How
engaged or entangled are you at home or at work? A related question is “How committed are you to
living your life as fully as possible wherever you are?” Both
questions are important to seriously ponder. Your answers make a difference and
determine your productivity regarding anything you are doing, your physical and
mental health, and your enjoyment of life. Engagement, entanglement and
commitment are indicators of your level of intention to proactively manage your
life and/or business.
The Big
Book of HR gives these statistics from The Society of Human Resource Management
(SHRM) that employees fall into three categories:
· 17% --
Are actively disengaged, busy acting out their unhappiness and undermining what
the organization is trying to accomplish.
· 54% --
Are disengaged, “sleepwalking” through their day and putting time, not passion,
into work.
· 29% --
Are engaged, working with passion and feeling a real connection to the
organization.
-
Disengagement
costs the U.S. economy approximately $300 billion in lost productivity
annually.
I expect
these percentages can be similar to what we would find in how people in general
live their lives. And I am very sad to say, the percentages would be much worse
regarding our current political world and government. So, what can you and I
do? Here are some areas to place
your intentional attention:
Communication:
This is not a new topic. Many of my articles
include statements of the importance of communication. We cannot overemphasize,
at work or at home, that open, direct, truthful and timely communication is an
absolute must, in personal and professional relationships. If we want to be fully
engaged and entangled, we must pay attention to communication. This means no
hiding, no holding back, no lies and being totally open to the good, beautiful,
challenging and ugly. You and I need to learn to communicate to the utmost
depth of our ability! Speak the truth about what is really going on, no matter
what. Truth sets us free.
Involvement:
Awareness and involvement go hand in hand to get
people interested and excited about belonging. From there pride, passion and
ownership can be cultivated and created. Involvement happens at deeper levels
within person- to-person sharing of questions, making decisions and working as
a team.
Having
fun: Humor, laughter and playfulness are great
catalytic elements of engagement and entanglement. Often we get stuck in
seriousness with a frown on our face. Smiles and giggles are great additions to
even the most challenging of topics. Consider the word entangle. It is a fun
word. Remember the game Twister? It’s a good image of entanglement. Entanglement can
include difficulties and challenging situations. And in those involvements
there typically is both conflict and humor where we recognize a larger spectrum
of being human with each other.
Gatherings:
Team events to include learning, celebrations
and sports can tremendously enhance engagement.
This is
only a start regarding ways to build employee or family engagement. Check out
chapter fourteen of the Mitchell and Gamlem –
“The Big Book of HR.” You will find many more
ideas and insights.
Bernie Linnartz, of Empowerment
Experts,
Consultant,
coach & facilitator
This
article was first published in the Taos News on April 14, 2016
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