Rethinking Work - The New York Times

DavidJienRethinkingWorkByBARRYSCHWARTZAUG.28,2015HOWsatisfiedarewewithourjobs?Gallupregularlypollsworkersaroundtheworldtofindout.Itssurveylastyearfoundthatalmost90percentofworkerswereeither“notengaged”withor“activelydisengaged”fromtheirjobs.Thinkaboutthat:Nineoutof10workersspendhalftheirwakinglivesdoingthingstheydon’treallywanttodoinplacestheydon’tparticularlywanttobe.Why?Onepossibilityisthatit’sjusthumannaturetodislikework.ThiswastheviewofAdamSmith,thefatherofindustrialcapitalism,whofeltthatpeoplewerenaturallylazyandwouldworkonlyforpay.“Itistheinterestofeveryman,”hewrotein1776in“TheWealthofNations,”“toliveasmuchathiseaseashecan.”Thisideahasbeenenormouslyinfluential.Aboutacenturylater,ithelpedshapethescientificmanagementmovement,whichcreatedsystemsofmanufacturethatminimizedtheneedforskillandcloseattention—thingsthatlazy,paydrivenworkerscouldnotbeexpectedtohave.Today,infactories,officesandotherworkplaces,thedetailsmaybedifferentbuttheoverallsituationisthesame:Workisstructuredontheassumptionthatwedoitonlybecausewehaveto.Thecallcenteremployeeismonitoredtoensurethatheendseachcallquickly.Theofficeworker’skeystrokesareoverseentoguaranteeproductivity.Ithinkthatthiscynicalandpessimisticapproachtoworkisentirelybackward.Itismakingusdissatisfiedwithourjobs—anditisalsomakingusworseatthem.Foroursakes,andforthesakesofthosewhoemployus,thingsneedtochange.Tostartwith,Idon’tthinkmostpeoplerecognizethemselvesinAdamSmith’sdescriptionofwagedrivenidlers.Ofcourse,wecareaboutourwages,andwewouldn’tworkwithoutthem.Butwecareaboutmorethanmoney.Wewantworkthatischallengingandengaging,thatenablesustoexercisesomediscretionandcontroloverwhatwedo,andthatprovidesusopportunitiestolearnandgrow.Wewanttoworkwithcolleagueswerespectandwithsupervisorswhorespectus.Mostofall,wewantworkthatismeaningful—thatmakesadifferencetootherpeopleandthusennoblesusinatleastsomesmallway.Wewantthesethingssomuchthatwemayevenbewillingtotakehomeathinnerpayenvelopetogetthem.Lawyersleavewhiteshoefirmstoworkwiththeunderclassandunderserved.Doctorsabandoncushypracticestoworkinclinicsthatservepoorerareas.WallStreetanalystsmovetoWashingtontoworkaseconomicadvisersingovernment.Youmightobjectthatthoseareexamplesofprofessionals—peoplewhohavethefinancialsecuritytocareaboutmorethanjusttheirpaychecksandtheprivilegeofworkinginfieldsinwhichitispossibletofindmeaningandpersonalsatisfaction.Whataboutthejanitor?Thephonesolicitor?Thehairdresser?Thefastfoodworker?Isubmitthatthey,too,arelookingforsomethingmorethanwages.About15yearsago,theYaleorganizationalbehaviorprofessorAmyWrzesniewskiandcolleaguesstudiedcustodiansinamajoracademichospital.Thoughthecustodians’officialjobdutiesneverevenmentionedotherhumanbeings,manyofthemviewedtheirworkasincludingdoingwhatevertheycouldtocomfortpatientsandtheirfamiliesandtoassisttheprofessionalstaffmemberswithpatientcare.Theywouldjokewithpatients,calmthemdownsothatnursescouldinsertIVs,evendanceforthem.Theywouldhelpfamilymembersofpatientsfindtheirwayaroundthehospital.Thecustodiansreceivednofinancialcompensationforthis“extra”work.Butthisaspectofthejob,theysaid,waswhatgotthemoutofbedeverymorning.“Ienjoyentertainingthepatients,”saidone.“That’swhatIenjoythemost.”Similarly,afewyearsagotheWhartonmanagementprofessorAdamGrantstudiedagroupofcollegestudentswhoworkedasphonesolicitors,callingalumnitoaskforcontributionstotheiruniversity.Asanexperiment,ProfessorGrantarrangedforarecentgraduatewhohadattendedtheuniversityonascholarshipfundedbysuchsolicitationeffortstomeetthestudents.Thegraduategaveashorttalkabouthowthescholarshiphadaffectedhislifeandhowgratefulhewasfortheirsolicitationefforts.ProfessorGrantfoundthatthemoneythatthestudentsraisedincreased171percentafterward.Again,therewasnoaddedcompensationfortheharderwork—justadeepersenseofpurpose.Thesearejusttwoexamplesfromaliteratureofcasesdemonstratingthatwhengiventhechancetomaketheirworkmeaningfulandengaging,employeesjumpatit,evenifitmeansthattheyhavetoworkharder.Suchcasesshouldservetoremindusthereisahumancosttoroutinizinganddepersonalizingwork.Toooften,insteadofbeingabletotakeprideinwhattheydo,andderivesatisfactionfromdoingitwell,workershavelittletoshowfortheireffortsasidefromtheirpay.Butperhapsthereisanupsidetomonotonous,routinizedwork.Isitpossiblethatwhatweloseinworksatisfaction,wegaininefficiency?This,again,iswhatAdamSmiththought.Inhisfamousexampleofthepinfactory,heextolledthevirtuesofthedivisionoflabor:“Onemandrawsoutthewire,anotherstraightsit,athirdcutsit,afourthpointsit,afifthgrindsitatthetopforreceivingthehead.”Ourworkexperiencemightbepoorer,butwe—oratleastourbosses—wouldbericher.Yetmorethan200yearslater,thereisstilllittleevidenceofthissatisfactionefficiencytradeoff.Infact,mostevidencepointsintheoppositedirection.Inhis1998book,“TheHumanEquation,”whichreviewednumerousstudiesacrossdozensofdifferentindustries,theStanfordorganizationalbehaviorprofessorJeffreyPfefferfoundthatworkplacesthatofferedemployeesworkthatwaschallenging,engagingandmeaningful,andoverwhichtheyhadsomediscretion,weremoreprofitablethanworkplacesthattreatedemployeesascogsinaproductionmachine.Forexample,hecitedastudyof136companiesacrossmanydifferentindustriesthathadinitialpublicofferingsin1988.Itfoundthatcompaniesthatplacedahighvalueonhumanresourceswerealmost20percentmorelikelytosurviveforatleastfiveyearsthanthosethatdidnot.Similardifferencesinsuccesswerefoundinstudiesthatcomparedthemanagementpracticesofsteelmills.AndastudyofUnitedStatesapparelmanufacturersfoundthatsalesgrowthwasmorethan50percenthigherincompanieswithenlightenedmanagementpracticesthaninthosethatdidthingstheoldfashionedway.Thefindingsweresimilarinstudiesofsemiconductormanufacturing,oilrefiningandvariousserviceindustries.AndcomparablefindingsweredocumentedmorerecentlybytheHarvardBusinessSchoolprofessorMichaelBeerinhis2009book“HighCommitmentHighPerformance.”Yougetthedistinctimpressionthatifyou’retryingtodecidewheretomakeaninvestment,thebestplacetolookisthoseannuallistsofthe100bestplacestowork.Whenemployeeshaveworkthattheywanttodo,theyarehappier.Andwhentheyarehappier,theirworkisbetter,asisthecompany’sbottomline.Thisisadmittedlynotnews.Butthatonlyraisesadeeperquestion:Inthefaceoflongstandingevidencethatroutinizationandanoveremphasisonpayleadtoworseperformanceintheworkplace,whyhavewecontinuedtotolerateandevenembracethatapproachtowork?DavidJienTheanswer,Ithink,isthattheideasofAdamSmithhavebecomeakindofselffulfillingprophecy:Theygaverisetoaworldofworkinwhichhisgloomyassumptionsabouthumanbeingsbecametrue.Whenyoutakeallopportunitiesformeaningandengagementoutoftheworkthatpeopledo,whywouldtheywork,exceptforthewage?WhatSmithandhisdescendantsfailedtorealizeisthatratherthanexploitingafactabouthumannature,theywerecreatingafactabouthumannature.ThetransformationIhaveinmindgoessomethinglikethis:Youenteranoccupationwithavarietyofaspirationsasidefromreceivingyourpay.Butthenyoudiscoverthatyourworkisstructuredsothatmostofthoseaspirationswillbeunmet.Maybeyou’reacallcenteremployeewhowantstohelpcustomerssolvetheirproblems—butyoufindoutthatallthatmattersishowquicklyyouterminateeachcall.Oryou’reateacherwhowantstoeducatekids—butyoudiscoverthatonlytheirtestscoresmatter.Oryou’reacorporatelawyerwhowantstoservehisclientwithcareandprofessionalism—butyoulearnthatrackingupbillablehoursisallthatreallycounts.Prettysoon,youloseyourloftyaspirations.Andovertime,latergenerationsdon’tevendeveloptheloftyaspirationsinthefirstplace.Compensationbecomesthemeasureofallthatispossiblefromwork.Whenemployeesnegotiate,theynegotiateforimprovedcompensation,sincenothingelseisonthetable.Andwhenthisgoesonlongenough,webecomejustthekindofcreaturesthatAdamSmiththoughtwealwayswere.(EvenSmith,inonepassage,seemedtoacknowledgethispossibility,notingthatmindless,routinizedworktypicallymadepeople“stupidandignorant.”)Thetruthisthatwearenotmoneydrivenbynature.Studiesshowthatpeoplearelesslikelytohelploadacouchintoavanwhenyouofferasmallpaymentthanwhenyoudon’t,becausetheofferofpaymakestheirtaskacommercialtransactionratherthanafavortoanotherhumanbeing.Andpeoplearelesslikelytoagreetohaveanuclearwastesiteintheircommunitywhenyouoffertopaythem,becausetheofferofcompensationunderminestheirsenseofcivicduty.Ifpeoplewerealwayspaidtoloadcouchesintovans,thenotionofafavorwouldsoonvanish.Moneydoesnottapintotheessenceofhumanmotivationsomuchastransformit.Whenmoneyismadethemeasureofallthings,itbecomesthemeasureofallthings.Tobesure,peopleshouldbeadequatelycompensatedfortheirwork.Recenteffortsacrossthecountrytoachieveasignificantincreaseintheminimumwagerepresentrealsocialprogress.Butinsecuringsuchvictoriesforworkingpeople,weshouldnotlosesightoftheaspirationtomakeworkthekindofactivitypeopleembrace,ratherthanthekindofactivitytheyshun.Howcanwedothis?Bygivingemployeesmoreofasayinhowtheydotheirjobs.Bymakingsureweofferthemopportunitiestolearnandgrow.Andbyencouragingthemtosuggestimprovementstotheworkprocessandlisteningtowhattheysay.Butmostimportant,weneedtoemphasizethewaysinwhichanemployee’sworkmakesotherpeople’slivesatleastalittlebitbetter(and,ofcourse,tomakesurethatitactuallydoesmakepeople’slivesalittlebitbetter).Thephonesolicitorisenablingadeservingstudenttogotoagreatschool.Thehospitaljanitoriseasingthepainandsufferingofpatientsandtheirfamilies.Thefastfoodworkerisliftingsomeoftheburdenfromaharriedparent.Workthatisadequatelycompensatedisanimportantsocialgood.Butsoisworkthatisworthdoing.Halfofourwakinglivesisaterriblethingtowaste.