Rethinking Your Work

In our last blog, we talked about helping employees see their work as a noble calling. And how that would help them to feel better about their work and, at the same time, reduce absenteeism. All work matters and all work makes a contribution. When we begin to rethink our work and see it as being important, how we do our work and how we feel about our work changes.

It is not so much about what we do, but how we do it and how we think about our work. Serving others is the path to deeper meaning and fulfillment and spirit at work. We fulfill our deeper purpose by serving — serving others or serving a cause. It is through service that we make a contribution, and that is where meaning and fulfillment come from. As the saying goes, “It is through giving that we receive.”

Shelia’s story demonstrates this well.

Sheila was a graduate coordinator at a university. Among other responsibilities, she fulfilled the role of counselor to students. She dealt with students who ran out of money before their next loan was available, got kicked out of their apartment or ran out of food. Rather than be annoyed with the students, Sheila welcomed them. In fact, she looked forward to helping them. That was her job and she was there to serve. Sheila felt good about being able to help the students solve their problems. She took pride in helping them achieve their goals and was often invited to their graduation ceremonies. She knew she was making a difference. Sheila was very clear about her purpose — to serve.

Sheila’s experience was different than her colleague’s experience. Although they did the same work, Sheila had spirit at work; her colleague was struggling with burnout. What do you think was different? Sheila’s co worker was frustrated with the students and their lack of responsibility. She saw their visits as an interruption to her work rather than as a part of her job. She couldn’t believe that these students could be so irresponsible and working with them took a toll.

Often it is just a matter of our attitude and thoughts, because the work we are doing is already about service. This is the case for many employees and especially for those in the public sector and helping professions. However, if we do not see how we are serving others and do not take time to feel good about serving them, we lose most of the benefits. As did Sheila’s colleague.

What would change if you saw your work as an act of service? What would you do differently? How would it feel to see your work as a noble calling? Start to rethink your work today.

Working for the public sector used to be considered a noble calling. Today, Statistics Canada reveals that employees in the federal public service have the highest rate of absenteeism in the country. They are followed by health-care and social service providers, provincial public servants and municipal employees. Absenteeism is lowest in the private sector.

Absenteeism rates have been rising in all sectors since the late 1990s. The average days lost to absenteeism due to sick leave, family demands, and other personal reasons has gone from 7.4 days per worker in 1997 to 10.2 days in 2007. For public service employees, the rated jumped to 16.2 days per worker per year on average.  These days are on top of vacation time, maternity leave and other scheduled time off.

Why the difference? Statistics Canada points to an aging workforce, increased women in the workforce, higher stress levels, and more generous sick and family-related leave policies in the public services.

Others point to low morale as the cause. In a recent poll by Angus Reid, one-third of Canadians think it is more honourable to work in the private sector as compared to 15 percent who believe the working for the government is more honourable. Given a choice, 43% of those surveyed said they would choose careers in the private sector, whereas only 33% would choose the public sector.

Those interested in the private sector are drawn by the creativity, salaries and mobility. Those attracted to the public sector say it is because of the generous benefits and job security. Only one-quarter say they were drawn by a “vocation of service.” I believe that this is the root of the absenteeism concern.

While benefits and job security are important, particularly as we weather the recession, they do not give us that deeper meaning and fulfillment so many of us are seeking. They do not give us the feeling that our work is honourable. We need to know that our work matters, that we are making a difference through our work – to have something we call spirit at work. Others call it work engagement, happiness at work or flow, but it all refers to feeling good about our work and the contribution we are making.

Spirit at work can be developed. I took a team of workers through the Spirit-at-Work Program and it dramatically reduced the rate of absenteeism and turnover. Not only did we see an improvement in retention, our research pointed to an increase in job satisfaction and commitment. Morale improved and the group began working together as a team. Why? Employees began to see their work as a noble calling. They appreciated themselves and the work they did. They began to think about their work differently.

I believe that the answer to high absenteeism rates lies in helping public servants see their work as a noble calling and to feel good about their work. How can they do that? By rethinking work. Here are four ways to begin rethinking your work:

1. Get to the heart of what matters about your work.
2. Be on purpose at work.
3. See your work as an act of service.
4. Cultivate a spiritual value-based life.

Absenteeism has a huge effect on morale, productivity and profitability. It can and should be halted. We will talk in more detail about these four ways in our subsequent blogs.

While the music of Blink-182 may not be your favourite, this band’s story illustrates how a brush with personal disaster can transform our experience of work. Faced with a personal crisis, we have a tendency to re-evaluate our priorities and our way of being, putting us on what I call, the transformative events path to spirit at work. When we have spirit at work, we are fully engaged in our work, we find meaning and fulfillment in that which we do and we see how our work makes a difference in the lives of others.

Here is Blink’s story. Having sold some 13 million albums, the pop punk trio was at the height of their music career. Then due to extraordinary pressure and irresolvable differences, the band took a time out, resulting in a four-year hiatus. Last year, drummer Travis Barker nearly died in a plane crash – a crash which took the lives of his assistant and bodyguard. It was that event that led the group’s singer-guitarist Tom DeLonge to re-evaluate his priorities and break the radio silence toward his band mates. In an interview, DeLonge said that “It was very clear to me after Travis’s (near-death) that all these forces of nature were pushing for (a reunion) to happen.” The group decided to put aside their differences and come together to play again. Blink-182 is now on a 50-date North American comeback tour. But it took a near-death experience to get them there.

My research has shown that there are four paths to spirit at work: always there, coming together, contextually sensitive, and transformative events. Members of Blink-182 are on the path of transformative events.

What is the path of transformative events?  Stuff happens. We get sick. We are diagnosed with a debilitating disease, maybe one that is terminal. Our marriage ends in divorce. Our children make bad choices with negative and long-lasting results. The company we work for downsizes or goes under, and our spouse loses his or her job. We lose a loved one. The path of transformative events occurs in response to a crisis or spiritual awakening and can precipitate spirit at work.

A personal crisis (as Blink experienced) demands a response before it results in spirit at work. It requires that we do something. Individuals often begin to question their values, life priorities and lifestyle, a process sure to affect their relationship with work. Often, they begin to question the meaning of their work: Why are they doing it? Who is it helping? What is the contribution? How does it related to their deeper purpose? This response can turn a difficult event into a transformative event.

Why should we be interested? The recession has led to an increase in job loss, organizational takeovers, and downsizing – a significant life event for those impacted by such a decision. But even how we respond to events that are unrelated to our work – such as serious accidents, divorce or the loss of a loved one – will impact how we do our work. Thus, all of these events become opportunities as well as challenges. Once the necessary grieving has taken place – and that is important – times of crisis offer the potential for growth, change and spirit at work. A personal crisis gives us the opportunity to rethink our work – if we take it.

What is the next step? It is important for employers to realize how actions taken during the recession – some necessary for the survival of the company – have impacted employee spirit, job satisfaction and commitment. Action needs to be taken to rebuild relationships and help employees gain a renewed enthusiasm for their work and increased job satisfaction. At the same time, employees need to take steps to foster their spirit at work – the first being rethinking work. Everything changes when we rethink our work.