A slew of reports have been recently released on employee satisfaction and happiness.  Without going into the details, the results aren’t good.  Much of the distress remains focused on in-office vs. remote work. Dissatisfaction and unhappiness is up pretty much in all industries (except for the Construction industry, which I think might be because in Construction they never got to work from home).  I believe the work from wherever factor will figure itself out, but in the meantime we do need to watch carefully for the other factors of employee satisfaction like communication from upper management. Only 40% of entry level employees, according to a poll that General Electric and Ipsos fielded with 253 Senior Executives and 411 entry-level staff, say that they see their CEO’s actually living out their stated values.  Getting under that data, 85% of Execs think they are effectively communicating their values but only 62% of lower level employees would agree.  That’s a big gap.  What the report also found is that employees aren’t just looking for more communication, they want authentic communication from their leaders.  There is no more way to be authentic than showing up live and being open and transparent about the good, the bad and the ugly.  I know; easier said than done, but if we want to win hearts, not just minds, we better being be willing to open up.

I’ve often wondered what the dinner table conversations were like for those who heard Jesus speak live in His sermons.  We know that there were those who were amazed and believed on the spot.  And we know that there were those who brushed him off and never gave him a second thought.  But, there must have been those who questioned at first but with more time and introspection came to believe in Him, much like many of us today who may have become Believers as we learned more and more about Jesus.  Since Jesus taught in Parables there had to be those who had to have others help them understand what He was talking about.  Regardless of how and when people came to believe in Jesus, I am sure that He came across as authentic in how He spoke and communicated.  That was part of the power of the Parables in that He spoke into situations that anyone could recognize.  We become authentic with others when we appreciate, listen to understand, be empathetic and attempt to put ourselves in their shoes. When we are that way with others our standing for what we speak and do brings with it an influence that others want to follow. Striving to be as authentic as was Jesus is worthy.

Reference: Luke 1:45 (New Living Translation)