Did you know the average American changes jobs every two years?  Retail employees spend even less time at their job.  No wonder people have so much personal stress, not to mention the stress from their job. 

So what's going on?  Companies are constantly striving to cut expenses to increase revenue, employees are working harder without more compensation, and stress in the workplace is on the rampage.  Meanwhile, many customers are becoming more and more dissatisfied with the service they receive from companies. 

When employees leave work each day, what type of experience are they taking home with them?  Stress? 

In a perfect world, or I guess I should say, in "Workplace Utopia," we find the best employee and give them the best workplace experience.  In turn, the employee gives the company their most creative ideas, their highest loyalty, dedication to customers, and they do their job while having a great attitude. 

Believe it or not, there are a few companies out there who believe in giving their employees a good workplace experience, and needless to say, a lot of them are Fortune 500 companies.

If Workplace Utopia was a real workplace environment, one of the first and most important things we could do would be to satisfy basic needs within the workplace. 

The needs of dignity and purpose are good examples of basic needs.  When management dumps new programs upon employees, it can definitely give the employee the wrong message of what management thinks of them.  (Are we stupid?)

Could it be better for management to include the opinions and ideas of employees concerning new programs?  Not only would this make the employee feel their opinions and ideas are beneficial, the management has just satisfied their needs of dignity and purpose.  Including employees in these types of decisions make them feel as if they are members of something good--the company.

What if the revenue of the company was increased while making the employees happier in their workplace?  Research has shown that companies with good communication have higher profits than those who don't. 

In workplace utopia, we could use cell phones, email, texting, not to mention landlines, post-it notes, and all the options from Google.  After all, lack of communication is a huge pet peeve with employees. 

If communication was better in the workplace, employees could stay in the loop about upcoming changes or new developments and not have to rely on all the gossip. 

Communication...What a great idea!

To wrap up our workplace utopia idea, let's make some quick and easy changes:

1.       Let's remove all the de-motivators from the workplace.  We will remove lack of clear expectations first so the employee will know exactly what is expected of him, which will eliminate stress and frustration and the employee can feel like a winner. 

2.      Then we will remove some of the control management has over the employee's work, since studies have shown that the more control an employee has over their work, the harder they will work.  This will make the employee feel more self-confident and creative. 

3.      And lastly, let's remove all doubts of anyone feeling unappreciated and that way, no employee will have the "why should I" attitude.  Management will appreciate and recognize each employee for their individual skills and talents, as well as their mistakes, which will make them feel the need to be more creative and innovative.

Now that we have de-stressed the work place, employees can create more revenue for the company, since a happy employee is a productive employee.  Once the employer begins making more money, he could actually pay his employees what they are worth, which would, no doubt, lessen personal stress for many employees.

I believe we are finished now.  We have not only conquered stress in the workplace, we have conquered personal stress for employees.  We have basically defeated two problems with one solution!

So why do more companies not adopt the "utopian" attitude? 

Perhaps they like the added expense of replacing good employees every few years.  I wonder if they know that "help wanted" ads are expensive and employee training costs even more?  Probably not.

Perhaps a lot of employers don't like acting like Fortune 500 Companies.  But then again, if they don't act like successful people, they don't have to worry about becoming successful.  Good idea.....Maybe not.

Or, perhaps these employers have a fear of success.  With success comes more responsibilities and obligations.  Bad move.   This could create a lot of hassles.

I give up.  There is no sane answer as to why more employers don't create a "Workplace Utopia."  It should be a "no brainer."  Quality and happy employees do generate more revenue for a company.  It's a win/win situation!

Donna Graham writes articles about people and small business.  Visit her at careerlifeattitudes.com