The Meaningful Work Newsletter is brought to you by Philosophy2u. Each edition aims to bring substance and insight to your life. There are no shortcuts to meaningfulness. So enjoy the long-form letter over a nice cup of tea or coffee! If you're not subscribed to our mailing list, you can do so below. You can also join the conversation in our dedicated LinkedIn group. Dr Todd Mei Editor |
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Content for September 2023 Our focus this month is Happiness. What Is Happiness? Practice: Enhancing Professional Well-being Ideation: Spreading the Word Guest Column: The Hierarchy of Self-Care by Terrell Holmes (MS)
~ “You’ve heard over and over again that sleep is important. When it comes to the Hierarchy of Self-Care, it is the most important wellness practice . . . . Adequate sleep is in the range of 7-9 hours per night.” |
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What Is Happiness? “If more than 80% of people enjoy their work, then why are nearly 80% of workers quietly (or loudly) quitting? The answer is this simple: Work doesn’t make people unhappy; the workplace does.”
Gallup Poll Findings * * * * *
Isn't the meaning of happiness straightforward? It’s all about your emotional and psychological states as they relate to pleasure.
This is no doubt true, but it’s not the complete picture. A conception of happiness that is rooted only in an account of pleasure runs the risk of being short-lived and lacking substantial meaning. What most philosophers and psychologists can tell you is that at first pleasurable experiences consume us, only then to lose their potency as we become used to them. You may be tempted to think that’s just simply how humans are built. But the history of philosophy demonstrates otherwise. Happiness is about more than pleasurable experiences. Even John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), who takes pleasure as the key component of the good life, sees the most important forms of pleasure as involving more than just satisfaction. Higher pleasures, as he argues, challenge us, educate us, and ultimately bring us together as a society. Aristotle is perhaps a better source on happiness since he sees pleasure as something external to being happy. While a summary of his approach is beyond the remit of this newsletter, the ideation section below incorporates much of his philosophy. If you want a deeper five, then you can always browse our recent blog on being happy. This is not to diminish the importance of our emotions and the role of emotional intelligence in a flourishing life. For example, a strong sense of unhappiness at work should not be ignored or thought to be normal. Try P2U's Emotional Intelligence Quiz below! |
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What’s essential, as we will see throughout this month’s newsletter, is that our experience of pleasure is connected to projects and tasks that are themselves meaningful — whether this involves caring about one’s own mental health, substantial enterprises, or grasping the many ways in which we can nurture self-caring. And that is to say, happiness is not about pleasure alone, but pleasure in the service of things greater than immediate gratification. |
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Practice: Enhancing Professional Well-being In my OD&D Podcast I explore pertinent topics to enhance professional well-being, and this week, I turn our attention to the invaluable aspect of mental health. While not a mental health expert, I bring a wealth of experience from the world of business and healthcare, which highlights the critical need for us to address mental health strategically. Today, we hone in on the significance of recognizing when one's mental health requires attention, particularly within the corporate sphere. Listening to Your Mind: A Strategic Approach Much like our approach to optimizing business operations, our mental well-being deserves strategic consideration. Drawing parallels between mental and physical health and the corporate world, let's consider the analogy of a business process that needs monitoring and adjustment. Just as we track key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge the health of a business process, we must adopt a similar approach when it comes to our mental well-being. |
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Unlocking the Value of Conversation In the business world, strategic communication is key to success. When we apply this principle to mental health, the results can be transformative. Consider this: much like in business, where persistent issues can hinder growth, failing to address mental health can impede personal and professional development. The Power of the Triple Question: “Are You Okay?” In the corporate realm, we're accustomed to seeking clarity by asking questions repeatedly. Similarly, in the context of mental health, the triple question, “Are you okay?" holds immense power. A typical conversation goes something along these lines: “Hey, you don't seem like yourself at the moment, are you ok?” “Yeah, I am fine, thanks for checking in." “I am really interested, and I am here if you want to talk. Are you ok?” “Ahh thanks, yeah it's been a bit tough recently, but I am keeping my head up and just getting on with it.” “What's been tough? Can I help at all, even just to listen? Are you sure you are ok?” “Actually no, I am not. I am really under pressure at work and home life is chaotic; and I just can't seem to get on top of anything. ” (conversation continues) It's often the third inquiry that prompts individuals to open up about their struggles. By demonstrating genuine concern, we can help our colleagues and team members unlock their potential and overcome obstacles. ~ In conclusion, a strategic approach to mental health is essential in both personal and professional contexts. Just as we meticulously analyze business processes, we must regularly assess our mental well-being. By recognizing the signs, fostering open communication, and deploying the power of the triple question, we can drive positive change, enhance value, and contribute to a more resilient and prosperous work environment. Joseph Smart OD&D Consultant, Smart Joseph Consulting |
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Ideation: Spreading the Word Not all activities can be happy ones. Many activities are boring, laborious, repetitive, or trivial. And most likely, when looking specifically at activities at work, the likelihood of tasks being unpleasant increases. But think of two scenarios. Scenario 1 Cheryl is a project manager and enjoys the challenge of bringing a large project together on time and under budget. What she doesn’t enjoy are the details of trying to get various people to communicate with one another and getting others to comply with deadlines on the Gantt chart. It gets her frustrated and sometimes demoralized. Scenario 2 Jace is a budding cello player who one day wants to attend a prestigious music conservatory. He dreams of playing in an orchestra and eventually would like to perform the cello solo in John Tavener’s “The Protecting Veil”. But instead of trying to play such pieces, he works on specific techniques and hand movements for a few hours a day. Whereas some would consider such practice tedious, Jace sees it as necessary. So what’s the difference between the two scenarios? All things being equal, the key difference is the power of the word. What I mean by this is the power that words have in our understanding of what is necessary and what is meaningful. Think of it as the power of words ordered in a story, or storytelling. The most effective use of stories in our lives is when they are unified in such a way as to drive towards a greater goal or design. Often the greater goal will take a long duration to achieve — years if not a lifetime. What one finds in such instances is that grand narratives help us to make sense of the smaller, episodic experiences that occur on a day-to-day basis. In other words, to make sense of those small things we may not like, we have to see them within a grander context of the end or ends to which they contribute. It’s likely Jace has taken this path, unwittingly or not. So what’s Cheryl to do? First, what Cheryl is not to do is fabricate a grand narrative that merely ignores or buries the problems she faces on a daily basis. That’s what philosophers would call a vicious narrative. In Cheryl’s case, a virtuous narrative is one that helps her see the importance of staff communications and seeking ways obstacles and difficulties can be resolved, or even dissolved. The key is that being aware of one’s grand (and virtuous) narrative will enable one to become attuned and sensitive to factors that can be influenced and transformed. Each situation and context will involve and require unique solutions. But what remains the same is that the narrative acts as the backbone by which one can analyze and interpret what may need to be done. In Cheryl’s case, it might be introducing psychology tests to see who may work better together, setting up weekly trouble-shooting seminars that can double as team-building, or employing an external consultant to provide an objective overview of pain and friction points. Applying the power of the word within the workplace is a way to link tasks and activities to a greater sense of meaning, and thus happiness. For this to work effectively, both the organization and the individual employee need to have a clear sense of where their respective stories are going. They don’t have to be in agreement, but they ought to be complementary. For organizations, it’s not just a question of “vision and values” but of how such things integrate and inform the various roles and responsibilities. This can be achieved by nurturing employee capabilities such that they affirm organizational values but also develop the employee as a person. Interested in knowing more about the use of the Capabilities Approach in Meaningful Work? Check out the blog below. |
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For individuals, it’s a matter of finding what really matters for a flourishing life. It doesn’t have to be a grand philosophical exercise. You can start with your basic relation to the activities you enjoy doing and moving from there. There are a number of self-diagnostic tools out there to get you off on the right foot. Philosophy2u’s Meaningful Work Playbook is one of them. All this is to say that the power of the word is one of enriching our awareness of how a flourishing life can inform and thus transform the work we do. Spread the word, spread meaningful transformation!
Dr Todd Mei
Founder and Consultant for Philosophy2u |
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Hierarchy of Self-Care I’ve done hundreds of corporate trainings over the last several years that focus on, or incorporate, personal health and well-being. Inevitably, after I’ve spent 20 minutes discussing the virtues and importance of wellness and self-care, there comes a point where an attendee says something to the effect of, “But I’m too busy to do all this stuff. What should I focus on first?” My answer is this: Sleep, nutrition, movement, mindfulness, and community, in that order. I refer to this framework as the Hierarchy of Self-Care. |
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Lately, I’ve been looking for a tool to make it easy for people to begin engaging with each level of the Hierarchy. I settled on the number eight: Sleep for 8 hours each night Drink eight 8 oz. glasses (64 oz.) of water each day Move for 8 minutes before or after each meal Practice mindfulness for 8 minutes each day Maintain community ties through the 8-minute phone call
Sleep You’ve heard over and over again that sleep is important. When it comes to the Hierarchy of Self-Care, it is the most important wellness practice. It becomes very difficult to engage in the Hierarchy’s other wellness practices without adequate sleep. Adequate sleep is in the range of 7-9 hours per night. There are various dimensions of sleep that people talk about (REM, deep sleep, light sleep, lucid dreaming, etc.). You might eventually concern yourself with those topics but for now we just want you to start working on this Hierarchy of Self-Care. So for now, just concentrate on getting those 8 hours of shut-eye. Get more details on positive sleep habits here. Nutrition Nutrition comprises two components: Food and water. I won’t give you advice on food here, as many of us have specialized food regimens that we build in partnership with a physician or nutritionist. If you are looking for a simple way to start building your food regimen, you can start here. However, I will use this text to advocate for drinking water — a lot of water. Unless you’ve been instructed by a medical professional to drink a specific quantity of water every day, aim to drink 64 ounces of water each day — that’s eight 8-ounce glasses of water throughout the day. There are a number of benefits to drinking water. Water helps your body rid waste, aids digestion, and aids in skin health. |
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Movement When it comes to movement, there are two primary activities: cardio work and resistance training. For the sake of this article, I’ll focus on cardiovascular exercise. The American Heart Association’s latest recommendation for cardio is to get 150 minutes of “moderate-intensity” exercise per week. There are a lot of ways you can get to 150 minutes per week. Personally, I like to get up first thing in the morning and go for a hill walk. I know some people who take a long walk in the middle of the day. There are some other folks who take long walks after dinner. But you want to make this easy. Try starting off by taking a brisk 8-minute walk after each meal, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and you’ll rack up 168 minutes of cardio over the course of a week. Mindfulness Most of the people I train and coach are highly familiar with the first three levels of the Hierarchy, sleep, nutrition, and movement. We sleep, eat, drink, and move almost automatically and without much thought. But the fourth level of the Hierarchy, mindfulness, is a new concept for many people. In a word, I define mindfulness as awareness. Mindfulness requires you to focus on a . . . thing. The “thing” may be a thought, object, action, behavior, or person, or it may be emptiness; the list goes on. During a mindfulness session, you work to keep your attention focused. If you’re new to mindfulness, focusing on your breath is a great way to start. The simplest way to start is to stop what you’re doing, close your eyes, and take some deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. As you do this, you’ll probably feel your shoulders relax and some tension fall from your neck. To start, try to spend eight minutes each day just focused on your breathing. If one eight-minute session seems like too much, try two four-minute sessions each day. Commit to trying this for one month. As you advance in your practice, you may want to try a 4, 2, 8 count: Breathe in for four counts, hold for two counts, and then breathe out through your mouth for eight counts. The mnemonic here is four times two equals eight. As you become more advanced in all these practices, you'll start to find out what feels good for your body. Then you can refine and optimize your breathing practice. But remember that if something doesn't feel good for your body, don't do it. After practicing these breathing exercises for a few weeks, you’ll probably start to notice that you unconsciously begin to concentrate on your breathing when you are feeling anxious or stressed. I have personally seen these exercises “kick in” during times when I need a short respite from life’s chaos. |
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Community The final level of the Hierarchy of Self-Care is community. Researcher Dan Buettner found that a strong community is a key factor to aging healthfully. A strong community is one where you have a group of people on whom you can rely and who are present in your life for the good and the bad. They offer fun when times are good, they offer respite and solace when times are bad. In this post-COVID world, we are often separated from our communities due to distance or illness. Keeping up with your community and maintaining relationships might seem daunting and the prospect might seem exhausting. Nonetheless, relationships are important. Some easy ways to engage with your community are through text messages and the 8-minute phone call. If you look down at your phone and realize you haven’t interacted with your community for a day or two, send a friend a text that includes a funny GIF. You might let them know that you’re thinking of them and want to catch up soon. Instead of sending numerous texts and emails to arrange the catch-up, you can pick up the phone for an 8-minute call. When they answer, tell them, “Hey, I only have a few minutes but I wanted to hear what’s going on for you today.” You might ask them to give you an update on a very specific situation or topic. You could also tell them you want to let them know about a specific situation in your life. Read more about the 8-minute phone call here. ~ I use this Hierarchy of Self-Care almost every day. When I start my morning, I use this framework to assess how I’ve cared for myself over the past 24 hours. I ask myself, “What did I do yesterday in each one of these areas?” If I find that I was inattentive to one of the levels, I choose a simple practice to attend to that area. For example, if I didn’t practice mindfulness at all yesterday, I might choose to just take five deep breaths after each meal today. On the other hand, if I’ve engaged in a mindfulness practice for several days in a row, I might challenge myself to extend my mindfulness to 15 minutes of breathing for the day. My recommendation to you is to start small in every one of these areas. But before you do anything else, get your sleep. If you're having trouble with sleep, contact your doctor. Get your sleep right and everything else will start to fall into place. About the Author Terrell Holmes is an organization development consultant. He is COO and co-founder at Caravann Consulting (caravann.co). He has shared his expertise with clients such as Apple, The City of Berkeley, eBay, Kaiser Permanente, Kongregate, and The State of California. Terrell maintains several professional pursuits to support his goal “to change the way America does business.” Among those are Peacebuilding Consultant, Adjunct Professor of Organization Development at the University of San Francisco’s Masagung Graduate School of Management, and Interpersonal Dynamics Group Facilitator for “Touchy Feely” at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. |
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