A Secret To Work

Recently someone came to me for help, this person was the CEO of an IT company with over 10,000 employees.

And he shared, "Yogesh, the biggest challenge I face is our people are not self-driven. We have a very high rate of attrition and even though we keep offering them more money, they don't seem to want to work."

I have seen this over and over again in companies all over the world. Many people work only when they are threatened or fired. If not, they are not interested to perform.

The reason is simple - they don't find their work challenging enough. They don't find it exciting enough. For them work has become a chore, it has become monotonous. It has become a burden.

Imagine when you were a kid, you learnt the alphabet. It was challenging, it was exciting, sometimes you might have even hated learning the alphabet.

But after sometime you learnt it. But instead of going ahead and reading books and comics, what if you were forced to still learn only A to Z? After sometime it would get frustrating. Even if someone offered you money to read A to Z all day long, you wouldn't enjoy it.

In fact it would be a form of torture.

It's the same with lots of people in the workspace. They are not challenged enough, they aren't learning anything new. They feel they are not growing and instead stagnating.

Once someone feels they are stagnating, the zest for life and work disappears. Everything becomes a chore.

I have many clients who come to me who are worth millions and billions, but they are not happy. Because they feel they have done it all. What next?

When you bring in a sense of learning, a sense of adventure, a sense that there is a lot more to be done - people feel happy. When people feel they are having an impact. Everything they do matters.

If you are a leader of a team, give you team exciting tasks to do. Some work might be routine, spice things up - by adding new areas of learning and growth.

What if your company started a project where people got involved in growing organic food? Or what if they got involved in cleaning up the beach or streets?

Or what if they got involved in a way to recycle waste at the office?

Or what if they started learning music? Or public speaking? Or became involved with volunteering to help others? Or what if they learnt Yoga?

Or went exploring the forests or mountains? What if the families bonded of people you work with? What if they meditated at work?

Organisations that do this, bring in a sense of family and a sense of adventure. They start working for the joy of work.

Imagine in your organisation, the janitor worked - simply because he loved making sure the floor is clean. He did it with joy. Not because he is getting paid, but because he wants to have the cleanest office in the world. He believes he is part of something bigger.

Happiness comes not from achieving wealth, fame or power. It comes from serving and enjoy what you do.

Right from the The Gita to modern psychologists accept this fact. Achieving goals doesn't lead to happiness, instead the process of pursuing those goals brings a sense of flow and joy.

So if you are in sales and you start enjoying the process of meeting people, solving their problems, helping them out - you will feel better, and also end up performing better.

As a leader, installing this thought process first in yourself and then in your people, will change everything.

People in the army are willing to sacrifice their life because of this sense of duty and their sense of community.

I advise all organisations to invest at least 10% of each employees salary, towards helping them grow and learn and get a sense of community. The results will be amazing. I have experienced this over and over again.

With so much work moving online, it becomes even more important to make sure your people feel they are a part of a family, a larger group with a higher purpose and drive.

Human beings have immense potential, but you need to make sure an environment is created that brings out the best in them.

Yogesh Chabria

Happionaire