Q1) Attitudes/ Job Satisfaction

• 1.i Do you think that managerscreate job satisfaction for their employees or is job satisfaction individually determined by the employees only? Pick one side of the argument and give 3 points that support your argument.

• 1.ii Are you satisfied with your job? Who or what influences how satisfied or dissatisfied you are with your job? *If you do not have a job, write about your satisfaction with your job as a 'student'.

Q2)Please watch the Video: Pike Place Fish Marketand discuss thequestions following each video with your group.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=pike+place+fish+market+philosophy&&view=detail&mid=C8065B30841885874C4EC8065B30841885874C4E&FORM=VRDGAR

Play Video

Fifteen years ago, Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle had unhappy employees and was in financial trouble. Rather than close shop, owner John Yokoyama sought help from consultant Jim Bergquist to improve his leadership and energize the workforce. Rather than rule as a tyrant, Yokoyama learned how to actively involve employees in the business. Soon, staff felt more empowered and gained more enjoyment from their work. They also began to actively have fun at work, including setting goals as a game, throwing fish to each other as sport, and pretending they are "world famous". Today, thanks to these and other strategies described in this video case, Pike Placeisworld famous. The little shop has become a tourist attraction and customers from California to New York call in orders.

• 2.i. Why are Pike Place employees happy in their jobs? Do you think they are happy to start with or happy because of their workplace?

• 2.ii. The employees are really having a lot of fun at the Pike Place fish market. Are they productive as well as happy?
• 2.iii. How do the attitudes that the employees have about their work manifest in their actions?

• 2.iv. How do the attitudes of the employees affect customer satisfaction?

Q3) Please watch the Video: Karoshi- Death by Overwork: Stress in Japan and discuss the questions after watching video

https://youtu.be/otWl3Zu1Mr4

Questions-

• 3.i To our Japanese classmates, is this still a thing? Is Karoshi still relevant today?
• 3.ii To our Indian classmates, is there an equivalent phenomenon (to the consequences of stress) experienced by some types of workers in India?
• 3.iii To the whole class, do you think that serious health problems and eventual death due to stress in the workplace is a real problem? Do you think that death by overwork (Karoshi) is realistic? Or is it an exaggeration?
• 3.iv What are the Japanese salarymen doing to add to their stress and consequent health problems? What could they be doing to relieve or manage their stress?
• 3.v Is workplace stress a problem in Canada? What do Canadian workers do differently than the salaryman in the film?How would you compare the stress levels experienced by Canadian workers to that experienced by workers in Japan?

*For related resources, please look at the stress articles and videos in this week's unit. You will learn more about the degree of stress experienced by Canadian workers, where the stress comes from, and how the stress is managed.