Archive for January, 2009
Struggling at Work
Changes at work can be a difficult adjustment. I’m going through some changes right now and I wanted to share my thoughts through video.
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Does Your Mission Inspire?
Google’s motto is “Do no Evil.” They probably decided on this because of all the back stabbing and money grabbing in today’s corporate environment. They wanted to send a statement out to the public that they are there to help them connect with the information they need, but they aren’t going to do it if it causes people harm.
They believe in using as few natural resources as possible to provide their servers with energy and their employees with great work. They have one of the best recycling programs and solar panel infrastructures at their facilities. People want to work for a company that considers the future health of the earth, especially forward thinking employees that work at Google.
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Why Your Company Should Give Motivational Booster Sessions
I know working happy works because I live it. Well, most of the time. Not because the companies I worked for always gave me every perk, all the money I needed or non-stop appreciation. I had to do most of those things for myself. I learned that looking for and finding meaning/purpose in my work kept my motivation much higher.
Now I believe that if my past jobs would have given me motivational booster sessions it would have been a lot easier to sustain my motivation at a higher level.
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What are YOU Grateful for this Past Week?
What I’m grateful for:
1. I have a job.
2. I’ve got great plans for Work Happy Now. Plan that will knock your socks right off your feet.
3. The weather is Austin has been glorious.
4. I’m learning to enjoy the pain. Just relaxing with it, watching it then letting it go.
5. Just finished having a great conversation with my wife.
6. My wife’s belly has popped. YES! We are having a baby. Only the 13th week, but still very exciting.
7. I bought a videocam and saw and talked to my parents (they live in PA). I miss them a lot.
8. I’ve done Yoga every morning this week.
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Open and Honest Communication
Google has a weekly gathering of employees. Whether it be a meeting online or face-to-face, they gather as many employees together as possible to discuss topics and happenings that occurred during the week. The best part is that employees can ask any question that they want. Senior members and other employees must answer the questions to the best of their ability. Google believes in being as honest and open as possible. It’s the only way that employees give their trust to the company. The company has to earn it.
Your company can do this by opening the channels of communication.
How to Be Happy at Work – Right Now!
We’ve all heard that delayed gratification is good for the soul. We suffer now to reap rewards later.
The more you delay gratification the more you will dislike your job.
Not all of us can love our jobs. I don’t love mine, but I do like it. It’s all about figuring out the best way to cultivate your happiness at your job – maximizing instead of hating.
You have to be in control. Not forced control, but the type of perspective that allows you to be okay with whatever life throws at you. You may not be able to increase your pay or reduce your hours, but you have plenty of tools you can use to improve your work happiness.
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How Do You Define Success?
Success is difficult to define because it changes on a regular basis. One day I’m happy with the growth of this website then the next I’m scrambling because I saw another blogger’s visitor stats and they were way higher than mine.
I shouldn’t be comparing myself to anyone, let alone someone who is already an expert in my field. We’ve all heard that advice, but it doesn’t work. We can’t stop comparing ourselves to people who are more successful. The important thing is that we find a way to measure success that encourages great work, but doesn’t discourage us.
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Help Employees Connect to a Larger Vision
People want to be a part of a bigger picture, connected to the purpose. If all you do to improve employee moral is pay your employees more to stay, you are fighting a losing battle.
“I like working at Google because everyone has a common goal to add value to our end users lives and to make our product better for them. That makes my work exciting.”
- Rose (Google Employee) Associate Product Manager (1)
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Surviving Layoffs
A rough economy has a backlash in all directions. Companies are looking to keep their investors happy. If they’re not selling products they’ll be looking to trim the fat. You may not think you are part of the fat, but the higher ups might not see it the same way. It’s up to you to insulate yourself as best as you can against being tossed back into the unemployment pool. It’s important to have a plan in place that will speed up the process of landing a new job.
I had a friend who recently was laid off. She describes her experience and plans in this email:
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Change Messes With Everyone
I’m at a new office where I originally didn’t want to be. I tried to fight it with every part of my being, but it turns out it’s not as bad as I expected it to be. It’s amazing how fast we adjust once we are thrown into a situation.
I started to see all the positive angles from the change – the new co-workers, old friends and discovering the surrounding area during my lunch. I could have focused on all the changes I didn’t like, multiplying all the pain, but as you know multiplying pain is usually a bad idea.
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