Rosaline is the superintendent of a school district. A new board of directors, to whom she is responsible

Is a happy worker a productive worker?

This question has been the focus of substantial amounts of research over the years and the answer is still not clear. Clearly happy workers seem to want to be better performers as their happiness makes them more engaged workers. However, wanting to perform better and actually performing better are not necessarily the same.

One aspect which could prevent a happy worker from being a more productive worker may simply be that the worker lacks the necessary skills to perform better.

And sometimes, too, the happy worker is so busy being happy that he fails to perform. While many programs instituted by firms use this statement as their guiding principle, there is no hard evidence to prove that a fruitful endeavor.

143. Rosaline is the superintendent of a school district. A new board of directors, to whom she is responsible, has just been elected and the philosophical direction the board wishes to take varies from the direction Rosaline has taken the district over the past five years. Rosaline is going to tender her resignation. How can she do so gracefully?

After working for five years to make your vision a reality, the likely urge is to vent your frustrations as loudly as you can. However, such an action, while refreshing for maybe five minutes, simply does not serve either party well in the future. Thus, Rosaline should consider the following:

Don’t engage in a knee-jerk reaction. Everyone has bad days and an entirely new philosophy may appear to be a mountain that you are unwilling to climb. That said, think of your career. Before tendering the resignation, look to see if there are opportunities for job change. Current economic conditions do not bode well for rash decisions. Find an alternative and then carefully plan your subsequent steps toward it.

When you do choose to go, inform your boss (the board president) of your decision first. While dramatic announcements get attention, again they serve few down the road.

Don’t speak poorly of the organization you are departing. The world is a small place and getting smaller. You have no clue what the future will hold or who you might need to contact in the future.

Finish what you have started. Don’t leave anyone scrambling to figure out what you are doing or how to do it. Just finish it.

Return what is the firm’s, keep what is yours.

Be professional in everything you do.

144. Agnes is so frustrated. This morning she called a meeting for 9 o’clock sharp to discuss the new product launch. Though most of the key players were on time, Kim and Nelson were both 25 minutes late, making some excuses about how they had to make an important call before either could attend. That made four meetings in a row when they were late. What can you do? Other members at the meeting are getting frustrated too as you have to repeat information and re-explain key points.

First, find out why they are late. Are they late because they are unhappy or dissatisfied? Or, are they simply late because it is their nature to be so?

Don’t let the continued tardiness go unnoticed and “unpunished.” Ignoring the behavior may be saying to them that you somehow approve of what they are doing.

Find out what everyone’s schedules are. Maybe you really are scheduling meetings when they have standing phone appointments.

If they are late, require them to make up for their lateness by taking on some extra duties or responsibilities related to the project.

Remind people of the meeting. Sometimes we are just so busy in today’s dynamic work environment that we do forget commitments.

Reward those who do come on time. Food works well. Barring that, just thank everyone for being there on time!

Make sure you are on time. If you have a tendency to call a meeting for 9 but it never gets started to 9:10 because you are out copying the agenda for everyone, then they will arrive late to compensate for your tardiness. Before you know it, a 9 o’clock meeting begins at 9:30.

145. Matthew is a 22-year-old accountant working in his first job at a major accounting firm in Philadelphia. When he is home in Virginia for a visit, he sits down for a chat with his father, who is a human resource director at a large manufacturing firm. Matthew tells his father how unhappy he is that he chose to work for the Philadelphia firm. As he does his job, he realizes this is not what he wants to do for the rest of his life. What advice can dad provide him to help him be a happier worker?

First, be positive. Any experience is a learning experience. You are never stuck forever anywhere.

If, indeed, the fit between you and the firm or you and the job is not what it should be, then find out what is wrong with the fit. Use this information as you begin a job search. Don’t however, have a knee-jerk reaction and just quit.

Get accurate information about the firm and the job. Maybe you are in a job that you just don’t fit, but maybe that is only a temporary assignment with better things to come.

Develop good relationships at work. The work relationships are part of your network and you never know when your network will come in handy.

Know when to leave. Gather information and weigh it carefully. Make sure the next organization or job is a good fit.