State of Mind

My job performance, productivity, and quality of work are all inextricably tied to my state of mind. When I feel good about my job and my co-workers, when I feel that I'm doing the best work I can do and being recognized for that, then I feel good about my job. My passion and commitment for my profession and the work I do translates to a passion and commitment to the job.

When these things happen, I have high "work esteem". I care.

When I care, I invest more of myself in my work. I strive to make things better. I make suggestions (lots of suggestions. :-). I volunteer for things, such as running meetings, that, to be honest, I'd generally rather not do. I search out problems I can solve. I fight for the good of the group. I work for consensus. I make a substantially higher commitment.

The feedback loop is crucial. Positive reinforcement and perceived respect for a job well done give me a reason to do more. The cycle feeds on itself. Commitment takes effort. The return has to justify the effort.

Make it clear that you don't respect my ideas, tell me to stop making suggestions, override my decisions, undermine my authority in my areas of expertise, or show me that my commitment is less valued than I believe it should be and I'll stop caring. There's a lot of energy involved in caring.

Energy rebounded becomes stress. Then things go rapidly the other way in the proverbial handbasket.