Latest Articles

» Home > Read Articles > Latest Articles

Individual Empowerment

Ok–let me be radical. I’m becoming a disbeliever in generational thinking. I know there are certain demographics that should be heeded–our aging population and the fact pensions are predicated on a certain proportion of contributing workers to retirees and all that–but I dislike painting entire groups of people with a broad brush, just because they happen to be born within a few years of each other. I know certain 50-year-olds who love technology and social networking, and other 20-year-olds who can’t figure out how to forward their email. So who is Generation X? According to this book, those born between 1965 and 1979. Erickson gives a brief demographic overview and history of where Gen X is situated in the broader scheme of births (1965-1979 were years of very low births in North America) as well as in the generational literature, quoting other demographic researchers and their interpretations.

Integration

For two decades, workplace specialists have been trying to take a new approach and break down the silos in our workplace health, wellness and disability programming as a means to better serve employees.

Top 3 Goals for 2010

The workplace in Canada is constantly evolving, and we are learning from others every day of the year. In 2010, take the opportunity to look at your organization’s goals and how you would like your company to be recognized—both by employees and the outside world. For the ever-changing workplace we’ve got many topics covered in this issue, ranging from the importance of “emotional intelligence” at work, to burnout versus stress, to mentoring and the roles we play at work. Below are a few New Year’s resolutions we’ve suggested. Have you got more? If so, write to us at editor@yourworkplace.ca.

A Las Vegas Fairytale

Lynda Trommelen ended up at Cirque du Soleil, a dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment based in Montreal, Quebec, almost by accident. While working there she not only had a great adventure, but also learned lessons about inclusion. That is, a workplace that values equality, respect and opportunity for every member of their diverse workforce that we can all benefit from. At the Live Healthy, Work Smart Your Workplace Conference ’09 in Ottawa, Ont. earlier this year, former performer Lynda Trommelen shared her unique work experiences with participants.

Nourishing Attachments to Loved Ones

Our culture worships and promotes achievement, money, beauty, material possessions and all forms of competition. While these things can be interesting and fun, they do not bring sustained fulfillment. The moment our team scores, we get a bonus and buy that car or outfit and we get a rush of endorphins into our brain. We like this feeling and want more of it.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Missed opportunities, a loss of focus and cost-management—these are all reasons why employers are losing quality people in the workplace today.

Do you Know Where Your Off Switch is?

Recently, I shared an evening meal with the coordinators of the staff retreat. At the meal, the table was perfectly set—rolls, salads, water, china and cutlery. And at each place setting resting next to the dessert was a Blackberry (not the edible kind), placed with loving care by the occupant of the chair. The meal proceeded. Nibble on the salad, check the Blackberry. Sip the soup, check the Blackberry. And so it went from course to course, bits and bytes between the bits and bites.

Becoming a Great Leader

I’ve worked with business executives for more than 20 years, and only a few have proved to be exceptional. Those who are have never attended a “Leadership Development” program a day in their lives. I believe that great leaders are more like artists than executives. Picasso knew what he was talking about when he said, “I don’t develop; I am.”

Wisdom For Your Workplace: Lazy Brains

The sign on the treadmill read, “For the consideration of our other guests, please do not use this equipment for more than 45 minutes.” I chuckled aloud as I wondered if this sign was truly necessary. How many people could this apply to? Let me be clear: the little notice taped onto the machine did not have a hyphen between the 4 and 5 as to read four to five minutes. No, it was asking the user to refrain from using the treadmill for more than three quarters of an hour!

Balancing Workplace Control

Control systems in the workplace are necessary tools to monitor, forecast or diagnose performance and performance deviations. Some control systems like Six Sigma have reportedly saved organizations millions of dollars. There are numerous mechanisms available to help detect operational performance issues. However, control systems may seem to run an organization rather than the other way around. When this occurs, workplace culture can become negative and inefficient. The role of management and leadership is to find the balance between control and maintaining a positive work environment.

Review: Castle/Trance of Scarcity

Castle begins her thought-provoking book with an intriguing quote: “If struggling was the way to get there, we’d all be there by now.” That sentence alone is enough to make me want to close the book and spend considerable time in deep reflection. However, it also makes me wonder, “What else is there?”—and Castle does not leave the reader unsatisfied.

Review: Eisler/The Real Wealth of Nations

Just three days after winning the US presidential election, Barack Obama met with a group of high-powered economists and business leaders. One wonders what Riane Eisler, had she been in that room, would have said to the President-Elect. Eisler, an eminent social scientist and no slouch in the economics world, has been hailed as a “Great Peacemaker” for, among other things, her contention that economics needs to incorporate caring and caregiving, which typical GDP (Gross Domestic Product) measurements ignore. This book outlines her disagreement with traditional economic frameworks and the “economic double standard,” and puts forward her “new economics” which is more balanced, caring and modern. This is not a book for the narrow-minded intellect. This is a treatise that challenges conventional thinking. Economists will, no doubt, find much to critique in Eisler’s take on welfare reform, household economics, “domination systems,” and national budgeting. Not to mention her frank discussion on the ways in which men’s work and women’s work have been valued dramatically differently—and you can probably predict which way that conversation goes. However, this is a thoughtful and caring approach—and perhaps Obama and other world leaders would do well to read this book. If conventional economic thinking has gotten us to where we are now, perhaps Eisler’s new perspective can pave a better way.

Intuition at Work

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” ~Albert Einstein

Practice Best: Realizing potential in the workplace, Part 2 of 3

In recent months, there has been a great deal of buzz regarding the Law of Attraction. While promoted as a new and novel concept, or a long-hidden secret, the truth is the Law of Attraction, like the law of gravity, has always been in existence. Does this law, however, which simply states that “like attracts like,” have any applicability to business and, if it does, how do you harness it? This article introduces the four-part Strategic Attraction™ Plan, a concrete strategy for engaging the Law of Attraction in your business, and a vehicle for building more satisfactory and synchronistic relationships with your clients, business partners and employees.

Review: Shapiro/Goal Free Living

When I told a family member that I was reading this book his reaction was, “Where can I get it?” Today, we are bombarded with books that tell us how important goals are—how SMART goals are the key to success in work, and that having a life plan, with tangible goals, is sure to lead to happiness and contentment. Not according to Shapiro. He has found the “eight secrets to living life free from the constant pressure of goals.” These tidbits are not new, and include age-old wisdom such as appreciating what you have, and going with the flow (or better yet being the flow).

Review: Gordon/The No Complaining Rule

The back jacket cover of this book states that this is “a story about positive ways to turn complaints into solutions, innovations and success.” And that’s very much what it is—a story. Written in the easy-to-read parable style , this “story” is apparently based on an actual company that implemented a “no complaining” rule to great acclaim and positive results. The story is simple, and no chapter is longer than four pages of large type. The author also helpfully provides templates, checklists and resources at the end of the book. Overall, it felt like the main principles of this book could be summarized in about a dozen pages, and the narrative was pedantic. However, some of the concrete ideas are sincerely worthy of consideration.

Review: Fritz/The Power of a Positive Attitude

By now, the power of a positive attitude is probably not surprising to many professionals. Starting with Norman Vincent Peale, author of The Power of Positive Thinking in 1952, up to the creation of Positive Psychology as a recognized discipline with the election of Martin Seligmann to the presidency of the American Psychological Association in 1998, the past half-century has been rife with exhortations to improve our collective outlook to embrace positivity.

Review: Lakhani/Business and the Buddha

Let me state right up front: I know nothing about Buddhism, except for the image of the Buddha as a jolly fellow with a belly you can rub for good luck, and the image of monks with shaved heads. It always seemed to me that Buddhism was a lifestyle choice as much as a religion, and it was theoretically inspirational, but practically difficult to incorporate into our lifestyle. Field, a former corporate VP-HR, does an admirable job explaining basic Buddhist concepts, and interweaving them into Western capitalist realities. Today, when many investors are looking for more than a good ROI, and questioning a company’s ethics and environmental practices, the human values that are embraced by Buddhism may well be the next testing ground.

Practice Best: Attraction is More Than Skin Deep, Part 1 of 3

Most of us want to begin every day feeling, as the French would say, “se sentir bien dans son peau”: to feel good in our skin. Sometimes, as the day goes on, this feeling can be hard to hold on to.

Make the Most of a Reduced Paycheque

Countless Canadians are earning considerably less then they used to and struggling to keep up with expenses. A wide range of circumstances can boomerang personal income back to where it started. Bubbles burst, the economy falters, companies downsize, and personal disasters happen. Perpetual salary growth–or even maintenance–is simply not guaranteed. However, by adopting the right tools and attitude you can thrive on a reduced paycheque.

News/Updates

Subscribe to our news updates here, using Twitter.