The hardest gig, as a culture change agent, I ever had lasted just three days. It quickly became a tautological nightmare for me because the cause of the problem was sentience. Luckily... I had read about work done on "sentience boundaries" back in 1954. The insights I had gleaned from those studies finally meant I could diagnose the problem and set out a course of remedial actions for my client.
In the past executive management - especially HR - did not, and did not care to, hear the voice of people who were expressing how they feel [see photo]. Today the opposite is the probably the case in most organisations. However this new found listening device that management has employed has not solved the underlying problem. This is because the sentience within a work group is still not well understood.
I have worked from home for most of my career. It is not an easy workplace to survive and thrive in because of the issue of sentience boundaries. Sentience boundary conflicts arise everyday that on the surface seem trivial; however beneath that thin veneer lies a set of management issues that are extremely difficult to resolve. For example there is the time management issue. There is the worker engagement issue [walking around your home with sign hanging around your neck that states "I am working" will not hack it]. But above all else there is the sentience boundary issue.
Do you have stronger sentience with a kid who needs you to attend their sports carnival or with your virtual job that demands you commit to their work effort on the network? The choice you make will be wrong for someone no matter which way you go; and ultimately, it will be wrong for you. The fundamental issue is you have a sentience boundary drawn around you and your kid but you also have a completely different one drawn around you and your work colleagues.
I implore you to examine where and why your current sentience boundaries exist. Map them on a huge piece of paper not on a screen. Use colours to differentiate between the circles of influence that tug your sentience boundaries this way or that. Be aware that most sentience is never spoken. Be aware that ideological chants are not necessarily accurate expressions of co-workers' sentience. Be aware how incompetent your managers, especially those in HR, are at managing sentience boundaries in the onsite or online workspace. Become aware.....
Richard.
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