What I learnt today #7

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Today I met up with a friend for lunch on my way back to the office.

I had an exceptionally early day today, having had to arrive on a site in Rio Claro at 8:00am. So by the time lunchtime had arrived, I had technically fulfilled 75% of my contractual obligation to my employer with regard to working hours. Having finished lunch we discussed our mutual feeling of not being completely overjoyed with the prospect of returning to work. Somewhere in the conversation I suggested we ditch work and go to the beach. I asked the question: “When you look back on your younger days, are you going to remember that time you went back to work?” I admit, I have an overly cynical view of the world of employment as it exists in contemporary T&T, where work design is seldom a consideration. Work design aims at creating systems through which jobs are more meaningful to the individual, responsibility for the work is accepted and intrinsic satisfaction is achieved. I get the feeling both employees and employers view ‘a wuk’ as two sides of the same coin. 

Am I considering going to the beach because I am a deviant and irresponsible employee? 

Am I absolving myself of responsibility of doing my part in self-motivation to do my job?

I am absolutely sure many friends all over the world were having the exact same conversation.  

Now, I went a step further and put myself in the shoes of an employer, who has hired people that are satisfactorily qualified to do the job with which they have been tasked. How would I feel if they decide to bugger off in the middle of the day? Wages being a significant part of my overhead, I would not be happy. But I still have fleeting sympathy for many employers having problems with labour.

Here’s why:

If I was a company’s leader, my most important function is to ensure my single biggest investment, and the only one which will allow my company to grow, is used properly and fits my company’s culture and vision. A failing work force signals to me that I have not been doing my job well. It may be that the wrong people are being hired, the work design is lacking or non-existent, or my company’s strategy has been poorly thought out or has not been thought of in the first place. It may be that all the majority of my employees are lazy and just don’t want to work. 

Which do you think, as an unbiased observer of the natural order of things, is more likely?

I am convinced that a company can be so designed to provide meaningful and satisfying work, regardless of the tasks to be executed. I am convinced that people follow strong leaders, and dedicate their time diligently to a firm whose vision and culture is congruent with their own.

These considerations will be in the forefront of my mind when designing my own company as well as understanding I am ultimately responsible for my employees that I depend on to grow my company. 

And I did not go to the beach today.