Team Longevity: A Critical Factor for Stress Control by Cathy Jameson

Over the years, I have studied stress control as it relates to the dental profession. It has been my goal to introduce and support communicative, management, and personnel systems that provide "preventive management":  management that leads to not only productivity and profitability but also to the control of stress.

In my research of over 3000 dental professionals, challenges with and/or among team members was rated as the number one source of stress. One of the factors that leads to this stress is turnover of team members. The cost of hiring and training, the energy that is exuded during that process and the time is takes for a new person to get "up to speed" are financially, emotionally, and physically challenging. Keeping quality team members on board for a long time is a desirable goal.

LONGEVITY?  HOW?

What does it take to develop longevity with personnel? What does it take to make and keep team members happy? And is this a responsibility of the leader/owner? I believe it is. The connection between happiness and longevity in the workplace has been studied over time and remains a subject of continued study because of its relevance to the total health and well-being of an organization and to the members thereof.

Over two thousand years ago, Aristotle studied human happiness. He determined that "happiness" is the ultimate goal of human beings. He wrote about "the balance of life" and the critical factors related to that balance: love, work, worship, and play.

There will probably never be a day when anyone is in perfect balance. That is an illusion. However, striving toward that balance brings a person closer to fulfillment and happiness. Of course, the definition of happiness is allusive. What brings happiness to one person may not bring happiness to another. Philosophers have long believed that even though there is not one definition of happiness, each person recognizes times in which they are more satisfied, content and joyful than others. Aristotle called this the "summum bonum"-the "chief good". That is what people are seeking in the workplace.

Does this apply to your practice? To your business? To your team? To their longevity with your practice? I think so. If people are going to come to you, work productively with you and stay with you, they must be happy. Your leadership will determine whether or not people thrive and survive in your environment. 

Dr. Marvin Seligman, in his studies on happiness in the workplace defines three components of happiness. One is engagement: the depth of involvement with one's family, work, romance and hobbies. The second is meaning: using personal strengths to serve some larger end. And the third is pleasure.

Unfortunately, many people in today's society work because they "have to" but feel that work is "a necessary evil". Many people get up every day, fight the traffic (or other challenges) and go to work with a grudge wishing that they were going anywhere else. 

However, happiness and work can be intertwined. 

What brings happiness to the workplace or to the people on the team? What leads to longevity? Refer to my column in the September 2005issue of Dental Economics where I outlined things I have seen that work and things I have seen that don't work in the area of motivation in the workplace. Give yourself a brief quiz and ask yourself, honestly, if you are doing things that work or things that don't work. Make alterations where appropriate.

Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, is the director of The Quality of Life Research Center in Claremont, California. In his research, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi has determined that a business and a business leader cannot depend on material inducements alone. "Money, security, and comfort may be necessary to make us happy," says Dr. Csikszentmihalyi, "But they are definitely not sufficient. A person must also feel that his or her talents are fully employed, that he/she is able to develop potentialities, and that everyday life in not stressful or boring." He goes on to say that "a good life consists of more than simply the totality of enjoyable experiences. It must also have a meaningful pattern, a trajectory of growth, and social complexity."

IN SUMMARY

Longevity in the workplace is based on happiness. Consider the aspects of happiness and begin the path of improvement by analyzing the present situation. Your leadership in creating and maintaining an environment that nurtures happiness will prove to be one of the most productive things you ever do.

Register today for one of Jameson's ongoing Leadership Workshops to help you hone the skills you need to effectively lead yourself and your team toward longevity and success.  For more information click here.