One Foot Out the Door: How to Combat the Psychological Recession That’s Alienating Employees and Hurting American Business

Table of contents

1. Copyright
   1. Dedication
2. Acknowledgments
3. One. Topsy-Turvy: The Sky Is Falling!
   1. The World Turned Upside Down
   2. The Crazy 1990s
   3. Collapse
   4. The Special Case of the Best and Brightest
   5. Recovery and Productivity
4. Two. The Psychological Recession
   1. How to Recognize a Psychological Recession
   2. A Psychological Recession Is Self-Fulfilling
   3. Perception versus Reality
   4. Who Is Affected?
   5. Why It Matters
5. Three. Feelings Matter—“Soft” Is “Hard”
   1. Heart Trumps Head
   2. People Are Not Commodities
   3. Commitment Is Not Kindness
6. Four. Bad Management Is (Really) Expensive
   1. Many Employees Feel Negatively About Work
      1. The Number of Unhappy Employees Continues to Increase
      2. Many Employees Feel Resentful
      3. Low Rates of Employee Commitment and Loyalty Are Very Expensive
      4. Downsizing Leads to Resentment, Which Leads to Terrible Customer Service
      5. Many Employees Want to Move to a New Job
      6. Unhappy Employees Are Unproductive Employees
      7. Like Employee Loyalty, Customer Loyalty Cannot Be Taken for Granted
   2. The Gallup Surveys of Engagement
   3. Engagement and Productivity: The New Century Example
   4. What All These Data Mean
7. Five. Good Management (Really) Makes Money
   1. It’s the Interaction Between Employees and Customers
   2. Good Management Is Profitable
      1. Motivated Employees and Profitablity
      2. Costco versus Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club
      3. SAS Institute
   3. Best Companies to Work for
   4. Commitment Can Take Many Forms
      1. Establish Family-Friendly Policies
      2. Invest in Training
      3. Communicate Honestly
      4. Let Them Own a Piece of the Company
      5. Act with Integrity
   5. Widening the Road to Success
8. Six. Commitment and Engagement—Not Morale or Satisfaction
   1. Nurturing Commitment and Engagement
      1. Ask the Right Questions
      2. Hire the Right People
      3. Measure the Right Attributes
      4. Morale and Satisfaction Don’t Count
   2. Getting It Wrong
   3. Getting It Right
9. Seven. Create Significant Relationships Between Bosses and Subordinates
   1. Employee–Boss Relationships
   2. The Special Importance of Trust
   3. Trust and Communication
   4. Relationships at Work
   5. Out of Touch with Subordinates
   6. Leadership and “Average” People
   7. Leaders for the Twenty-First Century
10. Eight. Strengthen the Bond with Employees by Customizing
    1. Humanize the Workplace
    2. Fair—But Not Identical
    3. Involving Each Employee Individually
    4. Today’s Cluster of Priorities
    5. Manage to Success: Customize Recognition
    6. Suggestions for Customization Menu Items
11. Nine. Achieve a Best Fit
    1. Hiring for Best Fit
    2. Managing to Success
    3. Really Know Expectations and Priorities
    4. The Question of Risk
    5. Risk and Corporate Culture: Digging Deeper
    6. Asking the Right Questions
12. Ten. Staying Ahead of the Curve
13. Eleven. How Are We Doing Economically?
    1. Why Many People Feel Defenseless
    2. The Perception of Change Is Greater Than the Reality
    3. Scared, Passive, and Cynical
14. Twelve. A Twenty-First Century Safety Net
    1. Goals for a Twenty-First Century Safety Net
       1. Goals
    2. Critical Elements of a Safety Net
    3. Education Reform
    4. Healthcare Reform
       1. Shoring Up the Employer-Based System
       2. Less Government and More Free Market Forces
       3. New Ideas and Different Views
    5. A New Vision for Collaboration
    6. More Ideas About a Modern Safety Net
15. Thirteen. Psychology Is More Important Than Economics
    1. America’s Strengths
    2. The Threat from Other Countries
    3. Lose the Fear and Release the Energy!
16. Endnotes
    1. Chapter 1
    2. Chapter 2
    3. Chapter 3
    4. Chapter 4
    5. Chapter 5
    6. Chapter 6
    7. Chapter 7
    8. Chapter 8
    9. Chapter 9
    10. Chapter 10
    11. Chapter 11
    12. Chapter 12
    13. Chapter 13