According to a recent Harris Poll published by the Institute for Global Ethics a third of employees in the U.S. called in sick last year but only 10% of them had a doctor’s appointment – most were just playing hooky. Or putting it another way, somewhere else was more inspiring to them than their workplace.

Workplaces are just places – people have lots to choose from. Many go to a workplace because they love what they do and the people they do it with. Others go to a workplace, not because they want to, but because they HAVE to – in order to sustain themselves.

So the central question for a leader is this: Are we creating a workplace that is so inspiring that people would rather be there during the day than the many other places calling to them?

I visited a hospital recently to discuss with executives how we might help them to transform their workplace into an inspiring one – something we have done many times for great hospitals across North America. Walking into the hospital lobby, I immediately began to feel depressed and sick – I couldn’t get out fast enough. It was an old building, filled with people harboring old resentments and ideas, clinging to old-fashioned thinking, trying to pursue change by doing more of the same old thing. If I had the burden of going there every day, I would want to play hooky – as often as I could!

Ask yourself: Are you doing important work that changes the world and fills the lives of employees and customers with meaning and fulfilment? Anything less will result in employees playing hooky and customers searching for a more inspiring organization with whom to do business.