A book recommendation from Dan Beaulieu:

The Optimistic Workplace: Creating an environment that energizes everyone

By Shawn Murphy

Copyright 2016 Amacom

Price: $24.95

Pages: 224 with index

The world seems to be a more pessimistic places these days and the workplace is no different. As we share our worries and our concerns over everything from the economy to politics to health much of this sneaks into the work plans thus hurting it to no end.

This new book by Shawn Murphy goes a long way towards relieving some of this stress that has caused our places of work to be shall we say less than optimistic?

But as Murphy points out there are a number of things we can do about this the first one being creating a sense of purpose for what we are doing. Making sure that everyone understands that what we do at work is important and yes matters.

Some of the principles that work in making the places we work more cheerful, passionate and yes of course optimistic are:

• Our relationships with one another at work have to matter they have to be more important than just the normal old co-worker type of getting along. People have to matter to one another. They have to understand that appreciate that the team is more important than the individuals.

• We have to create benevolent places of work where people care as much for the people in the community as they do for the people in the company. As Murphy says, “Doing good is good for business.” And I might add doing is good is good for everybody.

• It is important that people know their true value both in and out of work. We all have to realize that what we do is important.

• Setting goals to be all inclusive. Not everyone is going to fit in to ever organization but we have to try to include all people.

• Optimism is not a dirty word. Being optimistic is not being naïve. There are many good reason for the optimistic workplace and it is our job not only as leaders but as employees as well to work hard to make the workplace optimistic and to make work a good place.

Happy workers are great workers. Workers with a purpose, a true reason for being at work and finding the importance in that work are all part of a successful workplace in a successful company can come to think of it, a successful like as well.

A good book on a timely subject.