Comments on: More Work Makes for Happier Employees http://www.workhappynow.com/2008/05/05/more-work-makes-for-happier-employees/ Maximize Your Work Happiness Fri, 16 May 2008 05:29:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: The Work Happy Guy http://www.workhappynow.com/2008/05/05/more-work-makes-for-happier-employees/#comment-312 The Work Happy Guy Sun, 11 May 2008 02:24:54 +0000 http://www.workhappynow.com/2008/05/05/more-work-makes-for-happier-employees/#comment-312 Hey Dr. K, you have a lot of great insight. I like your point that the woman can't over do her generosity otherwise she'll have a co-worker backlash if she doesn't keep doing it. Their is a fine line of being too generous and not generous enough. We all have to find our balance at work and sometimes if the right balance is not struck it can cause unease. The better we understand ourselves and the environment, the more successful we can become. Hey Dr. K, you have a lot of great insight. I like your point that the woman can’t over do her generosity otherwise she’ll have a co-worker backlash if she doesn’t keep doing it. Their is a fine line of being too generous and not generous enough.

We all have to find our balance at work and sometimes if the right balance is not struck it can cause unease. The better we understand ourselves and the environment, the more successful we can become.

]]> By: Dr. K http://www.workhappynow.com/2008/05/05/more-work-makes-for-happier-employees/#comment-311 Dr. K Sat, 10 May 2008 17:02:23 +0000 http://www.workhappynow.com/2008/05/05/more-work-makes-for-happier-employees/#comment-311 It's a paradox, to be sure. I'm about as lazy a person as I can be. Yet I love to be busy producing positive results. Some days I put in 10 hours, 12 hours, and don't even notice it goes by, because I've got my focus strong, my intentions clear, the work that needs to be done is right in front of me and I know I can do it, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I know that if I don't do it, it will be hanging over me waiting to get done. Sure, I can do nothing, and love it for long stretches of time. But the sheer pleasure of making a difference, whether its in my my workload, my business, or through my work and business in the work and business of others, seems to override my inner slacker! Meanwhile, I think the strategy used by the friend who loves to help her co-workers out whenever she can is a great example of a powerful persuasion skill. Besides the delight her co-workers display at that moment, she is accomplishing another important goal: building trust, in her workplace, and in her relationships with these lucky folks she helps. That's what I call blending, which is sending signals of similarity and reducing differences in order to increase the sense of common ground and reciprocal trust. There is a great upside to doing what she's doing, just so long as she doesn't do it so much as to make it the norm. Once people expect it of her, it might lose its persuasive value, when a failure to do it could ironically lead to disappointment. But done on occasion, and unexpectedly, it sends a powerful message of "You're not alone, I'm on your side." This is an investment, not just in the morale or environment in which she works, but specifically in the future of those relationships. This investment may prove its value at just the time when she needs support for an idea, or help with a challenge, or wants to pull together the energy to make something worthwhile happen. A little extra work from her up front may mean a lot less work she needs to do down the road. Of course, that's going to free her up to find other work to keep busy with in order to find that fulfillment in productive work! But as I said, it's a paradox! I love your blog, Karl! Makes me happy just reading it! Keep up the great work! <em>Dr. K's last blog post..<a href='http://drkblog.com/?p=79' rel="nofollow">Dealing With Bad Behavior from Your Boss</a></em> It’s a paradox, to be sure. I’m about as lazy a person as I can be. Yet I love to be busy producing positive results. Some days I put in 10 hours, 12 hours, and don’t even notice it goes by, because I’ve got my focus strong, my intentions clear, the work that needs to be done is right in front of me and I know I can do it, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I know that if I don’t do it, it will be hanging over me waiting to get done. Sure, I can do nothing, and love it for long stretches of time. But the sheer pleasure of making a difference, whether its in my my workload, my business, or through my work and business in the work and business of others, seems to override my inner slacker!

Meanwhile, I think the strategy used by the friend who loves to help her co-workers out whenever she can is a great example of a powerful persuasion skill. Besides the delight her co-workers display at that moment, she is accomplishing another important goal: building trust, in her workplace, and in her relationships with these lucky folks she helps. That’s what I call blending, which is sending signals of similarity and reducing differences in order to increase the sense of common ground and reciprocal trust.

There is a great upside to doing what she’s doing, just so long as she doesn’t do it so much as to make it the norm. Once people expect it of her, it might lose its persuasive value, when a failure to do it could ironically lead to disappointment. But done on occasion, and unexpectedly, it sends a powerful message of “You’re not alone, I’m on your side.” This is an investment, not just in the morale or environment in which she works, but specifically in the future of those relationships. This investment may prove its value at just the time when she needs support for an idea, or help with a challenge, or wants to pull together the energy to make something worthwhile happen.

A little extra work from her up front may mean a lot less work she needs to do down the road. Of course, that’s going to free her up to find other work to keep busy with in order to find that fulfillment in productive work! But as I said, it’s a paradox!

I love your blog, Karl! Makes me happy just reading it! Keep up the great work!

Dr. K’s last blog post..Dealing With Bad Behavior from Your Boss

]]> By: The Work Happy Guy http://www.workhappynow.com/2008/05/05/more-work-makes-for-happier-employees/#comment-282 The Work Happy Guy Mon, 05 May 2008 22:35:29 +0000 http://www.workhappynow.com/2008/05/05/more-work-makes-for-happier-employees/#comment-282 Hey Chris, sometimes we need to relax ourselves. We can't work at a feverish pace for too long without breaking down. I just read an article about scheduling in free time in every day. When we do this it gives us a change to enjoy our day. And you know me. I'm all about enjoyment, especially at work. Hey Chris, sometimes we need to relax ourselves. We can’t work at a feverish pace for too long without breaking down. I just read an article about scheduling in free time in every day. When we do this it gives us a change to enjoy our day. And you know me. I’m all about enjoyment, especially at work.

]]> By: Chris http://www.workhappynow.com/2008/05/05/more-work-makes-for-happier-employees/#comment-281 Chris Mon, 05 May 2008 18:40:44 +0000 http://www.workhappynow.com/2008/05/05/more-work-makes-for-happier-employees/#comment-281 This is so true. I am most satisfied when I have a lot of work at work. Even on weekends, when I accomplish a lot, I feel better. I guess we are not really far off from the worker bees or the ant colony. While it's important to work and work hard, it's also important to relax. Sometimes a taut string needs to be relaxed so that it won't snap. <em>Chris's last blog post..<a href='http://watdawat.com/2008/04/28/sunday-morning-brunch-with-the-natives/' rel="nofollow">Sunday Morning Brunch With The Natives</a></em> This is so true. I am most satisfied when I have a lot of work at work. Even on weekends, when I accomplish a lot, I feel better. I guess we are not really far off from the worker bees or the ant colony.

While it’s important to work and work hard, it’s also important to relax. Sometimes a taut string needs to be relaxed so that it won’t snap.

Chris’s last blog post..Sunday Morning Brunch With The Natives

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