It has come to my attention that I have not been paying attention so much to that which is all around, because I have gotten sooo used to it. This is called conditioning.
Conditioning is ubiquitous in our society. It is a way to steer people and processes. Employers use it a lot.
I would say in a lot of employers' cases, the overall conditioning is 'don't expect much'. ‘Don't think that the workplace can be like home’. ‘Block that possibility out, employees’- and employees do. Employees live in two worlds, really, the one they call home, and the one they call work. It is a rare one indeed who wants to be at work more than at home. Why? Because the work arena is anything but homey. No wonder employees can't wait to get off of work and that they race on the highways back to wherever home is. They want comfort, beauty, quiet, clean, and all the other things that home is. While they all understand that the workplace can never really be home, most of them sense that the workplace can be made more tolerable.
But, making it better costs money. Anything that costs money has to be approved. Precedents may be set! Caring might be exhibited in an environment where caring is usually doled out by the spoonful. Think I'm exaggerating? Here's an example for you: Most workers want everything. And they want it now. The typical employer response to that is "I will provide you with just enough training, equipment, and manning for you to get your job done, and your reward for dealing with all that is I will buy you pizza!”
No wonder employees run for the hills the moment they're freed, only to return in the morning for more of the same.
This is conditioning and it is pervasive. Are many employees disgruntled? You bet.
Lots of P. I. meetings today….
Amy Syiek- Unsplash.com
But from businesses’ standpoint, they have to have the situation set up in a way that enables them to run their processes safely and efficiently. Employees understand that. They know that the employers are not going to be able to have sofas in a steel mill's foundry, but they also know that they could put them in the break rooms. Could the employees receive some things that would improve their worksite experience, these things being site-determined? If that was done, maybe they wouldn't want to bolt at the end of their shifts.
Employers can be notoriously cheap when it comes to providing such things, yet they promote 'job satisfaction'. From what I’ve seen and heard, they’re gonna have to do better than that.
Perhaps if employers got away some from the spartan military barracks mindset, the 'just enough' mindset, and put a little of the comfort of home into their workspaces and areas, site specific, of course, employees would actually enjoy being at work more. Gonna have to figure that out, employers, facility managers. See what works. Here's a motivator for you- think of all the cost benefits of having less turnover, happier workers, less absenteeism, and the spillover effect of happier customers. All this can be yours by investing in visual and physical improvements to the employee areas. Noise reduction. Air conditioning. Better bathrooms. Cleaner facilities. Better seating. Maybe a little music. Better food choices. I could go on. In short, the types of things employees have at home. That's where your workers really want to be, so bring home to them.
You don't have to go all the way to man cave comfort level, that would be counterproductive 'cuz once there they wouldn't want to leave. But make the break room more inviting than being in a bus station and I think your workers will be more productive. Give 'em restaurant-delivered food options for lunch instead of lunch pails and vending machines. Give 'em some space in the break area. Stuff like that. Ask them what they want and then invest a little money into employee comfort and you won't have to be hosting Process Improvement meetings in some sterile conference room over a coupla boxes of cheapo donuts. Sound good?
I think everybody would like that.