Phone Calls! E-mails! And MEETINGS!!
Throughout my life I have heard many kinds of things that people don't like about their jobs. I used to hear a lot of complaints about too much work or the work being too stressful. I have also heard a lot about low pay or benefits. However, the most recent complaints I have heard center around having phone calls, e-mails, and meetings. Apparently a lot of people do not look forward to these aspects of their jobs.
One reason for this distaste is the feeling that meetings are a waste of time. I remember one employee at my last job who often said she was anxious to get to work but the meetings were slowing her down. Similarly, many people do not look forward to opening their e-mail and voicemail inboxes every morning just to be greeted by a deluge of messages that have come in overnight.
Now, I'm not suggesting that everyone should love these, but it seems to me that several people often distinguish their work from the three forms of communication that I've mentioned. They seem to think, "If only I didn't have anyone talking to me, I could really make some progress!" Do you see any problems with this?
What would our world be like if nobody talked to each other during work hours? If they never shared ideas, concerns, or encouragement? What if everybody just did their own thing and left each other alone? I highly doubt that anything significant would be accomplished. Society depends on interaction between people in order for true success to happen. I may think of an idea that seems perfect to me, but when I share it with a team of colleagues, they often point out areas of the plan to improve.
In an even more practical sense, what is every business providing? They are all providing some kind of goods or services for some kind of consumer. We cannot forget that we are people working with people for the benefit of people. There is no way to make that happen without some kind of regular communication. I would love to see a change in the perspective on phone calls, e-mails, and meetings, such that employees do not see them as interruptions but as means by which to accomplish anything significant.
On the other hand, there may be some room for improvement in terms of minimizing unnecessary communication. One of my frustrations is receiving an e-mail that someone sent to a whole group even though I personally am not involved in it. My wife recently received an e-mail at work which began, "I know that this e-mail does not apply to many of you, but for the sake of time I am sending it to everyone on my list." For the sake of whose time? It may cost a little more time for the sender to screen their list of recipients, but it will save much more company time by not having dozens of other people waste time reading an e-mail that does not relate to them. I appreciate when someone looks through the group list they are about to send to and makes sure to only send the e-mail to the people on the list that the message applies to. Similarly, I only use the Reply All feature of e-mail when I know that everyone on the original list wants to hear my response.
Meetings can have the same approach. Congress does a great job with this. They do not have everyone involved in hammering out the details of every bill. They have committees and sub-committees to discuss these details. When the committee has a plan they'd like to propose, then they present it to the whole Senate or House.
A serious setback to any meeting is when people come with low motivation to participate. That attitude can quickly spread to others. When a leader only invites to a meeting the people that really need to be there, the motivation has potential for being much better. Another small thing that can make a big difference is when the meeting leader is fully prepared with his materials and supplies so that the meeting can start and finish on time. I feel like a person respects me when they respect my time in this way.
One reason for this distaste is the feeling that meetings are a waste of time. I remember one employee at my last job who often said she was anxious to get to work but the meetings were slowing her down. Similarly, many people do not look forward to opening their e-mail and voicemail inboxes every morning just to be greeted by a deluge of messages that have come in overnight.
Now, I'm not suggesting that everyone should love these, but it seems to me that several people often distinguish their work from the three forms of communication that I've mentioned. They seem to think, "If only I didn't have anyone talking to me, I could really make some progress!" Do you see any problems with this?
What would our world be like if nobody talked to each other during work hours? If they never shared ideas, concerns, or encouragement? What if everybody just did their own thing and left each other alone? I highly doubt that anything significant would be accomplished. Society depends on interaction between people in order for true success to happen. I may think of an idea that seems perfect to me, but when I share it with a team of colleagues, they often point out areas of the plan to improve.
In an even more practical sense, what is every business providing? They are all providing some kind of goods or services for some kind of consumer. We cannot forget that we are people working with people for the benefit of people. There is no way to make that happen without some kind of regular communication. I would love to see a change in the perspective on phone calls, e-mails, and meetings, such that employees do not see them as interruptions but as means by which to accomplish anything significant.
On the other hand, there may be some room for improvement in terms of minimizing unnecessary communication. One of my frustrations is receiving an e-mail that someone sent to a whole group even though I personally am not involved in it. My wife recently received an e-mail at work which began, "I know that this e-mail does not apply to many of you, but for the sake of time I am sending it to everyone on my list." For the sake of whose time? It may cost a little more time for the sender to screen their list of recipients, but it will save much more company time by not having dozens of other people waste time reading an e-mail that does not relate to them. I appreciate when someone looks through the group list they are about to send to and makes sure to only send the e-mail to the people on the list that the message applies to. Similarly, I only use the Reply All feature of e-mail when I know that everyone on the original list wants to hear my response.
Meetings can have the same approach. Congress does a great job with this. They do not have everyone involved in hammering out the details of every bill. They have committees and sub-committees to discuss these details. When the committee has a plan they'd like to propose, then they present it to the whole Senate or House.
A serious setback to any meeting is when people come with low motivation to participate. That attitude can quickly spread to others. When a leader only invites to a meeting the people that really need to be there, the motivation has potential for being much better. Another small thing that can make a big difference is when the meeting leader is fully prepared with his materials and supplies so that the meeting can start and finish on time. I feel like a person respects me when they respect my time in this way.
posted by Ben and Christina at
8:50 AM
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