What it means to be "humane" in the workplace

Fact: you are expected to do whatever your job description tells you to. Do more and you are bound to excel, but do it humanely and you shall transform into a “rare Pokemon”.

Every one of us will have at least a notion of what it takes to be the ever-reliable, decent member of the workforce. Depending on the industry and the role of the person we speak to, he/she will have at least mentioned one of the characteristics below when asked to describe the perfect model employee.

• Punctual and always on time
• Willing to do more than what is expected
• Innovative and a thinker outside the box
• Proactive in anticipating problems
• Hungry to learn and accept criticism
• Adaptable and flexible to changes
• And the list goes on..

Such advice and presumptions are not incorrect. As a matter of fact, I aspire to exude a little bit of each and will sometimes find myself frustrated when I do not live up to my and the expectations of the people around me. We ought to receive this type of pressure to make way for ourselves to grow after all. But there is one seemingly overlooked trait that we unconsciously forget to embody. That is to be this special creature we were born to be - a human.

What makes us human?

A logical way to answer the question "what makes us human" would be to ask: "What differentiates us from other living things like animals?" Humans and animals share a lot of similarities - both consume food, communicate with each other, and inhabit the earth through ecosystems. The main difference, however, lies in the cognitive ability of the former. Our thought process allows us to solve complex problems, create art, examine our own nature and reason for existence; hence, the presence of branches of knowledge such as mathematics, arts, social sciences, philosophy, and so on. The human logic and reasoning is exceptionally bewildering. "Ang daming alam!” (“You know too much!”), as the Filipinos would call out. Furthermore, one of our cognitive abilities as humans is being able to discern right from wrong. For the most part, morality comes instinctively. Withholding information to our benefit, or simply lying, makes us feel bad. Doing good deeds, such as voluntarism, benefits not only the receiver but also the doer. "Asan ang konsensya mo?" ("Where is your conscience?"), as the Filipinos would teasingly say when reacting to a situation confronted inhumanely.

Why do people tend to forget being human?

世故 (Shìgù) is a Chinese expression which means "sophisticated” or “the way of the world”. Civilization today has come to a point in which society has allowed the ways of the world to dictate our actions and such may not always rightfully clear the human conscience. In fact, the world has somehow led us into giving more importance to the concept of survivability. The more resources we have, the better chances we have at living a long prosperous life. Resources of this world are scarce and limited as time goes by. It goes without saying that in order to continue inhabiting this earth, we must strive to be ‘fit’ in the Darwinian sense by any means possible.

The same can be said in the workplace setting. The workplace is commonly viewed as the avenue to sustain one’s livelihood. In most cases, our motivation to work stems from survival: we do our jobs in exchange for money to provide for our daily needs. Though there are the few lucky ones who are able to combine work and play, work is usually placed in contrast to the things we love or wouldn’t mind doing without necessarily gaining a tangible benefit. The idea of 世故 in the workplace now means that we ought to do whatever means necessary to obtain those promotions, salary increases, added work benefits, or other related matters. The simplest example here is the statement: “If you are of high position, I will pay attention to you. If not, then I don’t care.” It just goes to show that in the process of doing work, we tend to neglect the natural humane way of treating each other for the most part.

How do we restore 'faith in humanity' in the workplace?

The Five-Minute Favor

The five-minute favor is a powerful social tool coined by an entrepreneur named Adam Rifkin. Fortune recognizes Rifkin as the best networker who has proven that establishing such an extraordinary base of network connections can be achieved through a generous amount of giving. 

In Rifkin’s words, the five-minute favor states that you should be willing to do something that will take you less than five minutes or less for anybody. Easy, right? When was the last time you rejected doing someone a favor despite the easy task at hand? Were you open enough to explore other measures that could at least benefit your peer in some way? Favors such as giving an endorsement, relaying an information, providing expert feedback, sharing an idea, or the simple act of aggregating a connection (or giving an introduction) do not take a substantial amount of time from our lives. And since we only choose to see the minute inconvenience it may potentially cause us, we fail to recognize the other side of the spectrum and how we actually have the capacity to greatly, positively influence our co-worker’s situation not necessarily in the moment but in the near future. It is a lot easier to focus on the cost now rather than the benefits later on.

So the next time someone approaches you for a favor, before completely shutting yourself off of your peers (which I hope you would never), think twice about the value you have the means to produce at the moment. The exponential impact you can cause will almost always outweigh the five minutes you spare. As an added bonus, you might have earned yourself your peer’s utmost trust and respect.

The concept was first presented in the related book named ‘Give and Take’ by Adam Grant. If you are interested in knowing more, here is a link where Grant talks about the book in a Talks at Google seminar.

Understanding the meaning of labor

A professor at Duke University named Dan Ariely wrote a book called “The Upside of Irrationality” which explores the seemingly irrational thought process we have that shape our day-to-day decisions in life.

To understand the meaning of labor and what it means to work, Ariely conducted an experiment involving people to build legos for a corresponding reward. Dan discovered that work predominantly means something more than just the external payoff. The mechanics are they let a subject build a lego set for as many time as he wants. For every successful one he is entitled $3 dollars for the first, $2.7 for the second, $2.4 dollars for the third, and so on. The first condition had their completed legos brought in and for every iteration they are presented a new set to work on. The second condition had the same arrangement but every completed lego is shattered in front of them as they build their next one. (The first group had a larger average number of completions.)

Most organizations today link higher performance to a better set of reward system. While this is true to an extent, the intangible internal joy from completing one’s work often plays a huge factor on motivation. In the words of Ariely, “would you work for a higher salary but knowing your work will be shredded in front of you right after you finish it?” Aside from upping compensation parameters, performance can also be influenced by the visibility and impact of the work value we emit. This includes matters such as acknowledgement, sense of completion, and fulfillment.

How can we use this knowledge of ‘human irrationality’ in the workplace? As we move to make sense of the true motivators of our peers, we are driven to communicate more. Humans are relational beings after all and must belong to a sense of community. Try to make it a habit to recognize the services of the people around you. You’d be surprised as to how many will find themselves pleasantly surprised. Ask your customers whether internal and external how they feel about the work you do. You’d be surprised as to how much relevant input they actually have. Learn more about the business value and impact you have through your organizational leaders. Actively participate in intimate coffee talks and retrospective sessions - they exist for a reason. You’d be surprised as to how many ideas pop up in your head on how you can change and improve your work to support your business. There is value in keeping the members of the workplace intrinsically motivated by constantly aligning strategic and tactical goals. In doing so, you set yourself up to keeping the conditions humane. Finally just like the five-minute favor, this one comes with an added bonus of potentially higher performance levels you can expect from yourself and the people surrounding you.

Final Thoughts

There has to be one simple idea that unites it all. The workplace is a community. No matter if it is to our liking or not, we are compelled to engage in social interaction through this unit with a shared commonality. Sure, “every man is for himself”, yet each of our actions within the community will undeniably have an influence on the larger scale as much as it has on our own. It is within our best interest to preserve the standards of our community if we wish to fulfill the human desire for group membership and identity. 

The dynamics of our community, however, lies in how each fraction harmoniously fits together to form part of the whole. The more organic it is from deep within, the closer we stick to the fundamentals of human instinct of communion. This is where I like to introduce selflessness into the equation. Although it is within our DNA to relate to each other, how selfless we are in the countless relationships we build around us defines who we are as an individual and as a member of a congregation. Instead of thinking about how we can benefit from our peers, let us reflect on how they can benefit from our deeds and actions. Instead of constantly criticizing the absence of a North star, let us continue to shine a beacon of light for others to follow. Instead of pondering why our peers could not understand us, let us make it a point to put ourselves into others' shoes first.

To be humane in the workplace means practicing human empathy.

Special thanks to

I dedicated this title to the persons listed below who have kept me grounded in the workplace with their own bizarre ways and through our daily interactions. Their words, but more specifically their actions, have been instrumental in moving me to putting such life lessons into writing.

Chino Flor, General Manager, Paloo Financing Inc. LinkedIn

Paolo Alvarez, Project Manager, Infor. LinkedIn

Kenny Tzuoo, Project Manager, Oriente. LinkedIn

Kahlen Chen, Digital Commerce Manager, Oriente. LinkedIn

Sheila Tan, Writer. LinkedIn

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This article was written in the midst of the COVID-19 health crisis. I would like to address all my connections here in LinkedIn or whoever might have found himself stumbling upon this space – my friend, everything will be alright in the end. ‘船到桥头自然直’ to my fellow Mandarin speaking folks. This is a global pandemic threatening the world into its knees without showing any signs of slowing down in the last few weeks or so. As of this writing, my country has imposed an "enhanced community quarantine", almost mirroring a total military lockdown. Public transportation has been suspended. Travel bans have been imposed both locally and on the international level. Businesses were forced to temporarily cease operations. The negative impact of COVID-19 to the livelihood of the people has now brought both the public and private sectors to join forces in order to overcome this seemingly impossible battle. I remain utmost hopeful that the Philippines, along with the rest of the world, will once again rise up when the dust settles. In the meantime, let us stay wary, cautious, and keep informed on how we can slow down the spread of the virus to flatten the curve. Practice whatever means necessary to sustain your safety and health as our brave soldiers in the frontline fight to end the war.