Appreciation

1 Way for Your Boss to Stress the Dignity of Your Work

October 4, 2016 by Wilma Jones

This weekend I purchased a fashion magazine. I am not a big fashionista, so this purchase was a bit unusual for me. I bought it because I know I need to go shopping before this fall season hits for real. My wardrobe could definitely use some up-leveling. I know the mag will help me determine the key pieces to I can add to what I’ve already got, to give a touch of trendy to my look as I do business in this final quarter of 2016.

After looking over the limited selections for fashion mags appropriate for someone without a 2 as the first digit of their age, I decided to pick Harper’s Bazaar. It’s funny, because as I sat down on my front porch and started to flip the pages I realized what joy I could find in this little activity. The task of planning to do the task of upgrading my fall wardrobe was enjoyable in itself. And I hadn’t even hit the stores yet!

As I got into it a little more I turned to an interview with Bruno Cucinelli in a monthly column called, “My List.” It’s basically a day in the person’s life listed, “by the numbers.” It’s a really short little feature, but I found a nice chunk of wisdom in his words.

Mr. Cucinelli is a designer, and I guess if I read Harper’s Bazaar more often, I might know more about who he is. Whatever. As I read the article and began to flow through his day, I learned he’s also a entrepreneur. And it appears he’s also a pretty good boss. I say that because he speaks about the process of going to his employees when he had a question or needs to speak with them about something on a project. Yes, he goes to them!

In most companies very often the organization chart hierarchy prevails. It determines who travels to whose office when there is a need for a discussion. I very clearly remember the execs in my division at MCI back in the mid-90’s who made it a point to travel to their team member’s offices rather than have their admins summon us to their office. Now of course, we could go to speak with them if we had a need. But the fact that my VP had no problem traveling a couple of flights down on the elevator to speak with me said volumes about respect.

It seems Mr. Cucinelli feels the same way. He states, “If I need someone, I tend to go to them…It is somehow a way to reward the work of my employees. The fact that I go to them myself is a way of stressing the dignity of their work.” I have to imagine he’s a pretty cool guy to work for because he doesn’t seem overly impressed with himself.

Creating an environment of respect both up and down the org chart is important to a happy workplace. When employees feel respected and their work is valued, that’s a key indicator that they will work hard and stay with the company longer.

I would have to say that’s the exception and not the rule at most companies based on the over 50 percent of workers who say they are unhappy at the job. Do you agree that staff feeling respected by the company leadership is important to work happiness?

4 Creative Ways to Improve Your Kindness On The Job

September 20, 2016 by Wilma Jones

I met a woman last week at a conference who told me she loved what she did everyday but hated her job because her boss was mean. She hopes he finds a new job soon because she doesn’t want to leave because once you remove him from the equation she said, “everything balances out.” Research proves the most important relationship, or “social connection,” we have on the job is with our immediate supervisor. And no one wants to report to a jerk. At least no one I know.

A lot of managers think they have to be tough with their teams to show they are real leaders. That’s such a bunch of BS and more importantly, it is not as effective as being a kind leader. Being a compassionate and empathetic boss helps with employee retention and productivity and the statistics prove it.

In fact senior level managers who are mean to the middle managers reporting to them can cause the front line employees to leave the company, even if they have no contact with the senior managers! This data comes from the team at Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management, the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Cornell University School of Hotel Administration who did a study that was published in 2015.

Management who lead their teams with kindness gain significant advantages according to the American Management Association who found that 84 percent of people who said they work for a kind boss planned to stay at the company “for a long time.” Among those who declared their bosses to be not so kind, only 47 percent planned to stay for an extended period.

Kindness is not that hard and it helps to create a work environment that people won’t dread come Monday morning. Here are 3 easy ways to incorporate a little more kindness into your workday:

1. Greet people daily and use their name

Acknowledge your colleagues daily by greeting them and using their name. Having a personal interaction makes people feel seen and heard.

2. Be an encourager

Stating a positive attribute or accomplishment about a coworker to them or encouraging them in front of their manager or company leadership is a great way to be kind at work. Remember it has to be real and genuine, not sucking up or throwing backhand shade.

3. Don’t be the office critic

Focus on people’s strengths, not their weaknesses.

4. Offer to assist

This might take some of your time and effort, but it’s a great way to establish rapport with a colleague and to show you care about the team. I suggest being specific about what you’re willing to do. You don’t want to get stuck doing someone else’s project.

In my experience kindness at work really pays off. Have you found kindness to be a wise business strategy for building teams at work?

What is the ROI of Kindness at Work?

April 6, 2016 by Wilma Jones

What is the ROI of Kindness at Work?

I am a firm believer that kindness is a good business practice. At a recent event I watched a business owner be pretty unkind to an employee in front of customers. I felt uncomfortable and also a little sad for both the boss and her staff member. Of course, I was sad for the employee because it’s embarrassing and so ego deflating to be put down, especially in front of others. I was sad for the owner because she was hurting her business by behaving in this manner.

Anyone managing human beings needs to understand that the culture of the work environment makes a huge difference in the performance of your staff. Negative, unpleasant workplaces are not as productive as environments where people are kind and gracious toward one another. No one wants to go to work at an unfriendly job.

Some business owners and management personnel need to be persuaded a little more to foster kindness at the job. The ultimate reason is the fact that people prefer to work for people who are kind and respect them. Those workers feel better about their jobs and as a result they exhibit more creativity and collaboration than people who work in negative spaces.

The data on creating and sustaining kindness is clear. It helps people like their jobs better and it helps the business make more money because their workers are more creative, collaborative and productive.

Would a kinder office environment spur you to be more productive?

Appreciation Increases Satisfaction

March 23, 2016 by Wilma Jones

Appreciation Increases Satisfaction

Everyone wants to feel like their contributions are appreciated. I know I do. And an employee recognition survey confirmed it. People are who feel appreciated are 85% more satisfied in their job.

Interestingly, feeling appreciation from colleagues at your level and not just from your management makes a big difference in your satisfaction. Maybe it’s because a compliment from someone at your level who understands all the requirements for actually getting the work accomplished somehow means more to us.

Even though it’s your relationship with your immediate boss who influences your job happiness most, it seems it’s your peers who can greatly affect your job satisfaction. To increase your team’s happiness and satisfaction on the job, you should try these tips:

#1. Your comments of appreciation must be genuine. Phoniness won’t work.

#2. Find out what kind of appreciation is important to your employees. Everything doesn’t work for everybody.

#3. Encourage employees to show appreciation for one another.

#4. Start at the top with leadership showing appreciation for the staff.

These four suggestions are a good start to ensuring the hard work and dedication is not taken for granted. People need to feel gratitude when they’re working hard to get a job done. Showing appreciation for a job well done pays off in many ways for the organization and the employee.

Do you have any other tips about appreciation at work?

1 Way for Your Boss to Stress the Dignity of Your Work

4 Creative Ways to Improve Your Kindness On The Job

1. Greet people daily and use their name

2. Be an encourager

3. Don’t be the office critic

4. Offer to assist

What is the ROI of Kindness at Work?

What is the ROI of Kindness at Work?

Appreciation Increases Satisfaction

Appreciation Increases Satisfaction

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