Zen Koans on Worker Involvement and Engagement
I thought to try to visualize things from the Back of the Wagon and to anchor a few zen-type thoughts as to non-involvement and non-engagement and the reality of workplace motivation.
You be the judge!
What IS the sound if people choose not to push and simply go through the motions of doing their job? And, if they “fell off the back of our productivity effort,” would you ever hear that happening?
Research found that 85% of employees report their morale declines significantly after spending 6 months on the job (from Sirota Survey Intelligence) and 49% of workers say they constantly have their antennae out for new job opportunities — even when they are happy in their current position. Few feel their current employer is giving them a fair deal in terms of advancement opportunities (Kelly survey).
In a Forum Corp. survey, “only 8% of employees report that they trust their leaders “to a great extent.” But in that very same survey, 96% of employees say that it is, “extremely important to have a manager they can trust.”
You can read more about this in another blog of mine you can access by clicking on the image above.
We can choose to do things differently. We can choose to ask people for their ideas. We can choose to spend a little time orienting them to the missions and goals of the organization. We can spend better time asking for their expectations and sharing yours.
This stuff ain’t hard to do, but it takes time to accomplish.
Just DO it!
For the FUN of It!
Dr. Scott Simmerman is a designer of team building games and organization improvement tools. Managing Partner of Performance Management Company since 1984, he is an experienced presenter and consultant.
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