Employees First
06/28/08 12:52 PM
I have always believed that the better you treat your employees the better they will treat you, but just look what has happened over the last decade;
-most companies now use cubes for employee workstations. These cubes offer little in the way of privacy are small and have led to the anti-cubicle culture made famous by “Dilbert”.
-Companies continue with small raises, anywhere from 2-5%, while executives get boatloads of stock grants, options and bonus money.
-Telecommuting is still a rarity because employers think that we are getting over on them even though the price of gas is approaching $6.00 a gallon.
-People are not empowered. Most employees cannot make decisions without setting up and going to a lot of meetings.
Now most would say that the CEO has an obligation to shareholders and that is true but I would argue that the first obligation is to employees. How much is an employee who has been with the company 2-5 years worth in knowledge? If you keep your people happy will that lead to better productivity? You bet it will yet senior executives are too entrenched in corporate politics to think about putting employees first most of the time.
When I walk into a cube farm I often think that there is no better way for one to lose ones dignity. Sure you can “nest” a little bit in the cube but think of it: we go to college for four years and then to graduate school. We get a job that we really want and then one day we find ourselves in a cube, with back-to-back meetings, and getting reviewed based upon what others think of us rather than meeting business and customer needs. To quote Mr Spock “this is illogical”.
Businesses in this country will start to realize that they had better take care of their employees first so that they can keep the good people happy which contributes to the overall health of the organization and company.
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