we will explore this topic in more detail. Read the book Rethinking Your Work (link below) and learn how to create spirit at work.

Val Kinjerski, PhD, is a leading authority in the field of employee engagement and on the topic of “spirit at work.” A consultant, agent of change and professional speaker, she helps companies and organizations increase employee retention and boost productivity by reigniting employees’ love for their work. Check out her Spirit at Work Program and Inspired Leadership training at www.kaizensolutions.org. Val is the author of Rethinking Your Work and Rethinking Your Work Guidebook. Available now at www.rethinkingyourwork.com.

If you ever needed to be convinced about the value of promoting employee engagement (or what I call spirit at work), the results of a two-year research project completed by the Kingston Employee Engagement Consortium Project, Kingston University, for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) will do just that.

Released in January 2010, “Creating an Engaged Workforce” offers strategies for engagement and insights into the outcomes of engagement – for both the public and private sector. Here is a summary of the outcomes which clearly reinforces the importance of employee engagement.

Definitions of employee engagement are multiple. For the purposes of this study, employee engagement was defined as “being positively present during the performance of work by willingly contributing intellectual effort, experiencing positive emotions and meaningful connections to others.”

This is what I call spirit at work which is about finding meaning and fulfillment through work. Spirit at work involves profound feelings of wellbeing, a belief that one’s work makes a contribution, a sense of connection to others and common purpose, and an awareness of a connection to something larger than self.

The study demonstrates what we already know: Employee engagement is good for the employee and employer.

For the organization,

• Engaged employees perform better
• Engaged employees are more innovative than others
• Engaged employees are more likely to want to stay with their employer

For the individual,

• Engaged employees enjoy greater levels of personal well-being
• Engaged employees perceive their workload to be more sustainable than others

With this kind of information, why wouldn’t we want to promote employee engagement and spirit at work for ourselves and our employees?

Want to learn more? Sign up for our monthly newsletter (to the right) where we will explore this topic in more detail. Read the book Rethinking Your Work (link below) and learn how to create spirit at work.

Val Kinjerski, PhD, is a leading authority in the field of employee engagement and on the topic of “spirit at work.” A consultant, agent of change and professional speaker, she helps companies and organizations increase employee retention and boost productivity by reigniting employees’ love for their work. Check out her Spirit at Work Program and Inspired Leadership training at www.kaizensolutions.org. Val is the author of Rethinking Your Work and Rethinking Your Work Guidebook. Available now at www.rethinkingyourwork.com. 

Nowhere is it more important to find meaning in one’s work than in health care. The emotional stress experienced by health care employees to provide quality of care during times of staff shortages and administrative demands to perform with fewer resources is taking its toll. The demands of the health care environment have resulted in the need for nurses to find coping mechanisms to decrease the stresses of their work. One such way is to find meaning and fulfillment in their work.

The literature suggests that nurses are most fulfilled when they feel they are making a difference in the lives of others, when they are able to complete a job to the best of their ability, and when they are helping other people learn.

I have found that not only does finding meaning and fulfillment in one’s work – something I call spirit at work – take the bite out of stress, it contributes to a sense of well-being, increases job satisfaction and commitment to one’s work and organization. At the same time, absenteeism and turnover goes down. All of which are good for the employee, the patient, and the bottom line.

The research of Rhonda Bell, PhD, Health Care Management Consultant provides additional support. Rhonda examined the relationship between spirituality and job satisfaction among registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. She had hoped to gain an understanding of the relationship between the elements of spirituality (purpose and meaning in life, innerness or inner resources, unifying interconnectedness, and transcendence) and job satisfaction (general job satisfaction, intrinsic satisfaction, and extrinsic satisfaction) levels among nursing professionals.         

As expected, Dr. Bell’s research showed a significant correlation between spirituality and job satisfaction. The more nursing staff felt that they had purpose and meaning in their life, had inner resources to draw upon, and experienced a sense of connection and transcendence, the more satisfied they were with their work.  

The relationship between spirituality and intrinsic job satisfaction was even stronger which suggests that nurses may be more satisfied with the intrinsic factors of job satisfaction when they are more spiritually oriented.

So how can we apply these findings in health care?

Employee retention is key to resolving the nursing shortage issue. Introducing a spirit-at-work program will go a long way to reconnecting nurses to their work, the patient, their colleagues, and their organizations. How? We take employees through a process of rethinking their work. The program helps them to find meaning and fulfillment by getting to the deeper purpose of their work. Discovering how they make a difference in the lives of others. Developing a sense of community with their colleagues where they feel that they belong and share a common purpose. Connecting to something larger than self.  That is spirit at work and when we experience it, everything changes.

Val Kinjerski, PhD, is a leading authority in the field of employee engagement and on the topic of “spirit at work.” A consultant, agent of change and inspirational speaker, she helps companies and organizations increase employee retention and boost productivity by reigniting employees’ love for their work. Check out her Spirit at Work Program and Inspired Leadership training at http://www.kaizensolutions.org/. Val is the author of Rethinking Your Work and Rethinking Your Work Guidebook. Available now at http://www.rethinkingyourwork.com/.