Workplace as Community

(I’d like to thank my good friend and colleague, Chris Schaefer, for suggesting the theme for this year.)

We live in a world where many people feel alienated from others in their lives:  they may be estranged from their families or unhappy around co-workers, or have few deep friendships.  They aren’t “joiners,” and many of the conventional places where people find affiliation and community, such as neighborhoods, volunteer organizations, religious institutions and community groups have lost their attraction.  Some people are beginning to realize that they spend most of their waking hours feeling isolated and unhappy.  As a result, for this year’s theme, I’d like to explore the possibility of transforming our workplace into a place where people feel included, connected and accepted:  by creating an enriching workplace community.

The ideas we’ll be addressing this year are (1) defining workplace community; (2) the pluses and minuses of building a workplace community; (3) realistic and unrealistic expectations for community; (4) what to do when expectations aren’t met; and (5) how to make community work.

Over the next five issues of 2004, we’ll explore the potential meaning of workplace not just as a location where we show up five or six days a week, but as a place where we can learn, grow, contribute and connect with others in positive and meaningful ways.  Here’s how these ideas will unfold:

What is a Workplace Community?

In the April issue, the question will be, “How do we try to create community in the workplace?  What would employees need to contribute to create a community environment?  What are some of the general principles that would guide the building of community?  Does everyone need to participate?  What happens if people opt out? These are some of the questions we’ll address when we begin to define how you might contribute to creating a workplace community.

What are the Pluses and Minuses of a Workplace Community?

Every venture we pursue has its advantages and disadvantages.  It’s helpful to think through how you and your organization might benefit from creating community, as well as the level of disruption these actions might create.  If the environment is far from being a community, do you want to make the effort to change things?  Do you already have some of the attributes of community in place?  What do you think is missing?  Will you have support from management and from other employees?  Do you want to pursue this effort directly or indirectly?  We’ll talk about how you might address these questions in productive and practical ways.

What are Realistic Expectations for Community?

If you interview every employee in your organization, you’ll find that each one has his or her own vision for what a community would look like.  Certainly there would be an overlap of ideas, but no two people would have precisely the same picture.  We’ll explore how you might create a collective view of community, the difference between creating community and creating family, what makes sense to include in your workplace community building, and how to make sure that people have opportunities to share their hopes and concerns in constructive ways.

What Do We Do When Expectations Aren’t Met?

In spite of your efforts to establish and clarify community principles, include others and encourage participation in creating workplace community, everyone will not have all their expectations met.  You won’t be able to satisfy everyone completely (including yourself) in community building.  There are steps you can take to honor people’s disappointments, to make sure that reasonable expectations have been discussed, and to ensure that people have truly been heard.  And you’ll learn what to do if people are still hurt or disillusioned by the kind of community you have decided to create.

How to Make it Work

Assuming that you decide to create workplace community (or strengthen the community you already have), what do you do next?  How do you work with these disparate and sometimes divisive issues in a way that you build trust, relationship and understanding?   These are the questions we’ll address in our final issue of the year.

Don’t forget about our workshop, “Sharpening the Mind:  Practical Work Tools for the 21^st Century.”  Deadline to register is February 23;  you can see the workshop outline at  http://www.thequinncompany.com/attachment/SHARPENING_THE_MIND.doc or paste the link into your browser.