On Work

Where did your interest in work cultures spring from?

Everyone I met, regardless of their industry or position, was having major problems around work. As I started to think about all this unhappiness, I realised that many of the issues people were grappling with, from too much work to not enough resources, were issues I'd had to face at some point. Many of the answers to these challenges had come to me in unusual ways - when I was out in the desert, or somewhere else off the beaten track. They worked well for me, so I was inspired to share them with others.

What has created these problems at work?

Over time our inordinate interest in the bottom line has created working cultures of profound fear, that paralyse so much that is good in organisations. If people are scared their whole focus is on survival, not on problem-solving and innovation. But it's not just the climate of fear we have to worry about - it's the terminal stress and exhaustion most people are now facing. We can't work well when we're running on empty. This also applies to those running companies - that's why we're seeing so many changes and decisions that make little sense. This terminal exhaustion creates an escapist mentality, where people spend their whole week longing for the weekend, or of how they can leave work altogether.

You suggest many of the catch phrases we use aren't helpful

We talk of no pain, no gain', so that's what life delivers - an extremely painful working life that is fraught with challenges. We also talk of the work/life balance, suggesting that life is something we tack on the end of the huge amounts of time we spend at work, so this becomes our experience.

So, it's time for a change?

People are getting seriously ill from the many pressures of work. The Japanese have a name for this syndrome - karoshi, which basically means dying from overwork. There are documented cases of death due to overwork. While most people's jobs don't kill them, current work practices are continuing fragment families and communities. Our health system is put under greater pressure from stressed-out workers and from those who have lost jobs and hope. And the majority of those still in the workforce aren't happy either, so few are winning.

How can we help bring change at work about?

Because most people are working in a culture of fear, they've forgotten they can make a difference, so they spend their time waiting for their boss to get a heart, for new systems, or whatever. The irony is that everyone else is often thinking the same thing, so everyone ends up in a holding pattern.

We also need to be sure we're not the problem at work. Our work culture may be depressing and everyone may be constantly complaining, but are we part of this negativity? If so, then we need to address this, because when we spend all our time being angry, upset or frustrated, there's little energy for new opportunities and ideas.

We can make some important changes to our work by making subtle changes to our day. If work's a bit depressing, why not make a positive gestures? Buy something for morning tea, or organise tickets for a show. Once the mood has been raised, then we're in a position to start to appreciate all the things work brings to our lives - friendship, community, stimulation; to understand the wider contribution our work makes - to public parks, schools, hospitals, care of the sick and dying; and the opportunities our pay packet gives us to go to the movies, spend time with friends, buy a pair of shoes, have holidays. These things help us regain our sense of the intrinsic worth of our work.

Many managers seem to have forgotten their role in raising morale.

Managers have become so bogged down with work and/or with managing their own careers, that often they fail to consider the needs of their team. There can't be too much joy at work. This isn't brain surgery.

You're not fond of careerists - you talk of the dark face of careerism

Careerists have much to answer for in our current workplaces. It's insanity to promote these kinds of people to positions of authority. They come into organisations and often change systems and staff simply for the sake of changing them, cause massive amounts of distress and confusion, then leave before the impact of their bad decisions are apparent. Often we compound this by giving them a big cheque when they leave. This has to change.

You suggest these problems been exacerbated, because we don't name things as they are?

We've become so adept at spin and at making black look white, that we've failed to face up to the implications of what we do to people when, for example, we retrench staff. We can dress up these actions any way we like, but the simple fact is that we're chucking people out and decimating people's lives. When we name our actions as they truly are, we have to own our decisions. In recent years there's been far too few people taking real responsibility for the pain and disruption they have created.

What about retrenchment?

We have to be very clear about what we're doing here. So often shedding staff is the first line of action when the figures don't look good, not the last. When a person leaves, a whole lot of qualities leave with them - experience, loyalty, community, to name a few. Those left behind are often equally decimated. They feel angry and betrayed and, while management might not see it, they start to give less. Often within eighteen months, the best people follow suite, because they have lost faith in the organisation.

So we don't always have to retrench?

Not always. Frequently managers don't want to tackle their superiors about their edicts to cut staff, or they don't want to take responsibility for keeping people on, so staff are simply given the push.

You promote the importance of managing the emotional environment at work.

Emotions can run high at work. If we're not careful we can end up taking on everyone's issues as well as our own. Not everything that happens is about us - as Freud once said - sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Our boss might be unapproachable because of us, but it might be because he/ she is battling their own demons. If it is because of us, we need to tackle the issues. If not, do we really want to take on their issues as well as our own?

What are your feelings about factions?

It's natural to want to enjoy the safety of numbers. But when we align ourselves to certain people at work, we automatically exclude others. Once we've joined a faction, then we give away a lot of our freedom. We're naturally expected to do certain things - to behave in a certain way, to support everyone else in that group. We're far better to learn how to get on with everyone, then when we need support we're likely to get it from a whole range of people.

Does this also apply to joining the 'club'?

It does. As people progress at work, it's very flattering to be invited to join the inner circle, but the dynamics are exactly the same as for other factions, except the stakes are higher. Those who need to join the club are essentially weak, even though they may seem otherwise.

You also suggest we consider our role models more carefully.

In recent times it's become cool not to have a life - to be manic and self-obsessed. So often these are the people that are profiled in magazines, but when we look closer, they're not the sort of people that make us feel good about ourselves. If we want our working lives to change, it's essential our role models are people we can respect - who are genuinely talented, honest, and who actively seek to enhance the human spirit.

We might not have someone like this in our immediate circle, but they might be someone like a Nelson Mandela, or someone in our community who is doing something meaningful. Once we've settled on someone of substance to model ourselves on, we can then ask ourselves what would Nelson Mandela do if a confidential, potentially explosive document, fell into his hands, or whatever our dilemma might be. 

When we're goal-setting do we tend to cast our net too narrowly?

We can get so fixated on the kind of salary and job description a position offers, that often we forget to give any serious thought to the wider qualities we'd like to enjoy at work. It's these additional qualities that often make the difference between acquiring a job that's okay, and one that we love in every way.

We need to think about the environmental factors of work. Do we also need a creative, supportive or stimulating environment to work in, for example? The same holds for where we'd like to work. Sometimes we can be so prescriptive that we miss out a job that would be truly ideal, because it's in a part of the city we've never considered.

You describe this as widening our vision for our lives.

This is important. So many people who come to see me are wonderful, successful people - but life has lost its sizzle, because they've allowed the vision for their lives to narrow, until there's nothing much left except work.

You suggest we can transform our working lives, by aiming for success on success.

The truly successful people have woken up to the fact that often our greatest joy comes from taking others with us. We can work purely for our own ends, or we can use the resources at work to make a difference to others as well. There's a whole range of case studies in my book Love Your Work, Reclaim Your Life - from small businesses to giant corporations that are making a wider impact on the planet.

We can also use the skills we've gained at work to help in a voluntary capacity in our community. Some businesses provide lawyers and back-up staff for legal aid centres. The Media Trust in the UK have 1500 media specialists on their books, who provide free advice to charities on everything from planning a media campaign to assisting an organisation produce a promotional video.

Often we're afraid to do these things, because we're worried about our time and resources. Yet those who do make the quantum leap discover these kinds of initiatives can change their whole experience of life - and if we're smart we'll not be disadvantaged in any way. Natasha was so distressed by the state of dogs in Bali, she and her friend Paula set up the Bali Dog Fund. Three years later several thousand dogs have received care. The first year Natasha set up the fund, she won four national awards at work. There's so much more to working life when we can move beyond our fear of whether we'll have a job next week.