Employee Engagement at the USPS

Managers Make All the Difference! Over the Thanksgiving weekend I had the opportunity to talk with a close friend and sister-in-law over a couple of drinks. The conversation quickly turned to work. Since work is such a big part of our lives, it's quite normal that we spend much of our time talking about it. The down side is that much of that talk is negative. A little background on Jill's work: Jill works for the United States Postal Service as a PTF or Part-Time Flexible. It seems that the "PTF" classification means that the post office can screw with her life as much as they like. Jill is a "part-time" worker who typically works 50 or more hours a week and usually only gets one day a week off (most often, Thursday because that is what she asks for every week). On one day she may go to work at 11:00 am. The next day may be 1:00 pm. One day she may work 10 hours, the next 12. You certainly have to be flexible to be a PTF. Jill also deals with "office politics", as many of us do. For example, Some of her co-workers are jealous that she is able to get Thursday's off (I can't imagine why) and some seem to be willfully malicious in their attempts to promote themselves while degrading others. All in all, this does not sound like a good job to me. Nor a healthy one. At one point in our conversation I suggested to Jill that she call in sick the following day (she was scheduled for a 12 hour day). I said this half jokingly but hopeful that she would. With her work schedule I hardly get to see her anymore and I wanted the opportunity to spend some time with her. Jill's response ... "no, I can't. I respect my boss and I won't do that to her". This is employee engagement! In the face of over-work, uncertain hours, office politics and, overall, a pretty lousy work environment, Jill is still committed to her job for the sole reason that she respects her boss. This is a living example that managers make all the difference. A good manager can turn a lousy job into something we commit ourselves to and give extra effort towards. Although I didn't ask specifically, I assume that Jill's commitment is to her boss and not to her job. If Jill did not have respect for her boss, in all likelihood, she would have called in sick and left that particular office short-handed on a busy holiday weekend. As our conversation continued, I learned that many of Jill's co-workers are jealous of Jill's relationship with her boss and they assume that Jill gets preferential treatment when, in fact, she doesn't. What Jill does get is reciprocal respect. It works both ways. When you respect someone, they are more likely to respect you. What this told me is that Jill's boss isn't as good a manager as I initially thought. I am making assumptions here but it appears to me that Jill's boss has managed to earn Jill's respect due only to a natural affinity between her and Jill. In other words, they just naturally hit it off. Where Jill's boss fails is in building that affinity, and thus respect, with her other employees. A great manager knows that every person is different and she must find that uniqueness and learn how to capitalize on it. What ever she does in her working relationship with Jill does not necessarily work with other employees. She needs to discover what does work. This is the best, and hardest, challenge of management. If Jill's boss knew the intricacies of each employee and treated them in the way that best suits them, best motivates them, she would earn their respect, dedication and engagement at the same level she has earned Jill's. In doing so, she would greatly reduce and possibly eliminate the petty jealousy, the self-promotion, and many other issues that make up the current cultural environment. Out of that, a team mentality would spring up and each employee would be working towards a unified purpose with trust and respect for each other. Engagement would go up. Satisfaction and fulfillment would go up. Sense of purpose would go up. Productivity would go up. ... Sick time would go down. One last thing I heard from Jill in the course of our conversation... She has a good friend at work. In nearly all surveys and studies on employee engagement two of the most important factors are 1) a good manager, and 2) a best friend at work. From the outside Jill has what I would call a lousy job. The pay may be decent (I don't really know), but the conditions, the hours, and even the culture leave much to be desired. I often wondered why she's not looking for something better. Now I know. Good manager. Best friend.

Is Your Life Filled With Rocks or Sand?

"The first step in achieving your goals is to recognize that "someday" is not a day of the week." - Ed Bliss Do you find yourself overwhelmed with all the things you have to do? How do you set your priorities? To learn an important lesson in this regard, here's an allegory: "A wise man surrounded by his followers had a jar in front of him and he started to fill it with rocks. When it looked like the jar was full, he asked the people surrounding him if they agree that it was full. They did. He then took small pebbles and started to add them to the jar's content, shaking it frequently until the jar looked full again. Again he asked his followers if the jar was full, and they agreed." "The wise man took some sand and started to pour it in the same jar to fill the space that was left between the rocks and the pebbles until it looked like the jar can take no more. When he asked again if the jar was full, the followers agreed." "Then the wise man produced another jar and filled it with sand. When he tried to add pebbles and rocks, he couldn't because the sand filled the whole jar leaving no space in between. One of his followers asked the wise man about the meaning of all this. The wise man said." "This jar represents your life. The rocks are the most important things- your mental state, your health, your family - things that if all else was lost and only they remained, your life will still be full. The pebbles represent other things that matter like your job, your house, your car, your savings. The sand represents everything else- the small stuff." "When the jar was filled with sand first, there was no room for the rocks or the pebbles. The same thing goes for your life. If you worry about the small stuff, you won't have room for the things that matter most." "Take care of the rocks first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

Stephen Covey used this allegory in a presentation in which he asked audience members to fill a jar with sand, pebbles and rocks. Of course, most people started with the sand.

Bring Out The Genius In You

"No one can possibly achieve any real and lasting success or get rich in business by being a conformist." - Jean Paul Getty Mind and body are alike in that in order to function well they need to be worked out. Like any other part of the body, mind will wither, rust , and shrink if not regularly used, moved, and stimulated. Most likely, you do remember when your body was last stimulated and excited. But do you remember when your mind was? Get a pen or a pencil and write down: The last time I came up with an innovative idea at work was: Yesterday Last week Last month Last year The result of that idea was: But how to come up with new ideas? Read the full article here

Motivation By Delegation

"When people are highly motivated, it's easy to accomplish the impossible. And when they are not, it's impossible to accomplish the easy." - Bob Collings It is true that a boss who delegates can use the time to do other important work. But the primary function of delegation has more to do with the person receiving the responsibility than the person delegating it. You should delegate not just to have less work, but more importantly, to enhance the overall productivity of the group. How can delegation enhance overall productivity? When a boss delegates important tasks and responsibilities to her/his staff, s/he raises their level of excitement, enthusiasm and sense of self-worth and accomplishment. If delegation is limited to trivial and routine tasks more is lost than gained. Employees can see that their boss does not have confidence in their abilities nor interest in developing them. Use delegation for the right purpose: motivation of your staff.

Coffee Break - Happiness

“The very purpose of our life is happiness, the very motion of our lives is toward happiness.”

-- Dalai Lama

“Sometimes the seeds of happiness are sown in darkness.”

-- Unknown

“Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling.”

-- Margaret Lee Runbeck

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. The purpose of life is to matter, to be productive, to have it make some difference that you lived at all.”

-- Arthur H. Prince

“The true way to render ourselves happy is to love our work and find in it our pleasure.”

-- Francoise de Motteville

“I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”

-- Albert Schweitzer

“Happiness grows at our own firesides, and is not to be picked in strangers' gardens.”

-- Douglas Jerrould

“Happiness is a thing to be practiced, like the violin.”

-- John Lubbock

“Happiness is the delicate balance between what one is and what one has.”

-- F. H. Denison

“In the pursuit of happiness, the difficulty lies in knowing when you have caught up.”

-- R.H. Grenville

“The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.”

-- Kahlil Gibran

“The supreme happiness of life is the conviction of being loved for yourself, or, more correctly, being loved in spite of yourself.”

-- Victor Hugo

“I have now reigned about 50 years in victory or peace, beloved by my subjects, dreaded by my enemies, and respected by my allies. Riches and honors, power and pleasure, have waited on my call, nor does any earthly blessing appear to have been wanting to my felicity. In this situation, I have diligently numbered the days of pure and genuine happiness which have fallen to my lot. They amount to fourteen.”

-- Abd Er-Rahman III of Spain (960 CE)