by Tom Terez
   There's an invisible shelf at the entrance to every workplace in the world. Many people use it every day without thinking. When they arrive for work, they put their hearts and minds on the shelf -- and go about the day's work with little or no emotional or mental involvement. When the workday ends, they return to the shelf, reclaim the best part of themselves, and carry on with their lives.
   According to the rosiest research on workforce engagement, only three out of ten people in the typical workplace use their hearts and minds every day. These "actively engaged" people are enthusiastic, committed, and productive. Two out of ten are "actively disengaged." They're the ones talking trash and seeing every workplace change as a personal slight. The rest -- half of the typical workforce at an organization -- is "unengaged."
   That last figure is so enormous it bears repeating: Fully half of the people in your typical organization shelve their hearts and minds on the way in to work. As the workday unfolds, they are present in body yet emotionally and creatively absent.
   It's a problem, but it's an even bigger opportunity. Here are seven ways to engage the unengaged:
START WITH PURPOSE
People want their work to have meaning. They want those tasks and projects to promote some greater good. When's the last time you and your colleagues talked about your overarching mission?
HUNT DOWN THE BUSYWORK
Over months and years, every workplace gets bulked up with meaningless procedures and process steps that steal time away from meaningful work. Try stepping off the busywork treadmill and taking a critical look at how you spend your time. With co- workers, pinpoint one or two time-draining activities you can ditch right away.
INVITE PEOPLE IN
If you're analyzing a problem, brainstorming ideas, weighing options, reviewing data, or doing anything else that requires brainpower, reach out to more people for input. Some of them will have to run over to that shelf to re-engage their hearts and minds, but that's the point, right?
RE-INVENT YOUR MEETINGS
Many meetings are a one-way routine in which the boss simply delivers information -- something that could be done more easily by e-mail or handout. The best meetings are forums for dialogue in which all participants can shape the agenda, ask questions, and freely share their views. Speaking of which, have you and your colleagues recently traded thoughts on how to make your meetings more useful?
GET SMART ABOUT SPACE
Thomas Edison designed his Menlo Park invention factory to be the best of both worlds. The first floor had separate workspaces so people could focus on their individual developments, and the second floor had community work areas where parts and pieces were turned into inventions. In your own workplace, are there complementary places where people can work alone and work together?
LEVERAGE THOSE STRENGTHS
Real fast now: What are the top three strengths of your three main colleagues? What are your own top strengths? If you're not sure, stop everything and come up with answers right now. Everyone has great strengths that are waiting to be put to work -- even that annoying co-worker, who just so happens to have the knowledge you need to solve that problem you've been struggling with for weeks.
SHARE THAT KNOW-HOW
The people around you are some of the smartest people you never knew. They have book smarts, street smarts, and rich life experiences that remain hidden. So why not set aside an hour for your own impromptu 60 Minute University? Take turns spending 10 minutes each teaching something -- anything -- to the team.

Interesting Factoids

Q. Why do X's at the end of a letter signify kisses?
A: In the Middle Ages, when many people were unable to read or write, documents were often signed using an X. Kissing the X represented an oath to fulfill obligations specified in the document. The X and the kiss eventually became synonymous.

Q: Why is shifting responsibility to someone else called 'passing
the buck'?
A: In card games, it was once customary to pass an item, called a buck, from player to player to indicate whose turn it was to deal. If a player did not wish to assume the responsibility of dealing, he would 'pass the buck' to the next player.

   In a world economy that increasingly runs 24/7, Americans' work schedules vary far and wide, and for some, change regularly. While some comfortably work the typical 8 hour shift of 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, others are forced to cope with working early mornings, extended overtime hours that drag late into the evening, weekends or the overnight shift.
   About one-fifth of employed Americans work most of their hours in the evening or night, or have a rotating or highly variable schedule, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Many more work some of their hours, but not most, in the evenings or at night. About one third of employed Americans work Saturday, Sunday or both weekend days. All together, about two-fifths of employed Americans work nonstandard schedules.
   Such demanding work schedules coupled with a struggling economy and skyrocketing stress levels are sure to take a toll on emotional and physical health, says Darrel Drobnich, chief program officer of the National Sleep Foundation.
   "With Americans working such long hours - on top of their other responsibilities such as childcare and household maintenance - something has to give," Drobnich says. "Unfortunately, that something is usually nighttime sleep. People tend to give up sleep, when getting a good night's sleep should be at the top of everyone's list to ensure maximum performance both at work and home."
   If you are struggling with an irregular or constantly changing work schedule, here are some tips to help you get through the workweek:
Make sleep a priority. Regardless of the hours you work, your ability to work a successful shift starts before you arrive on the job. Getting enough shuteye is vital because it's much tougher to make it through a long shift when you are sleep deprived.
Eat smart. Eating a balanced meal often can be difficult when working late or overnight, but making an effort to do so will reap physical and emotional benefits throughout your day. When snacking, stay away from the candy machine and concentrate on healthy snacks that provide energy, such as fruits, vegetables, bagels, crackers and popcorn.
Use caffeine wisely. Caffeine can provide a much needed boost in alertness, but abusing it can lead to sleep and stomach problems. Consume no more than two to three cups per work shift, and set a cutoff point of four to five hours before bedtime.
Talk to family and friends. Those who work irregular schedules may face problems maintaining family relationships and social ties when it becomes difficult to balance work, sleep and personal time. It's important to talk with family members and friends so you can schedule special times to share with them. If you don't feeling at odds with the rest of the world could make you irritable, stressed and depressed.
Make schedule changes early. Talk to your boss about working out a schedule weeks or even months in advance. Knowing ahead of time that a scheduled change is approaching will make the transition easier and less stressful to endure.
Spread out the work. Tactics for making it through a long day of work include: changing tasks often, talking to co-workers, doing enjoyable assignments at times of low alertness, and doing work that requires moderate physical activity.

   So you have a great idea, eh? Perhaps it's a new product or service. Or an overhaul of a key work process. Or a tweak to part of the process. But you're frustrated because no one shares your wide-eyed excitement. Whenever you explain your idea, colleagues listen politely, nod robotically, ask a token question -- then get on with business as usual.
   Most good ideas never come close to implementation. You've heard Edison's comment about invention being 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Well, it often turns out to be 100% expiration. Think about your own work history. You probably have a tombstone or two on that drawing-board graveyard marking your own good ideas that saw an early death.
   That's the bad news. The good news is that it doesn't have to be that way, as long as you're willing to facilitate, strategize, persuade, convince, compromise, and more. Hey, we never said it would be easy!
For starters, try to involve your colleagues when the idea is still on the drawing board. Develop the concept together, so your seed of an idea becomes their idea. This is tough. It requires you to give up some ownership. It takes more time. And it can lead to ideas that are far afield from your original vision. But it's the surest way to create a powerful group of advocates.
Make sure the idea is fully developed before trying to move it beyond the drawing board. A vague concept will stir up scant support, plenty of questions, and an excess of skepticism. You say you want to trim the approval process so customers can get quicker service? Fine -- but exactly how will you trim it? What steps will be eliminated? Think through all the details.
Give the idea as much tangibility as possible, so people can experience it instead of just hearing about it. For instance, if you and your team have conjured up improvements to a data-entry system, create several mock computer screens to show how the system would appear to users. If you're recommending the installation of ergonomically friendly keyboards, then have a sample at hand so people can try it out. What if you're proposing changes to a process that can't be easily demonstrated? No problem -- create an oversized flowchart that provides "before" and "after" illustrations.
Once the idea seems well-conceived and ready to roll, become a strategist. Contemplate the forces that will work for and against the recommended improvement. Pinpoint the probable barriers. Identify the likely allies. Then come up with a plan to make the most of the situation. Perhaps cost-cutting has become a top priority, and your idea will trim 15% off a costly process. Bingo -- you've got your leverage point. Maybe there's a key decision-maker who always rants against organizational bureaucracy. Then show how the idea will simplify things. It could even be that the timing isn't right; if you wait one month, a new budget cycle will begin and your idea will get a warmer reception. By being a clever strategist, you'll uncover the best approach.
Link the idea to the organization's or department's reason for being. If the mission emphasizes quick service to customers, and the idea will reduce waiting times by 25%, emphatically say so -- but be sure to have solid projections to back up your claim. If the strategic plan calls for making inroads into a new market, and your smart suggestion will lead the way, again, show the connection.
Be ready with a cost-benefit analysis that shows some sort of return on investment. Work up the initial outlay, the long-term costs, and the expected return. Provide three scenarios of varying optimism. Even if the idea is relatively simple -- say, your group is recommending a new scheduling system for four help-desk employees -- still crunch the numbers and show the financial implications. What if the ROI is negative? Then show other likely benefits, like increased customer loyalty, that will make the investment worthwhile.
If possible, try out the idea on a test basis. Use the insights to tweak the plan and generate some early results. For example, have ten of 100 staffers try out the new keyboards for one week. Keep track of productivity and work quality, and gather the ten users for a focus group at week's end. Use their feedback to evaluate and refine the improvement. Also, compare the test data to productivity and quality rates with the old keyboards. If there are gains with the new equipment, you're well on the way to building a solid business case.
Understand your liabilities, and make sure they don't undermine your efforts. If you get queasy just hearing the term "cost accounting," then enlist the help of your number-crunching colleagues when developing the cost-benefit analysis. If you tend to think in broad brush strokes, figuring that someone else will handle the details, then make sure your team has people who are ardent planners. If you get so excited about new ideas that you assume others will go along from the get-go, force yourself to take a strategic pause to assess the terrain, pinpoint the barriers, and identify those early supporters.
Accept the fact that all of the above is a messy undertaking. Your idea is certain to mutate as more people get involved in shaping it. You'll have to be painfully patient as the decision-making gears creak and groan. And you'll need to reach beyond your own comfort zone of tendencies and skills. Whatever you do, hang in there. As Edison himself put it, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."