Plug-n-Play

In the workplace you’ll find three main types of people. We can liken them to different elements within the computing world. Do your people simply plug-n-play? Or are they more like an insidious computer virus? Let us find out.

The sort of employees that you want to have around you at work are plug-n-play types. You will have come across them. They’re all ready to be plugged in, just like a USB drive. They don’t create trouble. They simply adapt to the environment they are plugged into and get going right away. They are hands on, and committed to both the company’s and their own objectives. They work to find harmony and resolve conflict. They are highly adaptable and resilient, engaged and self-motivated with high levels of emotional intelligence. They are straightforward and simple to work with, you just plug and play – just as you do with plugging in a USB into any PC, laptop or other device. 

The next set of employees are less effective, and simply do as they are told. They are more like a memory RAM device. They work well to a point but every now and then at a key moment they will have a compatibility issue, and the Windows “blue screen of death” will appear on the screen. This type will put in the minimum effort and will not function well under pressure. Once you try and engage them in something new, perhaps slightly out of their comfort zone, they will collapse under pressure. Just like the Windows blue screen of death, these employees will show severe discomfort when challenged in this way, and they are disengaged.

Finally there are the disconnected. These employees are actively disengaged. They are toxic like a virus you might introduce on a corrupted USB. They sabotage and disrupt the peace and harmony within teams. While you are wondering why nothing happens when you plug the USB in, behind the scenes they are spreading toxicity and discontent in the working environment. You plug and unplug the drive, but nothing happens – yet everything slows up and becomes less productive. These types create interruption and unnecessary noise and barriers to the normal flow of work. They damage the organization’s activities. 

As you can see, you’ll definitely want to make sure that your employees are all the good kind of plug-n-play! Be sure that your 'Plug-N-Play' is working properly and is detectable in the workplace!