Both my parents worked in government sector and I was so used to hearing them saying that their managers control their work lives to a great extent. Even after 3 decades and now that the private sector is cherished with a greater Corporate Culture, lot of things changed except the fact that even today, mostly our managers control our work lives. The kind of infrastructure where we work ( compared to good old depleted government buildings Vs Lead Skyscraper buildings), Posh office furniture ( Rolling cushion chairs compared to Wooden seats with cotton cushions not changed for decades), well maintained housekeeping ( compared to dirty toilets and rusty ceiling fans filled with dust over years with now High class wash rooms with deos and perfumes, handwash and towels), Fringe benefits (Compared to Rs 1 or 2 tea wala refreshments to Vending machines in office/ Microwaves and in-house Kitchens and 24 hours food malls in the office building)… the list goes on and on in the comfort zone. Yet, today’s employee is a very stressed out and unsatisfied project team member. Why is it so?
My parents used to respect their managers like demi-gods.., even for namesake they never called them in singular tense. They used to consult them for all major decisions in their personal lives too… like choosing a course for kids, constructing the house or anything big in their lives. I don’t think this culture exists any longer. IT eliminated the culture of giving respect that we used to give to the age, experience, education and marital status etc and everybody is called by their first name. Every mail or a social networking invitation today comes with a tag, saying,… “please take this as personal invitation”. The funny part would be when this is sent to all in our “Contacts list” without noticing that it goes to some helpdesk@xyz.com too..
That’s the fact. We have facebook, orkut, twitter, hi5 and what not, to stay connected. We want that emotional touch in everything in the virtual world. Every company and product has a facebook page dedicated. But in reality, there is something still lacking. What is that?
Daily Scrum meetings, weekly status updates, monthly newsletters, quarterly reports and annual financial information… people assume that when everything is shared, people are motivated and taken care of. Today, the human potential of the organizations are also treated as business resources. Resources that can be replaced overnight. Organizations who valued people survive and grow over the years. Yet, lot many employees do not feel connected. They do not feel heard. They do not feel loyal or committed like my parents did to the offices they worked all their lives. Some 30+ years in one single office with the same roles and responsibilities, with once in 5 years promotions, and very meager salaries that never crossed 5 figures. Even today, they belong there, they feel a part and value the years they spent working in selfless service in the government sector. With cross currency incomes, promotions and big salary checks, still the younger generation is not contented… Why? Where is the pitfall that is eating away the energies of our youth?
I have heard lot of my colleagues wanting to retire at the age of 40. I am shocked …for we have our honorable chief minister still ruling us fine at the age of 85 and Prime Minister at 80’s handling the National Affairs with ease after 5 multiple heart surgeries… are we doing a more stressful job than our PM and CM? I don’t know. Then, what is that making us feel the burnt out? Deadlines? Deliverables? Project Milestones? If everything today is so improved from what it was 30 years ago, our lives should have been better. But today, marriages break at every fall of a hat, people are dying at young age to unheard of diseases, children are over exposed and older people are ignored. Technological advancement should have made human lives easier. But it looks like they are making this world a much larger lonelier planet. Can we as a PM Community attend to this and help our project team members at least? Or are we as Project Managers getting succumbed to this fast paced life too? Time to pause, think and act I guess…
Watch out for my next post on the answer to the title of this post …which began with this self-introspection….Good Luck!
Umasree
www.umasreeraghunath.blogspot.com
Related posts:
- Does the role of Project Manager End with managing projects? The answer is “NO” – Umasree
- Project Management in Product development – Umasree Raghunath
- Are you a manager or damager? – Guest post by Sethuramalingam B
- Is Communication a Challenge or a Blessing? – by Umasree Raghunath
