A short examination of why do we enjoy or not work and the reasons behind it
I will start by pointing out that whatever I say in this post isn't applied to everyone once we have different backgrounds, wishes, and talents, but for me, they work very well.
There is a misunderstanding that most people go to work only to get their paycheck and that is it. This might be a truth for some people but I believe that most of us want to be part of something, be productive, and enjoy this valued time we spend far from our family and close friends. A recent survey shows that only 35% of the workforce is highly engaged with their companies leaving 65% feeling unsupported, detached, or disengaged.
If you are one of the 35% happy with your job, congrats! And if you are not one of them, let's try to understand and learn together what takes us to feel not belonging to what we are doing. In my career and immigration process, I had the chance to work for many companies in completely different areas doing things I never thought I would. For some of them, I was happily part of the 35% but most of the time I was part of the 65% group, and for that to happen few reasons have supported the claim and those reasons are our study subject.
These are a couple of things that I felt that made me feel engaged the most with the company I was working for:
Appreciated. Have you ever felt that people don't care if you are working there or not? That you are completely replaceable. This isn't nice, it can lead to an unsecured feeling that I could be fired at any time for any or minor reason. On the other hand when our leaders show us that we are part of something like a mechanism in a clock and they are happy that we are there helping to make it happen. Oh, what a difference, and how it can boost our confidence in trying our best and not just hiding to get until the end of the month. If you are a leader, show your followers how important they are to the team, thanks for being here is a good start.
Heard. Yeah, heard. It might seem simple and underrated, but when you talk or have an idea and your superior pretty much ignore or underestimate what you can do. Ah, I hate it, even to remember I feel anger. If you are a leader, please, please, please do not kill your followers' capacity of developing and dreaming in do things better and grow as individuals.
Now the other side, the things that I felt like I don't belong in this place:
Replaceable and disrespected. I decided to put them together not because often they happen at the same time but as collateral damage from the work environment that has its principles corrupted. As I mentioned before, feeling that you are just one more isn't good, and when we add someone that disrespects you not just being rude but in an intellectual way demonstrating to you that you are not good enough to do the job for lack of experience, study or anything.
Disorganization. How it makes me feel like I'm in working in the wrong place, there is nothing worse than showing up to work and everything is out of order and there is a waste of time and resources. I feel like I am wasting my productivity time and time is something that never comes back. Everything mentioned before is related to behavior, this one too but for this one the Mou app can help in many situations. I am happy that I can help with information and software to improve people's work environment that is my mission.
If you are a project manager, a supervisor, or anything that involves leading people, be aware of those points and how they can impact people's lives, remember that most of us spend most of our day in a working environment and we have the power to make them good or bad. Leadership is about serving not taking, but this is a topic that I will write soon, an inverted pyramid, something that I believe and apply to my work. Until there I hope I have added something to your management skills.
Thanks for reading and I hope you can achieve a bit more.
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