Penny had a new manager and she wasn't happy. Her old manager had given her lots of positive feedback and clear direction as to how to improve her performance. Penny thrived under these conditions and was struggling with the new manager who gave her no feedback at all.
For a while she joined in the staff grumbles at break times, but stopped when she realised that the complaints were making her feel worse. She considered looking for another position, but realised that there were significant things about her present job that worked well with her need to be available for her young daughter after school. She liked the company, she liked the hours, the location and the pay, and leaving would create upheaval that she didn't want.
That weekend she read an article about the power of full engagement and realised this held the key to being happy in her work. Starting the following Monday Penny focused on 3 things that she could do, regardless of how anybody else was behaving:
She made it a game to see how well she could take her attention away from the accounts, take a breath to centre herself and refocus on the incoming caller, before she lifted the receiver and dealt with the call. After completing whatever was required, she reversed the process before returning to the accounts.
At first her progress was slow, but as she persevered, Penny found herself growing in the skill of being fully present to just one thing at a time. After a few weeks she realised that she was looking forward to each workday with new enthusiasm. Keeping track of her progress in this self-imposed challenge gave her a sense of development and satisfaction that was independent of her workplace.
She also found that functioning this way had a beneficial flow on at home, as she was more able to enjoy the time she spent with her young daughter, rather than thinking about something else at the same time. She also discovered she was more relaxed, sleeping better, and had more energy for life in general.
After a few weeks, Penny was delighted to receive a thank you from her manager for her enthusiasm and commitment to her work. Discussing it with her coach, she realised that the best part was not the praise she had received, but that her sense of well-being now depended on how she felt about herself, rather than how anybody else assessed to performance.
Penny realised that she held the keys to workplace happiness in her own hands, and she was determined to keep using them.
That weekend she read an article about the power of full engagement and realised this held the key to being happy in her work. Starting the following Monday Penny focused on 3 things that she could do, regardless of how anybody else was behaving:
- She chose to work to the best of her ability on every task for its own sake and because it made her feel good, rather than because she wanted to earn praise. . She decided she wanted to feel good about what she had done during the day and knew that putting in effort was part of the formula.
- She made conscious choices to do routine tasks with as much attention and energy as more interesting work. As she did this she found that she felt more alert, energised and happier in all aspects of her employment..
- She paid full attention to whatever she was doing. Penny decided that if she was going to spend her precious time and attention on any task, giving it full attention was a way of respecting herself and her choices.
She made it a game to see how well she could take her attention away from the accounts, take a breath to centre herself and refocus on the incoming caller, before she lifted the receiver and dealt with the call. After completing whatever was required, she reversed the process before returning to the accounts.
At first her progress was slow, but as she persevered, Penny found herself growing in the skill of being fully present to just one thing at a time. After a few weeks she realised that she was looking forward to each workday with new enthusiasm. Keeping track of her progress in this self-imposed challenge gave her a sense of development and satisfaction that was independent of her workplace.
She also found that functioning this way had a beneficial flow on at home, as she was more able to enjoy the time she spent with her young daughter, rather than thinking about something else at the same time. She also discovered she was more relaxed, sleeping better, and had more energy for life in general.
After a few weeks, Penny was delighted to receive a thank you from her manager for her enthusiasm and commitment to her work. Discussing it with her coach, she realised that the best part was not the praise she had received, but that her sense of well-being now depended on how she felt about herself, rather than how anybody else assessed to performance.
Penny realised that she held the keys to workplace happiness in her own hands, and she was determined to keep using them.
