In the garden, plants stay alive through the process of “photosynthesis”, which comes from the Greek words for “light” and “putting together”. It is the process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae and many species of bacteria who use carbon dioxide and water, releasing oxygen as a waste product.

Photosynthesis is vital for life on Earth. As well as maintaining the normal level of oxygen in the atmosphere, nearly all life either depends on it directly as a source of energy, or indirectly as the ultimate source of the energy in their food.

So what is the human equivalent of photosynthesis? What is it that keeps people alive at work? It is communication, feedback, feeling appreciated. It’s the psychological processes that help people to feel valued and motivated.  Motivation is vital to life at work. The by product of motivated, engaged employees is that they spread the feeling around to others thus increasing the “life” in your organisation. People can’t live for long without this human photosynthesis.

So are you doing enough to keep your people alive? Are they getting enough of the human equivalent of sunlight or are they languishing in some dark corner deprived of any light?

Tags: Employee Communication, Employee morale, engagement, Engaging conversations