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.

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.

The ability to notice, appreciate and savor the elements of life is an essential determinant of well-being. Research has shown that those of us who are grateful are happier, more hopeful and more helpful to others. We are less anxious, more spiritually inclined and report higher levels of well-being.

Gratitude can lower blood pressure, improve immune function, increase the amount we exercise, and increase generosity and cooperation. It is not surprising that people with spirit at work are more grateful than those employees with low spirit at work.

We are all familiar with the feeling of gratitude. Somebody does something nice for us or gives us a gift and we, in turn, feel thankful. We know that they didn’t have to make the gesture and that they did it for our benefit. We experience gratitude when we value the gift and the intent of the person who gave it to us.

Too often, others are benevolent towards us but we are unaware of it or fail to understand the value of their offering. We miss out on the feelings of gratitude and, of course, the benefits. The foundation of gratitude is knowing the gift or kind gesture was freely given, no strings attached. There is also awareness that one didn’t do anything to deserve the gift.

But gratitude is more than a grateful response. It is also a sense of awe and wonder for life and thankfulness for what we have.  Really, gratitude is an approach to life – a way of thinking – that can be chosen freely. It is not dependent on wealth, occupation, position or health.

We can choose gratitude even when we are unhappy with our work, colleagues or boss. We can choose gratitude when we feel stress. We can even choose gratitude when we are criticized and feel inadequate.

In my research, I have found that gratitude goes hand-in-hand with work related outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational culture and spirit at work. As our sense of gratitude increases, so too does our experience of these work-related outcomes.

What are you grateful for in your life? In your work? And who are you grateful to? Have you told them? I invite you to bring gratitude into your life and work.

Is your organization ready to create a comprehensive spirit at work strategy and bring gratitude into the workplace? Contact us today for a free consultation.

Want to learn more? Sign up for our monthly newsletter. The focus of December’s newsletter is gratitude. 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.

The Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) research on how we use our time highlights the fact that more and more of us are caught in a time crunch. The trends suggest that we are increasingly sacrificing satisfying and meaningful relaxation and leisure time in order to attend to the more pressing demands of work, childcare and looking after dependent seniors. There is considerable research demonstrating the strong connection between time use, leisure and culture on the one hand, and wellbeing on the other.

Here are some questions to ponder before you read the research:

1. Are you spending excessive time at work?
2. Do you work standard or non-standard work hours?
3. Do you have permanent or precarious work?
4. How far do you commute to work? And how do you get there?
5. How much do you feel the pressure of time?

Now here are the research findings:

Working in the labour force is strongly and positively associated with individual and family wellbeing. But there is compelling evidence that excessive time spent in paid labour leads to poorer health. The risks are believed to come from having less time to recover from work, longer exposure to workplace hazards, and less time to attend to non-work responsibilities. Long hours have a significantly negative impact on life satisfaction and time-related stress, which in turn, have a negative effect on wellbeing.

Non-standard work hours are associated with lower self-reported health, higher levels of stress, psychological distress, greater depressive symptoms, greater relationship conflict for dual-earner couples, and lower life satisfaction. Evening work is particularly bad for the children of evening workers since the lessened contact reduces the parent’s ability to support the child’s development and to secure childcare.

Workers in precarious employment have poorer health and experience higher levels of stress, mental illness, and substance abuse. Precarious work also tends to have lower pay than permanent work and often does not offer access to training, paid vacations, paid sick leave, employment insurance, pension and other benefits.

Long commuting hours are associated with self and medically reported sickness and absences, sleep problems and elevated risk factors for heart disease. Long commutes also disrupt family life by reducing time together. Car travel is more detrimental to wellbeing than train travel, since in the latter case commuters tend to walk to and from the train station. There is consistent evidence that individuals who use cars more tend to have higher rates of obesity related illnesses, elevated heart rate, and reports of anxiety. Car travel also harms community wellbeing by contributing to air pollution and climate change. By contrast, time spent in active commuting (e.g., walking or biking) is associated with improved mental and physical health outcomes, such as reduced risk of stroke.

People experiencing time pressure have lower levels of satisfaction, higher levels of stress, lower self-reported physical and emotional wellbeing, and greater insomnia. Work-life conflict can lead to higher levels of anxiety and depression; sleep disturbances; infectious disease and suppressed immune functioning; poor dietary habits, a lack of physical exercise and obesity; increased dependence on cigarettes, alcohol, medications and drugs; hypertension, high cholesterol, coronary, musculoskeletal and digestive problems; allergies and migraine headaches; burnout; and increased costs for medical consultations and prescription drugs.

It is difficult to experience spirit at work when we feel caught in a time crunch. What are some things that you might do to reduce the pressing demands of time and refill your cup?

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.

Many organizations are managing generational differences and conflict in the workplace by following what Zemke, Raines, and Filipczak, co-authors of Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in Your Workplace, call the ACORN Imperatives.

Successful companies use these five operating ideas to build organizations that accommodate differences, exhibit flexibility, emphasize respectful relations and focus on retaining talented and gifted employees. Here are some strategies to get you started:

Accommodate employees’ differences. Treat your employees as you treat your customers. Get to know your employees and what is important to them. Make an effort to accommodate their personal scheduling needs, work-life balance issues and non-traditional lifestyles.

Create workplace choices. Allow the workplace to be shaped around the work being done, the customers being served and the people who work there. Shorten the chain of command and reduce bureaucracy. Create a relaxed and informal work environment with lots of humor and playfulness.

Operate from a sophisticated management style. Give those who report to you the big picture, specific goals and measures, and then they turn them loose. Give them feedback, reward and recognition as appropriate, but don’t micro-manage. Be flexible: practice situational leadership, match individuals to a team and individuals and teams to an assignment. Strive to be perceived as fair, inclusive, and as a good communicator. Be competent.

Respect competence and initiative. Assume the best of your employees. Treat everyone, from the newest recruit to the most seasoned employee, as if they have great things to offer. Take time to hire the right people. Then motivate them to do their best.

Nourish retention. Improve employee retention. Make your workplace a magnet for excellence. Offer lots of training, from one-on-one coaching opportunities to interactive computer-based training to an extensive and varied menu of classroom courses. Encourage regular lateral movement within the organizations and broaden assignments.

The ACORN Imperatives are simple and straightforward. Yet managers and leaders find it difficult to incorporate in their daily work. Perhaps they get blinded by their own generational values. Implementing the ACORN principles takes work and a different way of looking at how to manage multiple generations. But the rewards are immense.

Read the complete newsletter where I examine the profiles of each generation, look at the similarities, comment about the relationship between spirit at work and the multi-generations, and focus on strategies to bridge the gap.

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.

I recently completed a national study for an organization where, in addition to assessing member spirit at work and how to increase it, we considered the impact of the generations. While dissimilarities were noted, I was taken aback by the similarities.

Diversity at work has been a longstanding concern. Religion, ethnicity, gender. And now generations. Never before have we seen four generations working alongside with each other or employees of older generations reporting to employees of younger generations in such numbers.

Managing this mixture of ages, values, and views has become increasingly difficult. In their book Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in Your Workplace, Zemke, Raines, and Filipczak describe it as “diversity management at its most challenging.”

A quote from the Harvard Business School “Working Knowledge” Newsletter: “Can you manage generational differences?” describes the dilemma.

“Managing multigenerational workforces is an art in itself. Young workers want to make a quick impact, the middle generation needs to believe in the mission, and older employees don’t like ambivalence.”

Successful management of the multigenerational workforce demands a rethinking of work. Unfortunately, most attention is placed on the differences between the generations. Understanding these dissimilarities will go a long way to bringing out the best in all employees. By gaining such clarity we can appreciate how these differences influence our view of work, our preferred work environment, how we approach work and what we expect from work.

What we seldom hear about are the similarities or positive outcomes resulting from multiple generations in the workforce. One positive outcome of generational blending is creativity. Any time people with different perspectives are brought together, creativity is a possibility. Knowledge exchange occurs. History informs the project. The advantages of technology are tapped. New ideas are generated. Yet, we focus on the differences and conflict.

Read the complete newsletter where I examine the profiles of each generation, look at the similarities, comment about the relationship between spirit at work and the multi-generations, and focus on strategies to bridge the gap.

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.

Effective health programs extend beyond the physical and mental health of employees and occupational health and safety. They focus on creating organizational cultures and conditions that inspire a highly engaged and effective workforce.  Companies that develop and promote comprehensive strategies that include health programs and engagement strategies can expect to reap the rewards through more engaged employees, lower costs, improved productivity and financial performance.

The National Quality Institute (NQI) provides twelve questions for organizations to see how they measure up to the NQI Healthy Workplace Criteria. These questions provide a great starting point for organizations interested in becoming healthier. 

1. Is a strategic approach in place for developing and sustaining a healthy workplace and is it based on employee needs?

2. Do your leaders demonstrate, through their comments and action, a commitment to the management of a healthy workplace?

3. Is there an overall health policy in place stating your organization’s intent to protect and promote the health of all employees by providing as healthy an environment as possible?

4. Do you have a formal assessment process to determine employee needs, attitudes and preferences in regard to healthy workplace programs?

5. Are the workplace health assessment results analyzed and are improvement goals set out in a Healthy Workplace Plan?

6. Does the Healthy Workplace Plan lead to improvement of all the key elements of a healthy workplace – the Physical Environment, Health Practices and the Social Environment and Personal Resources?

7. Do you have a mechanism in place to review relevant occupational health and safety legislation and are you in compliance with such legislation/regulations?

8. Do you have methods in place that make it easy for people to provide ongoing input on healthy workplace and organizational issues and to seek assistance?

9. Do you measure employee satisfaction levels (and I would add employee engagement and spirit at work) in order to improve the workplace?

10. Do you identify the contributions of your employees and provide appropriate recognition and rewards?

11. Are there good levels and trends in employee satisfaction (and I would add employee engagement and spirit at work) and morale?

12. Do you train your employees in healthy workplace principles and methods?

At Kaizen Solutions, we work with organizations and employees to create positive, healthy workplaces that foster well-being and spirit at work. We know that the factors that contribute to a healthy workplace also contribute to employee spirit at work.

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.

Proactive employers have adopted a broad definition of workplace wellness. Acknowledging workplaces as a key determinant of health, these employers go beyond the traditional occupational health and safety initiatives and health promotion programs. They consider how the culture of the organization impacts employee wellbeing and thus, productivity.
 
Comprehensive workplace health initiatives focus on three areas:
 
1.Creating a safe and physically healthy work environment. The emphasis is on preventing injuries or illness and eliminating hazards. Examples are workplace design and ergonomics, safety guidelines, air quality and elimination of hazards.
 
2. Promoting and supporting healthy lifestyles. These are the traditional health promotion activities at work which address lifestyle practices of employees. Examples are: stress management programs, smoking cessation programs, fitness programs or subsidies, and healthy food choices in workplace cafeterias.
 
3. Creating a healthy organizational culture that fosters employee wellbeing, engagement and spirit at work. These are the management practices and strategies that focus on culture, leadership, relationships, and working conditions. Key factors include attitudes, values, respect, inclusion, recognition, meaningful work, communication and work-life balance or what some refer to as work-life fit.
 
Proactive organizations know that they can maximize their business performance by improving their work environment and investing in health programs for their employees.

At Kaizen Solutions, we work with organizations and employees to create positive, healthy workplaces that foster well-being and spirit at work. We know that the factors that contribute to a healthy workplace also contribute to employee spirit at work.

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.