| Humor at Work |
ISSUE 710 - Jan. 10, 2018 |
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Reenergizing Your Workplace Culture |
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The hilarious satirical website The Onion posted an article Monday titled, "Man Returns To Work After Vacation With Fresh, Reenergized Hatred For Job." I fear, sadly, that many people will find this headline funny because it hits too close to home. Even if you're not returning from a vacation, you might be one of
the many people who report feeling the "Sunday Night Blues" at the thought of returning back to work on any given Monday!
Several surveys of pensioners reveal that one of their regrets was not quitting jobs they despised sooner (if at all). But other surveys suggest that often it isn't the job itself - more often than not it's the dysfunctional workplace culture people feel trapped in that makes them miserable. And too often, front line employees feel powerless when it comes to having any influence over their workplace culture. Which is why I love the story of Mercy Hospital in Sioux City, Iowa,
recounted in Dr. John Izzo's book, Stepping Up.
Mercy Hospital's culture and morale had reached an all-time low. Customer service had deteriorated to the point that the hospital was losing market share. Then a remarkable thing happened. A group of front line employees decided it was 100% their responsibility to do something about it, and asked the CEO if they could meet weekly. The "Re-spiriting Committee" had no idea how they could change things, they just knew things had to change. For a year they shared stories
and brainstormed ideas. They ultimately decided on reenergizing their culture through four principles, including "choose your attitude" and "make someone's day."
Within a relatively short time frame, the hospital's employee engagement scores shot up, market share grew, and the hospital started winning quality awards. Mercy Hospital felt like a completely new place to work, one you wouldn't dread returning to after a vacation.
Stories such as this are everywhere, so never doubt that real change can be driven at any level in a workplace or that simple changes at work can begin with you.
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Mike's Fun at Work Tip |
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Instead of celebrating "Happy Hour" one company holds a "Happy to Be at Work Hour" featuring refreshing beverages and fun snacks every Friday afternoon. Every team member shares their top-3 highlights/wins of the week, team members publicly thank or recognize other team members for anything they did that went above and beyond the call of duty, and everyone has to share one small idea on how to improve their workplace.
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Quote of the Week |
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“Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.” Arnold Glasow
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It's a Wacky World |
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Laughter is supposed to be the best medicine, but one of the odder news stories from 2017 reveals this isn't always the case: An Australian woman, Monique Jeffrey, broke her neck after laughing a little too hard at a coworker's joke. Fortunately, she's fine, and in case you're now worried that your use of humor at work might
slay your coworkers for real, it turns out that Monique Jeffrey's neck is susceptible to breaking rather easily - she broke it several years ago while sneezing!
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Cost-Savings to Book Mike to Speak:
Lethbridge: Feb 14-16
Kelowna: April 23-25
Winnipeg: Oct 15
Last Week's Survey Results: "What should be your workplace's New Year's resolution?"
#1: To create a more respectful, caring workplace culture: 44.83%
#2: To make the workplace more fun: 17%
#3: To listen to employees better: 17%
Additional survey comments Make expectations clearer - including respectfulness, listening to employees, and establishing a professional and organized team; stop avoiding dealing with difficult staff & situations; communicate better within departments; create a culture of results; and finally, get better coffee!!!
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mike@mikekerr.com
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