How to Make Sure Working for You Doesn’t Suck!

Contrary to what seems to have become a far too popular belief, how we each make our living doesn’t have to drain every ounce of joy from our bodies… I remember greeting ole Front-Lobby Bobby one morning more than a decade ago and being given a response for the ages, “Just another day closer to dyin’...” While FLB had indeed made quite a few more laps around the sun than most everyone else in that particular workplace, that was still one of the most pessimistic answers to “Good morning” that I had ever heard!

In that case, Being Miserable at Work came at a cost - but not just to him or the company… Bobby made no attempt whatsoever to hide his glowing attitude under a bushel! If you stuck around very long, you were sure to get more than a whiff of that mixed in with the aroma of summer sausage & cheese he microwaved for lunch each day (that I was convinced oozed from his pores). Neither was all that desirable, but the outlook on, well, everything had a much more significant long term impact on anyone who got reeled into it.

Since we recently looked at some of the very tangible Benefits of a Positive Work Environment, let's put a bow on the whole idea now by working through a very simple approach we each take to create a positive atmosphere for the teams we lead so we can be sure that working for us doesn’t suck!

Before we dig into three simple things we can provide for our teams that will make a significant difference on how they view their role in the organization and the contribution they make, I need to dispel one more ugly rumor that’s clearly become accepted as truth in recent years: the vast majority of people ARE NOT looking for something for nothing and a significant portion of the population are VERY willing to work extremely hard. But with Help Wanted signs at every single business we drive by on any given day, there’s clearly a disconnect…

As we wrap this up (through the next few posts), we’ll nail down exactly what you and I can do as we lead our teams so we’re providing them with what they need to avoid throwing up each Sunday evening when they think about reporting to work the following morning AND so we can actually build a world-class work environment as we do it. Understand though, it’s gonna take work! But I’m absolutely convinced the work we’ll need to do isn’t any harder than what we’re already doing - it’s just different. And in this case, different will be a very good thing! Stay tuned…