Author's Note: I wrote this blog post before the COVID-19 crisis hit and kept re-scheduling and re-scheduling it as I wrote more COVID-19 related posts. As I re-read it I believe that doing these things are especially critical now, so here it is! Enjoy!

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Studies have shown that 70% of employees are disengaged at work. If you’ve read my blogs or attended any of of my talks or seminars around the country you’ve probably heard me use this stat a lot, especially in my leadership sessions. When I mention this stat I use it to motivate managers and leaders to become better managers and leaders and also as a “reality check” to them because they set the temperature on their teams.

Today, I want to use that stat to motivate YOU-even if- especially if-you are one of the “disengaged” employees that go to work everyday and hate it!

Your Reality Check

If you go to work everyday and you feel disengaged, what will YOU do about it?

Life is too short to spend 2,000 hours a year at a job that you hate! So, with the exception of quitting your job and finding a new one, you have several options to choose from:

• Continue to work at a job that you don’t like
• Change something about the experience so that you do like your job

Look, “If you cannot get out of it (your job)-get into it!” Why not make every day a Friday instead of a Monday???

Here are four ways to do that…

One: Control What You Can-Ignore What You Can’t

What would you say if I told you that you’re in control of your experience at work? I know, you may be saying, “But, Rommel-I work for an awful boss-I can’t control that!” And you’re right-you are not in control of your boss (or that awful resident, or the noisy location, or the old product you need to manage or sell) but you do have control over how your respond to those things!

When you find yourself in frustrating situations pause and think about what you actually have control over and what you don’t. Take the things you don’t have control over and let them go! Then do these things:

• Look at what you do have control over
• Think about what you can do to make the situation better
• If you can’t make the situation better, what can YOU learn from it?
• What can you do to move forward positively?

Two: Find the Joy

Researchers have said the number one driver of employee satisfaction is a concept called “play.” In other words if people derive pleasure from what they do for work, they’re more likely to be engaged. You can either wait for your employer to make the environment joyous (waiting for something out of your control) or you can choose in big and small ways to find and live the joy.

The cool part of being in the multifamily housing industry is that you provide homes for people. Reflect on that for a minute…how cool is that? Every day you provide a fundamental need for people. You are directly and indirectly a part of every resident’s story. You can take so much joy and satisfaction in that.

But if you need more help in finding the joy-I encourage you to pause right now and list five things positive things about your work. Then when things get tougher (as they will) look at that list again. When things are good, add to the list!

Three: Celebrate 

Find ways to celebrate your achievements. When you hit a goal, celebrate. When you do something well, celebrate. When you respond to tough situations in positive and not negative ways-CELEBRATE! Train your mind to develop the habit of looking for the positives and not the negatives. It will make a huge difference.

Celebrate your co-workers achievements too! We all like praise and recognition, so be the one that praises and recognizes others! BTW: Don't do it in a sarcastic way like, "It's about time you got a lease!" or "Wow! You finally showed up to work on time!" (=

Four: Build Your Work Tribe

You may spend more time with your work family than with your real family, so why not work everyday to make your work relationships enjoyable? Start by being the best co-worker that you can be for the people around you. Think about your impact on other people.

In other words how do people feel after they've been around you? 

Do people feel positive? Encouraged? Motivated? Relaxed? Peaceful? Do they want you to keep talking? Or do they feel stressed? Beaten down? Exhausted? Are they hoping you'll finally stop talking!!

Truthfully, we will always have a mixture of positive and negative impact on others. (Yes, even YOU!) So take inventory and do things that keep your positive impact going and also reduce your negative impact. If you're not sure what your positive and/or negative impact is, ask someone you trust for their input. 

As you increase your positive impact and minimize your negative impact you will start a chain reaction in your office environment. Two things to know-it may not happen overnight and the changes may seem small and insignificant at first. Over time those positive changes create a chain reaction and will add up!

Make everyday a Friday and watch the difference it can make in your career!