Managers vs Employees; Citizens vs Representatives
I got this information from an IBM information page, but I summarized it myself.
The Labor Relations Institute of New York has done repeated studies on what employees want and what managers think employees want. The results are typically different:
What managers think employees want:
- Good wages
- Job Security
- Promotion and growth opportunities
- Good working conditions
- Interesting work
- Personal loyalty to workers
- Tactful discipline
- Full appreciation for work done
- Sympathetic understanding of personal problems
- Feeling “in” on things
What employees say they want:
- Full appreciation for work done
- Feeling “in” on things
- Sympathetic understanding of personal problems
- Job security
- Good wages
- Interesting work
- Promotion and growth opportunities
- Personal loyalty to workers
- Good working conditions
- Tactful discipline
What would really be interesting to see is a study that compared what employees say they want and what they actually respond to. Well, actually, there's been a lot of studies about that. Everyone wants to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves and managers should endeavor to make sure employees understand, influence and are a part of the “big picture.”
Is that really so hard?
I think that understanding should be applied to citizens, too. Citizens want to understand, influence and be a part of the big picture for their town, county, state and country too. They want their voice to be heard. But I wonder. Do they really make good decisions?
I'll leave that question open.
Josh Poulson
Posted Wednesday, Mar 23 2005 09:44 AM
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