{"id":166,"date":"2011-09-22T23:49:14","date_gmt":"2011-09-22T23:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ceotucson.com\/?p=166"},"modified":"2011-09-22T23:49:14","modified_gmt":"2011-09-22T23:49:14","slug":"15-things-employers-and-employees-can-do-to-make-work-more-enjoyable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/?p=166","title":{"rendered":"15 Things Employers and Employees Can Do to Make Work More Enjoyable"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thanks to Vistage Chair Ed Robinson for This Post<\/em><\/p>\n

As we pass another\u00a0Labor Day\u00a0it’s actually depressing how many people dread going to work.\u00a0 I’ve ready many different statistics some saying as much as 90% of employees are unhappy with their job.\u00a0 Since we spend a significant part of our adult life working, this means that most people will spend a good deal of time unhappy or uninspired in their career.\u00a0 I have a hard time getting my head wrapped around this issue.\u00a0 Why would either party to the relationship accept this reality?\u00a0 I guess that is why so many individuals change jobs so frequently these days.\u00a0 They are searching for something the data says they have little chance of ever finding.<\/p>\n

As in all in endeavors, success and happiness is a\u00a0two-way street.\u00a0 While very few people end up with their dream job, there are strategies\/tactics both employers and employees can use to increase the overall levels personal satisfaction at work:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Employers:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Starting at the very top of the organization make sure that the leaders\/managers\/supervisors model the positive behaviors you would like to instill in the culture \u2013 treat people with courtesy and respect;<\/li>\n
  2. Use a basic\u00a0personality profiling\u00a0tools as part of the hiring process (and for existing employees) to get a better understanding of who you are dealing with and the best ways to connect with them – make sure their supervisors have a copy of the results and know how to use the information;<\/li>\n
  3. Ensure that there is no ambiguity in job descriptions and that everyone involved knows what success looks like for a given position;<\/li>\n
  4. Develop career plans for all employees and be honest about advancement potential;<\/li>\n
  5. Every few years conducts a comprehensive skills assessment where you match the needs of the company against the talents of individual employees; do your best to align people with what they are actually good at and interested in;<\/li>\n
  6. Make sure everyone has the proper level of training they need to do their job well especially your supervisors and managers on how to be good supervisors and managers;<\/li>\n
  7. Get away from the annual performance review model and have more frequent conversations (recommend quarterly) about performance gaps and accomplishments;<\/li>\n
  8. Publicly acknowledge it when employees go the extra mile or achieve a personal best;<\/li>\n
  9. Conduct employee satisfaction surveys every six months and track the results by\u00a0supervisor<\/a>;\u00a0 administer a comprehensive 360 Degree assessment tools for an anyone in a management position or higher every other year;<\/li>\n
  10. Establish an\u00a0Employee<\/a>\u00a0Morale Committee which meets on a quarterly basis to provide feedback and recommendations \u2013 membership should be a good representation of employees and have your point person on\u00a0HR<\/a>\u00a0lead this group;<\/li>\n
  11. Whenever possible be flexible in your work model – leverage technology to make people’s work lives easier;<\/li>\n
  12. Get rid of \u201cbad apples\u201d quickly – they demoralize other people and taint your leadership credibility;<\/li>\n
  13. Be honest and transparent in company-wide communications; people want to know the truth and in the absence of the truth they will make it up one their own which usually ends up being much worse than reality;<\/li>\n
  14. Provide access to employee training opportunities around real life issues such as personal financial planning, buying a home; managing eldercare responsibilities, etc.<\/li>\n
  15. Sponsor semi-regular social events at work – strive to create a sense of community.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Employees:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Practice regular self-reflection and continually assess where you are against where you would like to be \u2013 I encourage daily journaling;<\/li>\n
    2. Take responsibility for your own career and be proactive about gaining the new skills and taking on new assignments;<\/li>\n
    3. Volunteer for committees or work groups that stretch you outside of your\u00a0comfort zone<\/a>;<\/li>\n
    4. See yourself as part of a team not just an individual performer;<\/li>\n
    5. Be accountable for your actions \u2013 don\u2019t pass the buck;<\/li>\n
    6. Ask for help when you don\u2019t know how to do something and speak up when you are unsure or disagree with the approach \u2013 don\u2019t just nod your head yes because this will only lead to worse stress\/conflict down the road;<\/li>\n
    7. Instead of spending time identifying everything that is wrong or broken about the organization, make sure you also look for and acknowledge what is right and working well;<\/li>\n
    8. Complain up not down \u2013 have the courage of your convictions;<\/li>\n
    9. Don\u2019t just complain when you don\u2019t like something also offer well thought out solutions \u2013 there is a difference between a genuine complaint and whining;<\/li>\n
    10. Be up front and honest with your supervisor about your personal situation including being proactive about communicating issues that may affect you at work \u2013 in most cases people will be understanding and work with you;<\/li>\n
    11. If you are having problems at home deal with them like an adult rather than avoiding the issue and transferring the stress to your work environment;<\/li>\n
    12. Focus on living a healthier lifestyle \u2013 fit bodies and clear minds lead to a happier outlook on life;<\/li>\n
    13. Treat people with courtesy and respect \u2013 model the behavior you want to receive from others especially when it is not always easy to do so;<\/li>\n
    14. Have passions\/interests that you cultivate outside of work \u2013 strive to be a multi-dimensional person;<\/li>\n
    15. After spending some time working on it, if you are truly unhappy with the organization or job then leave and do something else \u2013 all parties will be happier.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Thanks to Vistage Chair Ed Robinson for This Post As we pass another\u00a0Labor Day\u00a0it’s actually depressing how many people dread going to work.\u00a0 I’ve ready many different statistics some saying as much as 90% of employees are unhappy with their … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tips-and-tools"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=166"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":168,"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166\/revisions\/168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}