my nano-enterprise and my driver are giving me new management challenges. i was thinking that managing people, whether they are well-educated or not, from whatever SE classm should pretty much be the same. dead wrong. i am used to managing people from middle-income families who have at least some college education. i have learned both formally and informally how to best manage them, how to bring out their potential. and i give myself a pat on the back when i look at how they have grown in wisdom and leadership.
but i'm ill-prepared to handle the special challenge of managing personnel from the lower SE classes, who have usually not completed secondary education. some grew up in the rural areas.
my driver again failed to wake up on time. i was forced to drive myself to the airport. i was so pissed because i even reminded him the night before. he definitely got some flak from me. i texted him telling him that i will have to deduct this day from his pay because he did not render the service. his response? he is sorry. he knows he has 'failed' me a lot in the past. and because of 'shame', he is resigning. huh???
the ladies at the restaurant, the waitresses are ganging up on the cook. they feel she talks to much (she actually tells me what is going on). and though the issues are not major (e.g. who is going out with whom or who likes whom), and i just joke about it, they resent it. cook feels alienated now. also thinking of leaving. oh my.
special challenges. not written in the books. takes special understanding. and lots of patience. they do not always follow logic or even common sense. (ngayon pa niyo balak mag-resign ang daming nawawalan ng trabaho?!?)
my first lesson: detachment. if they want to leave, then just go. it's a pity because in other dimensions of performance, they are doing well. and i wasn't asking for their resignation.
second lesson: don't dwell on it. we are in labor-surplus mode anyway. more so now.
oh well.
7 comments:
I can relate to your experiences as you can well imagine why.... I thought the same way before. That it doesn't matter what your background/ education is, people are people and as long as you treat them properly they will show you the same kindness/ courtesy/ way of thinking. I am almost always proven wrong and end up frustrated or disappointed. I also realize that I don't have the energy or patience (anymore) to help them change their mindset. Harsh as it may seem, but I have come to realize why there is a difference why we are where we are and why they are stuck, condescending as that may sound.
it frustrates me to no end. instead of learning, improving and correcting thier mistakes they just give up. it is puzzling to me.
job fair na eto..
The brother of a friend who used to work as a cashier/general assistant of a small grocery was murdered two years ago by his co-worker to steal the 10s of thousands he was holding. The assailant still hasn't been caught as his parents are hiding him.
It's one of the reasons why I don't believe in equality anymore. Before I used to think that everyone should be given the same set of opportunities. Not anymore. Let them starve for all I care (they'll just keep making babies, anyway). If they want to raise their social standing, they should work for it. Hard. (I know of someone who got a degree just by becoming a lavandera(o). Now he's quite successful and works for a multinational.)
Wonder why the fastfood chains like Jollibee always have good service? They hire only college students. They tend to be hardworking and uh, cultured. lol Maybe you should try doing the same. It will save you a lot of headaches.
hindi naman. depende lang sa tao talaga. my best workers are from the povinces with only high school education. you can't really generalize. i have college graduates i had to fire because they weren't motivated.
Tara, turuan natin ang mga dukha ng mga TQM at kaizen principles!
i know you do experience such challenges as well, lobster!
thanks, anonymous one!
m_m: job fair is declared open!~
hi b_q: hmm. makes me think. even though the downside is the actual labor cost! hehe
sorry it sounds like an extreme generalization, anonymous one!
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