MEANINGFUL WORK ROLES: MEANING IN OUR LIVES Jacek/Jack Haciak, Psy.D. 2017 Annual Conference of the Oregon Supported Employment Center for Excellence Oregon Gardens, Silverton, OR

Working Assumptions: 1. Productive work need not be paid employment 2. “Meaningful” productive work is determined by the individual performing the work 3. Meaningful productive work can be experienced in a less-than-ideal work role 4. When work becomes meaningful, an added dimension of personal satisfaction and pride can develop, with accompanying mental, emotional, and physical benefits 5. The benefits of meaningful productive work emanate from the person working, and positively affect those around them 6. It’s the little things in life that matter. Kindness abounds all around us.

Empathy Is An Action Word Decision Enactment

Hope and Inspiration If our engagement, on average, does not help generate hope and inspiration, we are likely off some fundamentals --- Self-determination; strength-based; inquiring and listening; sharing/revealing. Existential and phenomenological outcome measures --- Spontaneity and engagement

Sharing and Disclosure Professional guidelines based on the expert model - avoid our own life circumstances from becoming a distraction - preserve confidence in the expert Recovery concepts bring in a different perspective and strengths - mutual sharing from different (equally important) roles (“what you are helping me recall for myself that I can lose track of”) - context of past event, not all the details - recalling successes following mistakes - silence when “I don’t know what to say” “I am not sure what to do” - appreciation for their patience

Some paths to reality-based hope and inspiration Little things in life proactively being noticed (comments; notes; reports/summaries) Ask for help (display measured frustrations and disappointments with yourself; talk your problem-solving thoughts aloud; collaborative note-writing) Normalizing mistakes and errors; setting expectations for errors; error learning log; if a repeated lack of needed performance, “That is what we have learned for now; it’s not yet a strength; good information learned through good attempts and different approaches” Have them overhear you Pair the person with a star Assign some measured responsibility in an area of skill Always be kind