Every business is made up of people - managers and staff - who are the real self and the business person. It's tough to be both at once if the business is going to make a profit. But there's no escaping the fact they are always the same person.
TV's Australian Story on the Hawke era touched on the 1990 slump. It triggered widespread business decisions that the cost of staff was too high and should be reduced by sackings or outsourcing. There is plenty of evidence that, 24 years later, business still puts profits ahead of the people on whom the profits depend:
- The Australia Institute promoted 19 November as 'Go Home on Time Day' because 2.8 million Australians are unsure what time they will finish work. That's equivalent to one in four workers juggling home life, child care and other commitments with an unpredictable work schedule
- anything up to 70% of workers would change jobs tomorrow if they could do so
- surveys continue to show a divergence of understanding between managers and staff about the working needs of staff
- stress is now the number one cost in business but workers are still reluctant to talk about mental health issues at work
- leaders still tend to be chosen for their professional skills, with people-skills being an optional extra.
What's the talk that your organisation walks when it comes to people-management?
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