UNIT 5: WORK AND CAREER
My name‿ is Grace. I manage‿ a small team,│ and‿ I have concluded that workplace culture‿ is determined by two variables:│ the autonomy people‿ are granted,│ an(d) the honesty with│ which failure‿ is‿ examined.
In my previous company the hierarchy was rigid‿ and‿ every decision was reviewed twice,│ which produced‿ a predictable compound‿ of resentment‿ an(d) passivity. Nobody took‿ an‿ initiative,│ an‿ initiative being risk without reward,│ an(d) the manager then complained│ that his team had no ideas. Retention was poor‿ an(d) the company concluded that‿ its staff lacked‿ ambition,│ which was‿ a mistaken diagnosis‿ of‿ a problem‿ it had‿ itself manufactured. Micromanagement‿ is not‿ a personality defect;│ it‿ is‿ a structural choice with‿ entirely foreseeable consequences.
What we do differently is‿ unglamorous. People‿ exercise discretion‿ over how and│ where they work provided that collaboration functions‿ an(d) the deadline‿ is met,│ an(d) workload‿ is discussed│ before‿ it becomes‿ untenable,│ burnout having‿ announced‿ itself long│ before‿ it‿ arrives. When‿ a projec(t) fails,│ we examine the decision rather than the person,│ which‿ is not sentimentality but the only means by│ which‿ accountability can be rendered tolerable. Transparency of that‿ order‿ is not‿ a benefit‿ an‿ employer bestows;│ it‿ is the precondition for flexible working to be anything more than‿ a slogan‿ on‿ a recruitmen(t) page.