don's report archive

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

Finding A Healthy Company To Work For
Thursday November 30, 2000

Some jobs are more conducive to your well-being than others and some, as everyone knows, will make you sick! If you are enthusiastic about living in accordance with self-management principles, you may want to look for an organization that will encourage your ambitious lifestyle, not jeopardize it. What then, should you look for when recruiting a company?

Besides a good wage, attractive learning opportunities, career advancement and fringe benefits, how can you identify a supportive environment for self-management? Well, consider the criteria I listed for a young lady who wrote the other day, a June graduate with an MBA from a prestigious school. She said she was more interested in a well workplace than a maximum salary. I thought this showed good judgment. I offered the following advice—maybe you will find a few of these tips of use if you or friends look for a job anytime soon.

Begin with a goal, similar to that of my correspondent. Decide that you want a position with a company that will not be a hazard to your wellness lifestyle and, even better, will help you advance it in some fashion or other. Ask these kinds of questions:

Does management value personal growth and, if someone at the company asserts that this is the case, what evidence is there for it?
What does the workplace feel like—does it seem comfortable, warm or somehow nurturing to you?
Does management allow time for exercise, family, and other interests?
Will you be able to connect your passions and interests to the responsibilities of your work?
Will this work be satisfying, if done well?
Is there a feeling of community, a positive culture and values complementary to your own to be found at the workplace?
Will you be part of a team or several, and are they encouraged to be self-managing?
Do people already there enjoy their work?
Will you have any value conflicts associating with this firm, or these people?

These questions should help but there are many more that will occur to you along these lines. Did I leave any out? Let me know, please. Good wishes and be well.

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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