The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Workers What They Want
From Library Journal: One of the best business books of 2005 “The authors, all consultants, have written a book based on extensiveresearch looking into what motivates employees in the workplace. ... this is a valuable book containing practical advice for both managers and workers. Highly recommended.” -Richard Drezen, Washington Post/New York City Bureau   From Kirkus Reports, February 10, 2005  Vol.2 Issue 1The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Workers What They WantBy:David Sirota, Louis A. Mischkind, and Michael Irwin MeltzerPublisher:Wharton School PublishingPub Date:January 2005Employee enthusiasm can be an invaluable asset to a business, but 90% percent of employees become indifferent to their workplace over time, says this trio of management experts. How do they know? They’ve surveyed over four million workers in 89 countries over the past 30 years to find out (although conclusions in the book are drawn from research conducted between 1993 and 2003). So, what are the lucky ten percent of companies doing right? They’re meeting the three goals that the vast majority of employees desire at work: equity, achievement and camaraderie. And those goals go for all workers, whether they’re baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, or Gen D (digital). While explaining just what those terms mean, the authors provide plenty of examples of management doing things right: Former Alcoa CEO Paul O’Neill (later became the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury) met with hourly workers in the plant and gave them his home number so that they could call him if there were safety problems. Nordstrom’s employee handbook has one rule: “Use your good judgment in all situations.” Nowthere’san organization that respects its workers. Numerous quotations from employees surveyed keep things brisk and absorbing. Bottom line: pure good sense on how to keep employees happy and productive