Let's Complain, Hear Me Out...

One of the easiest things we can do in a work environment is get people to complain. In a safe environment, ask anyone in your company, “What’s Wrong With Us,” and observe how difficult it is for them to restrain themselves from running a list. Complaining comes so naturally to our species that most of us can hardly recognize when we’re doing it. And let's be honest, it’s cathartic, right?

Contrary to popular belief, complaining is both healthy and human. The most destructive social systems on our planet are the ones that shield themselves from complaint and critique. A person who does not feel comfortable complaining about you to you likely does not feel safe with you. That is a thought worth spending some time with.

Among the many reasons we complain, some of the healthy reasons are emotional regulation, response to isolation, strategic social interaction, signaling attention, seeking support, and self-defense. We should also remind ourselves that complaints are evidence of concern. And though we all like the idea of people not complaining, it may not be a healthy indicator.

Considering this, we may need to reevaluate how we make space for and respond to complaints, especially in the workplace. And when I say reevaluate, I really mean innovate. I’m a firm believer that in the Rising Tide of AI (see what I did there, Gatsby fans), paying attention to natural people processes will be more important than ever before.

While I am both a fan and a founder in the AI space, I equally recognize that the more access we have to humanized tools that do not tire or resist, the more tempted we may become to dehumanize each other with our artificial expectations. But even that is a future concern. There is a very present concern that companies across the globe may be robbing themselves of immense value due to outdated approaches to employee complaints.

We’ve reserved complaints for issues of compliance and have not yet allowed ourselves to see complaints as a tool for continual process improvement. Intentionally having these types of conversations can help to identify redundancies, fill process gaps, and inform business objectives. Sure, it may take some growing up, but if we create a safe space for adults to adult and have opinions without fear of retaliation, we can learn a lot about two key areas:

• What’s wrong with the way we work
• What’s wrong with the way we think about work

We learn what's wrong with the way we work from the complaints that resonate with a mature understanding of business realities. The complaints that evidence a misunderstanding of business realities give us insight into what's wrong with the way that we think about work. Both are invaluable, and both should be rewarded accordingly. Value is hiding in the people who are waiting to feel safe enough to complain. Innovation is hiding in the conversations that we’re not creating space for.