Missed my alarm clock ringing
Woke up, telephone screaming
Boss man singing his same old song
- Sugarland
Woke up, telephone screaming
Boss man singing his same old song
- Sugarland
I was getting a massage today and the masseuse was telling me that one of the reasons she likes her job is the peaceful work environment. Interesting thought... Peaceful music that's laced with the sounds of trickling water, birds, the wind. Dim lights. Aroma therapy in the massage oils. And it made me think about the posting we use when we're hiring teachers:
Aspen Academy strives to create a collaborative and positive work environment where teachers want to work.
And I wonder how much thought most places of business put into their work environments? Consider the typical office with harsh lights, phones ringing, people making demands, and deadlines people are knuckling under. It is no wonder that the number one priority on every teacher's list for our new school is dimmer switches on the lights. My teaching partner used to always keep the lights half off. He felt it kept the kids calmer.
Greg's work environment is underground and in the winter he drives to work in the dark, works underground, and drives home in the dark. I struggle with my work environment simply because the nature of my work is nothing but interruptions all day long. Not here and there all day long, but minute by minute interruptions all day long. I went into work last Friday with only one thing on my to-do list. I never even got to open the file folder.
My Dean of Students asked me if I felt the work she was doing was of value. While everyone has a role in contributing to a "collaborative and positive" work environment, she is pivotal. The work she does is not shallow. It is not the rah-rah employee of the week kind of positive she is putting forward. She is systematically and thoughtfully building a culture in which she is helping teachers and students identify what it is they value, how they want to work together to achieve it, and how they want to acknowledge it. That is the highest form of collaboration, requiring top-notch facilitation skills, and a degree of patience that allows the positives to develop over time.
Aspen Academy strives to create a collaborative and positive work environment where teachers want to work.
And I wonder how much thought most places of business put into their work environments? Consider the typical office with harsh lights, phones ringing, people making demands, and deadlines people are knuckling under. It is no wonder that the number one priority on every teacher's list for our new school is dimmer switches on the lights. My teaching partner used to always keep the lights half off. He felt it kept the kids calmer.
Greg's work environment is underground and in the winter he drives to work in the dark, works underground, and drives home in the dark. I struggle with my work environment simply because the nature of my work is nothing but interruptions all day long. Not here and there all day long, but minute by minute interruptions all day long. I went into work last Friday with only one thing on my to-do list. I never even got to open the file folder.
My Dean of Students asked me if I felt the work she was doing was of value. While everyone has a role in contributing to a "collaborative and positive" work environment, she is pivotal. The work she does is not shallow. It is not the rah-rah employee of the week kind of positive she is putting forward. She is systematically and thoughtfully building a culture in which she is helping teachers and students identify what it is they value, how they want to work together to achieve it, and how they want to acknowledge it. That is the highest form of collaboration, requiring top-notch facilitation skills, and a degree of patience that allows the positives to develop over time.
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