Job Disengagement – Misery and Valuing People

Career Satisfaction Meets Culture Change - Transformational Leaders

Jan 14, 2010
David Zietlow

Stressed Businessman - Staff

Today's Organization Leadership applies triage to stifle the flow of dissatisfaction in the workplace ignoring needs for Transformational Leadership renewing enthusiasm.

Only 45% of America’s workers are satisfied with their work according to a USA Conference Board finding. The pervasiveness of the gloomy economic news has dealt a blow to organizations' compassion for their associates. Disgruntled workers have witnessed benefit cuts, job losses, and better performers overwhelmed with added assignments.

Job Satisfaction Plunges – Organizations Press and Stress

Heaping onto survivors more work and greater responsibility without compensation or recognition in title
Expanding hours of work to manage additional workload and pressure for performance
Cutting sacred cow benefits: 401k match, frozen wages, and reduced/ non existent bonuses
Scrutinizing expenses, cutting travel and perks
Forcing salary associates to take unpaid furlough leaves

These factors have shredded the already tenuous bond between an organization and its human capital.

Impact on Human Capital and Job Satisfaction

Human capital is seen as a variable cost that can be aggressively sliced. The pervasiveness of the recession has created a fear amongst employees of moving to new positions with another company. This paralysis allows organizations to arbitrarily reduce these expenses without suffering significant short term consequences.

Organizations face the daunting task of remotivating their associates, middle managers, and even their senior level managers after this period. Many organizations may throw money at the perceived problem, often heavily weighted to their executive level. As the economy improves and alternate companies with positions emerge there will be an exodus to other opportunities by the best of the human capital.

The work fabric of modern business has long departed from lifelong loyalty of employment. The latest economic crisis combined with expanding social networks facilitiates movement between organizations that will forever change the employer - employee equation. Mobile workforce, often contracted human capital, increases flexibility but places significant pressure on the organizational leadership to motivate and maximize their workers' productivity.

Transformational Leadership – Revitalize Culture Change

Transformational Leadership drives core growth and profitability through new culture changes that compels the reemergence of human capital. Innovation, creativity and productivity stem from reenergized and committed associates. This Culture of Leadership creates a strategic vision that can be deployed throughout all levels of the organization.

How does an organization cope with this tactical imperative of cutting costs to survive in a hostile global climate and turn around an unmotivated work force?

Implement consistent business systems that focuss on facts and clear communication of the company's position in the marketplace.
Focus on challenging the organization toward the future and the inevitable upturn of the economy.
Establish a culture that anticipates change and proactively invigorates a strategic vision while providing factual accountability for execution of its core strategy.

Increase Job Engagment - Action Steps

Create a data focused consistent business system respecting human capital.
Invigorate the strategic vision and plan forming the basis for a common purpose.
Deploy meaningful objectives cascading from the strategic plan to all levels of the organization.
Execute meaningful root cause corrective actions by empowering associates.
Foster human capital creativity and innovation that meet business challenges.
Communicate consistently and effectively the status of business objectives.

Transform Organizational Culture - Revitalize Job Satisfaction

Eliminate the survivor mentality. Communicate effectively the facts of the current situation at all levels of the organization distributing the pain.
Provide a culture of respect for human capital within the organization. People are the only component of capital that appreciates in value when properly nurtured.
Motivate the reduced workforce by taking a proactive view of the future organization. Leaders should search for realistic positive feedback opportunities. Workers today know there is no long term guarantee, but a vision of the future motivates greater commitment that aids success.
Develop the remaining associates following reductions and restructuring by investing resources toward their knowledge and personal development. Look for “development in place” opportunities to grow value in individuals.
Envision a successful outcome for the organization and communicate that vision at every opportunity utilizing meaningful data. Starve out the negative with team building and mutual respect.

Organizations meet their long term goals by promoting human capital as a key to achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Human initiative, adaptability, entrepreneurship, business discipline, and strategic vision form the cornerstone of a dynamic team environment. Technology and the interaction of the social networking age leverage the company’s human intellectual property and initiative.Communicate the vision of a successful future. Communicate effectively with words but especially actions!