Guest Post: The Joy of Work

Last updated on: March 13, 2014 at 4:40 am by Greg Richardson

Guest Post: The Joy of Work 2014-03-13T04:40:27-08:00 Greg Richardson

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Chantal Bechervaise is one of those people who makes you think, “I want the opportunity to work with her sometime.” She is fun and thoughtful, professional and supportive. She has a good sense of humor as well as the wisdom to find deep truths.

Chantal is exactly the person whose insights about joy and work I want to read.

Thank you, Chantal, for trading guest posts with me.

“When work is a pleasure, life is a joy! When work is a duty, life is slavery” ~ Maxim Gorky

What does ‘Joy at Work’ mean for you? Does it mean all fun and games, with slides and free beer on tap on Fridays? Or do you conjure up images of ‘forced fun’, where your boss made you attend a company lunch, where everyone stands around awkwardly staring at the clock on the wall, waiting for the lunch hour to be over?

For me, it is neither. For me, joy at work comes from being appreciated and being challenged. It is when the company is not solely focused on my outputs, but rather focused on me as an individual. I feel the most joy when a company, and my boss, puts time and money into training and developing me – to help me achieve new heights.

I am not alone in that thinking. According to the Journal of Management, workplace enjoyment is “positively related to career satisfaction and performance.”

So, how can you help increase your workplace enjoyment? Here are 5 suggestions:

1) Coach, mentor and give feedback: By helping employees grow and learn from one another in the organization you will create a more cohesive team. It provides a transfer of knowledge and helps with career development. It also helps to strengthen skills and creates teams that are more productive.

2) Encourage creativity: Don’t provide all the answers. Instead, explain what the problem is, or what the visions is, and let the team come up with ideas and solutions. Bringing together people with diverse backgrounds is great for this. Embrace and celebrate your team members’ individuality and the different problem solving approaches that they bring.

3) Share information: I find nothing worse than working for someone or a company that won’t explain the ‘why’ we are doing something. Transparency and communication can greatly improve productivity, employee morale and a company’s culture. Everyone should know the who, what, where, when, how and why big decisions are made. This helps employees to feel important and involved with the company.

4) Celebrate success: But be genuine and consistent about it. Learn how your employees like to be recognized. Some like being called out in the middle of a meeting, while others prefer a quiet one on one congratulations and a handshake. What’s important is that you acknowledge the people the helped contribute to the success of a project or company. Even a ‘thank you’ can go a long way.

5) Practice tough empathy: Tough empathy may seem like an oxymoron but it is necessary to help employees grow. By practicing tough empathy you are telling your employees that you will push them, challenge them, and support them. When done properly, it also let employees know that you will accept nothing but their best. Tough empathy is honest communication.

How do you find joy at work? I would love to hear your comments or suggestions below.

Chantal Bechervaise is originally from Montreal, Quebec but now resides in Carleton Place, Ontario and works in Ottawa. Her passion and enthusiasm for human resources is contagious. Just spend 5 minutes speaking with her, and you will feel ready to conquer something new.

Chantal is a life long learner with a strong thirst for knowledge. She has experience in recruitment and human resources in the private, non-profit and public sector. She blogs about HR and leadership topics, and her areas of interest are anything related to HR, leadership, social media and branding.

[Image by John Earl]

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