We are discussing changing the parameters of work.
In the last blog post, I discussed remote work.
In this get-together, let’s talk about making the employees happy.
Happiness is one of those elusive qualities of life that everyone wants and few achieve.
Some of us have spent too many years moping around looking for happiness to jump out of the bushes and surprise us.
Others are convinced that happiness is not going to happen to them – spend 20 minutes with them and you will lose your will to live!
Happiness at work is most elusive.
Something you spend 40 hours a week getting your hours directed by someone else seems to be a fast track to sadness.
So, how can happiness occur at work?
We need to examine what is expected from work.
If you want to feel giddy all day at work, there is no job I know that will do it – unless you stuff beds with feathers and tickle yourself all day…
The trick is to change the focus from being happy to be satisfied.
Satisfaction is far more achievable than happiness.
Now, how do we get satisfaction from our job?
After talking with hundreds of employees over the years, one answer is above all others.
The employees want to feel they accomplished something each day even if it is minor.
Granted, not every day can be productive as some days everything goes wrong!
The method I use is to make sure I do at least one thing each day where I help my employer.
That sounds like a poor employee but…some days, achieving one thing has turned out to be very difficult.
Some days are very productive but those are not every day! Other days it is very hard to make even a small contribution.
If you are a manager, do your best to help each employee have one achievement they can tell their family about around the dinner table!
In a future post, I will unpack this further and give some real-life examples that will help explain my ideas around success.
Go out a achieve one item today for your employer!