Americans are some of the hardest working people on the planet Earth. Most statistics show that they put in more hours of work per week than their international counterparts, take fewer sick days, and spend more time at work than they do at home with their families. After taking these facts into consideration, one of the most important benefits for most American workers is achieving happiness at work. This is such an important factor, that some people take a pay cut in order to work somewhere that makes them happy. This works for some people, but what about those who do not have the luxury of job seeking until they find their happy place? The "Law of Attraction" is one way of creating a culture of happiness in the workplace and can be especially powerful for people who are dissatisfied with their current job.
What is the Law of Attraction? Rhonda Byrne wrote about this idea in her wildly successful best seller The Secret (2006). She believes that the Law of Attraction is a basic Law of the universe and that it is very powerful, but that many people don't know that it exists. The basic premise behind the Law of Attractions is "like attracts like". When people think about ideas, things or people, they are actually pulling these people into their lives just as a magnet attracts metal. It also involves how people act or behave. If a person acts negatively and is a complainer at work, like-minded people will be attracted to that negative person. Actions aren't the only things that attract like-mined people - simply thinking negative thoughts can attract more negative thoughts and negative people. The Law of Attraction, then is a sort of energy, one that is always seeking people, things and ideas that a person is sending out into the environment. For instance, negative people attract more negative people and positive people attract people who are happy, secure and are in general, positive about life and work.
Here is a true story that happened to me and is a great illustration of the Law of Attraction and how it can create a culture of happiness at work and change people's lives. About this time last year, our group took over the management of a company that was failing and was in financial trouble. The employees were very unhappy and many were angry about their work conditions and the fact that "new management" was coming in to do what most people think new management would do: cut jobs, save money and make whatever changes were necessary. I was asked to speak to a large group of employees and start a monthly training program. Here is what happened.
My first visit consisted of a one-hour meeting with 200 employees in a large room in the middle of a warm spring afternoon. I could tell that there was tension in the room and I was not welcomed. I began my discussion by introducing myself and my desire to meet with each employee, one-by-one, so that we can really get to know each other before making any changes at all. I then gave them my agenda: "I plan on coming in every month for a few months in a row and holding training sessions on things like communication, team-work and team-building, leadership and motivation in the workplace". It was after I had made this statement that a disgruntled employee stood up in the middle of 200 coworkers and said "Who the hell are you and what the hell do you think you're going to do for us?" At first there was a dead silence in the room, followed quickly by other employees chiming in "Yeah! That's right. What are you going to do for us? Who do you think you are? You think you can fix this place? Go ahead and try!" This is where the story gets really interesting. Without thinking before speaking I refrained "Let me tell you who I am and what I think I can do for you!" The crowd settled down and I spoke with enthusiasm and sincere energy. Despite this, the disgruntled employee and several of her coworkers weren't buying what I was saying.
The following month I came back to the building with a training session on communication and met with smaller groups at 7am, 3pm and 11pm. I wanted to catch all three shifts. Not even 10 minutes into my discussion about effective communication in the workplace, a group of negative employees started to complain about this and that and many others backed them up. It was difficult for me to get through my material, so I just opened up a free-flowing discussion with the group and tried to connect with them. It worked fairly well, but I didn't feel as if I made a positive impact with the group yet.
During my next visit a month later, I decided to abandon the "training session" format and meet with employees one-by-one between 8am and 6pm. My first meeting was with the employee that stood up in the middle of 200 coworkers during my first visit and asked me "Who the hell are you and what the hell do you think you can do for us?" I thought to myself, "Oh dear God. My career is over!" The last thing I needed was to be in a room alone with this angry woman. But, I took a deep breath and gave it my best. She initially was still very unpleasant and untrusting. I tried to understand where her anger was coming from and she told me that she was very unhappy working here, that management was terrible and that her life in general was a disaster. So I said, "let's talk about you first. The rest we will get to later". She agreed. She told me that her parents had died recently and she was still living in their house, but she didn't want to be there. It depressed her. She wasn't happy with her boyfriend either. She also wasn't happy with her lack of education - she never went to college and was almost 40 years old. Life seemed to be passing her by and she was depressed. I asked if she read any good books lately - self-help books, books about physical and mental health, spiritual books, any book at all. She replied "no". "Well" I said, "you have to feed your brain with healthy literature just like you feed your body healthy food". She understood what I meant, so I assigned her a little homework. I told her to go to any bookstore and browse around the self-help section, the psychology section or anywhere she wanted. Just find something positive to read that interests you. I had no idea what would happen next.
One month later, my wife dropped me off at front door of the building. She and our children had tagged along this time, since I was going to spend a few days with the employees. Before I could open my car door, I saw this employee running out f the building and straight to my wife's side of the car. "Oh no!" I thought. "This is it. She is going to kill us!" The employee opened my wife's car door and hugged her! She thanked my wife for me and what I have done for her and the rest of the employees! I could not believe my eyes or ears. What on Earth was happening? This is where the Law of Attraction comes in.
The employee came to my side of the car and opened my door. She told me to follow her into the building and down to her office. I said goodbye to the family and did as I was told. We went into her office and I took a seat. She pulled out a book to show me - it was The Secret. She had gone book shopping the same day I asked her to and by chance came upon The Secret. She told me that she was drawn to it and read the book in it's entirety in just a day or two. I was very impressed with this and before I could speak she said "You have changed my life. I am so grateful for you and what you have given me". I replied "I haven't done a thing!" What she was trying to tell me was this - I inspired her to read, think for herself, quit blaming others for her problems and live her life now. I wanted her to be responsible and accountable for things that happened to her in her own life. If she was unhappy at work, it was because "she" was drawing unhappiness to her. She was also attracting unhappy and complaining people into her life and this was only bringing her down more.
She understood what was in The Secret, so much that she shared it with dozens of other employees who read it and understood it. Soon, the unhappy and depressive culture that was created by the employees in this company had changed to one of positive attitudes and happy people. This employee, the very one who stood up and challenged me has now become ne of the best in the company. She moved out of her dead parent's home, left her worthless boyfriend, got her finances in order and is enrolled in classes. She saw how powerful the Law of Attraction is and how it changed her life and the lives of many of her friends and coworkers.
This is just one success story. There are probably hundreds like it. The point is this: the Law of Attraction is real and can create a culture of happiness in the workplace and in one's personal life.
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