Dysfunction in the Workplace; It feels like a Tug o' War...

Why so much dysfunction in the workplace?

Like any good marriage, it takes two sides to make a great union. Likewise, with divorce, two parties share blame.

If both sides do not take ownership of this dysfunction then not only is the marriage doomed to fail but the individual who only sees blame in the other will never find true happiness.

Now let’s apply this to the workplace:

·       Over the many decades, loyalty to a company and loyalty to a workforce have spiraled downward.

·       Companies work solely through metrics and take the humanness out of their workforce while individuals continually feel that the grass is greener somewhere else.

Let’s take ownership people!

Both the company and the employee share in this dilemma when fulfillment is not part of the employment experience.

·       Some companies thrive on chaos. Stay away from them. Take a look on LinkedIn to see how they churn through employees.

·       Some employees thrive on chaos. Stay away from them. Their LinkedIn profiles can also be quite revealing.

For companies...

• treat your employees like adults.
• Give them responsibilities and give them some room. Don’t micromanage.
• Create measurable and definable tasks that are attainable for your employees.
• Hold them accountable with these definable and reachable goals.
• Create employee focus groups including both management and line workers where opinions are truly encouraged.
• Be loyal to your employee base.
• Create an equity plan or ownership plan.
• Be family friendly.
• Be tolerant.
• Create a fair probationary program for underachieving employees.
• Offer training and skill improvement on your dime. Help your employees grow in their skill sets.

To the employee...

• be accountable for your actions. Stop blaming others.
• Get rid of your sense of entitlement.
• Continue to better your skill sets every day.
• Seek out, learn from and support a mentor.
• Become a mentor.
• Set attainable weekly, monthly and annual goals. Review these regularly.
• Have a life outside of work that is fulfilling.
• Meditate. Have a method to decompress.
• Exercise. The rise in endorphin levels will absolutely help with workplace stress.
• Don’t define yourself through your work. Define yourself by the type of human being you are.

This is not an overnight remedy. The chasm between upper management and the employee base has continued to widen. Suspicion and job protection has increased.

But the first step to change is acknowledging one’s contribution to the dysfunction. The second step is open and real dialogue. Real dialogue seems to be a lost process in corporate America (not just in the workplace). We better recover the art of open dialogue soon because we are losing our sense of belonging in America. And this is a very real problem in the workplace!

It appears that more and more people are digging their heels in, becoming less tolerant of other opinions and therefore isolating themselves from what made America great…diversity of opinion!

Let’s work together everyone to become more human and more tolerant of others. This can certainly begin in the workplace.