Respect for People & Public Humiliation
Public humiliation in the workplace --who has experienced this?
You may ask, what I mean by 'public', and for certain I recognize there is a difference between in front of co-workers only, to in front of both customers & co-workers at once.
Furthermore, there is the from/by whom question: It is one thing to have a customer point out something you did 'wrong' vs. to have a/your manager point it out in a public way.
Respect for people:
Many modern organizations profess that their most important asset are the people doing the work, and that they deserve to be treated with respect regarding their work.
At this point in reading those first few paragraphs, you are probably well on your way to thinking/understanding how if management is pointing out --in a public way, a worker has done something wrong, it is really not showing that worker the respect they deserve. After all, management is providing the worker with the: how, when, & what to do in their job/task/work.
So what do we do about this, then?
CLEARLY, this is a 'Get off your a** and get back to work' statement.
If a customer was to make a 'Get off your a**' statement like this to a worker, many retail organizations will run a manager out to that customer who is treating a worker badly, and tell them they are no-longer welcome anymore, so why would management treat their workers like this???
If you are not familiar, this is a public-address message played at each/all of the four kroger-owned, qfc & fred-meyer, stores near where I live. I don't know the exact schedule it is played, but suffice to say the hours which I typically shop are anywhere from 4:00 to 9:00pm, and if i am in the store across the top of the hour, invariably, I hear it.
领英推荐
But why would they do this?
Some people think it is just an innocuous reminder statement that stuff on the shelves gets messed up, and the importance of keeping it tidy for further customers in the grocery store.
I've also heard that this reminder is needed, because some of the stores are so big, and the department staff are busy with so many other bits, that this helps them not have think about the need for tidying-up.
Really? Wow!
To be certain, I --and I think most people, inherently recognize that at some point in the day someone has to get out on the floor and tidy-up the items/shelves in any retail establishment. (Go to Genba) Even the workers themselves understand that the store shouldn't look like a hurricane just blew thru.
Certainly tho, this public command to 'condition' your department is not holding respect for people in high regard at all. This type of statement is there to humiliate the workers into tidying up their area --the worst type of micromanagement, a reminder that they are not good enough to think on their own.
Unfortunately, for some items, I have to shop here...
Anyways, as we go into this new year, let's do our best to keep up our respect for people.
Thanks.
Eric Jennings
Exceptional Leadership Trainer and Executive Coach. Transforming ordinary managers-of-managers into extraordinary leaders.
1 个月It's actually a form of destructive conflict to assume negative intentions in others. There is nothing inherent to the words or tone of the recording to make it embarrassing or shaming or humiliating.
I help organizations and leaders drive continuous improvement and spark innovation through Lean management, building a culture of learning from mistakes, and fostering psychological safety. 3 Shingo Book Awards.
1 个月I hear that announcement in my local grocery store — and my guess is that the employees tune it out and don’t do anything or react to it one way or another. During Covid times, they would play an hourly recording about wiping down the register and the lanes and everything … and I never once saw anybody take any action. That’s not a worker problem, that’s a management problem.
Attentive, Studious, Scholarly, Enthusiast, Thinker
2 个月Why not just hire individuals who enjoy organization of things and inventory control whose sole purpose is to ensure the items are replaced where they should be and sent to reject otherwise.
Learn the Science of Improvement - Lead the Transformation
2 个月Thank you for sharing this Eric. It might be more appropriate for the managers to ask some open ended questions of them selves, like “what am I thinking that is improved in the system I am responsible for if I must scold the employees over the PA system?”