Are companies like families?

Hiya,

Me and Em were chatting over lunch today and I thought I'd do a post about it.

We started off debating why companies (especially big ones) treat their employees so badly. We concluded that it's because staff are seen as commodities or even a necessary evil. Since company law decided that the company should be a separate entity on it's own (for the sake of the shareholders) and IT'S best interests should be paramount, it seems that the people that actually make the money FOR the company are just cogs in the machinery.

Of course this was all probably set up to encourage those with money to invest in company ventures with the safetynet of knowing all those working for the company had to put IT before themselves. But now it's gone too far. Too often an employee not coming up to scratch will be fired or 'managed out' and a replacement found. What about training? Oh yeah, there's plenty of training available in order for you to do your job better. But what other training could there be?

On to families, we all think that families are important yada yada, blood's thicker than water blah blah etc. etc. But why?
Most of us have some distant relatives that we don't see very often (weddings, christenings and funerals), and some relatives we don't see at all - maybe have never seen. So, are they part of our family? On a DNA level they are. Are they important to us? Probably no more than a perfect stranger in the street is. So what's all this gumpf about families then?

We concluded it's Not that family is important or that blood creates the bond but rather it's the relationship we have with the individuals within a family. It's the connection we have on a cerebral and spiritual level that creates the importance. We are closer to many of our friends than we are to members of our family - sometimes even close members!

And that's the crux of it - businesses should engage in relationships with their employees. They should treat their staff as connected members of the company family. When one person is not fulfilling their role to the level required, help and training and nurturing should be part of the process. A process to help the employee get what 'they' want. That way they'll be more inclined to go the extra mile in return, and be glad to do so. It's good to help people we care about - it makes us feel good, it strengthens the bonds between us. If companies employed this 'relationship' model across the board they might find a massive driving force for good coming from the grass roots up.

Or I could be talking utter twaddle!! What do you think?

for now

Be Inspired

Stu

If you like this you'll probably like my other blog:
http://thechangeyourlifeblog.wordpress.com