The Optimistic Workplace-A Book Review

Imagine it is Monday at 5:30 am. Your alarm goes off and you hit snooze. In your mind, you say you cannot do this and then you proceed to repeat this pattern four more times as your move through your work week. This is a story that happens in many household throughout the world and often is the result of a person’s lack of workplace satisfaction.

Now imagine, it is Monday, at 5:30 am. Your alarm goes off and you get up. You feel refreshed and ready to go. You eat breakfast, read from your favorite blog post, and are excited about what the day begins. You leave for work ready to go!

Recently, I had the pleasure of reading Shawn Murphy’s book entitled “The Optimistic Workplace-Creating an Environment that Energizes Everyone.” Murphy’s book reminds us all of the importance of creating environments where everyone thrives. Work environments that are ready to ensure every human being in the building reaches their potential.

Often when people here the word optimism they often are wary of how it can thrive in the workplace, but it can. Murphy makes a strong distinction that it is not simply be happy and nice in the workplace but a whole way of being.

Being that the average work spends 40 hours a week and between 1,900 and 2000 hours a year, we need to make sure workplaces are places are where the word “thrive” actually does exist.

I highly recommend this book for any organization and any professional who want to make sure that the largest chuck of their waking hours is spent well.

There are several big takeaways from this book and they include:

• They concept of “Stewardship” or simply taking care of people and things outside of YOU! When organizations leans towards a less optimistic approach, we forget this. 

• Taking a temperature check. Although Murphy directly talks about leaders doing this, anyone in an organization can do this. It is all about how you begin your day. Do we go straight to our offices and never leave or do we take time to “check in” with those we work with. Doing this allows us to know how people feel about their work-whether good or bad. 

• He also mentions how it is difficult to change culture because it has deep roots, but the climate of a workplace can always improve. We do this in how we speak with each other, in the environments we create, and how we solve problems. Murphy basically says its “the words you use and the tone of your interactions with your team that influence climate.” 

• Murphy mentions the word that brings great joy to any ECE educator in the book as well: Play. When we engage in adult play, “creativity and innovation” can thrive. 

• He points out the need for all in a workplace to feel that they matter and their work is meaningful. Otherwise, why would a person want come to work. Murphy also mentions the importance of members of an organization to have purpose in and outside their organization and how outside interest are encouraged.  

• Murphy provides several destructive management symptoms that most of us can relate to during some portion of our careers. Three stick out: Antisocial Leadership, Chronic Change Resistance, and Constipation Inspiration. A detailed description of all three can be found in Chapter 2 of the book. 

• On the positive side, he talks about the power of positive emotions and how they are necessary for organization to be optimistic. His concept of “unplanned giving” is the heart of positive emotions. When we give beyond our job description and/or without expecting anything in return, positive emotions can increase. Plus, they are contagious. He further goes on to say that “without contagious positive emotions, we miss the opportunity to changes lives.” And since most educational settings are in the business of changing lives, it really matters that positive emotions outnumbered the negative ones. 

This book is filled with a significant amount of strategies to make positive change within any organization. His F.A.I.S.E. Lift for the workplace is a sure fire way to give any organization a new and improved identity. One that not only cares for those who live there (employees), but takes into consideration those that are impacted by the work of the organization.

Lastly, his book promotes the “human side” of an organization. These last few quotes from his book sum it up best:

“We must set out to make sure everyone individual, team, department, product, and service center knows they are directly contributing to the mission.”

“We must become human again. We must give ourselves permission to not only enjoy our work, but bring our souls along with us.”

Throughout my 21 year career in education I have found this to be true. Not paying attention to the human side of work allows a legion of “Walking Dead” to thrive.

Pick up his book today: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01019D3SA/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1

Reference: Murphy, S. (2016). The optimistic workplace: Creating an environment that energizes everyone. AMACOM: New York.