We’ve all been there – the frustration of a piece of work not going well, the unforeseen delays on a project, the bid that gets lost when you thought you had it in the bag, that feeling that you’re working hard for not enough reward.
It’s easy to let your head drop when things get tough. Most of us spend at least 8 hours a day at work and these days 24/7 access to mobiles and emails means we rarely switch off.
When we’re not happy, we’re not motivated and when we’re not motivated we’re frustrated – it’s a self fulfilling prophecy.
So who is responsible for our happiness at work?
Many would say it’s the responsibility of the company that we work for to keep us happy. After all, a company wants to retain its top talent. A fulfilled, motivated and energised workforce will be more productive and therefore more profitable – and that’s the bottom line.
Or is it? Shouldn’t we as individuals share the responsibility for our own happiness?
Think about when you’ve hit a tough patch at work. What do you do about it? Do you sulk, get angry and take out your negativity on others? Or do you take a deep breath and a step back, and then talk to someone about it.
A coaching culture within an organisation should mean that you have people you can turn to and discuss your issues in confidentiality and without judgement. It doesn’t always mean that things will change, but it can help you to see your issues in context and help you to find new ways to tackle them. Coaching needs to be a practice that is embedded throughout an organisation and role-modelled throughout. Good coaching breeds good coaching so get the coaching right with your leaders and you’ll find their managers learn to coach too. One day the manager will be the leader. And in a time when ‘happiness’ seems to be at an all-time low, a true coaching culture is a win-win for both employers and employees.
Amy@Bluesky
Tags: 24/7, Blue Sky, Coaching Culture, Email, Energise, Frustration, Mobile, Reward, Stress
