If you, never truly take time off, you will also never truly create optimum results.
-However, you instead create the optimum conditions for stress and burnout.
Striving for a WORKPLACE
where PEOPLE CAN GROW OLD
And not a WORKPLACE
that MAKES PEOPLE GROW OLD
IS EVERYONE’S BUSINESS
Empathy From Employer
=
Sympathy From Employee
The strongest foundations are built from the top
Why focus on behavior and habits in the workplace?
Because the company’s habits, better known as the “company culture”, is the most dominating factor when it comes to employee satisfaction.
When designed with skill, it results in lower employee-turnaround, fewer sick-days and more overall productivity as well as a high sense of morale.
Achieving a desired behavior is not done through: Mission statements, strategies, a motto on a plaque or codes-of-conduct pushed through bonuses.
People respond to what they see others do, (especially the management), and not the intentions being communicated by the HR department.
It has to grow naturally in a skillfully designed environment that caters to the desired outcome, else it will inevitably wither, regardless of how much money is being poured into planting roses in a desert.
The problem with old behavior-manipulating systems, is that they seek to force the behavioral change into effect, either through “programming”, or by dishonestly offering apparently “open” tasks, but where the outcome in reality has been predetermined.
Any sane adult can sense when they are being misled, and how do we humans respond to feeling exploited? With resistance!
-The “illusion” quickly turns into disillusion!
Modern behavior-psychology clearly demonstrates that autonomy is the biggest driver of self-efficacy, so if we want motivated employees, then we need to engage in dialogue, instead of acting like a demagogue.
This process starts by listening!
By sincerely listening to the employees, we insure that the true experts gets heard, and when they furthermore get an actual say in designing the solution, you now have the optimum circumstances for creating successful SUSTAINABLE BEHAVIORAL CHANGE FOR EVERYONES GAIN!
Cut The Crap
By
Cutting The Mustard
If you are not being honest,
the only one you are fooling is yourself
The shortest way to success, is to carefully design the decision-making processes and clearly communicate the boundaries that has to be worked within when coming up with the solution, and then simply withdrawing and letting the true skill-masters work their Kung-Fu.
The employees themselves.
The more you entrust and empower the employees. The more powerful and trustworthy the employer becomes, and who doesn’t want to do business with a company, truly endorsed and championed by its own workers?!
This all starts with leading by example and taking action, rather than disingenuous incentives and gaslighting, because EVERYONE can smell gas a mile away.
-While the staff may publicly applaud the emperors new clothes in fear of reprisal, rest assured that ANYONE can see the giant bare ass right in front of them, and you can be certain that they ARE talking about it behind their back!
If your company, for instance, have a high rate of sick-leave and employee turnover, then perhaps it is time to shift the focus from who you are firing, and onto those who are responsible for hiring instead.
Very uncomfortable, I know, but Mental Kung Fu is about DOING WHAT YOU EMPLOYEES SAYS NEEDS TO BE DONE (FREELY), and NOT ABOUT EXTERNAL CONSULTANTS TELLING YOU WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR (EXPENSIVELY).
-Rest assured that this can be done in a gentle and as un-embarrassing way as possible, but the deeper the trenches have been dug, the messier the clean-up will be. There are no two ways about it.
You can be certain of one thing: The later this healing process starts, the more likely it is that it will be more of a wake, than an awakening. So when things are about to go down, you need to get up and take action pro-actively, instead of trying to stifle the process preemptively.
Uncomfortable as it may be, this phase is paramount, because AFTERWARDS when the air is cleared, the gas has passed and the sun can yet-again shine through the dissipated obfuscating clouds.
Then, everything will be as good as it can be, through skillfully carried out INTENT, instead of as mediocre as it ends up being, through merely well meaning INTENTIONS.
Forget
“LEAN” Suggestions
LEA[R]N to ask
the right questions
Concrete Change
=
Measurable Gains
Mental and physical headroom directly translates into economic headroom as well.
So if you’re thinking: “We’re simply just too busy right now!“, then please read on, because it could very well be that it was NOW you needed it the most!
Are You Working Efficiently
Or
Are You Just Working A Lot?
100 miles an hour is no good if the direction is wrong
If you don’t pay attention to stress-prevention through intervention, you’ll end up paying for stress treatment instead.
-Proclivity trumps procrastination.
The later you set in, the larger the accumulated consequences will become.
-The best time for dealing with an issue, is as soon as you become aware of it. Else the issue just chooses the time for you.
Stress Factors
Discrepancy between what is said and what is done,
is detrimental to everyone!
Meetings
Unnecessary meetings with irrelevant participants are a major resource hog.
Try taking the average hourly salary and multiply it with number of meeting-participants and weekly meetings.
Are you getting your money’s worth?
Too few meetings, or meetings without key stakeholders can also be a resource hog.
If the decision-makers do not get quality info, they cannot make quality decisions.
Are your conditions optimized for making optimal decisions?
How many VICTORIES could you WIN IN THE FIRST TRY if you found the optimum dynamic balance?
Availability
Chronic availability = Constant interruptions.
Few things causes more mental destruction, than continuous disruption.
Is acute chronic availability a necessity or can it be optimized?
Chronic unavailability = Catatonic waiting.
If people often have to await confirmation from busy stakeholders, the accumulated time-waste becomes enormous.
How many hours a week do your employees waste on waiting?
How many WASTED RESOURCES could you SAVE if you found the optimum dynamic balance?
Communication
Do your employees lack information and clear guidelines?
Insufficient or vague communication, as well as job-functions with no overlap, can often result in frustration.
Are your affairs too laissez-faire?
Are your employees drowning in information, or are they limited by strict rules?
Too much information drowns important messages, and job-functions with unnecessary overlap results in confusion.
Do you communicate on behalf of the senders or receivers?
How much LOST PRODUCTIVITY could you AVOID if you found the optimum dynamic balance?
Decision Making
Is your decision-making based on reality, or on spreadsheets?
Over-simplified theory, mushed into an Excel-template, will surely keep you from excelling in real life.
Are your decisions minutely thought through, or postponed to the very-last-minute and given a glanced view?
Are the derived consequences of decisions, in concert or conflict with the rest of the company’s pipeline?
Insuficient communication during change-execution will have [un]foreseen rammifications.
Do you have the full picture from the people on the floor, or are you painting a nice picture for people on the top floor?
How much UNNECESSARY GRIEF could you PREVENT if you used the right vision-person for the decision-job?
Ergonomic Activity
=
Economic Stability
You can become defective from being too effective
Sick-leave, expenses to mental and physical treatments and reduced productivity, can be the price for not making regular physical movement a natural part of the workday.
By introducing simple and recurring ergonomic activity at the place of work (both at home, as well as at the company) can actually help to alleviate the all too common “office-body” ailments, instead of being the cause of them!
Not only that. By moving together as a team, you also strengthen the inter-collegial relationships and improve communication skills as well!
-Think of it as Team-building that actually yields measurable sustainable results!
Through focusing on “Buddy-Building“, and by creating an environment that fosters healthy habits, together, you actively help each other to create a fantastic working environment, for everyone to enjoy and benefit from.
Company, employees and customers alike!
“Buddy-building” sessions during the workday, can be anything from taking a lunch-stroll outside, with a to-go meal a couple a times a week, to regular time-intervals throughout the day, where you and the nearest colleagues makes a few quick ergo-exercises together, (without having to change clothes and sweating), or something completely different that suits your organization.
Improved internal network = Improved external net-worth!
Sustained Effort
=
Sustainable Success!
Slowing down will prevent your heads from spinning around
Stress Elimination
Being busy is a condition for doing business
but being stressed shouldn't be!
Find the top 3 things that creates the most stress, and select the one thing that you can improve the most here and now.
Determine a measurable parameter and use ongoing evaluation to keep you on track, because without planned re-evaluation, any change will regress, as soon as you digress.
Use your resources optimally and BE REWARDED!
Ergonomic Activity
Goodbye pains and hello gains!
Headaches and chronic pains in the neck, shoulders and lumbar region, does not need to be a condition of modern work.
Find where you can naturally incorporate corporal movement in the corporate environment throughout your workday. Not only does it improve departmental interaction, but also employee satisfaction, as well as cooperation and positive reactions!
FEEL BETTER from going to work!
