Yesterday afternoon, our team had its quarterly update for Q1 of 2009. You all know the drill - group updates of what were, what are, what will - and must - be; group activities, an open forum between the team leads and subordinates, and a so-called "inspirational" talk from the leaders. In short, it was an informal brainstorming activity compressed within a 5-hour timeframe. There was just a part of the program which I didn't quite get: why did the word "promotion" keep coming up during one of many looong (and all-too-often dragging) speeches of one of the leads? I mean, if I had come up with a score tally of the number of times the "P" word was mentioned, I would have ended up with a sum of greater than twenty. And no, I'm so not exaggerating.
Here's the thing: one thing that any supervisor (And even managers, for that matter.) should keep in mind is that it's not always about moving a notch higher from your current position or rank as a staff. Sure, a bigger paycheck would help during trying economic times like these, but it's never a guarantee for someone to share the same enthusiasm at work and earn enough zeal in a subordinate to make him or her work towards a common goal parallel with that of any supervisor. Really, it takes a hell lot more than that. It’s true when they say that it’s not always about the money. You can’t treat people as a bunch of hamsters in a race to the center of the maze where, instead of the carrot, the “P” word is waiting instead. I, myself, don’t get up at four in the morning every freaking day during Mondays to Fridays thinking of ways on how to get a darn promotion. Truthfully, it does cross my mind occasionally, but my work life does not revolve around some minuscule adjustment in my paycheck.
More than just money figures, we people at the workplace need a morale boost more than anything. We need something that will make us believe that we are not wasting precious hours of sleep and the time away from home for nothing; that at the end of the day, more than appreciation for whatever output we were able to deliver, we get the respect and consideration we deserve – not just merely as subordinates – but as a contributor and team player.
Here's the thing: one thing that any supervisor (And even managers, for that matter.) should keep in mind is that it's not always about moving a notch higher from your current position or rank as a staff. Sure, a bigger paycheck would help during trying economic times like these, but it's never a guarantee for someone to share the same enthusiasm at work and earn enough zeal in a subordinate to make him or her work towards a common goal parallel with that of any supervisor. Really, it takes a hell lot more than that. It’s true when they say that it’s not always about the money. You can’t treat people as a bunch of hamsters in a race to the center of the maze where, instead of the carrot, the “P” word is waiting instead. I, myself, don’t get up at four in the morning every freaking day during Mondays to Fridays thinking of ways on how to get a darn promotion. Truthfully, it does cross my mind occasionally, but my work life does not revolve around some minuscule adjustment in my paycheck.
More than just money figures, we people at the workplace need a morale boost more than anything. We need something that will make us believe that we are not wasting precious hours of sleep and the time away from home for nothing; that at the end of the day, more than appreciation for whatever output we were able to deliver, we get the respect and consideration we deserve – not just merely as subordinates – but as a contributor and team player.
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