I’m feeling militant!
Too much (never enough) Mick Lynch on TikTok; Not enough leadership or advice from our Governments to enable some of the change being demanded by our nations workers…
SO LET ME COVER A LITTLE OF THIS OFF. (I PROMISE THIS WONT BE A RANT…)
Who am I kidding… here goes!
Lots of workers are being called back to the office as a way to ensure they are working ‘hard enough’, even though it’s been proven that we are more productive at home, in the garden, on the beach… or anywhere our decision to be out of the office, damn well takes us.
Because of this, businesses (both public and private) are balking at being asked for more than the usual perfunctory, missionary (too far?) annual 3% ‘uplift’ in our salaries, let alone the 10%+ pay raise that workers actually need to maintain living standards (God forbid we wish to thrive!).
SO…
How can workers fight back against measures that will impact their productivity and the new ways of working that they have painstakingly developed over the past two years?
WELL, I HATE TO POINT IT OUT…
BUT, our nations Workers productivity, creativity and opportunity will always be capped whilst our businesses (both public and private) operate an ROI model for their ‘C-Suite’ & Shareholders and a Cost & Budget Model for their workers (you know, the rest of us).
LET’S TALK EDI, DEI, EDEI OR WHATEVER THE POPULAR VERNACULAR IS TODAY
There ain’t no way of getting around it, your DEI strategy ain’t going no where until ‘the board’ start seeing sense and start investigating an operating model change.
This also holds true for Flexible Working, Social Mobility, Sustainability and the Gender Pay Gap.
HERE’S WHY…
There is absolutely NO incentive for day to day employee’s to be productive in their respective organisations, because their employers are not engaging (empowering?) them, to being more than their job description.
There is rarely a way for most workers to get more than the usual 3% annual pay bump, because there are no incentives on offer to be creative or to contribute. (And quite rightly, why should we workers give away our innovation for free – let’s face it, this lack of ‘in work’ “let’s find a way to work better” incentive, is one of the main reasons why the UK has such a large SME and Entreprenuerial market!)
YET ANNOYINGLY…
We are rewarded by our employers to refer our mates to work with us, we get a £250 to £500 referral incentive to lumber our family, friends and ex-colleagues with our employers ‘rat race’ version of work/life balance with a bumper if they stay more than 6 months (I mean how is that for peer pressure). When we should be asking “where is the reward for figuring out a better way, a more productive way, of fulfilling our job criteria?”.
It just doesn’t happen enough in our businesses. We just don’t reward those seeking change.
Our Managers, Strategic Talent and HR teams just keep knocking out JOBS and not CAREERS, and then wonder why the UKs productivity levels is one of the lowest in the world! (not to mention why they can’t retain Talent once they find it… is anyone else joining the dots here?).
IT’S THE ROAD TO OUR OWN DEMISE.
This is why we aren’t creating TALENT that remains in-role!
This is why we will be automated.
CAN WE FINISH ON AN UP NOTE?
What can workers do to forestall the inevitable?
You can join a union, start a union, take matters into your own hands and demand change.
You can challenge leadership in your development reviews, or write directly to your CEO asking them to offer incentives for great idea’s, to encourage people to find different ways of doing things.
I mean, come on, let’s Demand to be Engaged!
Let’s Demand to break the ceiling that a Cost & Budget model ALWAYS creates!
(If you don’t know where to start on this, ask me).
THE POWER IS WITHIN THE PEOPLE TO DEMAND CHANGE.
It’s on the owners to rip their heads from the sand and find another way to operate their businesses.
THE OPERATING MODEL IS OUT THERE.
(It’s Mutable).
The reasons for applying it are already wheedling there way through your organisations and the people within its Culture, Values and Behaviours..
SO I ASK YOU
Target your change and follow through!
Don’t let Productivity be the reason that the computers see off #TheLastOfUs.
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