People bring their whole selves to work: their hopes and dreams, as well as their problems and reactive parts. The myth of people’s ability to leave their private lives at the office door has been debunked. And that’s good news. In fact, a colleague from a large tech company recently told us this:
Today’s great companies don’t just want their employees’ time. …
Acting on what matters, according to Peter Block (The Answer to How is Yes) is “the act of making change in the world through a set of personal values that define who we are.”
And we cannot do that in life, if we don’t do it at the workplace, because that’s where we spend a large portion of our productive hours. To a lot of people, it’s a big ask to make a difference through work, because we depend on the money, and work seems to be the last place where we have a choice. After all, we don’t have a vote on what we do and how we do it when our boss tells us what they expect from us.
Democracy at work may seem like a funny notion, but in fact…
I often hear this: I am motivated, keen to advance my career. Work comes first, and I am ambitious. But suddenly someone has announced a restructuring that affected my department. And none of my accomplishments or contributions count in this uncertain situation. They’re not a factor. Restructuring, even the pending possibility of its hitting your department is more than unsettling.
For many, going, through restructuring is