The game has changed as surviving is no longer as attractive to workers knowing that the struggle to survive is more of a struggle to avoid burn out. Surviving means struggle and stress as workers worry about everything.
Employers often create changes to help alleviate struggle like pay raises and more flexible schedules. These definitely help the workers state of mind, but how far are they from creating thriving? Thriving is pro active and pursues results from more focused time management.
The employers first action should be getting on the same page as workers and secondly support workers discovering what thriving means to them and entering discussions to see where the employer can most effectively support the effort. Discussions about thriving have to be two sided where the workers discover what they need and the employer evaluates their desire to support the requested actions.
Thriving is best described as growth. Growth can heal many wounds. Growth implies progress, hope, optimism, confidence, and self-satisfaction. How does the employer foster these traits in workers? First might be helping the worker self-educate.
Thriving is a form of happiness and in our society we have lots of misdirected ideas of happiness created by the advertising media and cultural norms. The big house, BMW, fine vacations, nice clothes, and big salary sound like happiness, but they are often the superficial measurements that just mean someone is making a lot of money. Money is not always the panacea.
Top performers earn big incomes because of their contribution. Entertainers, artists, athletes, leaders, and workers rise to the top because of who they are and their own perspective of how they can be most effective. Top performers learn the secrets of success.
Happiness and thriving go hand in hand as happiness is the result of growth behaviors. Learning, creating, contributing, caring, protecting, and exercise all lead to more vital feelings because each stimulates happiness brain chemicals of dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. Pursuing behaviors that stimulate these hormones and neurotransmitters will result in the experience of thriving regardless of the type of work.
Educating the worker on how to experience these happiness brain chemicals gives him the opportunity to make the right choices. He can ignore the data or embrace it. Once a worker gets on the right path, he knows what he needs in the form of support. It is more often the opportunity to improve more than the demand for money. Improving can include more responsibility, more flexibility, more creative time, and more access to resources.
A worker on the path to improvement is more likely to thrive than a worker just paid more money. After all, once the money is paid the only way to keep him satisfied becomes more money. Growth has no ceiling and allows the worker to self-actualize which is where true life satisfaction occurs.
My 4 books in the Markap series cover the behaviors of thriving in Self-Leadership, Happiness, Gratitude, and Start Now. Followed by workshop discussions either live or in Zoom or Webinars helps arrive at the path the worker should begin with new behaviors and time management focused on growth. The employer supports the workers by supporting these new paths and allowing the worker to expand his contribution.
The worker pursuing growth in all aspects of his life is on the path of thriving.
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As a Thriving Worker Consultant, I can engage in conversations with employers on how to begin the process of helping workers thrive and reach peak performance. It begins with a conversation to see how far an organization is willing to go to change the culture for workers.
Great practices for daily living can be learned with the Markap Series of Books. If your organization would like live presentations or Zoom meetings, they can be arranged for small to large groups.
The Markap Books:
Self-Leadership, Gratitude, Happiness, and Start Now
See Books on the Home Page
Contact me at Mark@markap1.com
Call for a Free 20 minute Consultation 442-288-3364
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