Please Join Us!
What: #MTtalk
Where: Twitter
When: February 11 @ 1 p.m. ET (6 p.m. GMT /11:30 p.m. IST)
Topic: Humanizing the Workplace
Host: @Mind_Tools
The manager, Louise, got up, walked out, and slammed the boardroom door behind her before we could say anything.
I couldn’t believe what I’d just witnessed and I turned to the only other person in the room – our managing director, Hector. He stared back at me, his jaw almost touching the table, (for once) totally speechless. He was in as much shock as I was.
The Perfect Candidate
Our company was in desperate need of filling a key position in one of our affiliate businesses. We had been looking for the right person for weeks and no candidate had made the grade.
I was in charge of HR and had received a random resumé a few days earlier. The applicant didn’t know about the position that we had been recruiting for. She had just relocated from another city, and was contacting various companies in hopes of finding a suitable position.
On paper, she seemed like exactly the person we were looking for and I forwarded the resumé to Louise. She also thought it looked good, and contacted the candidate, Cindy, to come in for an interview conducted by Louise, Hector and me.
From the moment Cindy walked in, she seemed to be cut out for the position. Her skills and experience were excellent, she was well-spoken, poised and passionate about the industry.
A Strong Disagreement
During the interview, Cindy mentioned that she was still looking for a reliable daycare center for her two-year-old son.
After this, I sensed a change in the conversation. Louise’s tone seemed to shift and it felt like she was suddenly in a hurry to conclude the interview. Fortunately, we were almost through anyway, and about five minutes later she showed Cindy out.
Hector and I both thought we had just found the perfect candidate. When Louise returned, we asked her what she thought of Cindy.
Louise grudgingly agreed that Cindy’s skills and personality were perfectly suited to the position. Then she said, “But she has a child which means that her child is going to get sick, and she will want to have time off and that’s going to be ONE BIG mess!” Hector and I disagreed. Louise became furious and eventually stormed out. We appointed Cindy anyway.
“An employee needs to feel like a human and not a number.”
Brian Gallagher, Business person, U.S.
Hiring a Person, Not an Object
Although Louise managed our affiliate business well, her staff turnover was high. She saw team members as “objects” that had to do the work and bring in money. The rest didn’t matter.
I felt strongly about holding her to account for how she treated team members because many of them confided in me. However, seeing that Louise’s department was profitable, Hector wasn’t keen on taking serious steps against her.
I’ve often wondered how many scarred and traumatized people she left in her wake – all in the name of making money.
Humanizing the Workplace
The past few days I’ve reflected deeply upon what I think a humanized workplace should be like. I thought of a great many characteristics of the culture and people of such a workplace.
Connection First
After much thought, I came to the conclusion that this is the foundation: a humanized workplace is one where people intentionally connect with one another – sideways, up and down, across departments, structures, countries, and continents.
It creates an invisible foundation that provides strength and safety – much like how the human skeleton provides the structure around which a human is built. All of it has to be connected to work well. If you break even one small bone, the system is compromised. But also, when we’re connected, if you can’t reach one person for some reason, there is always someone else you can reach out to.
Belonging
Wherever true, intentional connection takes place, belonging follows on its heels. Belonging means there are others who have your back, no matter how different you are. In a recent podcast, Brené Brown said that true belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are – it requires you to be who you are.
Zero Discrimination
While creating a place of belonging, you’re pro-actively educating people and creating awareness about diversity because no one should ever feel awkward about their accent, race, socio-economic background or status, gender, sexual orientation, personality or physical appearance.
Psychological Safety
Humanized workplaces don’t only foster connection and belonging, but also take people’s circumstances into account at any given time. They understand that I am not you and you are not me.
It’s safe to be vulnerable, to ask for help, to grieve about loss, to be excited about change, and to pursue opportunities for growth. They support without judgment, and leaders and colleagues will actively step in and help.
Showing the Way
In my opinion, managers and leaders in a humanized workplace are like “refreshment stations.” That’s where you check in to make sure you’re going in the right direction, where you’re inspired, energized, given time to reflect, and where you can ask for help.
There Is Grace
I propose that a humanized workplace is one where there is enough grace and understanding going around for everyone to have their fill – and have some left over.
In an ironic twist, Louise fell pregnant about a year after Cindy’s appointment. After becoming a mother, she needed time off to take her child to the doctor. She wanted us to understand and be lenient if she had a tough night with little or no sleep. She expected that things like making calls during work time to find an emergency babysitter would be overlooked. In short, she needed the grace and understanding in all the situations that she begrudged Cindy.
Join Our Twitter Chat!
High-profile companies, profitable departments, organizations with a toxic culture and powerful people often get away with dehumanizing practices. During our #MTtalk Twitter chat this week we’re going to discuss why it’s important to humanize workplaces and how we can make it happen.
In our Twitter poll this week, we wanted to know what you thought is most important in humanizing a workplace. 44 percent of participants voted for a culture of belonging, while only 11 percent thought that courageous leadership is most important. To see all the options and results, please click here.
We’d love you to participate in the chat, and the following questions may spark some thoughts in preparation for it:
- What does a dehumanized workplace look like? Could we identify them just by looking at them?
- How do workplaces become de-humanized?
- Why might a leader or company choose not to work on humanizing the workplace?
- What impact does a dehumanized workplace have on team members?
- What are the characteristics of a humanized workplace?
- What does a humanized workplace do as a matter of habit or routine?
- What role can/should leaders play in setting the humanized workplace tone?
Resources
To help you prepare for the chat, we’ve compiled a list of resources for you to browse. (Note that you will need to be a Mind Tools Club or Corporate member to see all of the resources in full.)
Managing Highly Sensitive People
How to Join
Follow us on Twitter to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the action this Friday! We’ll be tweeting out 10 questions during our hour-long chat.
To participate in the chat, type #MTtalk in the Twitter search function. Then, click on “Latest” and you’ll be able to follow the live chat feed. You can join the chat by using the hashtag #MTtalk in your responses.
The post Humanizing the Workplace – Join Our MT Twitter Talk! appeared first on Mind Tools Blog.
0 Commentaires