I was listening to a three-person acoustic band recently. It was a small intimate setting just perfect for the kind of music they were playing. It was very clear that the audience and the band had connected as we all applauded every song they played. Half way through, the lead musician said “I wish all of you could have a job were every five minutes, people applauded your work.”
I was struct at the depth of his comment, partially filled with envy and the rest with a conviction to applaud people who were passionate and good at their craft. I could easily share statistics on employee engagement and how powerful simple rewards are or case studies to support the power of acknowledgement, but I will leave it at this and let you digest and enjoy the power of his comment as I did.
This week, look hard for anyone enjoying their work and give them a hand!
Go ahead and look at your calendar right now. My guess is that your day, especially your work day, is largely carved up into 1-hour chunks of meetings or activities. Fair to assume that recreational or wellness activities are also chopped into 1-hour blocks. Perhaps a 1-hour yoga class or massage or work out at your gym. Even classes at school are mostly in 1-hour blocks. That most of what we do is in 1-hour increments is a safe argument to make. Now consider whether there is any research that suggests, even remotely, that 1-hour is the right amount of time to conduct any activity much less all activities? I will save you the google search – there is none.
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