Conflicts that repeat constantly, unhappy bosses and employees, down-and-out by this crawling working process… If one changes the office, hoping for a better working atmosphere, the scheme might get repeated some day. Some people reconcile themselves with the situation at one point, while others continue to look for the perfect environment that will motivate them to do their best. In the end some lucky guys succeed, after a long search. The others sink into the roles of the victim that no one understands, of the rebel or the underestimated genius, having the bitter feeling of an aimless life passing by. They are into their duties only to the level of getting their monthly check. Is there a way out of this situation and who is to be charged with changing it? Many would say: the boss, since his attitude, concept on the work and organizational skills are essential, and those would be right to some extend. According to psychologist Elena Nikolova, chair of the Bulgarian Transactional Analysis Association there are two types of organizing the workflow:

“Some people still tend to go along the archaic path, ignoring group processes and how modern science sees organizations and their dynamics. Others have a more modern point of view and try to create a well-functioning working space, following contemporary paths for communication in a search for effectiveness. That is why those develop faster. There is a connection between the way a leader sees an organization and the vision he has on its future. There is a really interesting psychological theory from the mid-1960s, reaching Bulgaria barely now. This is the successful transactional analysis theory. Its inventor Eric Berne monitors the development of a person within a certain group. He makes an analysis of group dynamics and processes according to the way that organizations and bigger groups function. The interesting thing about his theory is that there are several things, affecting results and working atmosphere.”

The most important among those are boundaries, which determine relations, depending on positions. If those are not outlined well, there is a chance for the occurring of problems, related to the effectiveness of work and the functioning manner of the organization itself:

“We are really talking about management, complied not only with completion of the tasks, but also with employees. When a leader is interested not only in the results, but in the needs of the group too – this means good working atmosphere. When leaders listen to people and their opinion is respected, their contribution is made visible, this makes them feel satisfied with their job and more effective. Such people will have better results, compared to companies, where there is no such working atmosphere. When things go wrong, the reason should be sought and optimization ideas should be given. HR experts should look for the needs of the people and get the leader acquainted with that need, in order for the job to bring real content. We spend a lot of time at work. If we are not happy there, we won’t be happy with our life either. The “What have I achieved?” question means work achievements for many. This is in a correlation with the atmosphere, the results, the way one expresses himself at work.”

According to Elena Nikolova employers can achieve really good results, if they trust experts in group processes and analyze human relations:

“Part of the people, visiting transactional analysis workshops are exactly HR experts or ones in organizational psychology. The interesting thing is that trainings give the opportunity for upgrading of knowledge in organizational behavior and labor psychology. We give an opportunity for acquiring a certificate for European expert in the matter. This theory is about to be used and implemented, so the people involved will be among the pioneers in the sphere, implementing these innovative methods. Thus the atmosphere and the effectiveness of work will be improved. That brings overall satisfaction of life itself. This means not only good business results, but success at work too.”

English version: Zhivko Stanchev