French law mandates at least five weeks of vacation. Australia provides both paid maternal and paternal leave. Denmark breeds work-life balance into their culture. So why is American so out of touch? In stark contrast to these balanced regimes, Americans continue to pander through the workday. We extend our hours, snack on sad desk lunches, and forgo vacation to get ahead. But science says there’s a fatal flaw in our system… Today, 70 percent of the American workforce is disengaged. The rat race mentality has left us sleepwalking through life — and it’s time to wake up. Join Joe Mechlinski, New York Times Bestselling author and speaker, as he introduces science into the great work debate. Joe will show you how to become better in tune with your three brains (head, heart, and gut) to help reshape your thinking, motivation, and behaviors to find greater fulfillment at work.

1. WORK THAT’S
WORTH IT

2. • The latest facts, figures, and trends in the workforce
• What it takes, as a leader, to inspire and implement
change in your organization
• How to immediately apply what you learn in order to
make work worth it for yourself and for your employees
YOU’LL LEARN…

3. YOU’LL GET…
12 Workplace Hacks to:
• Instill more value and purpose at work
• Boost overall engagement and performance
• Supercharge work-life balance
• Create a climate of justice

4. YOU’LL FEEL…
• Enthusiastic
Eager to take and apply what you learn
• Energized
Revitalized mental and emotional power
• Excited
Pumped about knew knowledge and valuable resources

5. THE STATE OF THE WORLD

6. 3.9 percent
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
CURRENT NATIONAL
US Bureau of Labor Statistics

7. 6.7 million
Approximately 201,000 jobs were created in August 2018, and the national unemployment rate
remained unchanged at 3.9 percent.
JOB OPENINGS
CURRENT NATIONAL
US Bureau of Labor Statistics

8. QUIT RATE
17-YEAR HIGH IN CURRENT
US Bureau of Labor Statistics

9. EMPLOYEE TENURE
MEDIAN BY AGE OF
US Bureau of Labor Statistics

11. THE CHANGE DILEMMA

12. THE CHANGE DILEMMA

13. THE CHANGE DILEMMA
We are here

14. DISENGAGED
70%

15. 40%
of the workforce will be freelancers,
temps, independent contractors and
solopreneurs by 2020.
THE FUTURE OF WORK

16. World Economic Forum
AUTOMATION
THE FUTURE OF

17. McKinsey
A U T O M AT I O N M AY W I P E O U T 1 / 3 O F
A M E R I C A’ S W O R K F O R C E B Y 2 0 3 0

18. THE THREE BRAINS

19. HEAD | BETTER YOU
KNOW PRIORITIES
HEART | BETTER US
FEEL PASSION
GUT | BETTER ALL
EXPERIENCE PURPOSE
MASTER DOCTRINE

21. CHANGE IS INEVITABLE,
PROGRESS IS NOT.
M A X M C K E O W N

22. 12 HACKS

23. Quantum Workplace
P O O R P E R F O R M A N C E M A N A G E M E N T
Employees whose managers regularly communicate with them are 3X more engaged than
those with managers who don’t practice regular communication.

24. WEEKLY PERFORMANCE REVIEWS
#1 HACK
TOOL: 15FIVE
Stop only doing annual reviews – interactions with your
team need to happen far more often. At a minimum,
weekly.
15Five kicks-off important conversations with your team
every week on priorities and productivity, and encourages
employees to reflect on their highs and lows to create a
unique communication system.

25. R E S I S T I N G T H E R E M O T E W O R K P L A C E
80% to 90% of the US workforce says they would like to telework
at least part-time (two to three days a week).
Global Workplace Analytics

26. ENABLE TELECOMMUTING
#2 HACK
TOOLS: COLLABORATIVE RESOURCES
Research and implement resources that address the needs of a
remote team to foster continued collaboration and communication.

27. I N F L E X I B L E W O R K S C H E D U L E S
73% of employees said flexible work arrangements
increased their satisfaction at work
Zenefits

28. FLEX SCHEDULE
#3 HACK
SOLUTION: OFFER FLEXIBLE HOURS
The typical 9 to 5 work schedule is becoming obsolete. So instead of resisting
the change, embrace it as an opportunity to experiment.
Simple approach: leave people in control of their own schedule – a little
autonomy goes a long way.
Feeling adventurous? Consider trying:
• Job-sharing (two employees split the workload and time commitments of
one 40-hour per week job)
• Day shifting (some employees work from 7 AM to 3 PM while others work
from 10 AM to 6 PM)
• On-peak/off-peak work schedules (employees work more hours during
their busy season and vice versa).

29. L I M I T I N G PA I D T I M E O F F
70% of employees who take a week or more of vacation say they’re driven to contribute to
their organization’s success, as opposed to the 55% who don’t regularly take vacation

30. SMARTER PTO
#4 HACK
TOOL: PAYLOCITY
Offer benefits your team actually wants and needs to perform at their best,
and keep the details accessible, front of mind, and clear. Options can include:
• Three or more weeks of PTO out of the gate
• Paid parental leave
• Distinguish between vacation days, personal days, and sick days
For other creative ideas, check out this article:
7 Paid-Time-Off Stats You'll Find Fascinating

31. D E P R I O R I T I Z I N G R E C O G N I T I O N
79% of people who quit their jobs cite “lack of appreciation” as their reason for leaving

32. CULTURE GAMIFICATION
#5 HACK
DOWNLOAD AT
shiftthework.com/cadre
SOLUTION: A GAMING PLAN
Gamifying your culture combines teamwork and play
to create an atmosphere where employees challenge
themselves, grow personally and professionally, are
recognized for their achievements, and bond as a
team.
Overall, it boosts:
• Engagement
• Collaboration
• Morale
• Productivity
• Perception of self-value

33. E M P L O Y E E E N G A G E M E N T I S TA N K I N G
12% of businesses are happy with current levels of employee engagement

34. By creating awareness around engagement, we believe employees are
be more inclined to:
• Take ownership of their actions and behaviors
• Commit to positive change
• Achieve greater satisfaction inside and outside of work
SURVEY ENGAGEMENT
#6 HACK
DOWNLOAD AT
shiftthework.com/cadre
SOLUTION: QUARTERY ENGAGEMENT SURVEY
TOOLS:
• SHIFT ALL IN ASSESSMENT
• TOP 50 SURVEY ENGAGEMENT QUESTIONS

35. Dynamic Signal
I N E F F E C T I V E C O M M U N I C AT I O N
In the US, 1 in 3 employees are ready to quit their jobs
due to poor workplace communication

36. DAILY COMMUNICATION
#7 HACK
WATCH A CEO RIFF AT
shiftthework.com/tools
TOOL: LEADERSHIP RIFFS
Daily communication from you to your team.
These can be done by anyone in a leadership
position, shared with their team or the
organization at large, to share:
• Important updates
• Relevant news
• Provide motivation and inspiration
• Offer useful resources
• Etc.

37. I N V E S T I N G I N E M P L O Y E E S
49% of employees say that receiving perks/benefits means they know
that their employers are invested in them as individuals

38. BETTER INCENTIVES
#8 HACK
It’s not difficult to gain a competitive advantage, you just
have to get creative. Offering better benefits and perks
than your competitors empowers you to create a
magnetic culture that not only attracts top talent, but gets
them to stay!
Here are potential options:
• Recognize and reward employee tenure
• Offer micro certification courses (professional
development)
• Give your people equity
SOLUTION: COMPETITIVE PERKS
Shift Your Work
12 Week Training
Welcome to the Shift Your Work Course from Joe Mechlinski, CEO at
SHIFT.
70% of the American workforce is disengaged.

39. M I S I N F O R M E D H I R I N G
The average company in the United States spends about $4,000 to hire a
new employee, taking up to 52 days to fill a position.
Glassdoor

40. TOOL: TTI TRIMETRIX DNA ASSESSMENT
HIRE FOR THE JOB
#9 HACK
The DNA assessment identifies a person’s behaviors,
motivators, and competencies. The coaching report reveals
how a person operates in their natural versus adapted state
and provides insight on how to best communicate and support
the individual based on their tendencies.

41. M A N A G I N G L O W P E R F O R M E R S
On average, managers spend 26% of working hours coaching underperforming
employees – that’s more than 10 hours out of a 40-hour workweek!
Robert Half

42. DEFINE HIGH PEFORMANCE
#10 HACK
TOOL: ROLE EXCELLENCE PROFILE (REP)
Define the standards of excellence that capture
major accomplishments (outcomes) produced by
top performers:
• Develop explicit measures of success
• Identify the key tasks of high performers
• Reveal the factors necessary for achieving
task completion excellence
• Remove the “noise” and distractions of low
value activities

43. W O R K P L A C E B U R N O U T
1 in 5 highly engaged employees is at risk of burnout,
reporting high levels of interest, stress, and frustration
Robert Half

44. PROTECT MENTAL HEALTH
#11 HACK
TOOL: BUILT-IN BALANCE DAYS
At SHIFT, we call these “SHIFT You” days. In
addition to the usual nationally recognized holidays,
we offer our team designated paid days off to reset,
refocus, and take care of themselves.
But we don’t stop there…
Every Friday afternoon, we gift our team “better you”
time from 3:00 to 5:00 PM to spend as they please.
Most importantly, we put it on the calendar!

45. R E P R I M A N D I N G FA I L U R E
Roughly two to five percent of failures in an organization are truly
blameworthy; yet 70% to 90% are addressed with a pointed-finger.
Robert Half

46. INTELLIGENT FAILURE
#12 HACK
SOLUTION: LESSONS LEARNING LOG
Establish an effective method for codifying and sharing (with your entire
organization) the lessons learned from failure.
Identify:
• What the assumptions were going in
• The outcomes that resulted
• What that implies for those assumptions (lessons), and
• A plan of action for next time
Do NOT use this as a means to place blame.

47. CLIMATE OF
JUSTICE
According to a study by Google,
Psychological Safety ranked as the
most important dynamic of a successful,
high performing team.

48. BETTER YOU
THE BRAIN IN YOUR HEAD

49. BETTER US
THE BRAIN IN YOUR HEART

50. BETTER ALL
THE BRAIN IN YOUR GUT

53. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
"Shift The Work solves the riddle of the connection between engagement at work
and engagement with life: If you don't have the first, you can't have the second. In
this engaging, interactive work, Joe Mechlinski draws from his own impressive life
experiences to show how to go all in in everything you do. This is an inspiring read.”
Daniel H. Pink, author of WHEN and TO SELL IS HUMAN
“Joe is not new to the world of best selling books. His bluntness is clarity and
should not be confused with the typical powerpoint business advice books. Behind
his words is a compassion for allowing people to better themselves by an embrace
of clarity of purpose. This is an excellent read.”
Richard Saul Wurman, author, and creator of TED
“Shift the Work reminded me that vulnerability is a powerful force for creating trust
and inspiring change in people and in organizations. It has moved me to be a better
leader, follower, friend and sibling. Read this stuff. Because it matters. A lot!!”
Patrick Murphy, CEO, John Hancock Retirement Plan Services

54. CLAIM NOW BY VISITING
shiftthework.com/cadre
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development for individuals, teams, and the company.
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THE COMPLETE LIST
The 50 best survey questions to ask your team to measure and
boost employee engagement.