| THE ALIVE WORKPLACE: By Stephanie Mines, Ph.D. “The question in an imperfect competitive reality is: how do we move forward together? How can enterprise touch and improve life?” - Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi
What is a healthy workplace? It is empowering, relational, aware, flexible, generous and honest. The physical architecture is clean, spacious, well ventilated and lit, and suited to the tasks and the people performing them. There are non-work spaces available for rest and relaxation. The theme is open communication, stimulating inquiry and physical respect. While this may seem a high standard, it is actually an easy one to achieve. It is also the most profitable. This article focuses on three aspects of workplace health: 1. Physical health; When all three of these aspects are balanced the workplace is a healthy community and financial success is a natural outgrowth. Relationship is central to the workplace. In fact, relationship is the cornerstone of business. And relationship is, unquestionably, a function of health. Since successful relationship makes for success in the marketplace, it is only good common sense to foster health and healing in the workplace. It is true that financial success can occur when healthy relationship is not present or even valued. However, there is always a heavy price to pay for this success. Inevitably, there is substantial turnover and a non-relational decision making body lacks perspective and creativity. Some business owners chose to pay this price rather than relinquish control. People are the mainstay of business and the source of success. Providing a healthy workplace for them nourishes the roots of the business garden. As we move increasingly toward business based primarily on intellectual properties that flow from inventive human creativity, this is even truer. So important are values and relationship in the workplace that gifted and highly acclaimed entrepreneur David Batstone declares that companies owe their allegiance first and foremost to their credibility and not to their shareholders. This Batstone believes is the only remaining route to success for the business world. About twelve years ago organizational psychologists played with the idea of the workplace as a replica of the family. Unwittingly, they said, people were drawn into the work environment to re-enact their family dramas. Co-workers, bosses, indeed everyone down to the maintenance crew, took on the role of each other’s family members simultaneously! This creates an unconscious undertone, the hum of unresolved relational static that weaves a mysterious web of compulsivity. In 2004 we are growing increasingly holistic, adding more dimensions to this family re-enactment theory, including a heightened consciousness of the psychological and physiological implications of stress. Workplaces are not only venues for human interaction and productivity, they are also places where physical and spiritual needs are expressed. This has always been true but now we are acknowledging these aspects of the workplace as human community. The physical design and structure of the workplace shapes the physical health of the individuals who inhabit those spaces. Sensitivity to the emotional and spiritual levels within the workplace is essential to combat the steady rise of workplace violence, like mobbing. In the final analysis, the overall health of the workplace signals healthy revenues. Beyond this, what happens in the workplace effects the larger environment, including the immediate neighborhood or community, the culture as a whole, and even the planet. As Gun Denhart, founder of the astoundingly successful Hanna Andersson clothing line and developer of the Hannadowns program to benefit children in need says, “You can’t run a healthy company in an unhealthy community. If the community falls apart, your company will suffer as well.” Of course this is true on a global level as well and is precisely why corporations have an unquestionable responsibility to care for the environment and not plunder it. Companies can and do take value based stands, even radical ones, and succeed financially. Caring about the world (both the environment and its inhabitants) is entirely realistic. There are many examples. Here’s just one. Kinko’s, L.L.Bean and Patagonia refused to do business with Boise Cascade, the giant timber company. They boycotted their paper produces because Boise harvested old growth trees. This ultimately forced Boise to re-evaluate its supplier relationships and in 2002 they drastically reduced old growth logging. Courage is another attribute of health.
“Managing for profit and for the common good – it works!” - Tom Chappell, founder, Tom’s of Maine Companies like Tom’s of Maine and Cliff Bars support their employees to stay physically fit, to learn and to heal. They pay them to exercise and relax during the workday, and they provide the space for these things to happen. They also pay them to attend personal growth and healing seminars. Hanna Andersson, the children’s clothing company, pays a portion of their employees’ child care costs and donates both profits and clothing to children in need. Timberland, the shoe company, pays their employees to volunteer in the community. These investments result consistently in increased profits and enduring customer and employee loyalty. “Incorporate: To embody.” - Webster’s New University Dictionary Providing massage and other bodywork to employees is another guaranteed high return investment for success. Employers can extend time and co-payment for somatic therapies or offer them on site. It is the bodies of the workers (including their brains) that are the very vehicles of business accomplishment. It makes good sense to invest in the bodies providing service by nurturing them, soothing them and restoring them from their labors. In addition, educated touch soothes the nervous system and dramatically lessens conflict in the workplace. People under stress are profoundly transformed through the experience of energy medicine, massage or any of the other somatic therapies specifically designed to speak to the nervous system and allow the primitive, survival brain to relax so that higher, more creative functions can dominate. It is because the primitive brain, which speaks directly to the kidney-adrenal structure (ruler of immune system strength), cannot differentiate past from present that current stressors attach to and evoke historical violations. A therapist who understands this and can provide differentiating resources literally can help change the way conflict is perceived. Employees freed of patterns of over-adrenalization (either sympathetically or parasympathetically driven) are liberated into their inventive creativity. Employers can extend time and co-payment for somatic therapies when workers are chronically absent or when “presenteeism” is observed. Presenteeism identifies employees who show up but are distracted by tension, stress and pain. Estimates made by Stress Directions, a company investigating and documenting stress levels in the workplace, indicate that presenteeism costs small companies about $1,920,000/yr. The cost to bigger companies would be about $115,200,000/yr. In addition, Stress Directions, along with physician John Sarno, have clear evidence that “back pain has been the number one industrial health and Workers Compensation cost problem in the US and is on the rise.” (Insurance Information Institute Data) There is compelling research suggesting that psychosocial variables are at the core of chronic back pain. Dr. Eugene Carragee of Stanford University is an award winning study found that “back pain is a psycho physiological phenomenon involving psychosocial components that typically to undetected and untreated.” (2002 Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine) Physical bodies are marvelous instruments and it is almost a truism to say that we take them for granted. However, whether we recognize them or not, they are actively participating in the workplace and offering their owners a running commentary on work experience. In fact, you could say that our bodies give us regular, personalized work evaluations. We need only the education to read the data. This is what a somatic therapist can provide. Bodies freed of stress, both from the past and the present, naturally become creative, motivated and participatory. Bodies that love their work can’t wait to go there. Bodies that dislike their work may refuse to go. Resistant bodies may not have much to contribute even when they do go to work. Dialoguing with the body is easy when you know how and everyone can learn. The advisory committees are your own cells living in your connective tissue and these cells are tremendously responsive. You don’t have to be a medical professional to speak their language. Connective tissue is articulate and immediately communicative. Are you listening? It is hard to imagine an employee who would not feel eager to go to a workplace where his or her body is esteemed. The reward for nurturing the body in the workplace is enhanced creativity, efficiency and (the favored word of business) productivity. Providing massage, energy medicine or other bodywork opportunities in the workplace sends an unquestionable message of true caring. It is not difficult to find a place in the office environment for somatic therapy. Massage therapist Isis Freeman works in the corporate setting in Boulder, Colorado and Los Angeles, California. “I just set up my massage chair in an empty office or conference room. The major requirement is that the room be quiet so that the employee truly feels he or she is ‘getting away’ for a while. Even a quiet corner will do. I certainly observe that employees are more enthusiastic about everything after a massage. They are always so glad to see me. It is very hard to be happy at work if you feel pain and stress without relief,” Isis comments, stating what is both obvious and undervalued. When the workplace physical design honors the human structure and when
the body’s needs are addressed on site (not just later when injuries
worsen due to prolonged contraction and compression), a worker is likely
to mistake the workplace for a piece of paradise and not want to leave!
SIDEBARS: PROTCOLS TO RESOLVE CONFLICT IN GROUP AND WORK SETTINGS By
These protocols support all participants to create a thoroughgoing, relieving peace and let work continue. It is impossible to avoid conflict. It is part of life, part of human dynamics, and, from my perspective, more likely now than ever before due to the traumatizing nature of the world we live in. However, a certain amount of conflict is a sign of health and if handled well can become a mine of rich discovery and, most importantly, an influx of new energy. This is the payoff for looking conflict in the eye. Resolved conflict lifts the locks and opens a fluid release of fresh energy like a river cleared of its logjams. The protocols that follow are based on my understanding of what the nervous needs system needs in the way of language and human contact to find stability. I have borrowed from Harville Hendricks’ dialogues for couples, extending and improvising on his suggestions to adapt them for business and other communities. I must add that the nervous system also demands a certain quality of touch in order to repair. See my comments on this later in this article when I talk about massage and bodywork in the workplace. Here are four fundamental points for groups experiencing conflict. 1. DO NOT LET CONFLICT FORCE YOU INTO DENIAL OR REPRESSION. Avoid the impulse to placate, overrule, ignore or squash conflict. Mine it. Give it space. Find the skills to do this. These skills are extremely worthwhile to cultivate for any and all relationships. 2. CREATE AN HONORABLE SPACE TO EXPLORE CONFLICT. Claim the time to step out of the business agenda (or any other agenda, no matter how pressing) to create an honorable space to address conflict, giving it a container and an appropriate place. This will ultimately, if not immediately, help business. Trust this. It may be a new concept for the corporate world, but it is a completely trustworthy one. 3. CONFLICT IS ALWAYS A MIRROR. A conflict that occurs in a group is never about just two or three people. It is always about the entire group (business, family, relationship, agency). Everyone is impacted by conflict and everyone benefits from its resolution. Conflict is never an “us and them” condition. This is true wherever there is conflict, including at home and in the world at large. 4. FEAR AND RESISTANCE FUEL CONFLICT. The conflict you ignore increases steadily in its capacity to disturb and disrupt. Ignoring conflict will never make it go away. SIX GUIDELINES FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION: 2. EMPATHY IS EMOTIONAL HEALTH. Empathy is always possible and is the most effective healing balm for emotional wounds. An inability to empathize points to dis-ease. If you are without empathy for anyone, explore this within yourself to find out why. 3. APOLOGY: When someone has experienced a violation, for any reason, heartfelt apology first mutes and then silences the pain. Without it, resentment builds. Resentment is toxic to the workplace. When employees harbor resentment against management or against each other, the entire workplace is at risk. Apologies can be given simply because someone is suffering. 4. BOUNDARIES: Honoring time commitments is central to the integrity of the healing process. It builds the foundation for all healing which consists of safety and trust. Without these two components healing and resolution are impossible under any circumstances. 5. NO ATTACKS: Personal attacks are completely off limits. Each participant must take responsibility for their own feelings. The way to express dissatisfaction about another person is to explain it in terms of what your own feeling is. An example of this is, “When Helen speaks about this project as ‘hers,’ I feel excluded.” 6. FACILITATION: Someone should be designated as the facilitator or a facilitator can be brought in specifically to resolve conflict. This person is in charge of maintaining the integrity of the communication structure and is a servant of the group. He or she is the time keeper, the rule keeper, and provides the opening and closure that every meeting requires. This is a skillful position and deserves recognition in the form of appreciation and compensation. PROTOCOL #1: DIALOGUE DESIGN FOR GROUP PROCESS One at a time the individuals experiencing the conflict are invited to speak. A time frame is determined by the designated facilitator. Each speaker is heard thoroughly, and one at a time the following kinds of responses are entertained: EMPATHIC MIRRORING: Individuals in the group are invited to mirror back to the speaker what they heard him/her say and to empathize. Here are some examples of what this might sound like: “That sounds very painful.” “I can see why you feel frustrated.” “You have a right to be angry.” “I feel badly that you are so uncomfortable.” Eye contact increases exponentially the magnitude of empathic mirroring. VALIDATION: Group members are also invited to validate the speaker. Validation can sound similar to empathy, but there are subtle differences: “I remember being in that position before and here is how I resolved it.” “I had an experience like that once and this is how it worked out in the long run.” “I know this is difficult but I support you in finding your way through this. I believe you can do it and I am willing to help.” Validation has more to do with personal support and empathy has more to do with contact and connection. REFLECTIVE COMMENTS: Group members are invited to reflect on the source of conflict, based on their knowledge of the individual speaking or on their own experience. (“I remember when you told me about your mother’s death and how you felt so alone at that time. You may feel abandoned like that again now.” “We shared our feelings of competitiveness with our brothers. This reminds me of that.”) This emphasizes long term perspective and community. All of these comments are presented within a clearly designated and maintained time frame. The speaker receives the commentary and when it is complete, the facilitator asks the central figure(s): “Do you feel heard and seen? Is there more that you need to say?” If there is more, time is given for more expression, reflection, empathy and validation, within the context of the time available. When this process is complete for all individuals in conflict, the emotional ambience should be tangibly different. This is frequently totally sufficient to resolve the conflict. Sometimes it is not a matter of DOING anything. It is just a matter of providing space, listening, articulating and communicating. Simple, heartfelt empathic communication can erase loneliness and alienation. Whatever time is invested in such an exploration will benefit the company (corporation, organization, family, relationship) beyond calculation. In those instances when the problem has escalated for too long without attention and is calling for a review of something in the workplace, this second protocol may be necessary. PROTOCOL #2: ACTIVELY RESOLVING CONFLICT Group members are then asked to validate, reflect and empathize and also suggest options for eliminating the frustration. This is supervised and timed by the facilitator. From this experience the facilitator suggests three possible solutions to the conflict. The individual(s) who has presented the conflict chooses one and the group gifts him/her/them with a commitment to make the change. Here’s an example of how this might go. Person experiencing conflict: “I feel that my needs to be part of the decision making process regarding this particular contract are ignored. I feel qualified to be a participant in the decision making but despite my repeated requests, this does not occur. This reminds me of how I was ignored in my previous job where I felt closing one of our branch offices was a mistake. No one listened to me and the consequences were disastrous, as I had predicted. This also reminds me of how my son has ignored my perspective on his education I feel invisible and it is very disturbing. I am preoccupied by my frustration.” The group expresses empathy and understanding and offers some suggestions for how the situation could change. The facilitator extracts three possibilities from this discussion. One is that the person experiencing the conflict could write up a proposal for the kind of action he would recommend in regard to the contract in question, distribute it to the concerned group members and get feedback. Another is that the decision making body debrief that individual in terms of their perspective on the contract and why he has not been included. Finally the facilitator suggests that the individual explore whether they are exaggerating the condition. Maybe it is just not appropriate for him/her to be involved. The person(s) initiating the discussion now receives a “gift” by choosing one of the suggested options. Of these three options, the person in this conflict picks the first and agrees to act on it within a week. Everyone directly concerned commits to responding to the proposal, within two days of receiving it. A meeting is set up for that feedback to occur. Participants commit to attending. The meeting is brought to closure with everyone expressing appreciation for the time given and the feedback presented, expressing their feelings about the process in a time limited way. In this scenario the person feeling frustration has been gifted with the opportunity to be thoroughly heard. It is very difficult to sustain resentment when one is being acknowledged. This also helps relieve the tension between survival and expression that affects so many employees. When articulating dissatisfaction is not a cause for job loss, the work environment is free and spacious and conflict produces possibility rather than repression.
HEALTH SCORESHEET FOR THE WORKPLACE
PHYSICAL HEALTH 1. Are there physical health challenges in the nature of the tasks employees perform? For instance, are there repetitive motions; are heavy objects lifted and moved; is there exposure to toxins; is the work primarily sedentary; is it necessary to push physical limits to meet deadlines often; is there sufficient opportunity and space for relief from the work routine? These challenges need to be identified clearly so that appropriate compensations can be made available. If your company has these or other health challenges, what are the compensations for which the company is responsible and how are they implemented? 2. Do the health benefits provided by the company truly serve the employees? How is this determined? Are there health benefits available that meet employee needs more thoroughly? Is there ongoing research on this issue? Is this an item for discussion and is it periodically reviewed? 3. Given that stress is inevitable in any workplace, how does the organizational structure provide for recovery? Is massage therapy or similar bodywork available on site? Is there room to do physical exercise, or to relax or meditate? Are classes provided in stress reducing opportunities such as yoga, therapy, exercise, art? If yes, are these opportunities sufficient? If no, why not? 4. If the workplace is located in an area that has exposure to toxins, such as a highway, what is in place to protect workers? Is this sufficient? Is it effective? What else needs to be done? 5. If an employee feels their health is in jeopardy for any reason, what avenues are available for support? Can the workplace be mobilized to support workers with health (physical, mental, emotional) crises? If these situations jeopardize production and the health of others, what measures can be implemented for the benefit of all? ENVIRONMENT 1. Do employees feel physically comfortable in the spaces in which they work? If they do not, how would this issue be addressed? Is there an ongoing review of these conditions? 2. Do employees feel physically safe in the environment? What dangers exist for them? Are potential dangers investigated and corrected? Is employee safety a top priority? 3. Are employees encouraged to be actively involved in creating a workplace that suits their tasks, their physical needs, and their comfort? 4. Does the workplace include non-work spaces that provide true relief for employees? This refers to lunchroom space, exercise rooms, social areas, private space, personal space, resting space. Do employees feel they have a space to themselves or is the workplace all about product, management and owners? 5. Are there an adequate number of bathrooms for men and for women? Are the bathrooms private and safe, clean and well stocked? 6. Is good lighting provided? 7. Is air quality clean and sufficient? Does air circulate freely throughout the workplace and is that air free of pollutants? 8. Is clean, healthy water available to all workers? EMOTIONAL AMBIENCE 1. What does the company provide to cultivate camaraderie, participation, and a sense of community? Are these provisions working? Is there a strong sense of participation and communication, of social ease and caring evident in the environment? If not, what discussions and changes can be initiated? 2. What happens in the workplace under stress? For instance, when a deadline is at hand does everyone cooperate or is there resignation and tension? What does management provide for regeneration after a stressful period? 3. What happens when an employee is going through a hard time, such as a divorce or a loss, depression or anxiety? Is this attended to, acknowledged, honored and are resources offered, or is it ignored? 4. Is community service and engagement, such as support of local non-profits, a part of company policy? Are employees who serve the community rewarded? Can community participation be incorporated (embodied) in the company to the benefit of all? What is needed to make this happen?
Appreciative Inquiry and Positive Change
World Business Academy Spirit in Business Network Wisdom Business Network The Center for Visionary Leadership Management Literary Club
Isis Freeman, LMT Clear Leadership W. Edward Deming Institute International Institute for Sustainable Development Cynthia Kneen Consulting: Total Business/Team Intuition The TARA Approach for the Resolution of Shock and Trauma Stress Navigator and Stress Organizational Profile
Batstone, David, Saving the Corporate Soul, SF, Jossey-Bass, 2003. Chappell, Tom, The Soul of a Business, NY, Bantam, 1993. Gladwell, Malcolm, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, NY, Little Brown, 2002. Heider, John, The Tao of Leadership, Atlanta, Humanics, 1985. Huang, Al Chungliang and Jerry Lunch, Mentoring: Cultivate Dynamic Relationships, SF, Harper, 1995. Kneen, Cynthia, Awake Mind, Open Heart, NY, Marlowe & Co, 2002. Ludema, James D. et.al, The Appreciative Inquiry Summit, SF, BK Publishing, 2003. W.Edward Deming, The New Economics, W..Deming Institute. Mines, Stephanie, We Are All in Shock: How Overwhelming Experiences Shatter
You and What You Can Do About It, NJ, New Page Books, 2003.
“Emotion is contagious. All of us have had our spirits picked up by being around somebody in a good mood. If you think about this closely, though, it’s quite a radical notion. We normally think of the expressions on our face as the reflection of an inner state. I feel happy, so I smile. I feel sad, so I frown. Emotion goes inside-out. Emotional contagion, though, suggests that the opposite is also true. If I make you smile, I can make you happy. If I can make you frown, I can make you sad. Emotion, in this sense, goes outside in.” - Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point, NY, Little Brown, 2002 “A number of relatively minor changes in our external environment can have a dramatic effect on how we behave and who we are.” - Malcolm Gladwell “A company’s values – what it stands for, what its people believe in – are crucial to its competitive success.” - Robert Haas, Chairman, Levi Strauss & Co. “Truth be told, the corporate crisis is as much spiritual as it is financial. A company’s success hinges on whether in the eyes of its employees and the public it honors a common sense of justice.” - David Batstone, Saving the Corporate Soul, SF, Wiley, 2003 “A vital corporation helps its people to think, plan, and express their dignity in the way they carry out their daily tasks on behalf of the enterprise. In other words, it tends to its soul.” - David Batstone “If integrating a sense of the common good into their business strategy can actually help companies increase profits, what excuse can they make for moving forward unconcerned about their communities, the environment, and the future?” - Tom Chappell, founder, Tom’s of Maine “A Cone/Roper Consumer survey finds that two-thirds of American companies will switch brands to reward community oriented companies. Similar trends are reported internationally.” - S. Adkins, Cause Related Marketing, NY, Butterworth, 1999 “When people experience the wholeness of the systems they live and work in – when we have the courage and trust to bring people together at every level to connect to the ‘positive core’ of their past, present and future capacities combined – something magical happens.” - David L. Cooperrider, developer of Appreciative Inquiry, “There is a philosophy that the solutions to problems or challenges lie in the hearts and brains of each employee, not outside of the organization. So actually utilizing the strength and creativity of each employee is a great use of internal resources, and cuts down on operating costs of the organization.” - Susan Rhodes, Ph.D., Consultant, Positive Change Corps “The health of an organization is directly determined by the health of its people. The organization IS its people. Most organizations have the largest percentage of their operating budget in human resources. Employees ONLY work successfully when they know they are appreciated for what they do.” - Susan Rhodes, Ph.D., Consultant, Positive Change Corps “Building trust is essential. The best way to start a climate of sharing and trust is to help the employees with positive communication by sharing stories of when they were at their best in the organization. They need to hear what that looks like, what that was, and how it felt. Then any other dialogue that needs to occur will flow smoothly.” - Susan Rhodes, Ph.D., Consultant, Positive Change Corps “It’s the simple things that make great managers and productive units. The first is a complete recognition and commitment to the fact that your employees are not only the most important resource, but they are human and human needs will always come before job requirements. Secondly, a honed sense of awareness is absolutely necessary to survive. Thirdly, listening is far more important than talking. Fourth, recognizing that you can’t satisfy everybody all the time, but you can be sensitive all the time.” - Marvin Odefey, Independent Business Management Consultant (former Lockheed Martin Development Manager) “A supervisor’s span of control should never be so large that his or her level of awareness precludes the ability to prevent violations in the workplace.” - Marvin Odefey, Independent Business Management Consultant
“Effective leadership of others is primarily a function of effective management of oneself. That begins with self-awareness and emotional competence.” - Douglas Lennick, Executive Vice President, American Express “The main purpose of our working together is to learn to love and appreciate each other better. Successful business springs from successful relationships.” - Michael Miller, CEO, Evenstar, Inc. “Body, mind and spirit get equal attention among my employees. We offer a voluntary program of daily exercise, human potential training sessions and an opportunity to lift our spirits through the joy of relationships and human connection.” - George Zimmer, founder of the largest men’s clothing retail business in the US – Men’s Wearhouse
- Lawrence Germann, CEO, Left Hand Design “The first step in the transformation of an organization is the transformation of the individuals in it. The individual, transformed, will perceive new meaning to life, to events, to numbers, and to interactions between people.” - W. Edwards Deming, Management Guru “Dr. Deming often said that people are entitled to ‘joy in work’ and poor management robs people of that birthright.” - Joyce Orsini, Ph.D., Director, The Deming Scholars MBA
Program, “Stress and trauma have no place to go but underground in a workplace that is driven by busy-ness. We learn to tough it out, but the cost to our creativity, innovation, balanced judgment, enthusiasm, service, and empathy is enormous. The case for healing the workplace is strong. We are just starting to see the enormous costs to business of ignoring our humanity.” - Cynthia Kneen, (personal correspondence) Management Consultant, Author of Awake Mind, Open Heart, and the forthcoming Business and the Buddha “Sustainable enterprise means love and inspiration through business.” - Kevin Roberts, CEO, Saatchi and Saatchi “Sustainable enterprise happens when inspiration and emotion go to work.” - Kevin Roberts, CEO, Saatchi and Saatchi “Our challenge – your challenge – is to love and inspire from the ground up – to lift social health and personal health through the power of courageous ideas.” - Kevin Roberts, CEO, Saatchi and Saatchi “Sustainable enterprise starts inside us. We can only make a difference by working together. We need to make an inclusive world, not an exclusive one. This is the moment of transformation.” - Kevin Roberts, CEO, Saatchi and Saatchi |