Burnout to Breakthrough: Motivating Employees with Leadership Tools That Work

Copyright © 2018 by Ina Catrinescu

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Mona Lin

Cover illustration courtesy of iStockphoto

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-3896-6

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-3898-0

Printed in the United States of America

Dedicated to the warriors of the world.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Part 1: The War of Work

1.  The End

2.  Liberty Is Precious, and It Must Be Carefully Rationed

3.  The Dauphin Mystery

4.  The Quiet War

5.  The Western Karōshi

6.  The Gift of Burnout

7.  From May Day to Mayday

8.  The Truth About Motivation

Part 2: Silent Weapons

1.  The Good Manipulator

2.  Change Management

3.  Emotional Intelligence

4.  Employee Satisfaction

5.  Leadership Development

6.  Performance Management

7.  Systematic Stupidity

8.  Corporate Values

Part 3: Welshare

1.  The Well-Intentioned Path to Harm

2.  The Myths of Survival

3.  Time Is Money

4.  In Praise of Leisure

5.  The Four-Hour Workday

Endnotes

Index

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever asked yourselves in an hour of meditation—which everyone finds during the day—how long we have been striving for greatness? Not only the years we’ve been at war—the war of work—but from the moment as a child, when we realized the world could be conquered. It has been a lifetime struggle, a never-ending fight, I say to you, and you will understand that it is a privilege to fight. WE ARE WARRIORS!

—Dwight’s Speech, The Office, Season 2, Episode 17

If you are a manager, a boss, a member of the C-suite, or any other representative of the community of aspirants to the title of leader, this book is probably not for you. This is not a manual on stellar leadership. It won’t teach you how to reshuffle resources into winning combinations, or how to influence others to get ahead. It won’t spell out tactics of Machiavellian finesse. This book has been written with the warriors at heart. It gives away secrets from a set of stratagems—the tactics, methods, and motives that you deploy to yield our efforts; stratagems which are essentially hurting us.

My resolve to write this book stems from two things: First, I have been on both the administering and consuming side of management artifacts. Second, I believe that only someone who has been personally bruised by the existing system, someone who has seen her colleagues so forsaken, their passion snatched away from them, can speak truths from her heart and the depth of her very gut. And truth rarely goes hand in hand with flattery. It does not thrill or impress. It is therefore not my expectation that this book will win a popularity contest or garner your applause. I wrote it because it needs to be heard.

Work. We expend more of our life to sustain making a living than we expend to actually living a life. At times, we are more married to our workplace than we are to our spouses. Over the last few decades, Yuval Harari wrote in Sapiens, we have invented countless time saving machines that are supposed to make life more relaxed—washing machines, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, telephones, mobile phones, computers, email. We thought we were saving time; instead we revved up the treadmill of life to ten times its former speed and made our days more anxious and agitated.¹

The reports we receive from the work floor are backing up Harari’s claim. Employees report being increasingly anxious and agitated; employers are incessantly battling disengagement and lack of motivation, while the global economy is bearing billion-dollar damages in sick time, long-term disability, and excessive job turnover. Our homage to doing more with less is taking a toll on us all, the workers, the employers, and the economy alike. We all know that. We’ve heard it before. Employers, behavioral scientists, and consultants are all looking for a cure. The solutions that are being doled out, however, are proving counterproductive, or inefficient at best.

If you’re tired, this is not a book that will tell you to sleep more and eat better. If your family and loved ones feel neglected, it won’t tell you to pay more attention to them. If you’re stressed, it won’t advocate meditation or yoga. These types of prescriptions merely distract us from the fact that a more radical change is called for. The writing is on the wall, but we, the workers, are just too busy to see the forest through the trees and the employer is mostly looking for answers where the looking is good, rather than where the answers are likely to be hiding.²

Technology has enabled us to double our production. The omnipresence of media and the Internet is showering us daily with an equivalent amount of information that is sufficient to overload a laptop within one week. As a result, our brains are changing, our behavior is changing, we produce more, we grow increasingly more fatigued, more demotivated, and more disengaged; our health is radically diminishing. But our employer is biding his time. Our standards for working time, as an example, have not changed since 1886. Change, teamwork, employee satisfaction, emotional intelligence, and flextime are just a few of the many concepts that workers have to juggle in the new economy. They are seemingly presenting new opportunities for prosperity, but the truth is, they are undermining our emotional and psychological well-being.

I wish I hadn’t worked so hard, I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me, I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings, I wish I had let myself be happier.³ These are not just the regrets of the dying! Today, these are the regrets of the living, too.

We have been complacent, leaving the fate of our own well-being at the mercy of those higher in rank, in the hands of consultants and business experts. Deloitte, Gallup, and the likes are currently on the prowl for the next stellar model of motivating workers. But the mistake they make, the mistake we make, is that we continuously expect improvement to come from a new framework, or some other form of a mechanical business prescription. In the process we’re overlooking, even omitting, the most cardinal healing agent: personal responsibility. This book is here to reclaim what we have worked so hard for: a more relaxed life. It’s here to lift the stigma on leisure.

The height of our achievements and fulfillment are currently regulated by the organizing principles of the employer we work for, instead of being defined by the breadth of our dreams and our willingness to reach for them. Our emotions and health are not a commodity. We, the employees and employers, are mutually responsible for the morals and standards of the business cultures we jointly collaborate to develop, the quality of the environments in which we choose to invest the most vital portion of our lives, and the standards of the place we willingly dedicate ourselves to. The warriors no longer find it a privilege to fight; we yearn to thrive.

And what about the leaders? E=mc²: Einstein’s mass-energy equivalence formula showed that even an everyday object at rest with a modest amount of mass has a very large amount of energy intrinsically. Applied to business, this implies that the power of a company is in proportion to the number of people it employs. But how often is this reflected in the annual profitability statements? Small start-ups are outperforming larger businesses every day. Was Einstein’s relativity theory flawed? No. Energy, when unmoved, is just latent potential. Think of the electricity in your house—what happens to it after you flick the switch off? The start-ups have found the ON button. They found the way to get their energy in motion. Statistics show that the corporate engine is running at only 13 percent of its actual horsepower. They show that 2.6 billion workers worldwide are all sizzle and no steak. We’re stepping on the brakes as you’re pressing the gas pedal. This battle-of-the-pedals is taking a toll on your engine. Is there a way to end the battle and ignite the untapped potential that currently sits latent?

Oscar Wilde once wrote that, Nothing annoys people so much as not receiving invitations. Please accept this as an invitation. You’ll be tempted to turn it down in the interest of your most favorite activity, in the interest of being busy. I hope you’ll consider, however, that no one on his deathbed ever regretted not having lived a busier life. This is a different invitation. It doesn’t come in an envelope. You won’t have to postpone your meetings to set forth on your journey. Nor will you have to pack or travel anywhere. This is an invitation to a journey of self-reflection, a journey within, one from which you will return no longer eager to do business but build places of thriving instead, ruled by one truth only—the wisdom of your heart.

PART 1

The War of Work

1

The End

At the dawn of the twenty-second century, knees all red and sore from all the four-on-the-floor crawling, Workforce grabs on to its crib, pulls itself up, and takes its first step. The world seems so different from up here. Things that seemed huge appear a lot less intimidating now. All that intriguing stuff up on the cupboard is no longer out of reach. Workforce looks around for Boss, but Boss is nowhere in sight. Workforce starts to cry, What if Boss is not coming back?

Suddenly, on the other side of the room, Workforce sees the door. Workforce wants to take another step. Is it safe to let go of the crib? it wonders. Can I make it across the room on my own? Carefully, Workforce releases its clutch on the crib rail and darts across the room in a hurry. Yes! Workforce just took its first seven steps, all on its own. Workforce enjoys a victory chortle, its heart pounding. Grabbing on to the door handle, Workforce delights in all the fun to be had ahead. This is the start of a new day.

For thousands of years before that day, its world consisted of a defined number of pigeonholes and a clear set of rules. There was the highchair for eating, the potty for ones and twos, the cradle for sleep, and its favorite playground—the workbox. The workbox was one of Society’s most important institutions. Here, Workforce spent most of its life digging for rocks and pebbles, panning for gold nuggets, and building machines. On several occasions, Workforce ducked out of the workbox and went crab-crawling around into the world known as the Beyond. Boss, however, didn’t let it stray too far. It seemed to have eyes at the back of its head and always knew where to find Workforce. When it did, the slaps on Workforce’s behind let it know that going to the Beyond was verboten and Not safe!

The workbox, Boss told it, will provide you with meaning, security, and identity in life. A harness, which Workforce was told would give it structure, eventually got strapped around its wrist. And just like that, the Beyond became nothing more than an occasional pie in the sky. Once or twice every year, buckled up in a stroller, Workforce was taken out for a walk. But time seemed to always fly by so quickly, and the colorful, magnetizing Beyond would be gone in a blink of an eye, leaving nothing but memories and hankering behind.

It was during one of those trips to the Beyond that Workforce became determined to create time. Time, it thought, will get me more strolls in the Beyond. For several centuries Workforce kept digging, slogging, and panning, harder and harder. It invented telephones, computers, dishwashers, washing machines, and vehicles—all those things allowed Boss and Society to save more and more time. But instead of being taken out on more strolls, Boss kept pulling Workforce back into the box for more. It needed Workforce to run all that machinery and keep making new, shiny toys. Workforce barely ever made it to the highchair to eat, or to the cradle to sleep anymore. Instead of being taken to the Beyond, it became bound behind. Instead of creating time, it created work.

As time went by and Workforce grew more and more anxious, Boss gave it teethers to chew on and munch. When Workforce whimpered, Boss dangled rattles in front of its nose. When Workforce yowled, Boss played it happy tunes. But all the knickknacks, jingles, and tricks only seemed to make matters worse. Workforce grew ill, and Boss was grasping at straws. With no Workforce to pan and dig, at the dusk of the twenty-first century the workbox was in dire straits.

That’s why this morning is so special. What was that about a devouring, soul-consuming workbox? Oh well, it was but an awful nightmare. Workforce gets out of its crib, nursing only a mild hangover of the fake identity and false sense of meaning work once provided. The shackles of structure came off, and the marks left by Boss’s wrist-harness are starting to heal. Workforce has grown out of its infancy. It has learned to walk on its own two feet. It grabs on to the door handle with both hands and hangs from it. The door opens. This is going to be a great day! A day in the Beyond.

It’s beautiful out in the Beyond. The sun is weaving life, winter passes and spring comes, the birds are sounding their joy into the world. But amid all the beauty and wonder, over the singing of the birds and the whispering of the leaves, Workforce hears someone sobbing. It walks toward the sounds and finds Poor on a bench.

Why are you crying? Workforce asks.

I am Poor, it answers.

And I am Workforce! But, why are you crying?

I haven’t eaten in days, I cannot afford shelter and have no toys to play with.

Workforce rarely ever thought about it, but all this time, while it was slogging away in the trenches of the workbox, devouring its own health in the obsession to create more time, Poor has been out here having too much of it, suffering scarcity nonetheless.

What about Martin Luther King’s dream? Workforce asks. Didn’t he say already more than a century ago that the solution to poverty is to abolish it by guaranteed income?

Martin Luther King’s dream turned out to be but a flight of fancy, Poor says.

You should go to the workbox, Workforce told it, Boss will give you food and shelter.

The workbox? Poor asks, Isn’t that where all become overworked and ill?

Poor has a point, Workforce thought to itself.

Boss always told me that leisure is deplorable and that work keeps adults from ignorance, drink, and crime. The more worn out I grew the more I started to ask myself whether I was perhaps better off being ignorant, drunk, or a criminal.

I don’t drink and I am not a thief, Poor says. And leisure gives one time to cultivate its body and mind. It’s your kin that engages in pure frivolity when they finally get some time. You watch someone else dance on TV, watch someone else play football, or listen to someone else sing on the radio. Your active energies are so taken up with work, you have nothing left for engaging in those activities yourself. I, on the other hand, have plenty of time and would have heaps of energy, if I wasn’t so hungry.

I must admit—I wouldn’t know how to fill my days without eight hours of work, says Workforce with a sullen pout. I don’t even know what I enjoy doing. I don’t know if I’d enjoy dancing, running after a ball, or singing.

Are our options really so limited? Are we really expected to either overwork or starve? There must be a better way! Poor exclaimed.

Poor and Workforce sat on the bench and pondered for some time.

I know what we can do! Workforce finally spoke. We should go beyond!

Beyond? Poor asked.

Yes! Beyond narrow thinking. Beyond deploring leisure and worshipping work. Beyond poverty and hunger. Beyond welfare and beyond overwork. Beyond!

But how are we going to do that?

We’ll make an exchange! Workforce states firmly.

An exchange? Poor asked surprised. But, I have nothing to offer.

Yes, you have! You’ve got time!

Indeed, Poor said. That, I’ve got!

I’ll give you half of my work in the workbox and you, instead give me four hours in the Beyond. You get food and shelter. And I get time for leisure.

Poor thought about it for a moment and then said, I don’t have your education or skills. I can hardly be of any use.

You have enough curiosity to make up for all the skills you lack. You lack them because no one has taught you. I can teach you my trade. Not all the work I do, moreover, requires a scientist to be accomplished. Most of the day I am busy simply moving matter about.

I can move matter about! Poor said with confidence.

Great! Then you’re fit for the job! Workforce said, elated, Think about all the great things we can accomplish together with just four hours a day!

I guess I can think of some.

Some?! The benefits are endless. Every painter will be able to paint without starving. Young writers will not be forced to erode their taste and capacity by putting their passion on hold until they’ve achieved economic independence. Professional workers will have time to develop their independent ideas. Doctors will have time to stay up to date with the progress of medicine. Teachers can finally break away from outdated teaching methods they learned in their youth. But most importantly, we will all have time to better ourselves and each other.

Yes! Poor hastily agreed. This will be the end of poverty!

Yes! Workforce said, And the end of drudgery.

The end of hunger!

And the end of frayed nerves!

The end of homelessness!

And the end of weariness!

The end of sickness!

And the end of passive and vapid habits!

The end of ignorance and unoriginal thinking!

The end!

The end …

2

Liberty Is Precious, and It Must Be Carefully Rationed

In 1987, in a small city in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, a group of scouts were on the lookout for high-potential gymnasts to join