Don’t Miss the Message Behind Employees’ Obsession with Political Chatter

The current presidential administration has employees glued to social media even during working hours. While productivity is always important this Wall Street Journal article totally misses a dynamic that is occurring in the workplace. The reason employees are spending time on social media and debating in person about what is going on is because they are experiencing democracy being dismantled, in real time on prime time. For many, what they are seeing on the news parallels what they are experiencing at work. Most have not witnessed the rise of totalitarianism in their lifetime and are completely consumed and confused by it—and at the same time unsure of what they can do to prevent it.

While my new book From Bully to Bull's Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire centers around workplace dynamics, it is equally applicable to society in general. Bosses, rather than bemoan this distraction, should tap into how employees feel about what is going on and create cultures where democracy thrives to the benefit of the individual and the organization. When employees experience this at work, they will be more secure in their own ability and more likely demand the same from government. 

Credit: BIGSTOCK

What Businesses Could Learn About Competitiveness From Super Chickens

What does the traditional culture of competitiveness do to our workplaces? Business leader Margaret Heffernan discussed this on a recent episode of the TED Radio Hour using the superchicken study as an example. She discussed what a dog-eat-dog (or chicken-peck-chicken) environment does to productivity and emotional well-being within a company and how social cohesion is what makes for a truly winning team. I’ve long believed that a productive work environment comes from employees who know that their contributions are valued and are treated as respected members of the team. You can listen to her excellent talk here: Forget the Pecking Order at Work.

Credit: BIGSTOCK

The Power of Questioning in the Office

Abbey Lossing for NYT

I love the sentiment of this article from a workplace culture perspective – working in an environment that encourages healthy questioning of ideas and practices is a good sign of a psychologically healthy workplace. However, considering that 70% of North American employees are not engaged at work, I have to assume that not every workplace is structured to allow free and open questions. If more business leaders opened their corporations up to this kind of culture, they might find that their greatest asset is the curiosity and problem-solving capacity of their employees. You can read more in The New York Times.

Creating a New Framework to Judge CEOs

The metrics for evaluating CEOs are often misleading – many of these measurements encourage managers to aim for shareholder return, rather than the long-term health of their company. CEOs should be paid for the long-term growth of their companies, so that instead of “running their operations into the ground,” they can be establishing a company that has staying power. The key to that? Creating a psychologically safe workplace for employees. If CEOs are encouraged to create positive workplace cultures that support overall growth, the managers under them will most likely follow suit. It’s a win-win for everyone involved in the company, from the board of investors to the lowest level employees. You can read more on this topic at The New York Times.