Off of the Bookshelf: The Power of Full Engagement

I'm midway through reading an excellent book - The Power of Full Engagement from Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. If high performance issues relate to you in the workplace or business, this is a must-read.

The terms Engaged, Engaging and Engagement seem to pop up everywhere these days in business. The Power of Full Engagement is based on solid research and highlights many real life case studies, while providing a powerful model and tools for the reader to follow.

The book also mentions the 2001 Gallup results on an engaged workforce - how 55% of the workforce is "not engaged", and 19% are "actively disengaged", those that are unhappy at the workplace and also regularly share their feelings with co-workers. The Gallup Results found only 26% of the workforce "engaged". How engaged are you at work? Your staff?

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized

Are you vacation deprived?

Every year Expedia undertakes an International Vacation Deprivation (TM) Survey, looking at vacation habits of employed workers in the US, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France and Australia.

This year's results included:

• 33% of employed adults in the US usually don't take all their vacation, with the average worker surveyed giving back an average of 4 days to their employer. This translates to 574 Million Vacation days/year worth, $75.72 Billion.
• 24% of employed adults in Canada usually don't take all their vacation, with the average employed person giving back an average of 2 vacation days to their employer. This translates to $5.1 Billion dollars per year.

The results of the whole 2006 Expedia survey can be found at www.vacationdeprivation.com.

I was interviewed last week by Kavita Gosyne of the Metro News here in Toronto (www.metronews.ca). She was looking at the importance of vacation for all Canadian workers, and particularly for young professionals. As I mention in her article, vacations are important for workers of all ages. As I stated, "Not only is vacation time good for the employee, but it is good for the company. "A lot of it comes down to the difference between working and working productively. Are they(the employees) working at optimal productivity? Work-life balance impacts company productivity and profitability. It makes (good) business sense.". The link to Kavita's article can be found by clicking the blog title above.

What is the state of work-life balance for you? For your company? Are you fully recharged and working at optimal productivity levels? If you would like more information and resources I would invite you to visit my sister blog, Your Balanced Life! (http://yourbalancedlife.blogspot.com). Much of the HR Consulting work I undertake with companies often has it's roots in work-life balance. I also run on a quarterly basis a Your Balanced Life! teleseminar program, supporting busy professionals in enhancing their work-life balance.

I'd be interested in hearing from you - Areyou vacation deprived? How do you recharge? What's the state of work-life balance in your life? Drop me an email at jennifer@potentialsrealized.com or click the comment link below.

Cheers to a productive and balanced week,

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton

Potentials Realized: www.potentialsrealized.com

Women in Business Stats - Canada

Earlier this year I contributed to a resource publication put out by the York, South Simcoe Training and Adjustment Board, called Statrting Your Own Business: A Guide for Women in York Region. It is a very practical guide and resource collection for women thinking of, or beginning to, start their own business.

Did you know....

• There are currently more than 800, 000 women entrepreneurs in Canada and this figure has been growing at an average annual rate of 3.3% since 1989
• Ontario is home to 40% of all women-run small businesses in Canada
• Over the past 15 years, the number of women-run businesses has risen 60% faster than those run by men
• More than 82% of women small business owners say that if given the choice, they would definitely open their own business again

(Source: Starting Your Own Business: A Guide for Women in York Region, 2006)

As a business coach, business teacher and a female business owner I find these stats very interesting, and very reflective of our Canadian business climate. How many of you are female business owners?

To obtain your own copy of the publication, visit the York South Simcoe Training and Adjustment Board at www.ysstab.on.ca.

I will be announcing in the next few weeks our fall line-up of programs (teleseminars, retreats) geared for business owners, and also a couple of programs specifically geared to women in business. Please keep posted!

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized
Web: www.potentialsrealized.com
Email: jennifer@potentialsrealized.com
Toll Free: 1-866-217-1960