Page 201 - Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles

172 Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work

I got off the phone, I let out a little scream. My boss heard me
and came out of his office and asked me what was wrong. He
told me to get as far as I could by 5:00 and that he would stay
and finish it. I was so appreciative.”
• “My husband lost his job, and my boss offered to let me pick
up an extra shift at work. It really helped out.”
• “I’m a schoolteacher and had worked very hard to put
together a new program that ended up being cut out of the
budget. My supervisor actually came to my house to tell me
the news personally and how sorry she was.”
• “I work in an old building, and the heating/cooling unit
never works right. My boss went out and bought each of us a
portable heater/fan and said that it was important to him that
we were comfortable.”
• “My daughter got pneumonia and needed to stay home
from school for a week. I am a single mom without much sup-
port and couldn’t afford a babysitter. My boss set it up so that I
could work from home with a laptop and e-mail.”
• “Our boss started an awesome health program last Christ-
mas. She made a deal that for every pound that an employee
lost, that employee would receive ten dollars and an additional
ten dollars would go to the local food bank. She hired Weight
Watchers to come to the office and paid for 50 percent of
everyone’s health club membership. She took the lead and lost
fifty pounds! It was a really great boost to the morale of our
whole company.”
• “Our company hired a doctor who came around to each of
our workstations and watched us work. He then made recom-
mendations like modifying our posture, getting more light,