Friday, February 8, 2013

Humanizing the Workplace


I am not a big fan of statistics, having realized, long ago, that most people use them to bend people to their will or sell things that others don't need. Mark Twain understood this years ago when he said, "There are lies, damn lies, and statistics."
But recently, a few statistics have gotten my attention.
• 62% of American workers are dissatisfied with their jobs
• 88% of all Americans are unhappy with Congress
• 40-50% of all marriages are likely to end in divorce
• 23% of all middle-aged American women are on anti-depressants
Taken individually, any of the above statistics can easily be ignored or ridiculed. But taken together, they begin to paint quite a troubling picture - one I daresay indicates that in America, at least, there is an emerging pattern of negativity and dissatisfaction.
As a management consultant to a wide range of leading organizations, I've noticed this phenomenon for years. Bottom line? People who work in corporations seem to be crankier than ever. Harried. Hassled. And in many ways, behaving more like human doings than human beings.
I'm not surprised. With the economic downturn, everyone is being asked to do more with less -- and faster than ever before. Head count is down. Expectations are up. And managers, no matter how many MBA degrees or stock options they have, still don't seem to understand how to establish a workplace environment that brings out the very best in people.
Intellectually, they may know, but the translation of intellect into action doesn't always happen.
Of course, worker dissatisfaction is not all management's fault. There are lots of contributing factors that muddy the water. Still, there is a lot that management (and all the rest of us) can do to significantly improve the quality of the workplace experience -- or what I like to call "humanizing the workplace."

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