Quantum Culture: The Physics of the Energized Workplace

I recently arbitrated a dispute involving a Teamsters bargaining unit and a large non-profit organization in the State of Washington. Their labor history, in my view, might best be characterized as what not to do. It was marked with extensive conflict, including a recent strike by the employees that lasted almost four months. As I listened to the testimony of various witnesses, I found myself repeatedly attempting to understand why there was so much negativity in the workforce. It is easy to arrive at the conclusion that the negativity is a product of having a labor union represent the bargaining unit employees, but that analysis seems superficial to me since there are numerous examples of labor management relationships which support a positive workplace environment.

That arbitration hearing influenced my decision to write about negative and positive energy in the workplace. While an employee work stoppage is an obvious example of negative energy at work, it does not take a strike to create negative energy. The fact is that negativity in the workplace is one of the most frequent problems that I find myself discussing with clients. Malicious rumors, gossip and other similar behaviors are all too frequently present. Moreover, I was further influenced to write on this topic by the comment I heard recently from a well known consultant. He believes that negativity in the workplace is the number one problem facing American business.

The following points of analysis are offered with the hope that one or more of them is helpful to those of you receiving this e-zine.

1. Margaret Wheatley’s wonderful book, Leadership and the New Science, applies principles of quantum physics to the process of leadership. Since quantum physics is all about the study of energy, she has a lot to say about how energy can be directed in an organization. She offers the proposition that managing employees can be rethought of in terms of managing the energy of employees. From this view, management is all about helping employees align their energies towards the twin goals of 1) positively supporting each other and 2) task accomplishment. While easier said then done, I believe that recognizing these goals is an important first step towards significant change.
   
   

2. Also, notice the subtle but important distinction between working to stop malicious gossip or rumors and the goal of building positive energy towards specific goals. My experience has been that when you present a positive task to a workgroup, particularly the task of focusing their energies on helping to build a more positive workplace, their efforts towards this goal pushes aside the ongoing negativity. The challenge for the organization, therefore, is to help supervisors and managers develop the skill set necessary to keep their workgroup’s attention focused on the positive goal. Most important, focusing a group’s energy on what is wanted is usually more productive than trying to focus that energy on what you want to get rid of.
   
   

3. I am very impressed with a new book that I have just received (2003 copyright) by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, The Power of Full Engagement. The authors take the position that “managing energy, not time, is the key to high performance and personal renewal.” The following is found on page 5:
   
   

   “The number of hours in a day is fixed, but the quantity and quality of energy available to us is not. It is our most precious resource. The more we take responsibility for the energy we bring to the world, the more empowered and productive we become. The more we blame others or external circumstances, the more negative and compromised our energy is likely to be.”
   

   
   I found this book to have a wealth of good information about energy management in the workplace.
   
   

4. Loehr and Schwartz first emphasize that, just like an athlete trains to become stronger, an organization can train to have greater amounts of positive energy present in the workplace.
   
   

5. Loehr and Schwartz also believe that we increase the capacity for high energy output when employees take on a significant task, work hard at it and then have a period of time for recovery. In their view, employees in an organization gradually wear down when they are asked to output continuously at a high level. On the other hand, work continuously performed at a slower, steady pace never stretches employees and thus also does not work to build greater energy. I believe that the concept of cycles of exertion followed by recovery needs to be explored and implemented.
   
   

6. A critical point is that it is hard to focus de-energized employees on a positive task. Thus, having employees who bring high levels of energy to the workplace is a first step towards creating and aligning positive energies.

Obviously, I find the topic of building, maintaining and focusing positive energy in the workplace to be highly important. Therefore, I intend to revisit it next month with the thought of providing some useful “how-tos.”