Let's Make Workplace Culture Better Together!

?? I’ve Been Thinking…

…it’s not just individual companies that need to upgrade their cultures to be more respectful, it is also entire industries. I think some industries behave badly towards employees, customers, and other stakeholders because they literally don’t know any better. Bad behavior has been normalized. But that doesn’t make it okay.

Take the airline industry (please, badumdump). I don’t need to recount stories of overflowing toilets with passengers stuck on the tarmac in the heat for hours, or bags piled high sitting in terminals for weeks, or flights delayed, delayed, delayed and then canceled with no alternatives available. We all know those stories.

And sure, we can dismiss these as “that’s just how it is, it sucks” or we can question why it continues and how to turn it around.

While money is at the root of the problem, it is the lack of respect that keeps it festering. The airline industry is abusive to its employees. They are, in turn, frequently uncivil to their customers, which makes the customers behave badly. You can play that in reverse as well: customers behave badly to airline employees, so they retaliate. But do you see how this just keeps going indefinitely unless bigger steps are taken? The Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden on May 16, 2024 is a start: demonstrating to customers that they have recourse for canceled flights.

But if everyone involved, from the top brass to the person sitting in seat 7E were to elevate and respond to situations rather than react, we might be onto a better future.

?? Stories to Help You Drive Change

Here are my shares for this week:

SPECIAL NOTE: If you hit a paywall on any of the stories I share, go to Google Search, enter the name of the publication and something about the story (author, title, subject) to get a natural search link that usually by-passes the pay wall. And hey, if you like the publication, consider subscribing to it—that’s how they keep the good info rolling! I’m hearing some paywalls are impenetrable, so for pubs like The Wall Street Journal and the NY Times, I’ll share a bit more here for those of you without subscriptions.

• What if we thought of disagreements as an opportunity to unravel the knot together? That’s how I’ve always thought of them—looks like I’m in good company with Jefferson Fisher.

• Your weekly dose of random Excel tips: creating checkboxes. You’re welcome. ??

• How do you add links to your documents? Are you using the nav bar or right-mouse clicking? Seconds add up, try this instead: Control + K. I know, right?

• Here’s an interesting look at DEI and consumer brands. Research shows consumers can spot fake attempts at minority representation and how that backfires on brands. What I found intriguing is that low representation is accepted, high representation is rewarded, and mid-level representation is what gets flagged as tokenism.

• 10 signs someone is not fit to lead. (Scroll down, it’s not the top story.)

• Littler surveyed 330 C-Suite executives across the US about the risks of AI and how to mitigate them. Get the free, downloadable report here. Thanks to Tedd J. Kochman, Esq for sharing.

• This is unsettling news that’s making the rounds: 75% of companies who’ve hired Gen Z graduates are not happy with their performance. Many are being fired within just a few months on the job. Reasons abound but are mostly centered on graduates not being prepared to work in business settings. 50% of respondents cite lack of employee motivation as the reason for their dismissal. “79% of employers claimed that they had ordered these employees to be placed under performance improvement plans while 60% of them admitted to eventually firing them.” I’m wondering about the onboarding processes and the differences between parameters for performance in college and those in the workplace. Rather than finger pointing, this article does a great job of identifying challenges and offering solutions.

• Training and development programs need to be participant-aligned and respectful. Here’s what happens when they’re not.

• CEOs’ overwhelmingly support a return to in-person work according to this report by KPMG. One finding: “CEOs favor return to the office, while they grapple with long-term demographic change in the labor market: 79% of U.S. CEOs envision the working environment for corporate employees whose roles were traditionally based in-office to be back in the physical workplace in the next three years. CEO sentiment on this topic has shifted this direction for multiple years, going from 34% in 2022 to 62% in 2023 to now 79%. Meanwhile, 89% see an aging workforce, in particular, impacting their organization’s employee recruitment, retention and overall culture.” More here.

?? Do Good Spotlight: Active Minds

Alison Malmon founded Active Minds during her junior year at the University of Pennsylvania following the suicide of her older brother and only sibling, Brian. Originally named “Open Minds,” the organization was created to spread the word that seeking mental health help is a sign of strength, not shame. Now 20 years later, Active Minds has chapters on over 1,000 campuses and communities. Their goal is to support young adult mental health and create change for future generations: Active Minds.

?? Noteworthy: Changing Work

Near and dear to our A Better Paradigm (ABP) hearts is ChangingWork.org. This is an organization entirely dedicated to the compassionate workplace movement. They launched over the summer with a “collective” for coaches and consultants (“practitioners”) with services to help individuals and companies integrate compassion and respect into workplaces. This week, the “leaders” and the “professionals” collectives (for business people who are neither company leaders or consulting service providers) launched. You can learn more here, and you’ll see members of the ABP team there with you!

?? On a Personal Note

Hurricane Helene was devastating. It only takes 3 minutes to help. Please consider donating to the Red Cross to bring immediate support to the people who lost so much so fast.

?Until Next Time…

As we wind down this week’s issue, this is my wish for you.

Niki