I’ve been an employee – and an observer of employee experiences – for three decades. Over the years, I’ve always been keenly attuned to the ways employees’ lives at work can be uniquely challenging.
The Struggle to Contribute in a Demotivating Environment
Through many conversations with many unhappy employees, I know lots of us have persisted ongoingly, feeling frustrated and often trying to come up with ideas for how to make things better at work – instead of waking up feeling like “I hate my job.” We’ve done this both to make our work lives more pleasant, and also, often, to make it possible for us to contribute more of what we have to offer. That’s the ironic part. Countless research and consulting opinions say that happy, engaged employees are motivated and productive employees. That attitude transmits to customers and positively impacts the quality of employees’ work and the bottom line.
A Healthy Work Environment is Good for Everyone
So creating this healthy kind of atmosphere is of great benefit to companies. Many organizational leaders know this and strive to achieve it. Some are good at that; some less so; others are still living in the dark ages of not achieving it at all – or worse, not even trying. Employees in those organizations are going through their days, day after day, trying to do their jobs, and trying to tolerate unhealthy atmospheres. Even recently it’s been brought home to me how painful it can be for employees who feel trapped in ongoing stressful interactions with what feels like few options to change them.
I believe deeply in the power of employees to help themselves and each other.
Employees Need Support Too
I’ve worked as an independent consultant in the organizational development field – for other consultants and sometimes leading change initiatives myself. For years, I’ve seen leaders at the top of organizations receiving support from consultants and coaches. It’s understandable that organizations can’t afford to pay for this for everyone. It’s expensive. But as an employee, it always felt like “But I want that.” Employees’ careers and experiences in the workplace often could use this kind of boost just as much, or even more than those at the top.
I’m Making Support Accessible For You
For some years, I struggled with the question of how to make it affordable for employees to receive this kind of support – to get better at dealing with these situations, in ways that can make it more tolerable for them, and make them better able to, possibly, influence their workplaces to be healthy. I believe I’ve come up with a way to do that. I created a series of workshops to equip employees in these ways, and those who’ve attended the workshops so far have found them extremely helpful in their lives at work. By offering these workshops as online modules at low prices, they are both affordable for employees at all pay levels.
I Believe In the Power of Employees
Employee Point services are for employees directly. Employees are my customers instead of companies. So my loyalty is always to employees before the bottom line. I also believe deeply in the power of employees to help themselves and each other – and so, will be offering an anonymous online discussion forum where workers can share their challenges, and their ideas on how to deal with them effectively. I am deeply looking forward to working with employees and developing together towards a time when there is a more empowered voice for employees everywhere.