Make Your Job feel like Summer Vacation
Remember the feeling we all experienced on the first day of summer vacation? Sheer bliss, as I recall, based on the knowledge that the next 3 months were all ours. My kids, 8 and 13, have been in this state of utter joy over the past couple of weeks and it has affected me by creating an atmosphere of enthusiasm and joy around the house. It made me wonder where this “irrational exuberance” comes from and why it is so contagious. I then asked myself what we as employees and business leaders can do to regain this feeling of excitement in the workplace. Is it even possible in this era of the Great Recession and subsequent “jobless recovery”? I’m confident the answer is yes!

I asked my kids what it was that made them so excited about the summer. After their initial response, “Because we can sleep in every day”, some interesting insights surfaced. Specifically, they loved the ability to do the things they truly enjoy and the chance to hang out with the people they really like. Call me simple, but isn’t this exactly what we all strive for at work? Sure, as an adult, we have the added goal – or obligation – of earning money. But when you boil it down to its simplest form, we go to work every day hoping to do what we love with people we enjoy.
You’re probably reading this thinking “Ken is off his rocker! Work is far more complex than that and there are many aspects of my job that I don’t enjoy but am required to do.” Without question, every job has what we call the “get tos and the have tos” – referring to the tasks that you get to do and those that you have to do. Additionally, no one likes every person in the office and sometimes, you are forced to work with people who make your skin crawl. However, I would argue that we accepted our current position because we expected to spend most of the time doing the work we enjoy and working alongside people we like. The first day on the job was just like the first day of summer. We all thought to ourselves “This is going to be the best job I’ve ever had. I was so impressed during the interviews, everyone seemed so nice and they really need my skills to help the company get to the next level.”
The real challenge, I believe, is reigniting this “first day on the job” excitement after 2+ years of downsizing, restructuring, furloughs, pay cuts, diminished sales and sagging profits. Many of us have forgotten what it is like to be proactive because we’ve been forced to react to the negative economic climate. By spending some time focusing on what our peers and employees need from us going forward, we can bring that spark of excitement back into the workplace.
As employers, it is our responsibility to sit down with our team and reopen the lines of communication. Although most companies are not out of the woods yet, employees want to know that there is a plan for the next quarter, the rest of the year and 2011. Acknowledge your staff for their contributions, patience, commitment and focus during the past 2 years. Let them know that you appreciate the fact that they are now doing the job of 3 people and that you realize how difficult it must be as the sole survivor in their department. Explain that things are slowly improving and that you hope to reinstate the bonus and matching 401k plan in 2011. Provide a blueprint for some new initiatives or product lines. Engage in a conversation about their long-term goals and professional aspirations. And most importantly, solicit them for ideas. The worst thing many of us lost during this downturn was our company’s receptivity to innovation & creative thinking. Schedule a monthly “innovation session” or invite people from different departments to offer suggestions on an upcoming project. Who better to ask about business trends, payment trends, customer concerns and new opportunities than the people who have been on the front lines?
As employees, it is incumbent upon you to approach your manager with insights that will help her become more efficient. While this requires a bit of risk-taking, if you see an underlying trend in the numbers, take some time after work to think about how your group can leverage these changes. If you notice that a specific task can be automated or streamlined with a few tweaks to the process, tell your boss about it. When you identify an employee that you would like to work with to solve a key issue, introduce the idea of creating a project team to tackle the challenge. The key is to prepare a solution and explain how this proposed change will positively impact the numbers. If you know someone who could bring a great deal of knowledge and skill to your group, introduce him to your Manager as a potential future employee. What boss wouldn’t want to improve her department’s efficiency and value?
In the end, it is up to each one of us to move beyond the defensive, fly-under-the-radar-screen mentality of the past few years and re-engage our teams, departments and companies. Innovation, creativity, open communication and collaboration will drive us over the next few years and the companies that embrace this approach will emerge as the new leaders. How has Apple managed to double its share price and surpass Microsoft as the biggest market cap for any tech company - during a recession? Innovation, collaboration and the integration of new ideas. With a commitment to employee engagement, process improvement and an enhanced customer experience, we can return to that state of “rational exuberance” we all had on the first day of work and summer vacation.

Contact: Ken at 760-434-5401 or kens@turningpointsearch.net