Learn how to glow!

We are quite familiar with things that glow. For instance, when you light a lamp or a candle it glows. That means it produces a continuous light and sometimes heat. Similarly, we have seen people glow when they are happy and healthy. When people glow their eyes shine lighting up the whole environment. When a child is given something he likes he begins to glow with excitement.

Prof. Lynda Gratton of London Business School says, "Create a cooperative environment within your organization and you will radiate energy, innovation and success." In other words, she says that not only children, but also adults can glow when they find themselves in the right environment.

The atmosphere in some of the workplaces in Sri Lanka is not very conducive for people to glow. This does not mean that all the offices should be air conditioned or colour washed every month to make the worker happy. In the first place, the employer should make the work place attractive enough for workers to discharge their duties. If they are not given the basic facilities such as a clean working environment, sanitary and recreational facilities, the employer cannot expect workers to work happily. On the other hand, workers should also avoid complaining all the time about their salaries and other facilities. They should face the challenge of meeting new situations with a positive outlook. If their main aim is to work for the betterment of the organization, things will run smoothly.

In any work place you are not alone. Whether you produce a newspaper or a packet of milk powder, it is a team effort. While team work should be encouraged, individual members of the team should find new ways of cooperating with their colleagues.

We spend most of our working lives in work places. Therefore, if we cannot fulfil our duties and obligations, we will end up as a frustrated lot. The world is changing and moving ahead and we have no time for gossip. If every employee in a work place makes it a point to glow, not only the workers but also the organization will radiate positive energy. Walk into any office or factory and you will feel whether workers are happy and the work place radiates with positive energy.

Those who are entrusted with the task of dealing with customers should be extra vigilant because the message you give will affect the reputation of your organization. In certain government offices the customer is treated so shabbily that he might carry home a negative impression of the place. In this respect, most of the private sector organizations take the trouble to train their staff in public relations. Some years ago I enjoyed teaching Customer Relations to trainees at the Bankers' Institute in Colombo. Research shows that the majority of people spend less than 20 per cent of their working lives feeling energized. For the rest of the time, they are either relaxing or making complaints! This attitude has to change if you and your organization are to glow.

If you are a cheerful person, everybody will want to keep you. If you are complaining all the time, no one will like that attitude.

Organizations are manned by human beings and not robots. Therefore, you have to work with a sense of duty all the time.

Although workers are willing to glow, the atmosphere in certain workplaces is not conducive for them to do so. Once I had to work in a suburban government office where there were no toilet facilities. This happened in the 1960s. I hope and pray the situation may have improved by now.

New recruits in any work place are quite enthusiastic about their work. However, their enthusiasm takes a nosedive after some time. This happens due to pressure of work and sometimes due to the influence of seniors. In order to arrest this trend organizations try out many methods to motivate the work force. For instance, in-house training programs are arranged from time to time and workers are encouraged to suggest improvements to the work place.

Even if you happen to be a retired employee or someone self- employed, you can still glow. One secret that makes you glow is to exercise your mental muscles by learning some new subject such as Logic, Mathematics, Philosophy or Psychology. Like the body the brain too needs some exercise. This is why those who learn new skills in their 60s or 70s are so energetic.

If you wish to glow in your work place, try to study a difficult subject that will challenge and stimulate your brain. When the brain is exercised regularly it will be ready for critical thinking. We learn so many subjects at schools and universities in order to improve our critical faculties. Those who have not developed their critical faculties are bound to face many problems in life.

Most of us do not like to learn grammar and find it rather boring.

However, grammar trains the mind. This kind of training goes back to medieval times when not only grammar but also Latin and Greek were taught to children. A good knowledge of grammar helps us to master any other subject easily. There is a belief at least at Oxford and Cambridge Universities that those who have done classics are suitable to run even a vast empire!