Love....in the Workplace

Love in the workplace:

Love has many meanings, nuances, and ramifications. When I first went into management work in 1982, I was by necessity thinking about many things in the new adventure. Of course there were all the details that needed to be attended to, the best way to have things run effectively and efficiently, the personnel decisions and issues that arose, and also overall policies and procedures. Being open to the spiritual in Life, I also asked myself how do I translate and inject the energy of Love into the business environment. I concluded that other words were more conducive to the workplace and tended to translate “Love” into “Care”…whether it was caring for the kind of work we were doing… or taking care of customers… or working together in an atmosphere of care and respect for others.

I introduced teamwork and group meetings as a way to help empower each person… give each person a say. And at times people were able to help with issues that were happening in other areas. Of course there was some resistance to group involvement since everyone was used to being told what to do from the top down. When I eventually was fired from this position due to being too “progressive” and having a different philosophy than the owner, these empowerment experiments were cited as a reason… I’m glad I did what I did, even if it was not appreciated... it seemed the right thing to do. And it didn’t stop me from getting other jobs after that.

Caring in the workplace can go a long way from how we treat each other to how we approach our tasks. This seems a practical form of love that respects others and works toward the common good. Of course top down dictatorships and other hierarchical systems are somewhat easier in the short run, but usually must use some form of fear factor as a motivator… “You do as I say or else”… either stated or implied… It employs a “power-over” model rather an “empower-with” approach.

So how do you allow Love’s present energy to flow in your place of work?

What does respecting others mean in practical terms?

What percentage of talking to listening are we practicing?

What others actions and attitudes help to bring “Love “ to everyday situations?

 

If love is important to you, how do you choose to be it and manifest it?

 

John Hutchinson - October 1, 2014