Cog or human
I’ve got a 66-sec. video here if you prefer to watch, or you can read the whole piece below. And happy Friday!
Cog or human
It’s hardly news that given a choice, most people prefer to be treated as humans and not objects or cogs, whose value only lies in the collective output of the machinery of work.
Less obvious is how a person may come to feel objectified at work and the accompanying impacts, which include feeling as if they “had no thoughts or emotions, as if they had to be controlled in order to act, deprived of initiative, exploitable and malleable at will.”1
When people feel they have low control over their environment and few opportunities to make meaningful decisions, they may also feel objectified. They may think their value is only tied to production, while their humanity is ignored.
The cost of objectifying people plays out emotionally— cynicism, low motivation, depression and overall negative impacts on well-being. It can also impact the organisation’s bottom line, associated with poor productivity (from the emotional impact) and high staff turnover.
And sometimes, the person most difficult to treat with humanity is your own human—you. Perhaps you have high standards and demand a lot from yourself. High standards are great and can help generate pleasing results. And at the same time, you’re human and you, plus the other humans with whom you work, all matter.
Take a moment to check in with yourself first: How am I going at work? How much freedom do I have today to make decisions, and how much control do I have? Next, take a moment to broaden the circle to ask similarly for your colleagues, and then, if it applies, ask the same of the boss.
Pausing to check in, shifts the perspective toward humanness and away from cog behaviours, which is helpful for everyone.
Ray
PS. I always appreciate it when I hear back about my writing. If it is helpful and/or you’d like to talk further, you can reply to this email or just let me know by clicking the heart.
Up in the air again - where I’ll be.
I have a bit of availability on these trips so if you would like to meet up, let me know.
Cairns - August 15 -19. Speaking and leadership event facilitation for Keece Electrical.
Gold Coast - August 20 - 22. Speaking at the Refrigerated Warehouse Transport Association conference.
On the air again - recent podcast interview.
Host, Katy Andrews, says, an incredible journey into the realms of procrastination, mindset, and wellbeing with the time management guru, Ray Hodge. Here’s the link.
*Edited by Michelle Sexton
+61 403 341 105; ray@rayhodge.com.au; www.rayhodge.com.au
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Crone L, Brunel L and Auzoult L (2021) Validation of a Perception of Objectification in the Workplace Short Scale (POWS). Front. Psychol. 12:651071. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.651071