Creating a great office environment isn’t the sole responsibility of the PIC - person in charge.

While the business owner, managers and/or supervisors certainly have an effect based on their style of management, they are only half the the total equation. The other half are the employees themselves.

I recently came across several points outlining how to be happy. I realized that these can easily be applied to the work environment from an employee’s perspective. I fully believe that every person is solely responsible for their own happiness. Life is not about what happens but what you do with what happens. Similarly, working in a happy and productive (both in terms work completed and personal development) is, in part, each person’s own responsibility. Here are a few pointers to maintain a productive environment where you work.

See work as a gift, not punishment

This is every business owner’s dream: to have employees that see work as an opportunity rather than a requirement. I’ve always made it a point to create an environment where employees don’t dread coming to work on Mondays. But I also realize that I don’t have the sole power to do this. Each employee has to have the right motivation and the right mindset.

Coming to work with a negative attitude not only makes your day worse, but it creates a negative environment for everybody else. If work is seen as something you get to do rather than something you have to do, you can actually start enjoying what you do. This gives you greater enjoyment while producing better results that get you recognized for your contribution.

(more…)

If you are involved in employee communication then you already know that one of the most important aspects of employee communication today is measurement.

But so much of that measurement is focused on whether employees access the tools organizations use to communicate with them. You know, questions such as do they read the newsletter, do they access the corporate blog, do they find the information sessions interesting. None of these questions prove that your employee communication tools measure engagement which is what every CEO wants to know. There is one key reason; you are measuring the acceptance of communication tools, not measuring employee communication strategy. So here’s what you do.

(more…)