Photo Credit: Peter Blanchard, Flickr
Over the past few weeks I’ve encountered my fair share of HR challenges. Some challenges have been resolved well, some have not.
It is a beautiful thing when the stars line up in the HR sphere. Hiring teams agree on candidates. People accept their employment offers with little drama. Problems are resolved before formal mechanisms need to be exercised. Employees do brilliant, effective things. Technology works. Crazy policies don’t need to be developed or implemented. Employees handle coaching well and as intended. Political games aren’t played. Planning occurs. Companies make money. Everything is bliss.
But the stars often don’t line up at all. If they did there’d be no need for HR Professionals.
Or so I tell myself.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the mood of the HR folks I’ve been in touch with lately. By and large, they come across as frustrated and tired. They lack those fresh eyes of wonder that you see in people who have the opportunity to ponder the skies, to set goals and achieve them, to make it through a week without having some real bummer of a situation arise.
Unfortunately in a job like ours, you can’t really turn off that noise. Speaking for myself, and potentially others, I need more positivity in my work week. I know I won’t get enough of that from the work itself, and so I’m asking you, the reader of this blog, to say something positive. Out loud. Public. Tell us about a success you’ve had at work recently. Or something great in your personal life. Something that might inspire others. Or thank someone. Or give others hope. Me especially.
Do this for me. Do this for others. Most important, do this for you.
Shawn Anchor, a noted author and happiness advocate, talks frequently about the importance of rewiring your brain for happiness. He suggests that to rewire your brain you need to train it by focusing on positive activities to build a habit. One of the activities he advocates is to try stating three gratitudes a day for 21 days. So, if you find just a little bit of stimulation by saying something positive, take it to the next level by trying to make it a habit.
I love this blog. I am a person that believes positive energy and thinking will make a person and a company move toward success. Working in the entertainment industry there is bound to be drama of some sort, but I remember the HR Manager advising me a very important advice “Don’t get caught up in the drama”. I didn’t, instead I shed some positive love in the workplace from buying candy for employees before the stat holidays, writing a joke of the day on my whiteboard to brighten someone’s day, a compliment or positive feedback about an employee’s performance makes a big difference in a busy and sometimes toxic environment.
I am one of the fortunate HR people who have an opportunity to reset from being the hamster on the wheel for over three years. Going through the transition process has been a very positive experience. It allowed me the time to smell the roses in my garden, catch up with friends and old colleagues, go through piles of materials I wanted to read, and reflect on life and career. And what has been truly humbling and rewarding is the opportunity to observe the agility and resilience in many others who are on the journey, and the positivity they project every day during the transition. Making the move can be difficult for many people for many different reasons. However settling for non-rewarding work and sometimes toxic environment will do no good to one’s career, health and family. If happiness is important to you, make it a priority and make it happen.