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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - MAY 2012
W
HEN YOU ASK
yourself or
others why you work, does
the answer not stare back at you with a
blank smile? You smile because you
know you have to work. But the smile
is blank because you have no idea why
you have to. Do you have to work to
survive? Or do you work because it’s
enjoyable and meaningful?
The world of work is in a state of
transition. The value of work has be-
come so utilitarian - making money to
pay for bills - that we
have taken all meaning
out of it.
It is now facing a
new direction. The fi-
nancial crises beginning
in 2006 stimulated
changes across the
board for work and life. What has been
brought to a clear forefront is the na-
ture of economics, work and business
as usual. Corporate scandals, corrup-
tion, greed, housing crises, bailouts
and bonuses have all become acro-
nyms, household words and/or fodder
for late night talk show hosts to most
working adults. Employees - people -
have become disposable. Why have we
let this happen? And, more impor-
tantly, why do let this continue to hap-
pen?
It all has to do with the way we
view the world, our place in it, and the
values that we share with each other.
Most organizations have operated un-
der a mechanistic mindset for the bet-
ter part of the century, chugging and
churning away towards and idealized
notion of progress. Contemporary Hu-
man Resource circles claim to focus on
both the human and the resource,
however these claims are just not true.
For too long a time, they have focused
on the resource side, using the same
mechanistic language and processes to
refer to their employees. They view
their employees as
“capital to be invested
in” or “resources to be
utilized” (aka deplet-
ed). This mechanistic/
industrial model has
forced us to abandon
fundamental values
about how we treat
other humans.
Losing sight of these values is
destroying our economy and culture.
Job rates are lower than ever and job
satisfaction is down too, not just as the
result of a failing economy. Population
pressures, pollution, and stress are
now normal facets of our existence.
The American population actually
reached its peak happiness in the
1950s and has steadily declined
since. An ultimate low point has
been undoubtedly reached with
the current recession.
What we need is a new paradigm
to the way we view work - one that we
are all calling for in our hearts and
souls. We have placed enough atten-
tion on the resources side and need to
bring back the human in HR. This will
bring about a more engaged work-
force, further stimulating the economy
and our quality of life.
TRACING THE AGES
To understand where this new
paradigm is going, we must under-
stand where it came from. Since the
early 1900s, the industrial model has
dominated the American workplace.
At its onset, the model presented com-
panies with mechanized improve-
ments offering increased efficiency and
productive capacity. Machines and
production lines replaced hands-on
craftsmanship for goods and services.
This revolution presented the Ameri-
can worker with more opportunities to
raise their socio-economic status and
the allure of the American Dream.
Believe it or not, the industrial
model never left and still prominently
exists as the dominant paradigm of
work and life in the West. In the
late 1900s and early 2000s, an-
other transition occurred - the
Technological Revolution or In-
formation Age. Workers again
fled one site for another, leaving
the factory for the office cubicle
“What we need is a new
paradigm to the way we
view work - one that we are
all calling for in our hearts
and souls.”
HUMAN RESOURCES