Title: Why do I do this every day? Finding meaning in your work
Author: Fraser Dyer
Price: £7.99
Pages: 160 paperback
Publisher: Lion Hudson
ISBN: 0745951716
The problem with book titles that pose questions is that the reader quite rightly expects an answer somewhere within its pages. An even greater problem exists when that question is one posed frequently by people dissatisfied with their lot.
Trainers and consultants face the challenges of frustration, lethargy and stagnation every day and if efforts to motivate staff are to be taken at all seriously, telling someone something they know already is likely to be met with derision.
Fraser Dyer allows the reader to understand why they feel a lack of fulfilment.
The book presents models and exercises to help the reader identify whether it is just their demon boss or a deep sense of regret of missed chances that cause the feelings of animosity towards their career. It encourages readers to identify key skills, separate monetary and emotional rewards and overcome personal barriers to change. In short, it does everything you would expect a book like this to do.
And there lies the rub. Trainers face reactions varying from indifference to downright hostility in their efforts to motivate staff or assess morale. In an industry that already lends itself dangerously to self-parody as exemplified by TV shows The Office or The Day Today, a certain level of reality is needed to ensure people know they are not being patronised or peddled the kind of banal psychobabble beloved of David Brent and his cohorts.
Dyer’s motives are understandable, but he says very little that is either new or illuminating. In fact, he should probably try and ‘think outside the box’ a bit more – which might actually have made a better title.
Useful? 2 stars
Well-written? 3 stars
Practical? 3 stars
Inspirational? 2 stars
Value for money? 3 stars
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All ratings out of a possible 5 stars.
Reviewed by Anne-Marie Hilbourne, training and development manager, Centrepoint
