Wow! What a crazy time in our world right now! I have been watching all the revolutions around the globe with great interest. Tunisia started the ball rolling, and I’m not sure where it will stop. And of course, in the USA, we have quite an uproar going on in Wisconsin–a revolution of sorts.
As always, this got me thinking about the workplace. Do we need to wait for a revolution to make things better for our employees? I don’t think so. Look around you. Ask questions. What one thing could you help change that would make life easier for your employees? What is the buzz in the workplace that needs to be fixed? What do employees want and need?
If you’re a supervisor or leader, do some homework and don’t wait for the revolution. Make changes in anticipation of employee needs before you have problems (that will cost you more time and money to fix if you wait for the uprising).
If you’re an employee–what’s the workplace buzz? What information do the leaders need to know? How can you help them help you? Think about it–and don’t wait for the revolution to completely disrupt your productivity.
What revolutions are you seeing on the horizon in your workplace? Share them here!
A recurring theme is that many supervisors don’t address workplace issues directly. Instead of dealing with the handful of offenders they bring everyone into the conversation. Whether it is a reinforcement of quality standards, lunch breaks, how to treat customers, work hours… This is a cowardly way of dealing with work place issues. If you know the offenders, deal with them directly. By including everyone in the conversation you are treating non-offenders the same as offenders. This is no way to treat employees who follow the rules. Using this approach supervisors whittle away employee respect and trust.