Every once in a while, you read stories about a group of employees who chip in on a bunch of lottery tickets and as a group, win the jackpot. And, it seems in every group there’s one joker who decides they actually WON’T quit their job but will instead come back to work as if nothing has changed.
What’s wrong with them?
Nothing.
I’ve never interviewed any of these people but I’m sure they come back to work for one of three reasons. They either love their job, love their co-workers, or love their work environment. I’m sure the last two probably factor together but since a Boss can’t really control the first two, maybe it’s important to explore how to create the kind of culture where a person would essentially work for free.
As you probably know, I served 15 years in the Navy and hated every one of them. Well actually, the two years I was stationed in Guam didn’t suck. All right, if I’m honest, I liked my job in Guam. I had autonomy lugging boxes in the supply warehouse (which led to injuries resulting in two hip replacement years later) and I had a Boss who would ask my opinion on things and listen to my suggestions. The work was hot and dirty and exhausting but I would come home energized. And, even with the low salary I made in those days, I never really thought about what I was being paid, I just really liked coming to work.
When my tour in Guam was up, I transferred to my final duty station in Bremerton, WA and the misery resumed. But I think I would have worked for free in order to go back to Guam.
If you’re The Boss, could you create the kind of culture where people would work for free? As I see it, there are three ways to do this.
- Align the purpose of your department with the goals of your team. I know this isn’t your responsibility nor is it always possible, but when people buy into what you do, they might stick around if they win that Powerball.
- Align your corporate and department values with those of your team. People have personal values. They won’t change them for anyone. Your company has corporate values. The corporation won’t change them for anyone (except maybe shareholders). Where there is misalignment between individual and corporate values, there is chaos, but when they align, well, it’s the kind of place where employees might work for free!
- Take an active interest in the career goals of your team and do what you can to feed responsibilities to your team accordingly. When employees know that you’re looking out for their development, they’ll give you full effort. When they know you care, they will care. And, they might consider working for you even with that Powerball wealth in the bank.
So there you have it. Three things you can work on right now to create that kind of culture. A culture that’s amazing enough to entice your multi-million dollar winning employees to return to.
Are you up for the challenge?