Co-creating the well living workplace as a 21st Century business initiative incorporates 10 key characteristics.

These well living workplace characteristics are a composite of 30+ years of thinking and feeling, workplace organization and reorganization projects, incorporating the needs and wants of the new and exiting generations of workforce, and what makes business sense for improvement, expansion and evolvement.

The characteristics are not in any specific order of importance. That assignment is left with the organization. Even then, what the executive, managers / leaders, employees, even customers think is important varies. That is, the adoption and implementation of these characteristics requires “moving decisions.”

An applicable mantra: “Accept to work on moving ground. The organization of work is moving!”

Another way to look a these characteristics is through the lens of issues. If each characteristic is ignored, trampled on, and/or not given its due measure … the resultant organization of work will include increasing degrees of inefficiencies and ineffectiveness.

However, given time, effort and money to improve, focus, and strengthen each characteristic will – at some time in the near future – benefit those involved in the organization of work.

That is, each characteristic can break or make your business. You decide.

10 Well Living Workplace Characteristics

• Lead from the vision: With an expressed and inspiring vision, people guide others along the path as everyone works from the vision.

• Listening-based leadership: People inspire others in their work; they are listening to how best to advance and sustain engagement.

• Network-based management: When all people know they manage-lead at one time or another, they will realize they work in a network that has no center.

• People bring their uniqueness to their work: As people bring who they really are to work, there is a shared agreement to create safe and original interactions.

• Balance among people, producing and profit: People are the mainstay of the workplace; through their individual performance, they collectively produce the required outcome.

• Ethical and supportive behavior: As people go about doing their great work, they do so through practiced workplace values and to support each other.

• Culture of lifelong learning: This is where formal, informal and incidental lifelong learning is encouraged to the benefit of each person personally and collectively.

• Contribution to society: As the workplace draws its resources from the wider community, the workplace gives back in some form.

• Balance among risk, fun and creativity: People work through freedom and flexibility to find the best path to complete their tasks and assignments.

• +1. People work in service with others: In fulfilling one’s work, consideration is given to how one serves others, both internally and externally, in the workplace.

If you were to add characteristics, what would they be?

__________
I suggest you pause here and reread the characteristics again so that you can be sure the characteristics have meaning for you.

Edit the statements. By editing, you add, alter and/or delete the statement(s) so that the statement(s) has/have the richest and deepest meaning for you.

Paraphrasing Nelson Mandala, ex-prime minister of South Africa:

When you use your words in conversation, you connect with the heads of others.
When you use their words in conversation, you connect with the hearts of others.

Therefore, make the words of these well living workplace characteristics yours in whatever way makes sense to you to encourage engagement, retention, performance improvement and group/team development.