Rethinking Your Work

What is it about your work that moves your heart? Or does it? Are you satisfied with where you are at with your work and the contribution you are making? Or, are you like most people, looking for more?

Looking for an opportunity to make the world a better place. To do meaningful work and to make a difference in the lives of others.

Work gives us an opportunity to find meaning and fulfillment that we are so desperately seeking. It provides us a way to make a contribution; a difference in the lives of others. It gives us a chance to create a sense of community and to belong.

I have been researching and promoting what I call spirit at work for a decade. It is now, my life’s work. Spirit at work is about finding meaning and fulfillment through our work. About being fully engaged and energized by what we do. Understanding we make a contribution through our work and feeling good about it.

We have learned that when we get to the heart of what matters about our work, when we feel that the work we are doing is important and can see how we make a difference in the lives of others, and when we share a common purpose with our colleagues or clients everything changes. For us, our organization and the people we are serving.

The creation of spirit at work is a shared responsibility: shared between us and our employer. But, it begins with us. That is where the power lies.

How are you going to foster your spirit at work this year? Who can you call upon to act as your 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.

The heart of B’s Diner is its owners: Brenda Der and her husband Bob Ziniak. The fact that this is no ordinary diner is evident by Brenda’s comment: “We just feel that this is our home. And we want to bring people into our home.”

Shortly after they opened the diner in 2002, Brenda noticed people in the back alley regularly going through garbage dumpsters, carrying what they could in their shopping carts. She was emotionally impacted by talking to them and the pain she saw. She decided to help.

Brenda started to feed the people that were hungry. And she invited those that were cold into her warm restaurant.

Shortly after, she and her husband began holding weekly dinners for the less fortunate. They covered the cost of these dinners through their tips and donations from customers. On occasion, they would provide entertainment: a movie and popcorn or a karaoke night.

This week, Brenda and Bob will host their annual Christmas celebration, which includes a meal and entertainment by many of the diner’s clientele. While everyone is invited, the Christmas meal will be free for the under-privileged. Others who can afford it are asked to bring a donation.

Their generosity is even more inspirational when we hear about Brenda and Bob’s own financial struggles. Last summer, their son, Jeremy, died when he was swept into an undercurrent. The diner was closed for two months after his death, leaving the couple with unpaid bills and arrears in rent payments. Not to mention the unexpected funeral costs for their son.

Their beloved customers were quick to help. Not only did they join an 18 day search for their son’s body, they threw a fundraiser to help the family with the bills and arrears so that they could reopen the diner.

Many of the customers support Brenda and Bob’s efforts through contributing to the B’s Diner Outreach. They donate things like money, clothing and sleeping bags. One customer said, “In a sense, it’s like a community project. It’s very much a restaurant where we are both customers and participants.”

Recently, Brenda and Bob have faced additional financial stress: the transmission in their van died and the two ovens in their restaurant broke down – irreparable due to age. They have no money to replace the ovens.

Yet, in spite of their added difficulties, the Christmas celebration will go on, albeit, at a different location. How does Brenda respond to the breakdown of the ovens?

“We’ve had bigger hurdles than that this year, a lot bigger. As down as we are, it helps to do this. It does make me feel better to help other people.”

Kindness and generosity at work goes hand in hand with spirit at work. Not only does the person receiving the act of kindness benefit, so too does the person showing kindness and anyone observing. It just feels good to help another out or to see someone being helped out.

How are you offering the gift of giving at work? Is there something that you and your colleagues can be doing? What about your organization?

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.

Author Will Marré says yes. In his book “Save the World and Still be Home for Dinner,” Marré explains how to work, live, and love in extraordinary ways by finding a work-life harmony rather than living life as a constant balancing act. I think you will enjoy the World Business Academy’s review of “Save the World and Still be Home for Dinner” that follows.

“The model is a tapestry, rather than a scale.” It is a mistake to attack one’s triple bottom line—relationships, lifestyle, and career—sequentially. Marré writes: “Our quest is nothing less than sustainable abundance … an abundance of everything that really matters in life, both material and spiritual.” 

He calls on people “to uncover your greatest gifts of talent, energy, and passion and to start using them so the rest of us can benefit. This is your authentic mission. This is how you were designed to ‘save the world’”. 

To create a life of sustainable abundance, we must begin “with understanding our Drive, Design, and Desires in the here and now.” When we do that, “we feel both deeply content and constantly energized. We are living our Promise.” 

Marré offers practical steps for defining our greatness and delivering it, as well as questions to determine whether we’re headed in the right direction. His book will help us all “integrate being a force for good and living our good life.”

Far too often, we accept that we must be consumed in order to make a contribution. Then we struggle with work-life balance.

I fully agree with Marré s advice to uncover our greatest gifts of talent, energy, and passion and use them so that others can benefit. We are all gifted. We all have something to contribute. And when we are offering our gifts and feeling good about our contribution, we start to experience spirit at work. Then everything changes. We can save the world and be home for dinner.

Are you living your promise?

Start rethinking your work today for a better tomorrow.

Want to learn more? Sign up for our 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.

October 5^th is World Teachers’ Day. The UN is using this day to put the spotlight on the global teacher shortage and the challenges of being a teacher. But is there a shortage? Or is it more of an issue of retention? If we could retain those teachers who enter the profession, would we still have a shortage?

The turnover rate among teachers is generally higher than for other occupations. An alarming number of teachers leave the profession during the first few years of teaching. The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that nearly a third of American teachers leave in their first three years and half by the fifth year.  While this figure is lower in Canada (Alberta statistics show that 20 per cent of teachers leave the job within the first five years), it is still alarming.

Why are so many teachers escaping the profession? How can someone enter the profession enthused and excited and leave a few years later disenchanted or burned out? What needs to be done to maintain their enthusiasm?

My husband and I attended an orientation for parents when our son entered high school. I was very pleased with the principal’s take on things. He said that if he had his druthers, he would do away with marks. Although marks do count, especially in grade 12, this principal holds his teachers accountable for six things. The first three – belonging, competence, and confidence –show up consistently in the research as what really matters to student learning. When students feel like they belong and that someone cares, when they feel competent to do the work they are asked to do, and when they feel confident that they will be successful, the marks automatically take care of themselves. If they don’t have these things, there is little hope in improving marks.

A teacher spoke about the importance of the fourth principle which is “someone sees me.” He said “I care about these young people. The most important thing for me is to make a connection with the students, to get to know them and particularly to get to know them outside of school.” The last two principles were “involvement of the students” and the “creation of a positive team”. These six values, the principal says, spell success and living them is an expectation for every teacher who works in this school.

As I was thinking about the overlap between these six values and the creation of spirit at work and wondering what would happen if teachers had an opportunity to experience these, a woman stood up and quietly asked if she could say something. She looked to be in her early 40s and said,

“You probably don’t recognize me since it was a long time ago since you taught me grade 10. I was living with my family in Germany and attended the armed forces school. You were my teacher. I just wanted to say hi and what you are talking about – those four points – belonging, confidence, competence and someone sees me – those things that you say are so important to student success . . .  well, I experienced them with you as a teacher. And I want to tell you, THAT changed my life. I feel good about myself as a person and I am way more confident now. I just wanted to say thanks. I was very anxious about choosing a high school for my daughter, but when I found out that you were the principal here, I knew the decision was made. I want my daughter to experience high school like I did. To the rest of the parents she said, ‘You are all so lucky to have your kids attend a school run by a principal that demonstrates these values.’”

Wow! The principal was stunned. Full of emotion, he went over and gave this woman a hug. He could not have paid for better advertising for his school.

As I sat there, I quickly realized that this principal and these teachers had spirit at work. They loved what they were doing and they were making a difference in the lives of their students. Our kids and their experience of school mattered to them. I had a deep sigh of relief and knew that our son was going to be in good hands.

What I also learned is that not only did the principal experience spirit at work; as the leader of that school, he created the conditions for his staff to experience spirit at work, and in doing so, opened the doors for his students to have a positive high school experience.  And did I mention that retention is not an issue in this school?

We now have the opportunity to rethink work and rethink how we can engage teachers so that they will want to stay in the profession.

Val Kinjerski, PhD, is a leading authority in the field of employee engagement and on the topic of “spirit at work.” An inspirational speaker, consultant and writer, she helps companies and organizations increase employee retention and boost productivity by reigniting employees’ love for their work. She is the author of Rethinking Your Work and Rethinking Your Work Guidebook.

I am sitting here at the Edmonton Blues Festival with 2999 of my closest new friends and enjoying a week-end of blues music at an outdoor amphitheatre. What strikes me most about the performers is how obvious their spirit at work is. It doesn’t seem to matter if they are young or if they are old-timers like Slim Magic who has been on the scene since the 50s; they all share a passion for the blues . . . their work.

These musicians are connected to their music, their band and the audience. As a member of the audience, I quickly felt a part of this community. I was moved so much by what I saw and felt that I scrambled for pen and paper to write this blog. What is it about musicians and particularly blues musicians that set them apart? They follow their passion.  They live in alignment. They are true to their music. There is harmony between their inner selves and their work.

Is it easy? Not always.  Blues musicians have to work hard to make a living. Often traveling and playing to small crowds for not a lot of money. (Where can you go for a 3-day festival and see 13 groups from North American and abroad for under $100? You can’t even get into a two-hour rock concert for that.) Blues musicians don’t have a hope to make it rich like the pop or rock bands. Yet, they pursue. They play. They share their art. And they feel good about what they do.

We may not be musically inclined or even aspire to be a musician. But we can learn a lot from blues musicians about how to be fully engaged in our work.

There is more to work than putting in eight, ten or twelve hours a day. Work is much more than meeting deadlines and coming in under budget. And there is definitely more to work than a pay check and pension. Money isn’t everything and it certainly doesn’t buy the fulfillment many of us are seeking. Yes, we need money to put a roof over our head and food on the table, but once we have that, most of us find we are looking for more. That “more” is an opportunity to make the world a better place. To do meaningful work and make a difference in the lives of others.

What would it take to be so fully engaged in your work that it feels like you are playing? Doing what you love? And getting paid for it?

 Start rethinking your work today to enjoy a more rewarding tomorrow.

Val Kinjerski, PhD, is a leading authority in the field of employee engagement and on the topic of “spirit at work.” An inspirational speaker, consultant and writer, she helps companies and organizations increase employee retention and boost productivity by reigniting employees’ love for their work. She is the author of Rethinking Your Work and Rethinking Your Work Guidebook.

Earlier this week, I was grocery shopping at Sobeys (IGA) and had an unusual retail experience.  The service was extraordinary!  I keep reliving the incident and feeling good about employees feeling good about their work. Let me tell you the story.

Every once in a while, I decide to be adventurous and try something new.  On this particular day, I was drawn to a new fruit – quince.  It was bright yellow and looked like the larger half of a pear. Not sure about the taste, when it was ready to eat, or how to prepare it, I asked the man restocking the bins. (I am sorry that I didn’t ask his name, but I will call him Tony.) Tony had no idea. But he thought another employee would know so set out to find him.

Tony came back shortly; the employee in-the-know wasn’t available, but a colleague in the back thought a quince was a cross between a pear and apple, just a little tarter and a drier. I decided to give it a try and continued on with my shopping.  

About ten minutes later, Tony found me at the other end of the store. He thought that he (and his colleagues in the back) should have first-hand knowledge about this fruit so cut one open. He also thought that I might like to taste it before buying, so came looking for me. Wow!

When is the last time you remember getting service like that? I couldn’t get Tony out of my mind. Or how good it felt as a customer. When we see our work as an act of service, how we think about and do our work changes. We are clear that our work is about the customer, client, patient, student, etc. and not about us.  I don’t know if Tony consciously thought about this, but his actions were a definite demonstration.  It was obvious that he was an engaged employee.

I wasn’t the only one who benefited from this interaction. We have learned that deeper meaning and fulfillment comes from service. The more we serve, the more fulfilled we are. How might you serve others through your work?  What would it take? Start rethinking your work today for a happier and more fulfilling tomorrow.

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.