Dissenion Down On The Cubicle Farm
How content and satisfied are American employees? Not very! According to Corinne Maier, a psychotherapist and author of "Bonjour Laziness," corporate cubicle inhabitants are anything but tranquil and joyous. These natives are truly restless. This French writer quotes a Gallup study of employed American professionals showing that: 1. Some 17% claim to be "actively disengaged" in their jobs, close possibly to acts of sabatoge, some rather subtle. 2. And 54% claim to be "not engaged" in their jobs. 3. The remaining 29% are "crazy about" their jobs. These are the attitude findings of "professional" employees. How much worse
would these findings be if employees of ALL kinds had been interviewed by Gallup? And what leads to such overwhelmingly negative attitudes with only 29% job satisfaction, anyway? Maier explains: 1. "Reverse Verbal Signals" and "The Idiocy Of Lies."
Example: a company remarks that it "values jobs" but then has massive
layoffs. 2. Add managerial jargon, gibberish, power struggles, excess emphasis on diplomas and degrees, and employers demanding a lot from employees--but promising and delivering next to nothing in return. 3. Also add blathering about the "corporate culture," an "oxymoron which is the crystalization of the stupidity of a group of people at a given moment," says Maier. 4. And she says don't forget employers talking about "ethics, a detergent word used time and time again to cleanse the conscience without scrubbing." Well, what's an employer to do? 1. Remove malcontented employees better suited to be self-employed. 2. Refer dissatisfied employees to network marketing (MLM) self-employment opportunities. Some of the biggest "misfits" in the employee ranks become the best entrepreneurs. 3. Conduct in-house meetings to teach remaining employees the threat that outsourcing of jobs to China, India and other countries poses to employers and to employees--motivating them to improve their attitudes, stop whining, and work as a team. 4. Define and remove organizational and procedural stumbling blocks
to a job satisfaction. These can require some attitude adjustments in the
upper management ranks in some cases. 5. Making sure the business has a Three Year Business Plan--and making sure everyone in the company know where the Plan is taking the company and them--and what their role and responsibility for company success. Remember: cubicle farm folk are restless and negative. 71% are not happy with their jobs. The status quo just doesn't cut it. The unsettling effects of globalism and offshore outsourcing are permanent. So, act today. Do it now! John is co-owner/co-operator of Alquist Enterprises, a firm which promotes self-employment by the operation of two network marketing distributorships, professional speaking, business meeting facilitation, and Internet strategy and website development. John had 24 years of experience as a senior marketing executive
in national and international financial services firms before starting his own business. He started his professional career as a newspaper feature writer.
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Profits and Business Success - 5 Profit Traps to Watch Out For
The old saying 'You have to spend money to make money' can be a dangerous one. Every business has it's costs, but not every business owner takes the time to distinguish between what is an essential expense, and what is a 'nice to have' expense.
Employee Retention: Its a Changing Game
As a management consultant, I have seen some poorly conceived retention policies at otherwise well-run companies. The philosophies underlying these policies lack some basic knowledge of two things:
The Myth Of Relationship Selling Revealed At Last
The second you quit being the 'best deal' for your customer, he'll drop you like a hot potato. Regardless of how many lunches you've bought him or birthdays you've remembered.
Solve Problems Permanently - Ask WHY
As Albert Einstein said:-
Manage or Lead ? Why the Difference Matters and What to Do About That Difference
Many books have been written about managing people, and an equally large number have been written about leadership. Some use the words manage and lead interchangeably, and some talk about the differences between the words, building a distinction based on style or behaviors.
Hiring Productive Employees: A Checklist for Assessing Their Appeal
The characteristics of job applicants have a strong influence on whether or not they get hired. Their characteristics also indicate the level of their productivity. If you are about to hire employees, consider the characteristics listed below in checklist form. The candidates who possess them are probably the ones who will be readily accepted by your staff. This acceptance plays an important role in the team-building process and the productivity of the staff.
Change Management
"It is not the strongest species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change". -Charles Darwin
Customer Focus - Just 5 SimpleThings You Need to Think About
You can boil down the difference between successful businesses and the rest in how they work with their customers, in just five areas.So, what does this mean?
What They WantSelling what your customers really want is just critical.
Being on good enough terms with your customers to research, (hey maybe just by
chatting with them - radical idea, huh?), helps you find out how you can best
serve their needs.
Price is RightBy balancing the kind of pricing you want to offer
with exceptional service levels, there is a fascinating calculation to be made.
Prices rock-bottom with inadequate attention to item 5 are not likely to bring profitable
consumers rushing to your door. Providers have an ongoing dance between price
and service - be aware of it. It is not possible to sustain your business with
lowest prices and poor service.
When They Want ItIn the internet world, availability of your
goods and services is measured critically far more than ever before. You may
not need to be 24/7, but you certainly need to be aware of it. More traditional
customers are also becoming more demanding. So businesses need to be especially
sensitive to the hours they trade, whether they sell goods or services, by stores
and/or phone.
Easy To BuyWith the advent of the internet, making it easy to
purchase is vital. Why not make purchases from the comfort of your home study
or workplace office? So having your people who are available, exactly when your
customer wants them, to make payment for goods and services relly easy is a
serious point worth considering. Even in shops, the sensitivity of simply having
staff focused on delivering the very best of attention is critical. Every day
there may be threats to different shopping channels, so the adage that you 'only
have one chance to make a first impression' is becoming ever more important.
Trusted Follow UpBy ensuring that you have all your ducks in a
row so far, sustainably building whatever business you are in, is vitally dependent
on how you handle ongoing customer service. Indeed if you are only focusing on
a one-time purchase, then, frankly, you are not going to have much of a future.
Repeat business is very inexpensive for you, so an investment of post-purchase
excellence is very worthwhile.By focusing on these five elements,
teasing out the consequences with your management teams, you will have a great
chance of making business progress. If you choose not to take the time to
analyse what you truly need to do, there will be a jeopardy for you in the not
to distant future.
Communicating with Offsite Workers
How do you, or would you, communicate with employees who work offsite?
Document management : A dream of paperless office
What is document management: When we think about "Document Management" we usually see a picture of paperless office. It is not an easy task to make an office paperless due to several existing problems based on Industrial needs. Even it is very much difficult to make a shop paperless using document management. Document management is about to manage the document in such a way so that it can be within our reach whenever needed in the desired form without wasting extra time and space. Since computer is a wonderful device and much useful in document management.
Important Communication Tips For Managers
The following tips will help you communicate more effectively with your employees:
Change and Performance - Training May Not Be The Answer
Introducing new products or services, bringing new people on board, developing a new process or procedure, installing new equipment, change seems to be the one constant in business today and change always seems to drive a need for training.
Performance Expectations - 5 Tips and 5 Questions
People want to understand their role - they want to do well! So by being clear, really clear about what it expected of them, makes a big, big difference! And that improves performance as well as saving you time chasing others around to deliver what you want.
Improve Operations by Restructuring
Transitioning from Vertical Hierarchies to Decentralized / Flatter Organizations
Human Resource Communication Pays Off
Human Resource Communications and Corporate Communications ? are they one in the same? Both plan and develop written communication strategies to further the understanding and perceptions of their audience. Both provide counsel and editorial support for management communications.
Poly Bags and Pallet Shrouds - Just Get it Right
Dont Get Side-Tracked By The Nay-Sayers
You, the Entrepreneur, are 'normally' a type-A individual. One who has little patience with the establishment ~ he or she likes to do it 'his/her way' and that's OK if you know the system and have a plan to achieve your goals.
Lower the Bar
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Planning a Productive Retreat
What value is there in leadership or team-building retreats? Just consider the following.
Quick Tip - Effective Meetings Have SMART Goals
The first step in planning an agenda is to identify the goals for the meeting.
Properly done, goals have five S M A R T characteristics. They are:
|
