People on the Street: Tim and Kara (Part 2)
September 19th, 2008 by Cali & Jody
We promised things would get better for Tim and Kara, and they do.
In our fantasy world, all of you that have read Why Work Sucks would give it to your managers, and they would read it and immediately fall in love with ROWE. It’s good to have fantasies, right?
Tim’s story is an example of the reality that some, or many of you, may be facing. You’ll see in today’s videos that Tim ended up reaching a point where he talked about ROWE with his manager and CFO, and stated that he needed to be evaluated on his results, not the amount of face-time he put in at the office. Tim’s higher-ups responded with “ROWE is a great idea, but it won’t work here.” Despite this, things have become better for Tim since he voiced his unhappiness and talked about the kind of work environment he needed. He does think that management heard what he said, and although they won’t become a full-fledged ROWE, he’s happy he stood up to the status quo.
Kara, too, is happy - she has her husband back. The kids have their father back. After reading Why Work Sucks, Tim made the decision to draw the line on what he’ll accept in a work environment and what he will reject.
Ultimately, ROWE starts with you. It takes a lot of courage to do what Tim did, and it’s a decision we all have to make…continue to be eaten alive by the status quo or stand up for a better way.
Video #1: Tim stands up
Video #2: Tim’s words of inspiration
Video #3: Kara sees change
Let me wrap my head around this. Tim vents to management about it’s . Nothing happens. Tim has a catharsis soon afterward. Wife happy.
How exactly did things get better for Tim in his work environment? My score for the contest was Tim 0, Work 1.
I agree with Brian that we need a bit more detail about what exactly changed in the company that made it more ROWE.
The thing that did happen was that he stood up and demanded the work environment he wanted. What has happened in the working world is that control has been given by the employees to the employers. You get a paycheck, and the employers get the right to control the time you are available to them. What needs to happen is for the workers to see their worth (like Tim did) and say “I will do the job for you, but under these conditions”.
Workers need to start seeing themselves as craftsmen, not as drones. Once that happens, they will start to take more control over their environment, and demand ROWE like conditions. I have noticed that the movers and shakers in the corporate world are the ones who know what they are worth, don’t take crap from anyone, and the company has to bow to their whims. They aren’t any more talented than the rest of us, they are just more skilled at getting what they want.
Brian,
I know what you are saying. Tim did something to improve his own environment.That was a good thing. Something interesting I noticed was that his company realized how valuable Tim is. There are a lot of Tims all over the world. To me, he is my hero.
Brian I would like you to know that changing the culture of a company is very difficult. The only think you can do is introduce reforms that unfortunatelly
do not last long and the status quo remains intact.
I been working in those conditions for 20 years. The way my company measures our performance is based on behavious and not about results. You can achieve all the goals and still you get bad reviews. The objective is to keep you in your place and show you “power”. By the way, my company is losing bussiness and now they are in trouble. I wonder why? This is a very serious problem, I think it is an epidemic spreading very quickly.
If the companies do not realize it and do absolutely nothing to improve people’s conditions and treat them as adults and not like as kids, they will keep losing share value.
Brian this is not not a contest. This is reality!
I have to admit, Brian’s response is fairly accurate. I went to management, but ultimately the work environment remained the same. So if the environment didn’t change, how can this lead to someone being happier in the workplace?
The answer is that I changed. Once I spoke with my employers, they treated me less like a drone and more like an individual. They respected my honest feelings about the work environment, so I feel that I have to respect their choice to not change it.
The end result is that they appreciated my feedback enough to offer me a choice to either leave the company immediately, as I’d planned, with no hard feelings, or to stay as long as I like until I find something else. They were very kind, very generous, and since staying on was a mutually beneficial (though temporary) option, I chose to do so while I continue my job search. I can certainly leave anytime I like, but now I can do so with both a clear conscience and with no bridges burned - both of which are very important to me.
Communication improves the health of any relationship. In my situation, I’ve expressed my feelings knowing that I’ve been both heard and appreciated for it. And although in reality the work environment itself hasn’t changed a bit, the consideration I receive from my employer has. With the air cleared and the issues out in the open, I now go into this environment without that awful feeling of doom. It sounds sort of sad that this is the net result of all that conflict and conversation, but it is what it is. Unfortunately not every employer sees the value of a ROWE, which is really staggering when considering how much greater the mutual benefits could be.
Thanks so much for your feedback.
-Tim
Thre are so many employees that seem defeated and complacent. I see it every day.
Without a environment of openess and mutual trust employees figure what is the use. I’ll just put my 8 hours in and get my paycheck.
As a manager when I spend time in their environment and listen to their struggles and help them solve seemingly simply problems we regain trust. It must be a continuous thing.
When my husband had to change jobs which causes him to be away from home 2-3 weeks at a time I was left to handle our household and hold down a middle managment corporate job. I felt I had no other choose but to operate under my own ROWE. I needed to be there for my kids.
I feel lucky that I have been with the company long enough and with a very good track record. If this would not have been the case I would not have been permitted. I know there is back sludging going on behind my back, but I am producing results so I really don’t care.
I feel for members who are not afforded this opportunity. I want to do something to help them. Still reading the book and keeping notes. I will take a proposal to leadership.