It doesn’t sound right
It’s normal to be skeptical. Setting the bar that high sounds like a pipe dream, a recipe for failure.
Starting and running a business leaves little time for anything else. We do our best to carve out time for our children and intimate partners. But we seldom have time to engage deeply with our community. Although we may be able to donate to a charity, it’s nearly impossible to find time and energy to develop relationships with strangers and discover how to contribute to their wellbeing. We need to get back to work.
The same thing happens in our organizations. We want to help. We provide the best benefits and compensation we can afford. We create a safe and respectful workplace. And, we provide opportunities for growth and development. We may do more, but sooner or later we need to get back to work. We certainly can’t set the bar so high that the job is never finished. We certainly can’t try to do everything that makes the organization a source of wellbeing for every employee. Or can we?
Yes, we can.
It’s start with redefining success. A plan gives it energy. The first change makes it real. Then, the first, “Thank you,” or the first smile, will make it unstoppable.
It sounds risky and disruptive
Leaders are often concerned that employees will demand more than the business can afford, that employees will ask for too much. What we forget is that our employees are already free to work somewhere else that pays more and provides more vacation and perks. If employees really want more, they will upgrade their education or move to a different city or country to get it. But few people will leave an organization that has become a source of wellbeing in their lives. Creating a thriving organization is an exercise in actively caring for the wellbeing of each employee, rather than buying organizational commitment.
It sounds unsustainable
We get what we create. If we strive for sustainability, we will get sustainability. For what we have today, sustainable and unsustainable, we are responsible. If we want to create a better world of work for future generations, then we must dedicate ourselves to the task.
Start now
If this short discussion was all you needed to commit yourself to creating a thriving organization, then keep going.
If you can create the plan, or bring people together to do it, then don’t stop. And, if you’d like me to help, I partner with organizational leaders who are committed to creating a better world of work.
Research references:
- CBC News. (2013, November 18). Canadians top job satisfaction survey. Retrieved April 10, 2016, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canadians-top-job-satisfaction-survey-1.2430864
- Clifton, J. (2017). The world’s broken workplace. Retrieved October, 9, 2017, from http://news.gallup.com/opinion/chairman/212045/world-broken-workplace.aspx
- Faragher, E. B., Cass, M., & Cooper, C. L. (2005). The relationship between job satisfaction and health: A meta-analysis. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 62(2), 105-112.
- Gallup Inc. (2013). The state of the American workplace. Retrieved April 10, 2016, from http://www.gallup.com/strategicconsulting/163007/state-american-workplace.aspx
- Shields, M. (2006). Unhappy on the job. Statistics Canada, Health Reports, 17(4), 33. Retrieved April 10, 2016, from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2005004/article/9496-eng.pdf
- Society for Human Resources Management. (2012). 2012 Employment job satisfaction and engagement: How employees are dealing with uncertainty. Retrieved April 10, 2016, from https://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Documents/12-0537%202012_jobsatisfaction_fnl_online.pdf
- Statistics Canada (2016, April 8). Employment by age, sex, type of work, class of worker and province (monthly) (Canada). Retrieved April 15, 2016, from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/su
