Are you condoning a culture of apathy?

You score tickets for your favourite hockey team. You are PUMPED! You count down the days to the game. Finally the big day arrives. You get your drink and an $8 hot-dog, take your seat just as the game begins.

The players skate out onto the ice

and

Do nothing.

They hang out.

A few players glide over to the corner and chitchat.

A couple coast onto the ice 15 minutes into the first period.

The goalie called in sick today.

Four players don’t bother coming back after the second intermission.

Two are skating their asses off. Working really hard but no one else really seems to care and make fun of them for being keeners.

There’s a few minutes left in the game and player #7 sneaks away early.

Is that a game you want to watch?  Is that team going to succeed?

No. And hell no.

Metaphorically, if your team at work was to take to the ice for a hockey game - or any team sport for that matter - how would they perform?

I’ve been hearing a lot about quiet quitting lately.

Did you know that quiet quitting is NOT people ghosting workplaces? Initially, I did not. Even though if you think about it… that really would be a quiet way to quit. I’ve since learned that it’s actually people doing ONLY the bare minimum at work and nothing else.

Why don’t they care to do anything more, and more importantly, what can you do to take your organization from apathetic to engaged?

Put in real work, don’t just throw a fun staff event and expect everyone to be all smiles after. Well, I suppose they probably will be all smiles immediately after, but if the organizational culture is veering toward apathy, the smiles will be short lived. If you are not doing anything else to foster team connection, then the fun staff event is ultimately a bandaid.  Like a fun Toy Story bandaid, but still just a bandaid. Yes, it is very important to make time for teams to connect and build camaraderie, but it has to go deeper than that.

Give people something to care about - if we can’t find purpose in what we are doing it is seriously difficult to muster up enthusiasm.

Make time for one on one check-ins with staff.  Be clear that they are not performance reviews, but simply a check-in. Ask them how they are doing, what is working, what is not working, where they are struggling, how they can be supported, even ask what you can do to help them feel more engaged - that makes it a hell of a lot easier than trying to read minds. And trying to implement solutions that feel more like punishment.

Check the work load and challenge level. The Pressure Performance Curve turned on a very bright lightbulb for me when I reflected on why I struggled in previous roles. It was an oscillation between ‘boredout’ and ‘burnout’ depending on the job.

credit Delphis Learning

Help team members find that sweet spot - this is another place regular check-ins will help with.  Work together to come up with solutions of how to get to - and stay in - the ‘Ideal Zone’.

Provide recognition and reward.  This doesn’t have to be costly.  Get creative - I’ve seen one company giving public shoutouts on social media, another has a Gratitude Board where employees can post thanks to other team members.  Simple but effective. Recently, a workshop participant shared that when a new boss took over, their first order of business was to remove the ‘Reserved Parking’ sign for the President and Vice President of the company and began awarding them to Employees of the Week.  These little actions make a big difference, and show the team that you CARE about them, SEE them, and APPRECIATE them.

After all, when someone feels replaceable, like a cog in the machine, or like no one actually notices what they do, it is hard to feel invested in their role.

One of the best things you can do is get clear on the collective vision of the team, determine the root causes of the apathetic culture and then come up with solutions TOGETHER.

And if you feel like you don’t have time or resources to work with your team in this way, then take a minute to ask yourself, what is the cost NOT to?

We spend most of our waking hours at work, should we not WANT to be there and feel proud of what we do?

Click HERE for a link to my calendar to book a quick chat. or if you’d like more information on Intentional Workplace Planning or Organizational Culture Optimization.