Work Does Not Have to Be Miserable In Order to Be Work
I have worked a number of jobs throughout my working life and I have seen certain types of people over and over again. This is because people generally are the same wherever you go. I mean, this is within reason of course. You basically will see certain personality types wherever you work. This applies to not only the workers themselves but also to those in management as well.
One thing a person may notice from the experience of going from one job to another is that certain people in managerial positions often make the same mistakes. There can be a number of mistakes those in managerial positions could potentially make but the one I will be concentrating here on is the erroneous assumption that work has to be miserable.
What I mean by that is some people in management positions act as if people are not supposed to enjoy their job or work. If they are enjoying themselves, well, then they most not be working hard enough. Basically, there workers are supposed to be miserable in order to really be at work.
If this type of manager hears some subordinates laughing in the distance, they will often go to where the laughter is coming from and tell them to immediately stop goofing off and get back to work. After all, we can't have people just goofing off and standing around laughing all day long.
However, a person could be doing a fantastic job, with the utmost of accuracy, quality and efficiency and still be able to make an occasional joke. This is because some people are actually cheerful in nature. As a result, many of their co-workers enjoy working with them and being around them. Sometimes, They may even be working together as more of a team.
When co-workers get along, they are more likely to work together as a team. Teamwork leads to improved efficiency and productivity. It's when the workers don't get along, you will have more of a problem with them working together as a team.
What the manager needs to look at are results. Is the team of workers really working together as a team? Are they getting more accomplished as a result? Well, if they are, who cares if every now and then they make a joke and laugh for about ten seconds. Really, lighten up a little.
Obviously it becomes a problem if the workers are standing around joking all day long and getting nothing done. Naturally, you should draw the line somewhere. But there is absolutely no reason whatsoever that a job has to be miserable and the workers have to be miserable. It is also not the job of a manager to make sure his subordinates are miserable. In fact, in some ways, it should be quite the opposite.
A miserable work environment often leads to a high turnover rate. A high turnover rate usually affects the quality of the work being done because there are fewer experienced employees. More mistakes are made by less experienced people. Often, when those mistakes occur, the type of manager who believes that work should be miserable will react in a manner that is consistent with his belief system and that usually means that the manager will "crack down" on the offender or offenders. That usually means doing something that will make the employee more miserable or work environment an even more miserable place to work.
There are a number of factors that cause mistakes, low productivity and inefficiency. A high turnover rate, poor training and a hostile work environment where the workers just don't get along are a few. A high turnover rate could be the result of a miserable work environment as well as a hostile work environment. Poor training could also be the result of a hostile work environment because the old employees who are miserable are so disenfranchised that they really don't care enough to show the new workers how to do their jobs properly.
Part of a manager's job is to make sure that his subordinates are productive, and efficient while meeting a certain level of quality. Creating a miserable work environment does nothing to improve upon any of those things. In all actuality, it usually has a detrimental effect upon them.
Some of you reading this may find it hard to believe that a manager having the belief system that work should be miserable in order to really be work is an unlikely scenario. After all, who really thinks that way? You'd be surprised at how many people think that way. Sure, they might not come right out and say that a workplace should be miserable in order to be a real workplace but their actions often demonstrate the way they think. However, it just doesn't have to be that way.
