You Spend 40% of Your Life on the Job. Do You Want it to be Toxic or Magnetic?

By Bill Scott
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40% of Our Annual Waking Hours are spent at Work
Did you know that the typical, full-time working adult is getting ready for work, working, or coming home from work no less than 40% of their waking time? It’s true. We’ve done the math! So, wouldn’t it be amazing if you could actually enjoy that time?
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 Unfortunately, that’s not the experience of most people.

Are You Engaged at Work?
Have you ever been so engaged in a conversation you've lost track of time? Has that ever happened at work? People who have this type of experience tell us they are committed to their teams, enjoy their work, and absolutely want to be on the job. In short, they’re engaged.

Research consistently tells us these people represent the minority of today’s workforce. Of a typical group of employees, less than 30% are actively engaged in the work that they do. The other 70% are working in environments we define as tolerable or, worse yet, toxic. 

The Engaged 30%
We’ve come to learn some interesting facts about engaged, magnetic workplaces. These are just a few examples:

• magnetic work environments are ones where front-line workers and supervisors believe in the words and actions of senior leadership.
• engaged employees outperform those who are not by more than 200%.
• magnetic workplaces are ones where individuals have been properly oriented to their positions and the organization.
• engaged employees who use their strengths, skills, and abilities every day are six times more likely to be engaged at work, 8% more productive, and 15% less likely to leave their jobs.

 
My Story of Complete Engagement
Magnetic workplaces are ones that draw people to them; they’re ones that people can’t wait to get to and they are ones where people don’t need others to motivate them.

I remember an experience that was truly magnetic for me. A group of people who knew one another but had never worked together met to develop a unique, innovative proposal in the midst of one of the most economically trying times in our history. But we created a brand new program that was offered funding while the same funder was making deep cuts to other areas. How did we do it?

• We were a passionate group of people who respected one another for their dedication to the work we were doing.
• We had open, curious conversations, where everyone wholeheartedly shared their hopes for the future as well as their best ideas for making it happen.
• We knew the project we were working on had the power to change lives!
• Everyone knew that they had an important role to play; that everything they did mattered to the final product.

 
Next steps
To keep evolving towards building your Magnetic Workplace, ensure you are engaging with your team. Use the 12 ways to increase employee engagement in under 3 minutes a day as a starting point. Don't forget to challenge yourself to try out each of the 12 strategies.
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When you grab that download, we will continue to send you tips to help you create that engagement. For more information about working with us, please contact us here. 

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