10/03/2016
How to Succeed in a Unstable Work Environment. I remember an incident on my first job at a garment manufacturing company in Kingston Jamaica. The employees had earned their salaries based on production. Because the number of completed garments determined the gross salary of a particular employee, an employee could earn a lot or very little for a given week. With this salary structure, the environment was very unstable. Among other roles, I was the payroll clerk. One evening, after I had put the pay packages together and began to issue the salaries, an irate worker turned the keys in the factory door and with scissors drawn she said, "You nah lef ya a [expletive****] until me get mi rite pay." (patois). All the other workers chimed in and before I knew it, there was mayhem in the office and my desk completely surrounded by angry workers. I held my head down for a moment and when I looked up, there was visible sorrow in my eyes. I sincerely felt the pain of the employees because I knew in all earnest, they had worked hard, but the style of the garments that had been manufactured that week was difficult to maneuver; hence, very few could have worked hard enough to increase their production. I said calmly, and without fear, " I am not happy about this. It is painful to see the outcome because I know this week was rough. I will advocate for you and ensure this is rectified." With that, one a lady in the back said, "I do not know why decent people like you even work at this place." You see, though I was a decision maker in the system, the workers could relate to me positively because I showed I understood their pain and I validated their concerns. That particular evening, they opened the door and everyone left the building safely. In that moment, my immediate need to be safe was met and my employees' need to be financially secure on the job was temporarily met. Success in an unstable work environment requires an awareness of the self-centered self and the centered-self. The self-centered-self is often primitive, instinctive in its responses and it is likely to look for instant gratification despite the negative impact of its behaviors on others. On the other hand, the centered-self is aware of its personal needs, but is also aware of the needs of others. It is reflective and introspective, hence, it is aware of how its actions/behaviors affect personal progress as well as the progress of others in an environment. The individual who is self-aware/centered, is able to modify and adjust his/her behavior to attain his/her desired goals, even if the environment is hostile. It is man's propensity to conform to the needs of the self-centered self. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. But in an interdependent world, it may be hard for the self-centered self to rise as others may not readily reward self-centered behaviors. Developing the centered-self requires hard work because one has to resist the urge to give into the desire to fulfill the needs of the self-centered self and one has to learn to ease into the discomfort of not having things his/her way all the time. This awareness sometimes takes years of conscious and deliberate practice.
Disclaimer: All thoughts and information shared here are commentaries/observations that may or may not be useful or applicable to the reader in his/her environment or culture. Read and respond with discretion.
