Today’s post is an exploration about a spectrum that pops up again and again in my thoughts. I will make sweeping generalisations in order to make a point, so please bear with me!
On one end of the spectrum, there is strictness and adherence to rules.
On the other, there is a kinder, more tolerant view that rules should guide decisions, with exceptions for individuals.
I’ll provide some examples to explain this further.
Example 1: Education
Alongside my work with Understorey, I work in the education sector, with students from Africa and Japan.
In these wildly different contexts, there is nonetheless a similar, endless debate between other teachers and staff on the following:
In order for our students to succeed, do we need to be stricter with our students or, do we need to be kinder with them? In other words, do we need to have rigid rules and punishments or listen and adapt to them, taking care of their individual needs to support them to grow in their own ways?
I have seen some students show extreme gratitude after acing their exams due to being in very strict, unrelenting environments. On the other hand, some students show the same gratitude after being supported kindly and believed in throughout their struggles.
Example 2: Hustle vs relaxation
This spectrum also comes up in my personal life.
Do I need to be harsher with myself and push myself more (hustle culture anyone?), or show myself kindness and care more about my well-being?
I find myself fluctuating along this spectrum. As does Ash.
Example 2: Employees at work
Finally, in the world of work, on one side, there is the belief that employees need to be controlled, in order for the work to be done. On the other side, there is the belief that trusting employees to do their work with minimal constraints is the best way to get work done.
In my personal experience, I don't appreciate being micromanaged and pressured to finish my tasks, but at the same time I struggle to complete them when there is no pressure at all.
The acceptable zone and the work spectrum
Now that we have explored a few examples and have a better idea of the spectrum, let us take a look at it from a different perspective: focusing on workers and workplaces.
Previously in history, many societies had working situations more on the stricter/ control side of the spectrum. In these societies, the predominant way of getting people to work was through control and coercion.
I was recently listening to a podcast detailing horrific conditions of slavery in Haiti; how people were forced to work from 5am to late at night, being whipped or worse if they slack off even for a bit.
Meanwhile, in the industrial revolution, there were 12-15 hour working days, including for children!
In these times, despite differences between societies, we can say it was deemed acceptable for employees to be treated in any way on the spectrum from control to freedom, although work for the non-elite existed in the highlighted area of the spectrum below.
More than just the extreme examples of slavery and the industrial revolution, this was a climate where there were less protection and possibility for pushback for workers in general.
Then, over time was a massive societal shift worldwide in what was acceptable or not, leading to the abolition of slavery and child labour. No longer was it acceptable to physically coerce your workers through the threat of violence.
You could argue that the acceptable zone of treating your employees moved towards the right of the below spectrum with this change.
So where does that leave us now?
As history often suggests, it does not always move linearly along a line (or spectrum for that matter).
Indeed, while there have been advances in employee rights, there have also been regressions. Increased use of technology to conduct surveillance on and manage employees have also been the case. Famous examples include Amazon, where their drivers do not have the time for toilet breaks, and there are strict rules in their warehouses.
However, keeping a keen eye on the debate around work since the pandemic, could it be possible that we are in the middle of another shift in the spectrum?
The last few years, despite fightbacks from various organisations, have seen an increase in flexible working arrangements, remote work, mental health accommodations, and so on, across the world. People are calling out controlling and crappy treatment by workplaces where previously they may have thought to "suck it up".
Even, where I currently live, traditional Japanese organisations have begrudgingly accepted this trend, and realised the need to adapt and provide flexibility in order to keep their top employees.
What does this mean?
I’m not entirely sure about this, but if something like this is happening, I'm keen to explore what it means.
The first thing is that I believe too many organisations are still yet to come to terms with the fact that what is considered acceptable may have rapidly changed. Organisations forcing people back to come back to working full-time in the office, watching over them, and controlling them, will struggle mightily to keep their reputations intact and workers engaged and loyal, especially in this hyper-connected age. Controlling and unreasonable management styles will simply not be accepted and be increasingly called out, even in environments where it is normalised (check out Goldman Sachs' working survey report).
The second thing that pops clearly into my mind, is how to manage people's motivation towards work. As I mentioned earlier, taking myself as an example, it is not always easy to manage work alone without a certain pressure of deadlines and accountability. However, too much pressure and controlling behaviour from people really dampens my enthusiasm for the work itself. Indeed, some of my best work has come from a place of total freedom when I have been trusted with what I have to do. I see this also working with volunteers and interns: sometimes accommodating an individual's desires too much can lead to work not being done, however, being too strict can be a recipe for a negative experience (and cause volunteers, for instance, to drop out or leave).
With the shift on the kindness-strictness spectrum, controlling, micro-managing behaviour is becoming less acceptable.
How then do we manage motivation?
How can we trust our employees while meeting organisational goals?
How can we ensure we are not being coercive?
These are big questions which I believe we are working through as a society now. If we are indeed in the middle of this big shift, it will have massive consequences for employers.
I am fascinated to see how it all unfolds!