Happy Summer. The school year will finish soon. The weather will allow for more outdoor activities. Bosses (hopefully) understand that their employees will be taking time off. Employees will want to take vacations, staycations, and mental health days.

I believe this issue has two angles to it … individual and organizational. What do you plan to do during this 2+ month break? There are no right or wrong answers here, but your responses do say something about your goals, planning, and life integration (I’m using that term now instead of life balance).

“I’ll hang on till I get my bonus” 

December marks the time for holiday parties and usually the handing out of bonuses. The size of the bonus can have several factors – culture of the organization, organizational performance that year, and judgements about the individual’s performance. 

That takes us back to virtual vs. in-person. How are we measuring the performance of those who do most of their work virtually? Do we really measure by results? 

Thanksgiving is almost here.  We all know (and most of us practice) this time to pause, reflect, and put our gratefulness into action. 

I have had a difficult year.  Been in the hospital four times for a total of almost a month.  I have  had cancer (a GIST) for six years now and we have that under control.  But this year, that tumor caused blood clots in the lungs and sepsis (bacteria) in the blood.  Separately, I have had significant hip and back pain necessitating injections and strong pain medications.   Finally in October, I had that hip replaced, but the recovery included a lot of pain and an intestinal blockage from the opioids (which I had really tried to keep under control). 

American businesses and organizations often struggle to measure employee commitment/engagement. They use a wide variety of surveys, interviews, and observation — all trying to make the connection to the organization’s financial (or budget) bottom line.