Page 17 - How America's Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times

4B RE-ENGAGE

high-technology businesses. Wouldn’t the best and brightest want
to go where the “hot jobs” are? And wouldn’t those industries have
a head start in creating a highly engaged workforce? We note that
high-profile companies like Microsoft and SAS have indeed made the
Best-Places-to-Work winner’s circle, and they are to be congratulated
for the reviews their employees have provided that brought them this
recognition.
And, you may well think, some industries must be at a distinct dis-
advantage when it comes to creating great workplaces. For example,
how could companies with employee populations that are paid less, or
are less skilled, or are less well educated be expected to create highly
engaging workplaces? And for some “less desirable” industries, it may
seem almost impossible to attract and retain great talent.
And yet we found survey comments like this from an employee at
one winning company: “Few people say, ‘I want to work for a moving
company when I grow up,’ yet here we are and here we stay.”
Four researchers recently published a study of “dirty work” oc-
cupations that are viewed by society as physically, socially, or morally
tainted.” The notion has been popularized by a television show on the
2
Discovery Channel called Dirty Jobs. The show’s host, Mike Rowe,
places himself in jobs that most of us would not consider doing—
exterminator, hot tar roofer, alligator farmer—you get the picture. We
can chuckle at his exploits and privately be thankful we don’t have one
of these roles as our daily occupation.
Society in general may view many industries and lines of work as
less prestigious, but we can emphatically state that this does not mean
that employers in these industries are precluded from creating high-
morale, engaging, and productive workplaces.
In a recent Best Places to Work in Omaha (Nebraska) recogni-
tion event, two of the companies that were recognized in the large-
company category were Quality Living, Inc., and Greater Omaha
Packing. The winner, Quality Living, which we will profile in greater
length because of its outstanding leadership practices, is a long-term
nursing-care facility for individuals with severe brain injuries; and
Greater Omaha Packing is a locally owned meat-packing plant. The