How do you GET to work?

Photo Credit: Construction Signs on Flickr.

Are you constructive? I appreciate the following quotation that David K. Reynolds used to start his book on Constructive Living from Thomas Merton in INC, July 1992, p.11

If I insist that my work be rewarding, that it mustn’t be tedious or monotonous, I’m in trouble….It’s ridiculous to demand that work always be pleasurable, because work is not necessarily pleasing; sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. If we’re detached and simply pick up the job we have to do and go ahead and do it, it’s usually failrly satisfying. Even jobs that are repugnant or dull or tedious tend to be quite satisfying, once we get right down to doing them…This happens when we just do what we have to do.

Constructive living and working. How often to you just do what you have to do? Constructive Living aims at helping a person see the world realistically and act on that knowledge in practical and constructive ways.

Constructive Living offers 3 Themes to move on and to move into action:

Accept reality – Accepting reality does not mean we give in, give up, or get stuck there. We acknowledge the actual circumstances in which you live so that we can take steps to be more constructive in our approach to work.

Know your purpose (objective) – What are you aiming for? What can you do today or right now to move a step closer to achieving your short-term or long-term goal. Knowing your purpose, objective, or intention brings focus to what you do.

Do what needs to be done. The possibility of specific action is a good test of the reasonableness of your goals. The world responds to action, not to dreams or wishes or thoughts.

3 Questions. Even if you don’t work on a construction site you can still play an active role in constructing your approach to action and better work by asking yourself:

1. What is currently going on?
2. What is my purpose, intention or objective?
3. What do I need to engage in right now to achieve my purpose?

How Not to Conduct an Employee Engagement Initiative (satire).

Ms Julie Carter, a student at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX, asked an excellent question:

One question I have is about how a company would go about implementing an employee engagement program.  Are there any specific guidelines or initiatives?

Before I offer the positive suggestions in a later post,  I would like to examine how not to implement a program.

The top 11 ways to ensure employee disengagement:

1. Use Fear. Only engage in employee engagement because you are fearful of falling behind the competition. Tell employees to get busy working or they will lose their jobs.
2. Use payday. Tell employees to engage because that is what they are paid to do.
3. Employee engagement should belong to only 1 department. Task employee engagement to HR or Communications. No need to spread this kind of stuff around.
4. Survey. Reduce your entire initiative to a survey. Get some numbers, keep them to yourself, and survey again two years later to see if some accidental employee engagement occurred.
5. Never let an employee ask a survey question. Employees don’t know enough to determine what a good survey question would be so ensure you blow your entire employee engagement budget on a high priced consulting company that will ask employees if they have a friend.
6. Ignore employee engagement. Employee engagement is just a longer way of saying motivation so forget complexity, get simple, and use carrots and sticks.
7. Focus on employee entertainment. Don’t worry about financial viability of the organization and employee contribution to results. Give the employees the day off to make an upbeat dance/musical you tube video.
8. Us versus Them. Keep the separation between employees and leaders/managers. Never let leaders or managers realize they are employees and if employee engagement numbers are low always refer to employees as “those people.”
9. Eliminate middle management. What do those people do anyway. Eliminate them as a barriers between leadership directives and employee engagement. It will be cheaper in the long run to give all front line employees Blackberries than to have someone who they can run and complain to. Blackberry communication will literally help all leaders “screen” their calls.
10. Leave flex time for next time. Ensure all employees are overworked because an idle mind may lead to disengagement and if they are so busy they will just have to be engaged…no need for flex time.
11. That’s your job. Next time employees ask questions about the organization or why they are doing a certain task a certain way keep your answer focused and simple: “because that’s your job.”

In Part 2, the follow up to this article, I will answer Julie’s question with a genuine response.

Your turn. If  you have some brilliant ways or even mediocre methods to ensure employee disengagement offer them in the comments of this post.

Until next time, I’m out of here.

Fantastic Free Book on Employee Engagement.

Have you read the second edition of  our free E-book: Employee Engagement Book in One Sentence?

Click here or on the book below to get the book. No registration or other artificial barriers that you get with many free e-books. It is there for you now.

This project would not have been possible without the wonderful contributions from the following members of the Employee Engagement Network. Thanks to all of you!

Catherine Harwood
Terrence Seamon
Robert Morris
Skip Reardon
Karl Edwards
Ian Buckingham
Arnold Beekes
Lisa Forsyth
Rod Barnett
Judy McLeish
David Zinger
Cheri Baker
Kris Robinson
Carol Cole-Lewis
George Reavis
Jean Douglas
Mario Gastaldi
Varadarajan
Stephen A. McPherson
Steve Maffei
Mike Healy
Zane Safrit
Johane Desjardins
Kevin Burns
Scot Herrick
Krishna Prasad
Brent Daily
Samantha Wood
Dan Brady
Khalid Ibrahim
Maryanna Kontaratos
Graeme Ginsberg
David Neilly
Jesse Domingo
Prem Rao
Gary Irland
Derek Irvine
Bay Jordan
Eric Fiedler
James Reece
John Griffith
Deri Latimer
Sandi Krige
Jeremiah Soucie
Scott Messer
Nels Pedersen
Debbie Moscinski
Michelle M. Smith
Kelley Eskridge
Paul M. Mastrangelo
Scott Span
Michael Kanazawa
Susan Stamm
Susan Robinson
Anja S
Gregory Kirk
Mario Alberto Ortiz
Martínez
John Nicholls
Delphine Bondran
Vijay Kumar Shrotryia
N. Kapoor
Ryan Williams
Keerthi Kalyan
Ann Andrews CSP
Gurprriet Siingh
Vinti Mehta
Bob Gately
Peter A. Hunter
Adam Hibbert
Dan Collins
Shereen Qutob-Cabral
Pete Sitter
Ben Simonton
Maggie Chicoine
Dr. Bharti Pandya
Alison Quest
Gautam Bhosale
Manik Sarkar
Jason Grieve
Kirsten Olson
Trevor Nagle
Roy Saunderson
Jason Scott
Alan Smith
Abhishek Mittal
Carol Wain
Kiran Gali
Trista Smith
David Marklew
Mike Henry Sr.
Rick Pulito
Richard Melrose
Michael Miener
Cathy Missildine-
Martin
Kim Fabian
Lisa Sansom
Carol A Harris
Keith Bossey
Val Kinjerski, PhD
Jack Needham, Jr.
Julia Seal
Jennifer Gladden
Vicki Parker
Brittney Maxfield
Paul Herr
Paul Marciano
Allyn Palacio
Jonathan Winter
Rebecca Louvre
Jon Harvey
Nancy Lewis
Christine Donovan
Carl Bonura
Brian Jones
Loretta Donovan
Robin Hickman
Anthony Sork
Monique Howat
Susanne Jacobs
Paul Hebert
Jack Paluszek
Janine McComb
Jeff Seevers
Judy Bardwick
Julie Fowble
Victor Andres
Kevin Mazur
Debora McLaughlin
Tim Deuitch
Lynn R Friesth
Susan J. Meyerott,
M.S.
Feryal Hafez
Lisa Sibley
Dustin Henderson
Skip Weisman
Hamguin
Bill Hogg
Rudolf Peter Lanc
Pete Blank
Andrea Montuschi
Caroline Esterson
Michelle Malay Carter
Maynard Brusman
Jim Olson
Peter Hart
Ray Seghers
Bill Granda
Doug Shaw
Brent Shaw
Richard Lambert
Burgess Levin
Richard Parkes
Cordock
Kathy Fitzpatrick
Rudra
Sybil F. Stershic
Paul Austermuehle
Jason M. Beauford
Bonnie Lowe
Mary Engels
Jay Forte
Vicki Hess
David King
Fiona Narburgh
Wendy Woods
Heather Hughes
Carol J. Sutton
Maren Showkeir
Randy Cantrell
Susan Mazza
Sunil Budhiraja
Julie Noonan
Warren Egnal
Karla Harvill
Janine Moon
Gordon Schmidt
Jo Manchester
Deb Holton
S. Max Brown
Mike King
Alex Edghill
Catherine Eberlein
Pfister
Bonnie Cox
Rick Stamm
Marty Jordan
Bill Scott

Once again, THANK YOU.

Free E-book

Read or download the free 44 page book created by members of the Employee Engagement Network. Each tidbit of advice is in one sentence and some authors offered a few different tidbits.

To read the book, click on the cover, or click here: Employee Engagement Network Advice Book

H1N1 Planning for employee well-being 26% increase in employee engagement

Here are a few quick links to some engaging material on employee engagement:

1. Using Improvement Center, hospital leaders charged with engagement outcomes can easily collaborate. http://bit.ly/3IFKe2

2. Vodafone scheme offering the public the chance to “donate yourself to charity” also improved employee engagement. http://bit.ly/4vvaV3

3. Effective communication engages employees – positive implications for productivity and bottom line. http://bit.ly/3X8PR7

4. Engaging employees more than being nice – A commercially-driven activity delivering bottom line impact. http://bit.ly/3GEDO8

5. McKesson’s community investment work leverages power of employee engagement http://bit.ly/XWJf7

6. H1N1 Planning for employee well-being 26% increase in employee engagement? http://bit.ly/1F28Hk

Remember

To remember is not a one day thought.

About those who fought.

Or a few moments on just one day.

To honor those who fought and paved our way.

…..

To remember is a fully expressed debt of gratitude.

And a mindful lived experienced attitude.

That you are no longer alive.

And living fully is how we strive

To pay you back for all you gave.

…..

In every Flander’s field around the world I hope you are at rest

We know you gave us your very best.

Coming Attraction.

Watch for the release of the free and freeing employee engagement book of advice on Thursday November 12.

Special Tweets

Here are some of the leading source of information on work, leadership, and employee engagement from the past 48 hours:

1. Trust workers with flexible working, stress and absence is lower performance and productivity increase http://bit.ly/2US5aw

2. Reexamine your core values and involve employees in creating “guiding principles” http://bit.ly/1cUWAc

3. Employees who are willing to engage with consumers and who have the motivation to do so are a valuable asset. http://bit.ly/3nBZyF

4. US federal government getting ideas from employees and fostering engagement. http://bit.ly/2JrLqX

5. Companies with highly effective internal communication programs are better placed to keep employees engaged http://bit.ly/O20AH

6. Right on. Leadership respect key in employee engagement. http://bit.ly/3tppqS

7. NEWS Respect For Employee Role Is Key To Engagement http://bit.ly/4bSuiW

8. 4 Reasons NOT to Conduct an Employee Survey by Heather Stagl http://bit.ly/4wGmJl

9. Pithy and poignant. Horizontal and vertical index. http://bit.ly/2RHNgS

10. Why you don’t matter. http://bit.ly/3JAq1T

11. Bend in the road. Visual self-exploration: Your life in pictures #1 Curt Rosengren. http://bit.ly/2UI4AM

12. What are your core 15 working beliefs? http://bit.ly/1C2eIw

13. My friend Scott H. Young’s free ebook: How to Get More From Life. http://bit.ly/3wq1GK

14. Connections. Go Deep. http://bit.ly/3VVBpU

15. Dis-Engage When Your Work is Valued Less http://bit.ly/2wMWHB

16. Stallard: Why employee engagement efforts fail. http://bit.ly/ed1Rg

17. Should we follow you? Thanks to Rosa Say. http://bit.ly/1Rd9p7

18. Zen Habits: The shortest answer is doing… http://bit.ly/2qYQdwa

19. Learn by Writing with Precision http://bit.ly/1JOR4y

20. LEARN. 111 Learning Strategies. http://bit.ly/2qEr37

21. It is POSSIBLE. Possibility versus captivity space by Tom Haskins. http://bit.ly/1HNOIj

22. Great Improvisation notes…Notes in search of a presentation By Ed Brenegar http://bit.ly/3iPaKg

23. THRIVE ALIVE. Getting Beyond Survive To Thrive At Work By Dan McCarthy http://bit.ly/Zw3gj

24. Hard Work No Fun, But Choice and Friendship Are ~ Denise Quinlan http://bit.ly/HLDXz

Click on image above for larger version of the Zinger Employee Engagement Model

This I believe by David Zinger:

Live. Employee engagement is an experience to be lived not a problem to be solved.

One for all, all for one. Employee engagement is everybody’s business – we are each responsible for our own engagement and each accountable to everyone else for their engagement. [Read more...]

Believe?

Do you believe in employee engagement? What do you believe about employee engagement? Have you taken the time to articulate your beliefs? Are you willing to write down your beliefs and ensure those beliefs are your core beliefs?

Valuable exercise. I believe this is a very valuable exercise. Bob Sutton has taken the thought and time to articulate what he believes about management and organizations. I encourage you to do this for your view of employee engagement, leadership, management, or the workplace.

Bob Sutton. Bob Sutton is a wonderful writer and blogger. His work ranges from The No Asshole Rule (a remarkable book creating a better and more respectful workplace) to The Knowing-Doing Gap. I continue to learn so much from Bob every time I read his books or blog.

Bob site. To follow Bob’s blog, click here or click on the screen shot of his blog below:

Bob Sutton’s 15 Beliefs:

Sometimes the best management is no management at all — first do no harm!

Indifference is as important as passion.

In organizational life, you can have influence over others or you can have freedom from others, but you can’t have both at the same time.

Saying smart things and giving smart answers are important. Learning to listen to others and to ask smart questions is more important.

Learn how to fight as if you are right and listen as if you are wrong: It helps you develop strong opinions that are weakly held.

You get what you expect from people. This is especially true when it comes to selfish behavior; unvarnished self-interest is a learned social norm, not an unwavering feature of human behavior.

Getting a little power can turn you into an insensitive self-centered jerk.

Avoid pompous jerks whenever possible. They not only can make you feel bad about yourself, chances are that you will eventually start acting like them.

The best test of a person’s character is how he or she treats those with less power.

The best single question for testing an organization’s character is: What happens when people make mistakes?

The best people and organizations have the attitude of wisdom: The courage to act on what they know right now and the humility to change course when they find better evidence.

The quest for management magic and breakthrough ideas is overrated; being a master of the obvious is underrate

Err on the side of optimism and positive energy in all things.

It is good to ask yourself, do I have enough? Do you really need more money, power, prestige, or stuff?

Jim Maloney is right: Work is an overrated activity

Thanks Bob Sutton for letting me reprint your beliefs at this site.

Your beliefs. To get you started on a framework to articulate your beliefs I encourage you to mull over Bob’s beliefs and visit the website: This I believe.

What about you? What are your beliefs? Within a month, I will be launching an new initiative to articulate and state your beliefs  at the employee engagement network.

My beliefs. Tomorrow, in the next post at this site, I will articulate my beliefs about employee engagement.