ROBERT FROST ON DISENCHANTMENT IN THE WORKPLACE
Use this to remind you to treat staff as intelligent functioning adults.
Robert Lee Frost (1874–1963) was an American poet and four-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. His poems often dealt with the trials and tribulations of ordinary working people. His great observational skills of people at work are captured in the following quotation.
The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office
Robert Frost
Contained within the humour is a plea for management at all levels to recognise that workers are not automatons but intelligent, thinking human beings who, outside of work, buy a house, raise/manage a family, work to a budget, plan for the future and run or take part in all sorts of activities that require commitment and often good management skills, e.g. directing amateur dramatics productions, running a band, volunteering in hospitals and hospices, the list is endless.
Unfortunately, when they arrive at work, they are treated as if they are children: their every act proscribed by a process or procedure and any suggestions they make ignored because of a ‘what do they know?’ attitude from management. Is it any wonder that they switch off 90 per cent of their brain as soon as they get to work and become apathetic and despondent?
WHAT TO DO
- Stop the infantilisation of your staff. Now! Treat them like intelligent human beings who have much to contribute to the organisation if they are given a chance (see Quotation 45).
- Involve staff in the decision-making process (see Quotation 54). How far you take this is up to you but, at an absolute minimum, when you are making a decision that affects your staff or the work they do, you should collect their views on the subject.
- Encourage staff to become leaders (see Quotation 33). In any football team, there is the team captain but managers are constantly talking about the need for numerous players to be ‘real leaders on the field’. The same multi-leadership approach is required at work.
- Show staff how important their job is to the organisation and how their efforts contribute to the firm’s overall success (see Quotation 44).
- Use Herzberg’s insights to motivate staff (see Quotation 45). In particular, supply every person with at least some interesting and challenging tasks to perform as part of their workload. This may mean redistributing some of the mundane jobs among staff. In addition, always recognise when someone has produced good work.
- Communicate regularly with staff. Listen actively to their ideas about how to improve customer service (see Section 10). In addition, ask about the problems they face and talk through possible resolutions. Follow up on the issues raised and ensure that they are properly assessed and corrective action taken.
QUESTIONS TO ASK
- Do I switch the whole or part of my brain off when I arrive at work?
- How good am I at recognising the extent to which skills that I and my staff use outside of work could be transferred into the workplace?