Respect and Resilience for Organisational Success.

The effect of the economic recession on work and recruitment practices is becoming increasingly obvious, with good employers remaining the torch bearers and setting examples that regrettably lesser companies are failing to follow. Evidence of shifting selection criteria, poorly managed assessments or psychometric testing and a demonstration of poor manners are now commonplace both within the United Kingdom and in Europe. The focus of the news remains on economic worst case scenarios and avoiding the fate of Greece, but news from within the Greek workplace are most concerning with workers finding themselves at a constant knife edge.

As the picture of the effects of recession in Greece becomes clearer, so does increasing evidence that there is a shifting morality within Hellenic workplaces. Gone are bonuses and stakes in companies. Gone are the perks of status and flexibility. Anecdotal evidence of workers being dismissed for single occasions of tardiness or minor dressing infringements, such as forgetting to shave are becoming more and more prevalent. Employees are expected to work harder for less than half of their previous salaries while employers are being backed up in dissolving contracts, both legal and psychological, by a government struggling to meet the demands of its lenders and a critical international community. Some of these practices are also happening in the UK with longer hours being expected within the Public Sector according to new research by recruiters Badenock and Clark.

Even in the bleakest economic climates the trade of one’s time and labour should be based on respect and the appreciation for employer and employee equality. While discussions about talent is waning within the human resource community, it is still people that make the difference in organisations. Treating them badly is counterproductive and impractical. Even in 1935, when the United States was still under the shadow of the Great Depression, Dale Carnegie (grand-daddy of personal development and author of the now infamous How To Win Friends and Influence People) outlined how business benefited from treating employees with respect, even when letting them go.

Organisations who expect to succeed need to elicit effort and esteem from the people within them. This is the only way to weather the many tempests of our current economy. By treating people with respect they earn it back in kind and in graft. Such organisations build resilience within themselves and encourage it within the individuals making up their workforce. Furthermore, people are more likely to comply with increasing demands when they feel valued and that they are working towards a common cause.

The key ways of ensuring that balance is maintained in the workplace is by individuals understanding their own value and embracing the effort that must be made in maintaining and enriching their skills and flexibility. For organisations, balance and success need to be seen as equal with managers empowered to treat employees respectfully and work together to find opportunities for development and innovation. When this approach is adopted good results follow as is seen in a recent survey conducted by Orange.

As unemployment figures continue to rise it is natural to be concerned about the economy and the security of one’s job. Many of us are already responding to the job market by working more flexibly, applying ourselves more and striving that bit harder. What we need to guard against is that our fears do not make us lose sight of our own value in the workplace. There are many reasons why we need to do more, encourage business to grow and endeavour to overcome this recession, but these reasons are not excuses for poor working practices nor will they solve the problems we are facing. We are currently not experiencing the depth of recession that our Greek counterparts are dealing with, but let us take from their experience more than the cautionary tale our highly politicised media is perpetrating. Let us understand the real lesson of an economy in deep economic crisis and fight for the growth of organisations, our jobs and our employment rights. These are all hard won; let us not squander them.

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