Posts Tagged ‘Joy at Work’

Get Aboard the Happy Bus!

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

One of the best changes you can make in your own job security is to choose to be happy with what you have. You HAVE a job. Sure, you may work with a few dweebs. Your boss can be a jerk. The mailroom wasn’t the destiny you had in mind when you graduated magna cum laude… but you HAVE a job. Not everyone does, so start there.
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Take the “Micro” Out of Micromanagement

Thursday, February 17th, 2011

Nobody likes to be micromanaged. There’s nothing worse than feeling the hot breath of your nervous boss on your neck when you’re trying to get your work done.
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Plug In

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

* Transcription

Thank God it’s Monday!™ Ever walk into a store or office building and notice that something just feels right? The clerks greet you with a warm and welcoming smile. The grocer asks you more than just, “Paper or plastic?” And it seems that each and every employee is the furthest thing from counting the hours until 5 o’clock. You literally leave feeling invigorated.

I’m sure you’ve also experienced environments that simply suck you dry and leave you lifeless, devoid of energy.

The good news is that every day you have the choice of whether or not to join the party. You’ve seen firsthand how energy is contagious, so radiate your good energy at work and spread it to others! Plug in. Turn your workplace into an energy-spreading environment that everyone will recognize.

Have a great Monday!

Roxanne

Roxanne Emmerich’s Thank God It’s Monday! How to Create a Workplace You and Your Customers Love climbed to #1 on Amazon’s bestseller list and made the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists—all in the first week of its release. Roxanne is renowned for her ability to transform “ho-hum” workplaces into dynamic, results-oriented, “bring-it-on” cultures. If you are not currently receiving the Thank God It’s Monday e-zine and weekly audios, subscribe today at www.ThankGoditsMonday.com.

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Having a Hoot is a Bottom Line Issue

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

As our economic mess heads into its third year, business has never been more serious. It might seem an odd time to make a case for levity in the workplace. But The Levity Effect authors Scott Christopher and Adrian Gostick are doing exactly that.
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The Quietly Happy Workplace

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

© Polushkina Svetlana | Dreamstime.com

There’s a common misconception that the joyful, engaged workplace has to include a lot of waved pompoms, ringing bells, and people popping up like toast over their cubicle walls with a spontaneous WOOHOO!

While I’m all in favor of getting wild and crazy in the interest of workplace engagement, all this woohooing is only an outward expression of an inner joy. And while many workplaces can and should allow their joy to spill over into public view, some others—a hospital ICU, for example, or a funeral home—might call for a little discretion.

But not TOO much discretion. These workplaces are just as prone to dysfunctional, crazymaking behaviors as any other. And they can be even MORE prone to the negative, depressed emotions that can drag a workplace environment into the pits.

So let’s say I’m the owner of a funeral home. A few of my staffers spend half their time working and the other half making everyone else miserable—gossiping, whining, backstabbing, the works. I can’t exactly encourage my staff to put clown noses on the departed, or to woohoo and greet grieving family members with a hearty, “Hey, how’s it going, dude?” They wouldn’t be there if things were going well.

Workplace engagement is founded on mutual respect and on being of profound service to others. Both of these are as compatible with my hypothetical funeral home as they are with any other workplace.

That doesn’t mean people in these “discreet” lines of work can’t go a little crazy in celebration. You can and you should. A party in a funeral home could have a casket full of ice for the drinks and ladyfinger cookies covered with frosting and standing on end to look like tombstones. Why not? Okay, that is a little too weird.

But engagement doesn’t start with wild parties. It starts with employees who care for each other and treat each other with basic kindness. This it both a matter of what we do (“I remember your daughter wasn’t feeling well—is she better now?”) and what we don’t do (no gossiping behind someone’s back—giving OR receiving).

But it’s also a matter of reframing EVERY aspect of your daily work in terms of being of profound service to others. That, not employee cheer pyramids or conga lines through the lobby, are what transforms a workplace into a place of genuine engagement and joy.