Monday, Monday Why Doing What You Love Can Make Tomorrow Better Marla Gottschalk

Monday, Monday Why Doing What You Love Can Make Tomorrow Better Marla Gottschalk Do you spend Sundays ruminating about how youd like to avoid Mondays? According to Gallup, that transition wont be nearly as traumatic if you report feeling engaged with your work. We are all recognizing the power of employee engagement in organizations today and it seems this construct is likely related to a host of other relevant variables, including your mood. Gallup measured the progression of specific emotions during the course of   our work week with survey participants reporting their attitudes on a variety of topics including feelings of happiness, anger and stress. Not surprisingly, those who identified as not engaged or actively disengaged reported more negative responses, which subtly evolved during the course of a work week.   The data held some fascinating findings. Some examples: Happiness. There is an obvious difference in experiences of reported happiness where those with lower levels of engagement, were less likely to report it. (For some reason this discrepancy peaked on Tuesdays for those identified as actively disengaged.) Smiling and laughing. You guessed it! Those that reported feeling engaged at work, also reported smiling and laughing more. Just over 65% of actively disengaged respondents reported smiling and laughing a lot (on Tuesday), as compared to 90.7% of those reporting themselves as engaged. Stress. Although all respondents were more likely to report higher levels of stress on Monday, as compared to Sunday, those reporting lower levels of engagement seem to be more susceptible. (Reported stress dipped a bit on Fridays, for all respondents.) Anger. Those who reported feeling disengaged, were more likely to report feelings of anger. On Tuesdays, for example, more than one-quarter of those defined as actively disengaged reported experiences of anger the previous day, in comparison to 9.2% of those identified as engaged. Engagement is continuing to emerge as a key workplace challenge in the evolution of work   and more focus on this area will certainly follow. What helps you feel engaged at work? Tell us your story. Dr. Marla Gottschalk is a Workplace Psychologist and coach. Connect with her and continue the conversation on Twitter and Linkedin. _____