The question I asked myself today was, “Are workplaces now becoming too touchy feely?” My view on this subject will no doubt be only one of a million. I also note that every workplace is different. Our company has a new CEO, and although he is located in another city I had the chance to meet him recently. I really like this guy and how he thinks and operates. He is the kind of person who is fair and willing to listen, but he is the kind of person who won’t accept excuses as to why something isn’t done or accept bullshit. I like this because to me it’s a fair and professional way to run a business.

I spent a great deal of my working life in a business where deadlines meant money and you met them no matter what you had to do. I wouldn’t dream of not meeting a deadline. Not because it could cost me my job or the business hundreds of thousands of dollars but because it was my job.

However what I have found in the type of business I am in now is that although deadlines mean money and more, it just isn’t treated professionally. The culture is a bit too ‘oh it’ll be alright’ type of thing. If staff don’t meet deadlines they are told to fix it and offered help but it’s never really treated with the importance that it warrants. I find it almost unbelievable that people don’t have the work ethic that really should exist. Staff should manage their units, never be late with anything unless they raised it in advance and not just waited until someone brings it up, they should expect that sometimes they will be pulled up on things (and not treated with kit gloves) and they should ask for help if they need it. Now don’t get me wrong, some staff will be perfect at dealing with things on a professional level. However this belief that if you are not performing that, shit as long as you try then it’s ok. This mentality is crap.

Don’t misunderstand. I like a nice workplace but I just see the culture as a bit unprofessional. The downside of it is you end up with a situation where you have to treat people with kit gloves and there is a lack of a reality check as to what a workplace is. I know if I was in an accounting firm for example that this kind of behaviour would be unacceptable, but because it’s a personal services industry, then it is acceptable. This is crazy. I guess my theory is that it all comes back to work ethic.

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Isn’t it amazing the no win situation you have in a workplace. There is always going to be a mix of people but you would expect that they would act like mature adults in their work ethic. Well ok, it turns out I was kidding myself.

Now the job for staff is quite big and full of barriers. Now when you have a lot of staff one of the things you expect is self management. That would be a nice dream. No, that’s unfair. We have staff who are brilliant at it. They come to work, achieve everything and go home and forget about work. That’s the perfect situation.

Anyway, if we just tell staff what to do and how to do it you end up with unhappy staff. However when you allow the staff the freedom to come up with new ideas and put them forward, you get some who complain you should be telling them what and how to do things. Unfortunately you can’t have it both ways because it is a team effort and everyone needs to work together.

Personally I have always liked it when staff manage themselves and achieve what they have to achieve, asking for assistance when needed and always keeping you informed of how things are going and if there are any issues.I hate micro managing.

But the reality is that in any workplace you have to deal with all kinds of people, the smart and the not so smart. It can just drive you insane. I guess some people just can’t work without being spoon fed.

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