Culture in the work place can have a dramatic effect on one's overall happiness and success.  In an article entitled Five Signs of a Lousy Job  found on MSN's Careers page, Kate Lorenze summarizes some key points from Andrea Kay's book, "Life's a Bit*ch and Then You Change Careers."   According to the article, many of us dread going to work each day due to issues such as our uneasiness with the company culture or a bad relationship with the boss.   Inevitably, these negative feelings about work, work place culture and bad bosses affect performance on the job.

Last week Challenger, Gray and Christmas issued their annual warning about the huge losses in worker productivity that result from idle chatter and party planning at Super Bowl time.  An AP article on Super Bowl Slackers, indicated that the Challenger firm estimated a loss of $820 million during the week before the game. 

In spite of my alarm over such a hit on productivity this week, I can't help but think about the more serious, long-term issues at stake in the work place.  The productivity loss occurring the week before the Super Bowl surely cannot compare with the hammering productivity takes every week when people dread to come to work because of company culture or a bad boss.

My recommendation to leaders is to worry less about the short-term Super Bowl disruptions and more about the steady erosion of performance due to dysfunction in the company culture.  If leaders really want to improve productivity or keep it from deteriorating, first they should assess the culture of their work places.  Does it promote worker dedication, commitment and loyalty, or does it thwart employee initiative and engagement?  Leaders hold the cards for creating a culture that supports high performance and productivity.   Never mind the Super Bowl!