Essay Being positive inthe workplace By Caroline Pover	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
前向きな態度で仕事に臨む 筆者が経営する会社では、仕事を進める上でいくつかの方針があります。 それは社員への接し方から、メールや方面でのコミュニケーションの取り方、 ランチタイムや目標を達成したときの習慣まで多岐にわたりますが、 いずれも基本的なものばかりです。 それが、社員のやる気を起こし、働きやすい環境作りに寄与しているようです。

This week, I thought I would explain a few principles I run my office by. In general, we try to treat each other in the same way that we would treat a client: always trying to provide the best service we can to ensure that a client is happy with us. I try to encourage staff members to be aiming always toward providing that high level of service to their colleagues. It is just as important to me that staff are happy in their dealings with each other, as our clients are happy in working with us.

筆者の会社ではコミュニケーションの取り方にも決まりがある。否定的な意見を述べたり、議論をするときはメールを使わず、直接話し合うことになっている。

It is not just with in-person communication that I ask everyone to be careful. E-mail is such a big part of communicating in offices nowadays, even in a small office, and people's tone on e-mails can be easily misinterpreted. We have a "rule" where we do not use e-mail to communicate negative opinions or to discuss problems. Internal e-mail is primarily used to remind someone of something that needs to be done, not for discussing items. Instead, I ask staff to physically get up and walk over to the person with whom they have a problem or need to discuss something. People tend to communicate much more respectfully in person than they do over e-mail.

We have another principle that actually concerns lunchtime, which is, of course, people's private time. But if they only ever invite the same person to go to a non-business lunch with them, then others can easily feel alienated. My key staff make an effort to invite everyone to lunch with them if they are not going to go alone or have lunch in the office. This is especially good in helping to make new staff feel welcome.

We have a lot of social events in our office, like celebrations if a team meets a certain target, and we often finish work early on Fridays and go to the pub together. I ask key staff to make a point of sitting next to the person they know least in order to make them feel more welcome (if they are new) or to build relationships across teams. I also ask them to sit with someone they know they might have a bit of tension with, and this simple action can often get rid of that tension.

There are also a few key phrases that I ask key staff to use. These include things like "Is there anything I can do to help?" (when it is clear that someone is overloaded with work), or "How can I help you with this issue?" (when someone may have a problem), or "How can we prevent this from happening again?" (when someone has made a mistake). These phrases remove the element of blame and show that we consider someone's problem or mistake as belonging to all of us. We also look for opportunities to praise someone, and also to apologize for anything we may have done that either contributed to a problem or hurt someone's feelings.

These things may all sound quite simple, but it is very easy to forget to do them. You'd be surprised how much an office environment improves just by making an effort to apply these simple principles.

Shukan ST: April 7, 2006

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