Employees are not your servants

Maybe I’m just destined for mediocrity, but I really can’t stand spending time around people who have an overdeveloped sense of self importance.

You know the ones I am talking about. They are destined to greatness, and walk into any given room with an air of authority and control, however, they often lack any meaningful experience in the business they are in.

This is a reborn aristocracy, not capitalism.

The revolution in industrial relations over the last century was the recognition that there needs to be a system or set of rules that both the employee and employer can turn to in order to assert their rights.

Employers expect a certain set of behaviours and productivity in return for payment.

Employees expect boundaries on their personal lives and dignity to be respected for their hard work.

It is not just the small or family owned businesses that do this. Many construction, consulting and professional services companies also treat their staff as expendable servants. How many great people burn out and are sidelined from a career they would otherwise do well in for their whole lives due to the insane pressures these companies put on their people.

I have seen some truly great small companies that take people who from these industries when they are burned out and treat them with dignity and respect, and go on to great things.

It’s amazing what happens when you treat people as if they are human rather than your servants. Welcome to the 21^st century.