Helping Employees
What makes people actually enjoy going to work?
Some people enjoy going to work as an escape from the
problems in their personal lives (Finney, 2010). Finney
indicated three positive emotions can be linked to creativity
at work: joy, interest, and contentment.
• Joy. Employees who can see how their efforts directly
benefit their customers tend to be the most satisfied
with their work. Managers should remind their staff
of the meaning their efforts hold for others. Finney
(2010) summarized meaningful work in three outcomes:
“To relieve pain; to restore hope; to bring
beauty into the world” (p. 1). This seems easy for
nurses, but often we get so intent on what we are
doing that we do not look for the positive outcomes.
• Interest. Finney (2010) challenged us to analyze
whether our staff are placed appropriately in positions
that are right for them. Are our employees still
learning and growing in areas that actually mean
something to them personally?
• Contentment. Can our employees focus on those
interesting areas of work without being distracted by
office politics, abusive bosses, rumors, and bullying?
Are our employees proud of their organization?
How do we help our employees avoid viewing work as
an obligation? Pozin (2013) suggested the following:
• Do the math. Maybe our employees are not being
challenged at work or they do not have the passion