DEmotivating Your People
by Miki SaxonI received the following email from “Terry” who just started his first job.
“Hi Miki, Basically with my new job, they are really giving their employees the shaft. Peoples’ contracts aren’t being renewed so they can bring in cheaper labor (like me). My manager often says “Hey man! It’s cool! You have a job! The economy is crap!” as though the position with them is the only one that I could get. It’s really infuriating sometimes because I know that when they use an attitude like that, it’s like they feel they can abuse their power. It’s like saying “Hey, you’re worthless, you’re SO lucky you have us… right? Do you feel fortunate that we take you under our roof? Good, because no one else will – now get to work or we’ll kill you!” I don’t feel they see it like that, but I am trying to decipher their motives. What do you think is going on?”
Hi Terry,
There are several obvious things that come to mind; your manager
- is nervous;
- is trying a poor joke to reduce the stress of layoffs;
- doesn’t think and has no idea of the effect of his words;
- actually believes what he is saying.
However, there is a not so obvious thought for you to explore.
Perhaps your manager is projecting—voicing his own feelings based on the way he is being treated.
Rather than guessing there are things you can do over the next few months to achieve a much better handle on why he acts this way, mainly through close, objective observation.
I say objective because you need to suspend judgment, scrub the emotional side and dispassionately study what he says and does.
I can almost hear you say ‘why bother’ when it’s much easier to shrug and write it off to his being a jerk or a lousy culture.
The reason it’s worth the effort is that it will give you an edge when working with and for him. It will help you to understand where he’s really coming from and how best to interact with him.
And it will keep you from doing the same things when you become a manager.
I love when readers write or call, so feel free to contact me if you think I can help; contact information is in the right column. I hope to hear from you soon.
Image credit: HikingArtist.com on flickr
