Workplace: covers the issues and activities of managing the moments of our day-to-day business lives. Five of my seven books speak to daily business skills. Together, let’s explore what affects us every day (or some days) that we go to work.
I’ve been places where it felt like no one was at work. Whether it was because an employee was hard to locate, or whether it was the appearance of no work getting done by the people present, we’ve likely all found ourselves in situations where we felt that no one was at work. Generally, no one is at work on recognized holidays or designated community service days.
No one is at work when the federal government places employees on furlough. Sometimes a person’s body is at work, yet their ability to work due to distractions or sickness is the equivalent of not being at work.
When no one is at work, customers can’t shop, work doesn’t get done and the work needing to be done accumulates. When no one is at work, no projects are accomplished, no correspondence is happening, and no orders are being filled. When no one is at work, no bills get paid, nothing gets shelved, or cooked, or cleaned, or put away. Work requires action to be taken. For action to be taken, a body must be present to do, and/or to guide the work being done.
When no one is at work, the work doesn’t cease to exist, yet it doesn’t get done. The longer no one is at work, the more time it takes to recover, get back on track, to fill orders, and to complete all tasks.
Who’s at work this holiday week? All staff. Partial staff. No one. Essential staff. Mission critical team members. Hopefully the right people are at work holding things together while others are not at work.
What work is getting done this week? Service sector employees are working this week while people shop and sale shop. Emergency service providers are at work. And many sectors have people at work, though less work is getting done this week.
And what is not getting done that will have to be caught up with later?