Greetings,
Challenging to do regular postings, ironically due to work schedule and changes, positive ones, on the home front. Anyway here I go with today's post.
About a nurturing work environment:
A key ingredient in the aspect of job maintenance is that of the experience of nourishment. This is obviously a multi faceted factor, but based on a primal need to be in the natural process of growth, growth facilitated by the care, support and motivational resources available and accessible. The nourishment we receive, the validation of our thoughts and efforts, while engaged in our major and often most productive activity, defines the quality of our work experience and by extension all other aspects of our life. I propose that job maintenance is a concrete outcome of this of a nurturing work environment, a responsibility that rests on the shoulders of the employer, the individual worker and the team as a collective cultural expression. So I will attempt to list some of the elements that may be considered to meet our need for nourishment, not exhaustive and in no particular sequence of importance:
1. Acceptance
2. Accommodations
3. Affirmation by coworkers and supervisors
4. Accessibility of leadership
5. Cultural cohesiveness
6. Community feeling in work place
7. Comradery
8. Challenge
9. Comfort level of workplace
10. Sense of integrity
11. Encouragement
12. Nourishment
13. Opportunity for growth
This list can go on and on and yield uniquely personal expectations that still hold true to the underlying theory. The workplace like any other area of endeavor, must meet our primal human needs in order for us to be productive. The failure to do so, or worse, if the workplace becomes a threat to our essential human needs, the goal of job maintenance and a fulfilling and productive work experience, would most likely be compromised. Simply acknowledging the very real human needs of all in the work environment, can go a long way towards creating the desired conditions. If you are in a situation where your needs and concerns are continuously kicked to the curb, or devalued, you may want to consciously take responsibility for the solution. If not the inevitable burn out, or at best frustrated survival and resentment, may well become a looming, too persistent feature of one's occupational landscape.
