Attention All Employers: ‎"A leader cannot demand of others what they do not demand of themselves."

Hello everybody!

I have talked to you about a lot of things over the past few months. The environment, religion, overpopulation, mental illness blah blah blah...but I have neglected to talk about something that is on the minds of all American people.

The job market.

Unemployment has hit 10% in the US and people are constantly wondering whether or not they will still be employed tomorrow. Many people who are let go do not qualify for unemployment because they did not get paid enough in the first place. Apparently it does not matter that the 500-1000 dollars a month made at one job, could determine the survival of a family, especially since most of us are living paycheck to paycheck. Another sad fact is that people who are miserable in their work are scared to leave because they don't want to risk having less job security at another workplace. People are having to choose between their lifelong goals and their immediate survival. Frankly, it sucks.

There was an article on Yahoo a few weeks ago addressing employers on how to keep a happy work environment during the economic crisis. I was really happy to read it because the employees are suffering the most right now. Not only are they in constant fear of being laid off, but employers can be much more picky with who stays and who goes. If one employee makes a stupid mistake he is expendable, and there are thousands of people with more experience ready to take his job if he is fired. It was about time someone called on employers to take care of the people who work for them.

I understand that not all employers are huge corporate big wigs who do not give a thought to their employees' well being, but even in small businesses, it is not rare for a boss to be on a power trip. In my life I have had six jobs including the cleaning bathroom, bottom of the totem pole ones. Out of those six I have had a total of 2 bosses who I liked and kept in touch with after leaving on good terms. The other four were made up of a sexist, a woman who said my smile annoyed her, a boss who cried when the flip flops at the bathing suit store were arranged by size instead of color, and an egomaniac. At these four workplaces that didn't work out for me I noticed three things.

1. There were never the same people working there. The staff on Monday was always different from the people who came in to work on Friday.

2. Loyal customers would be upset or stop coming when their favorite employee was no longer working, which in turn, hurt the business.

3. Most importantly, "The Boss" not only saw themselves as better than others but lacked appreciation for their employees and had a half ass work ethic.

This last part is the most critical because no employee is going to work hard if their leader doesn't acknowledge their achievements or take care of their own business. I had a boss a long time ago who was constantly at work, but it never seemed like she was doing anything.

However, she was also the first person to bark at a waiter if something had not been done. As a result, the average employee was there no longer than 2 months.

On the other hand, the two places I worked for where I LOVED my bosses, the businesses thrived. I worked at a tiny movie theatre in Santa Monica for two years. When I got there the same people had been working there for the past 3-10 years, (which is a long time when you are serving popcorn.) When I left, the same crew was still there along with another few newbies. :) My coworkers and I were like a tight knit family. People loved working there so much it became a family affair. My sister worked there for seven years during highschool and college. When I became old enough I got a job there. At one point we had a father and his two sons all working at different locations. People looked forward to going to work. I remember I disappointed my boss once and he had a long talk with me. I felt so guilty afterwards I that I tried harder than I ever had before. Not because I was scared of losing my job, but because I really respected him and I cared about where I worked. In addition, we had hundreds of regulars who liked not only our movies, but the conversations they had with same employees every week that they couldn't have with the 13 year old working at the AMC across the street. Celebrities, yuppies, hippies, homeless people...they all spent the 11 bucks to see a movie and carry on a 3 hour conversation with our resident conspiracy theorist/popcorn server once their film had ended. :)

The other place was a nonprofit where I worked for four years. I started as a volunteer and was soon there so often they began paying me. The energy in that office was amazing. Everyone was so excited about the change that they were making in the world, and no one was made to feel less than anybody else. No matter what our role was, it was important because it led to a greater goal. And achieve our goals we did! The encouragement and understanding we received from each other everyday helped us to go out into the world and accomplish great things for that organization. Not only was I changing other peoples lives, I was changing my life, in the best of ways. I wanted to work hard because our leader was an amazingly strong woman and everything she did I wanted to emulate. As a result of watching her, we all accomplished more than we could have ever imagined for ourselves and others.

My point is, when you hire someone, you are duplicating yourself. SO...if you are angry, don't give a crap about your employees, or put effort into your own work...guess what? That is exactly what you are going to get back from your workers. However, if you work hard, and love the people who put time and effort into your business everyday, they will care as much about your life's work as you do, which helps to make your business thrive.

So bosses out there, do yourself and your employees a favor. Work hard at your own job and recognize your employees for all the hard work they do too.

Links:

www.richdad.com

Movies to See:

Entry Level