 Today's
Work Ethics
- A Paradigm Shift
By Leanne Hoagland-Smith of Advanced Systems
Work ethics are a hot topic in today’s business world. With the steady
stream of outsourcing, the continual reduction of the workforce to meet the
competitive marketplace, and the mix of three to four different generations,
such as Baby Boomer to Generation X within the workforce, employers
consistently point to the lack of work ethics. Yet, how do we define this
hybrid phrase with the word “work” meaning more than a specific outcome and
the word “ethics” being more than the values that enhance that outcome?
When we say we are going to work, work becomes the place of employment. When
we say we are working, the implication is that we are engaged in a
work-related activity and should be performing one or more specific tasks.
However, the word “work” in today’s global economy does not easily denote
specific outcomes much less measurable ones.
Years ago when our economy was agrarian based, farmers said they were going
to work the fields. Their work or more specifically the outcomes of their
work could be viewed from the plowed fields to the stacked bales of hay. In
today’s technology and service driven economy, workers’ outcomes are not as
nearly recognizable, but what is noticed is their behaviour. The cartoon
Dilbert exemplifies work behaviour.
Now, ethics is a difficult word to define, as it is more than the
enhancement of outcomes. This is aptly demonstrated by the variety of
expectations such as being to work on time, performing quality work, being
self-directed, having self-initiative, or being positive to both fellow
contributors and customers. Ethics, from these expectations, encompass the
internal behaviour of the contributors or what many have identified as
attitudes.
Very few employees come to work with the attitude of “Today, I am going to
mess up the company that employs me.” These employees suffer from the
“Osmosis Syndrome.” This syndrome presumes that all work skills including
ethics have been learned from the K-12 experience. Unfortunately, the
conditioning from this same K-12 past experiences is, in many instances, an
unidentified obstacle that prevents employees from reaching their potential
and enhancing their performance.
For example, young people are conditioned to understand that performing at
levels of 65% to 70% is satisfactory because they are rewarded by promotion
to the next grade. Over the course of their school lives, an attitude is
developed that 70% is not only adequate, but actually good because of the
reward of promotion. When they are placed in the workplace conflicts arise
because they have been conditioned to believe that 65% to 70% performance is
acceptable while their employers are looking at 95% to 100%. All of a
sudden, these new hires are expected to improve their attitudes by almost
50%.
Let’s step out of the box and construct a new and more accurate term that
meets the expectations of business owners as well as new hires and existing
employees. By defining terms, your expectations can be more clearly
communicated to your employees. First, let’s ask ourselves are we more
concerned with the behaviours or the attitudes? If we recognize that it is
the attitudes that drive the behaviours that generate the outcomes, it would
suggest that the contributors’ attitudes have the greater impact on the
outcomes.
Next, since behaviour has numerous meanings, possibly we can substitute
performance for behaviour. Performance can be measured provided the
organization has accurate and complete expectations that have been shared
and acknowledged by all involved, including valid assessments that do not
penalize the contributors along with a well-communicated strategic plan.
Through clearly articulated goals with consistent leadership and management,
contributors have the opportunity to improve their performance thereby
achieving measurable results. The following questions may help you determine
if your organization’s communication is reaching your employees:
1) Can your employees quickly write their job descriptions?
2) Are those job descriptions exactly the same as produced by HR or the
department?
3) If you surveyed a sampling of your employees (executive, middle and
frontline) and asked them to name the top three goals for the current year
as they perceive them to be, would you have exactly the same answer from
everyone?
The answers from these three questions should help you better understand why
your employees may not be performing at your level of expectations.
Consequently, you may view their behaviours as poor work ethics when in
reality their behaviours are symptoms of greater problems within your
company.
Attitudes of performance appear then to better describe the desired outcomes
and expectations that we have as employers and individuals. We, whether
owners or workers, all are contributors to any business. By focussing on
attitudes early in our performance experiences, we now have the means to
move our businesses to that next level of success while improving ourselves
as well as our communities.
Leanne Hoagland-Smith, President of Advanced Systems - The Process
Specialist, builds peace & abundance by connecting the 3P’s of Passion,
Purpose & Performance through process improvement. Leanne can be reached at
219.759.5601 or
leanne@processspecialist.com |
