the engaged employee

When you give yourself permission to communicate what matters to you in every situation you will have peace despite rejection or disapproval. Putting a voice to your soul helps you to let go of the negative energy of fear and regret.” ― Shannon L. Alder

Does your soul have a voice?

 

The disengaged workforce is a topic that is often presented in a variety of media outlets. 35% of workers are happy about the work they do and that isn’t a very big number. That is most people are willing to accept a paycheck from the business that they work for but aren’t willing to do much more that show up every day. What is really going on?

People are hired to make a contribution, to add value, to increase profits and it would seem that something is inhibiting them from making a contribution, a full contribution that really matters. Is it the people they work for? Is it a manager that can’t or isn’t willing to let people think and use their abilities fully? Are people given permission to succeed or are they required to ask for permission to succeed?

If you need to ask for permission to do your job then something is wrong. How many times would you be willing to for permission to accomplish something that you could just do? Do you need permission to spend money? Do you need permission to talk to someone? Do you need permission to have a meeting? Do you need permission to come up with a new way of doing things? Do you need permission from your manager to _____________?

If you work in a culture that requires permission each step of the way to do your job what results will you be producing?

There are reasons to ask for permission to do things and those things should be known in advance.   There may be political concerns that require permission before taking action.   Sometimes permission is needed and often it is just a way to control the imagination and contribution people could make.

What do you need permission to do?  How do you feel when you need to ask for permission?

trapped in digital distractions

“We create our fate every day . . . most of the ills we suffer from are directly traceable to our own behavior.”
― Henry Miller

Digital noise

Have you ever been asked to change something about you?   Have you tried to change a behavior you didn’t like much?  How much success did you have?

Digital distractions are consuming more and more of people’s time and reducing their ability to be highly productive.   Digital games can become addictive.  Phones are an always-on, always available ready to answers any call or text, personal leash.   Phones or text messages are expected to be answered in an instant no matter where you are.   It becomes a part of your life. The always-on nature of digital devices become distractions when they inhibit or reduce your ability to deal with the important things in life.

Digital devices invade nearly every aspect of life, the drive to work, the meeting, the lunch with friends, the vacation, the important conversation, and just about everything else. How much times does your digital device require from you?

What is the proper digital etiquette?   How long can an email sit in the inbox before it must be answered?  When do you have to answer or acknowledge a text message?

For some people answering a text or the phone must be done immediately, in the car, in the restaurant, with friends, in the bathroom or just about anywhere there is a digital signal.  Always-on means always available.

The addiction to digital devices and their siren call isn’t easy to break.  It requires a change in a behavior, a change of the rules, and a new way of responding to the demands of digital devices.    People who are being pressed to get more done find that digital leashes are pulling them further and further away from getting work done.   How about you?   Are your digital devices hindering your productivity?  How do you know?

What does it take to turn email off?

What does it take to turn the smart phone off?

What does it take to disconnect from Twitter and Facebook?

Can you do it?   What would happen if you did?

Digital devices are creating in many people symptoms of ADHD,  lack of focus, poor time management, procrastination and ineffective decision making all can be tied to digital distractions.

Steps to reducing the digital distractions.

1. Turn the phone off and wait at least 15 minutes before turning it on.  Keep extending the period when the phone is turned off.

2. Answer email 3 times a day and no more.  The continuous checking of email reduces effectiveness.

3. Create digital free zones (the dinner table, meetings with friends, etc.)

4. Keep digital devices out of the bedroom.

Start getting your life back and start getting more done.  When will you start?

Life style

“Relaxation is… a state between waking and sleeping, where the body is completely still and the mind is allowed to flow freely from one thought to another, or alternately, a state in which the mind becomes inadvertently calm.”
― Gudjon Bergmann

Green River, Utah

When was the last time you took a sustained break from your daily routines? When did you take time to relax and step back from the normal pattern of life?

With employee engagement hovering around 37% companies are losing a majority of their productivity to time wasting events. People are stressed and stress doesn’t necessarily improve output. Vacations are being taken by fewer people as the feeling is that vacations only serve to increase the amount of stress in their lives rather than reducing stress.

What are you doing to restore engagement in work and life?

What is your level of stress? How are you dealing with it?

Stress reduction can begin with:
1. Breathing and relaxation
2. Practicing gratitude – journaling what you are grateful for.
3. Being mindful – paying attention to the day and not letting it just go by.
4. Disconnecting from TV, computer and electronic devices.
5. Taking a real vacation.

Stress is often related to a lifestyle that is demanding more from you than you can provide.  Sustained stress leads to burnout and less satisfaction with life.  Choose to change your lifestyle so that you can experience greater happiness.