Does the “L” word have a place in the Workplace?
It is February, the month of love and the season when people come to celebrate relationships, affections, and passions. While most celebrate their love for another person—be it a partner, a friend, or a family—it's also a great time to talk about love in another setting: the workplace.
Someone once said: "If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life."
Following that belief, some people will say that they have worked many days in their life. Not because they did not love what they did but because some days their work did not seem to love them back.
Work-life can be challenging and exhilarating whether it is the new people you get to meet, a dynamic environment, solving problems with purpose, or just the day-to-day "stuff" that can happen. We can list all the things one might have faced or is facing, but like Tina Turner says, "What's love got to do with it?"
We say: a lot...
We spend so much of our time at work that our interactions with our colleagues, bosses, the company, and the job itself significantly affect our professional journey as well as our personal lives—almost like a romantic relationship.
Indeed, we see employees "falling in love" with their companies or developing strong connections with their team or their work. This is because they feel valued, and they do meaningful work in their organizations. On the other hand, we also witness or experience "unrequited love," wherein employees think they are not appreciated or compensated enough for the effort they put in.
Cecil W. Johnson, Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Pharmaceuticals and R&D at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, further explores these interesting similarities between employee work-life dynamics and romantic personal connections in The Access Point episode entitled "Love Don't Live Here Anymore." In the podcast, he dives into the parallels between personal and workplace relationships and the challenges brought about by complex organizational dynamics. (You can read more about this perspective through his paper "The Organization as a Romantic Partner™: An Initial Exploration of the Parallels of Employee-Organization Relationships to Romantic Interpersonal Relationships." )
Cecil's insightful discussion about organizational heartbreak and the reality of employee-organization relationships raises the question: Should we even use the word love when we talk about our work?
We will step out on a limb here and say that we should. We spend far too much time working not to find something to love about it. If you are in a job you do not love, then you should do your best to change that—our time here is too short.
While we know that it can be next to impossible to change individual behaviors (ours or someone else's), there are specific things that we can do every day (not just February) to help people love their jobs by empowering them.
Empowerment, like love, is a two-way street. Yes, we want to be empowered. But we must also seek to empower other people.
Here are some ways you can foster love for work and build healthy relationships in the workplace through empowerment:
Equip the people with proper resources and facilities. It’s hard to do your job well when you don’t have the right tools, skills, and infrastructure to do so. Access to learning, technology, and financial support enables employees to become more productive and achieve their goals. This can translate to a person’s professional and personal fulfillment.
Help them find their purpose. When employees understand how their work contributes to the larger mission and goals of the organization, they develop a sense of purpose. This provides them a sense of meaning and direction, allowing them to be more satisfied with their work.
Build trust within the team. Encourage open and transparent communication at all levels of the organization. When leaders and team members communicate openly, sharing information, feedback, and concerns freely, it builds trust that allows employees to be comfortable with each other, eliminates misunderstandings, and promotes healthy work relationships.
Create an environment where everyone feels welcome and valued. Celebrate diversity and promote respect for different perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences by encouraging open dialogue. When employees feel included and respected, they are more likely to engage actively in the community and contribute to its growth and success.
Recognize and reward employee contributions. Recognizing individual and team contributions publicly and providing meaningful rewards and incentives reinforces a culture of appreciation and motivates employees to continue contributing their best work.
Cultivate has identified the five areas where every person in an organization needs to feel supported and fulfilled to feel genuinely empowered: skill, purpose, autonomy, community, and engagement. In addition to the tips above, The Cultivate Model of Organizational Empowerment can guide you in creating empowering experiences in the workplace. Contact us to know more.
