"Absolutely amazing, priceless! I would absolutely recommend this to others!!! Helene is not only accurate, but her compassion, sympathy and wisdom make it a truly amazing experience."
How to get more freedom on the job
Most of us feel like we can’t buck the trend in our work cultures. For example, there is no way we could take time for exercise at lunch if everyone else is eating at their desks. We would be labelled as “slackers” and be blackballed when it comes to promotions. So we let our health (and our bellies) go to pot.
Jim Loehr is a well-known peak performance expert, and in his latest book called “The Power of Story”, he talks about how a group of senior engineers resisted his advice to take time to exercise and move during the day, because it wouldn’t be acceptable in their company’s culture. Never mind all the evidence that it would make them more productive.
Then Jim asked a question that got their creative thinking in gear: “What if your boss put you in charge of changing the corporate culture to support employee wellness. What would you recommend?” They came up with numerous ideas, many of which could be implemented by individuals right now in their current conditions.
Not only that, but a few of the engineers were already living their day as if they weren’t prisoners of the corporate culture. They were taking time for exercise and being present for their families. And their careers hadn’t suffered.
It’s wise to work in organizations that suit our values and temperament. But if we happen to be at odds with the prevailing culture in a certain area, we might find that we have more freedom of choice than we thought. How do we protect ourselves from backlash?
By being aware of the organization’s goals and needs and its specific expectations from our job. By making sure we are meeting them. And if necessary, by reassuring our boss that we are on the ball.
Going back to the example of wanting to exercise in an office where working through lunch is taken as a sign of committment. One tactic would be to just go ahead and exercise, then make sure we keep our boss abreast of results so that he/she can see that our work is still satisfactory. (Chances are, it will be better since exercise makes us more energetic, focused and productive.)
Another option would be to let our boss know what we are doing, highlighting the productivity benefits of the exercise break, and providing reassurance that we are keeping the company goals foremost in mind.
The main point is: the more we show our awareness of and alignment with the organization’s needs, the less they’ll care about the minute details of how we will get them done.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment