Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Well-Being In The Work Place

Yesterday I had lunch with a friend who works for the same company as me but in a different building. We had some engaging conversation about work. Believe it or not, we did not spend the time complaining. We talked about Corporate culture, people’s attitudes about work, and what our company’s new vision of “life long well- being” might mean in practical terms within the workplace. He challenged me to think about this and put some thoughts on paper. I am not prepared to get detailed about this today but it is something I have been thinking about for a while. A vision is only a vision if you don’t experience it on a real and practical level. I remember when I was a novice in a monastery. The primary purpose of being in a monastery is the experience of God. Even as monks we wondered what that meant. We actually had discussions on the topic “What are the practical demands for the experience of God”? Today I would ask the question in a different way. I would ask, “What are the practical demands for the experience of well-being in the workplace”? Some might think the experience of well being and the experience of God are really the same thing. Before lunch was over I was asked what I would like my company and work experience to be like. At a high level, I would like the experience of being and working in my office so enjoyable and fulfilling that people at other companies with great jobs would still want to come to where I work and people who are already employed where I work would never want to leave, even when they are 61 years old, like me, and five years from retirement.

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