As I sit here in my office at 5.30am I know that winter is on its way, why? because I have had to find a cardigan and dust off the control to turn on the heater and I don’t think I will be eating my breakfast outside this morning BURR!! They are advertising a quick getaway to grab one last burst of sun in the Whitsundays, very tempting!

I happened to catch an interesting conversation on Sunrise  about the best places to work which got me thinking about all the places I have previously worked and it’s funny, when you think of your workplace in that context, what thoughts do you conjure?  It took me back in time and I was flooded with some wonderful memories, mainly people that I haven’t thought about in ages.  On a personal note I have loved every place that I have ever worked (what I can remember), although there were times or things I did that I didn’t particularly like, but overall I have no complaints.

I firmly believe that you choose and create your own working environment.  Most businesses today are doing what they can to provide their employees with an environment that is safe, bright, happy, friendly and fun.  You only have to look at Google to see how this can work.  If you want to view a working environment that provides everything an employee could ever imagine check this out  and see how the other half works.

But seriously, what is it that makes YOU want to go to work?  Find out more…….

Grab a piece of paper, a pen and a cuppa, take a moment to think about the job you are doing at the moment, your working environment, your management team, your boss, your team members, your work mates, how you get to work, the hours you work, what you get paid, and any other contributing factor that makes up your working day. 
Make a list of all the pros and cons.  Be brutally honest with yourself.

Once you have this long list in front of you, I want you to ask yourself again “What is it that makes YOU want to go to work?”  What is your answer?  There may be one or many answers to that question.  Is it or are they positive or negative answers?

If you have truly and honestly answered positively, then FANTASTIC, keep doing what you are doing and perhaps acknowledge the people who are responsible for you wanting to go to work.

For the rest, thank you for being honest with yourself and acknowledging that you may not be entirely happy in your working environment for whatever reason.  How much of your decision do you have control over? 

I’ll let you into a secret……. YOU do have control of how you CHOOSE to work.  If you choose to be miserable and blame everyone for why you are having a crappy day, then guess what? You will keep getting more of the same; until YOU choose to change the way you think, feel, act and behave.  For those of you who don’t know, you ARE attracted to what you project, so if you are a negative person, then you will keep attracting more negativity.  So break the cycle right here right now, change the way you think, feel, act and behave.  You will be amazed at the rewards that will become the new you with a shift in mindset.

As an employee, how do you respond to what is asked of you on a daily basis?  Do you welcome openly new or improved suggestions?  Do you welcome suggestion/change with a head-on approach that results in getting everyone offside?  Do you go with the flow and accept everything at face value?
Whatever it is that you do, what is it that management said or does that makes you react the way you do?  Maybe this is where change could occur.

Does management provide you with a happy, flexible, supportive environment?  Do they praise you unconditionally on a regular basis?  Do they provide a recognition system that allows them to show how much they appreciate your input into the company?  How do you receive this recognition, enthusiastically or with trepidation? 

When I asked some of my clients this question I was surprised by the answer, they said that when it comes to the crunch what they want most is trust from management to have genuine honest open communication with them.  Especially in this unstable economic climate where jobs are not as secure as they once were.  Most of my clients said that if their job was on the line they would consider a pay cut, but it was stressed that they would only consider it if management followed suit.  You can’t blame them for that because we have seen where staff has had to endure a pay cut so that management can be given a golden handshake or even worse where they take from the bottom to give to the top.
Not a good move to instigate loyalty in the workplace I would have thought. 

One of my clients recalled some of her best times were when she was asked to meet strict deadlines; her manager would help out to make sure the deadline was met.  Another client recalled one of her jobs allowed her to bring her baby to work (breastfed baby, not into a crèche situation but to be in her office with her all day).  She said this opportunity allowed her to go back to work earlier than she had wanted but her boss needed her and was prepared to do whatever it took to allow it to happen, great ah.

So whatever it is for you, if you are miserable and can’t stand where you work, or only turn up to get your pay cheque then maybe it is time to really think about why you work there.  It may be a good time to look for more suitable employment or gain more skills or cut back your hours.  You know that the sign of insanity is doing the same thing day in and day out and expecting a different result.

Thanks so very much for allowing us to share our lives with you, if you get nothing else from my newsletters please know that all I want from you is to take a good look at your life and if there is something that you are not happy about, do something about it.  We never know when our number is up so make the effort to enjoy every single day, live each day as if it were your last.

On a personal note, Rodney and I work for ourselves and as such we are responsible for our own outcome, if we choose to have a bad day then we know that we will pay for it in one way or another, which is why we choose to be open, flexible and happy in our daily life.  We have some amazing clients who choose to praise and reward us for what we do for them, this generosity and recognition is what makes our day even better.

Your Destiny Unfolds with
Rodney & Vicki Williams
www.yourdestinyunfolds.com
www.coachingbyrovick.com.au