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The Search for the Sacred

1996; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 26; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1097/00005110-199601000-00001

1539-0721

Robert L. Veninga,

Pentecostalism and Christianity Studies

“I know the world is filled with troubles and many injustices. But reality is as beautiful as it is ugly. I think it is just as important to sing about beautiful mornings as it is to talk about slums. I just couldn't write anything without hope in it.” Oscar Hammerstein The voice on the other end of the telephone was heavy with emotion. “I was very idealistic when I went into healthcare. But I am exhausted. The competition is ferocious. The layoffs are depressing. And the end of the cost-cutting isn't in sight.” She paused and added wistfully, “Worse, I hardly have time to see my family.” I was not surprised by her words, because stress is high in U.S. organizations. After a decade of slashing costs, downsizing operations, and laying off personnel, morale has plummeted. When researchers asked chief executive officers whether they enjoy their work, 40% gave a negative response. Only 20% of middle managers and 19% of lower-level workers reported feeling good about their careers and places of employment.1 How can hope be rekindled in the workplace? How can morale be improved? What can be done to recapture the loyalty that once existed between employer and employee? And perhaps most important, what can you do to maintain optimism in a time of rapid change? First, establish your priorities. I asked a Director of Human Resources for a copy of her goals. “I have nothing written down,” she said. “All I can tell you is that I am very busy. I see many employees. I attend many meetings. But to sit down and actually write my goals—well, I haven't taken the time to do that.” She is not alone. In fact, nearly one third (32%) of the U.S. population does not engage in personal planning.2 Nevertheless, the key to maintaining an optimistic attitude is to establish meaningful and creative goals. Consider a study of 1200 individuals who weathered tough times—from divorce to the death of a loved one to job loss. What enabled them to survive? Raymond Flannery, Jr., an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, found that the survivors (“stress-tolerant people”) were wholeheartedly committed to reaching a goal. In addition, they had the benefit of strong, caring friendships.3 The sense of empowerment that comes from establishing meaningful priorities cannot be overemphasized. Consider, for example, a nurse manager who can barely contain her excitement about an innovative staffing plan that will improve quality while reducing costs. Then there is an occupational physician who smiles broadly as he describes a new chair that he designed to eliminate back problems and reduce worker's compensation costs. Or I think of a high school teacher who discovered that Hollywood films can keep restless teenagers involved in classroom discussions. Whatever the goal, it should challenge your intellect, nurture your creativity, and help you live as optimistically as possible. Does the establishment of priorities really make a difference in outlook? If goals are but a mechanistic activity to satisfy the requirements of a job, the answer is no. But if the goal touches our inner creativity, the answer is a resounding yes. Consider a 20-year study at Yale University in which researchers asked graduates whether they had committed themselves in writing to what they wanted to accomplish in life. Only 3% had taken the time to write down their goals. Twenty years later, the class was again surveyed. The 3% who had established their goals were more satisfied with their lives then those who had not—and 97% of the wealth of the class was in the hands of the same 3%.4 To be in optimal mental health, you must dream about your future. But dreaming is not enough, as evidenced in a lighthearted story told by author Harvey Mackay.5 Marvin was a dreamer and his favorite fantasy was to win the lottery. Every time there was a drawing, he would pray loud and long that he would win. One day, as Marvin was beseeching the Almighty, the clouds parted and a loud voice boomed forth: “Marvin, Marvin” said the Voice. “Is that you?” gasped Marvin. “It is I,” intoned the voice. “Are you answering my prayers? Will I win the lottery?” “You will.” said the voice. “But you must meet me halfway. Marvin, please buy a ticket.”5(p2D) But your ticket. Set your goals. Write them down. And review them often. Establishing priorities is the first step in building an optimistic spirit. The second is strengthening your relationships with colleagues and friends. Paul Tournier, a Swiss psychiatrist, once noted that we spend years with people at work that we really do not know, whose private battles we never take the time to discover. Yet one of the most important benefits of employment is the possibility of developing meaningful friendships at work. Why don't we take the time to get to know those who work beside us? Our schedules often preclude it. Plus, many organizations discourage fraternization with subordinates. Nevertheless, if our “hunger for meaning”—as Washington Post columnist William Raspberry refers to it—is to be satisfied, we must connect in new ways with colleagues.6 Robert Weiss, author of Staying the Course, notes, “For most... the greatest thrill in work is to be part of a winning team, to knock yourself out for two or three weeks on a project, be successful, and look at each other and say, `We did it.”'7(p202) On July 15, 1992, Don Bennett, a Seattle businessman, gained recognition as the first amputee ever to climb Mount Rainier. He climbed 14,410 feet on two crutches and one leg. It took him 4 days. When asked what the most important lesson he had learned from his climb, he replied without hesitation, “You can't do it alone.” The challenges we face in health administration demand teamwork. We cannot meet the challenges in healthcare administration on our own. Recognizing that we are part of a team and making the effort to truly understand one another enriches life. The friendships are never forgotten, even if our careers take us elsewhere. A community health nurse put it this way: “The past 2 years have been very, very difficult. The one thing that has sustained me, though, is our administrative team. We have laughed together and cried together. We have fought with one another and embraced one another. But through it all, a bond was formed that is so strong, nothing will ever break it.” I say this with some feeling: take the time to get to know those with whom you work. If there is one thing I have learned in surveying hundreds of workers in blue- and white-collar professions, it is this: employees feel estranged from their employer. A nurse who had completed two decades of employment in a major teaching hospital told me: “I hoped that someone would recognize the 20 years I have worked here. But no one said a word. We're so busy, we don't even have time to acknowledge one another.” We live and die by encouragement. In a survey of 1800 white-collar employees, Dr. E. Carroll Curtis, the corporate medical director at Westinghouse, discovered twice as many cases of significant depression as more general studies have suggested. An important reason for the depression was that employees believed that their contributions were not valued.8 When Dr. Suzanne Kobasa, a psychologist at the City University of New York studied employees under extreme stress, she discovered that those who believed that they had the support and backing of their boss were ill half as often as those who stated that they received little support.8 Friendships matter—both at work and in our personal lives. As Elton Mayo once said, “One friend, one person who is truly understanding, who takes the trouble to listen to us as we consider our problem, can change our whole outlook on the world.”9(p178) We now come to a third suggestion for restoring hope in the workplace and that is to take pride in every aspect of your job. To put it another way: If you want to succeed, treat your job as if it were the most important job in the world. I first discovered this concept while talking with a chief operating officer of a regional hospital. I asked him why he seemed so upbeat, especially when he had to make difficult decisions related to the hospital's future. “I never forget the end result of what I am doing. Every day I walk through the hospital and visit with patients and their families. Those conversations remind me of the importance of my work.” Today some of the most progressive corporations in the United States are redoubling their efforts to stay close to customers—and in so doing, are building pride in their work. Consider the Hyatt Corporation, where executives leave their offices every year and go to their hotels. There they wash dishes, park cars, and make beds. The reason? To never let them forget what it takes to make a hotel a success and to never let them forget the needs of the customers whom they serve. Recognize that the end result of administrative practice is to restore wholeness to those we serve. When you take pride in meeting their needs and when you go the extra mile to realize their expectations, it makes a difference. Not only to them, but sometimes to you. I think of a businessman who arrived at a hotel late one night without a reservation. The night clerk informed him that all the rooms were booked, but he was welcome to sleep in the other twin bed in his small room. The businessman was overwhelmed by the pride the young man took in his job and the desire to accommodate his guest. Before departing the next morning, he told the young man, “If I ever own a hotel one day, I would like you to run it.” Several years later, the young clerk was reached by a telephone call. The businessman asked whether the clerk would travel to New York City and run his hotel. The businessman was John Jacob Astor—the hotel, the Waldorf Astoria. The moral of the story? Treat every job as if it were the most important one in the world. Take pride in everything you do whether it is giving a speech, writing a report, establishing a budget, or acting as a mentor for a subordinate. If you do, others will recognize the quality of your work, and you will come to affirm William Wordsworth's words: “The best portion of a good man's life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.” A fourth principle that is terribly important if we are to remain hopeful is to build leisure into our journey. In my office, I have a sign that I found in a bait shop in Hayward, Wisconsin. It reads: “When God created earth, he made it two-thirds water and only one-third land. It only seems natural that two-thirds of one's time be spent fishing.” Although I cannot spend two thirds of my life fishing, the sign brings a smile to my face and helps me remember the importance of the simple pleasures in life. Writer Jean M. Bloomquist notes how difficult it is for us to truly relax and let our inner soul be nourished. “Why is it,” she asks, “that we often fear or resist leisure? Why do we feel guilty when we are not working? Or, bringing the question uncomfortably close, why do I feel guilty when I am not working? Is it because I feel I am of value only...[when] I am working?”10(p13) Regrettably, many people have trouble relaxing. Yet, as Bloomquist advises, “Build leisure into your journey. Carry plenty of water and drink even when you don't think you are thirsty, because, if neglected, the springs of life within us can dry up without our even knowing it.”10(p13) How do you build leisure into your journey? Most think about long vacations near the sea or in the mountains. But there is much to be said for shorter, more frequent vacations. When exhausted from the demands of life, there are few things more gratifying than looking at your calendar and knowing that in a few weeks, there will be that extra long weekend that you can spend with friends in a location that nourishes your spirit. Vacations have the power to restore our vision. As Lao Tzu notes, “All action begins in rest...this is the ultimate truth.”11(p43) But what happens if you used up all of your vacation time and still remain tired? Take a mini vacation. Instead of drinking coffee at morning break, go to the chapel to meditate or to the library to read. Instead of eating lunch in the cafeteria, go for a walk. Make certain that there is time for inner silence, for studies of exceptionally healthy, self-actualizing people show that they make time in their busy schedules for quiet solitude. As psychoanalyst Sacha Nacht notes: “Human life needs at moments to steep itself in silence from which it draws essential nourishment and in which it develops its deepest roots.”11(p74) This leads me to a fifth suggestion which is to live your life in a spirit of gratitude. Gratitude is not a big topic in educational programs that prepare leaders in health administration. But it should be. For in spite of all the pressures in our work as health administrators, there is much for which to be thankful. When I remind my students of this fact, they give me a puzzled look, as if their professor had gone off the deep end! But if there is one thing of which I am convinced, it is this: if you live in a spirit of gratitude, you enrich your own life and the lives of everyone you meet. I think of the hundreds of students I have taught over the past 20 years. I estimate that less than 5% have ever expressed a word of thanks for their educational experience. I hold no grudge toward these students because when I was their age, expressing thanks to a professor was the last thing on my mind. Nevertheless, I am impressed by the fact that those who lingered after commencement to express thanks are now occupying major leadership positions in healthcare organizations and Fortune 500 companies. A coincidence? Perhaps. But there seems to be a correlation: when an individual is thankful for his or her job, when gratitude is expressed to colleagues for their work, and when encouragement is extended to friends, the appreciation is reciprocated. Stress is diminished, and a spiritual integrity is built into the core of one's life. Several days before writing these words, I was working with executives of a large company located in New York City. This is an organization that is experiencing severe competition. The financial health of the organization has eroded. Each of the executives appeared frazzled, and their job satisfaction was at rock-bottom. Little progress was made in finding a vision for the organization, partly because of a deep spirit of cynicism in the room. In a moment of quiet reflection, a participant asked a simple question: “If someone would have told you at age 25 that you would occupy the position you have now, what would you have thought?” A smile went on everyone's face for they knew that their dreams had been exceeded. The cynicism diminished. Statements of hope were expressed, and a new clarity of thought surfaced. Find reasons for staying grateful because if you do, you will see your world differently. Your colleagues will value your outlook. And a spirit of hope will be reflected by your presence. How do we stay renewed in our jobs and remain enthusiastic about our careers? How do we build hope in hospitals, managed care organizations, and public health agencies when morale has eroded? Establish priorities. Nurture friendships. Be proud of accomplishments and build leisure into your journey. Live in a spirit of gratitude. For if you do these things, your career will have new meaning, and that which is sacred will be rediscovered by you—and everyone you meet on your journey.