Creating Real Fulfillment in the Workplace

Marcianne Kuethen

July 25, 2012

I’m blessed to work for a company where people are genuinely passionate about what they do. It makes it fun to walk into the office. But not everyone is as fortunate, and many leaders wonder how to increase employee engagement and individual autonomy.

Richard Semler, leader of Semco Group and author of The Seven-Day Weekend, suggests a new thought:

“What if we created the conditions for people to feel exhilaration, to get involved to the point they shout ‘yes!’ and give each other high fives because they did it their way and it worked?” What if, instead of assuming passion will just show up when we invoke it, we focused on designing organizations to unleash it?

The democractic Semco has done away with all the usual rules and structure. They have no head office, no set hours, no timecards, and no tenure. (Team members can vote not to use a fellow employee in the next project!) Instead, Semco trusts in adult behavior–the desire to be productive–and recognizes that not every person’s rhythms are alike. (These guys must really know how to hire right. It seems like only self-motivated people with high integrity and strong work ethic could be productive in that environment!)

Whether this sounds dangerous or intriguing, you’ll want to read the full article to see how Richard Semler explores new possibilities to create fulfillment–even exhilaration–for his employees!

Originally published on management.fortune.cnn.com by Polly LaBarre.