It is common for most families that the members will try to analyze the mood of the working parents, when they come back from office to home, to raise their demands or initiate a serious discussion. It is obvious that the environment in the office does affects family life also. Both the physical and mental jubilation or fatigue of the office can keep the same momentum in the house as well. Despite the above scenario, too many people believe in the division of work (office work) and life (home/leisure life).
Management gurus have written volumes on balancing the work in office and home. Corporates have been giving training its staff for the same. The employees also start believing all these teachings. Unfortunately, the pundits fail to recognize that the individual is not a machine to be rested after a particular number of hours of work, to keep it fresh and energetic, like a horse or donkey.
The human being, whether males or females have feelings and emotions. Their freshness or tiredness level is directly dependent upon their emotional state. For example, mothers at home, never get tired of doing their housework till late age. Players and professionals, who love their occupation, are never tired of practicing the game, some more. Doctors during the Corona days worked all over the world in continuous shifts with very few complaints. Anyone, who feels needed, rarely complains of hard work. Soldiers at the front do not even think twice before taking steps that can even lead to their death. People, mostly, want to contribute their best in the service of others, when they feel cared for and nurtured and feel they are working for a worthy cause.
It would do good for the management to understand that what the employee needs, is a safe place to work, where they are trusted, where their feelings and emotions are taken care of.
A normal employee stays more awake hours at the office compared to home and transit. In fact, their most productive hours are spent in the office. The environment in the office decides whether the employee works with josh and vigor full day or just waits for the day to finish and go home.
It is indeed surprising that businesses put so much effort in maximizing the profit by cutting the costs everywhere, fail to appreciate the cost of reduced efficiency due to non-motivated employees. One can understand from an example that a company with 100 employees with a monthly salary budget of INR 5,000,000 with 60% efficiency results in a per month loss of INR 2,000,000 which is an astounding INR 2.4 Crore loss annually. The so-called HR practices of team building, leadership boot camp, training overseas, etc for short durations, all fail to bring a cultural shift in the working environment of the organization. Personal competition for promotion or postings, differences in working style of different departments, Bosses liking for certain individuals for reasons other than efficiency remain exactly the same for years if they don’t worsen further.
The senior management or the founders need to understand that the concept of vision, mission, etc are not meant only for decorating the board meeting documents. They must drive the people. If the management succeeds in bringing a common vision in which the employees feel engaged for their betterment, it will change the fortunes of the company.
The environment of the company decides whether the employees feel comfortable while working in the office or not. And it is the Company culture that decides whether the environment is employee-friendly or not. Exhausted dissatisfied employees at the end of the day, take their anger and dissatisfaction to their house also, which affects the family environment as well. The environment is what we create with our words and actions in interacting with the people who react, based on their observation, perception, and assumption about our persona.
The glaring question is – Does the management understand the vital role, the company culture plays in the Profit and Loss statement of the company every year?
It is time for companies to wake up to Culture.
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