Like in ‘Vitimbi’, workers can get back at abusive employers

Many managers ask me; “How do I get my staff to enthusiastically contribute to the growth of the company?” I find this question immoral.

You will never achieve that because the expectations of the shareholders and those of employees are usually quite different.

But this question assumes that there is one silver bullet that will sort out everything. There is none.

Do you remember Vitimbi, the situational comedy that used to make us laugh at the absurdity of work life in Ojwang’s hotel.

The scenes captured the dark underbelly of manager/employee relations.

It had scenes that get played out, metaphorically, thousands of times a day throughout Kenya.

Restaurant workers

In the comedy, Ojwang plays an entrepreneur who owns a hotel. His wife manages the business.

Here is the scene. It opens with Woriahe, a local policeman, lounging in the hotel.

He is chatting with the employees as he waits for his lunchtime take out.

It is clear from his interactions with the restaurant workers that this is a frequent occurrence and they all get along well.

When the scene is over, you realise that the police officer gets his lunches for free.

It is one of the perks of his power. But the restaurant owner and his staff do not mind being leaned on for the free meals.

They understand that this is just part of doing business in this town, especially if you do not want to rub the law the wrong way.

The scene shifts to the kitchen where the staff puts together the meals.

They handle the servings, and then –—pfffttt —they spit. Yes, the plate gets a hefty dose of saliva.

Next, we see the waiters give the police officer his free lunch with big, friendly smiles.

The police officer strolls out of the restaurant with his booty, totally unaware of what had been added to his order.

Welcome to the workplace.

Employees spit in their boss’s plate and their employer’s plate, and neither their boss nor their employer realise it.

The same bosses do not realise how their actions create an environment that triggers the desire to retaliate.

And there are two lessons we learn here:

If employees do not have positive control, they’ll find a way to exert negative control.

Of the many human drives that influence employee behaviour in the workplace, the most important one for managers to understand and work with is the innate drive for control, or more precisely, the drive to avoid feeling helpless.

Power may bring immunity from feedback… but not reality. It’ is like parents of small children who speak disrespectfully to their children or take out their foul moods on them.

Just because the child cannot dare say :That’s really mean. I hate it when you talk that way to me” doesn’t mean the child is not affected by his parent’s behaviour.

If employees don’t feel safe enough to speak up about how management’s decisions make it hard for them to do their jobs well, or what management does that makes them believe they’re not valued and respected, it’s easy for management to believe that all is well.

If no one says “It really bugs me that you never consulted us about this change” or “I hate it when you talk down to us” the manager, or management as a whole, can mistakenly believe that everything is fine or that missteps went unnoticed.

When employees do not feel like they have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of speaking up, but can talk candidly with their boss or to senior management, they’re more likely to provide you with the information you need to address the situation that is creating distress.

People will always resist change. Performance management needs to be communicated in a way that can be embraced by employees.

Many times management will ambush staff with plans of performance management without preparing them, training or even explaining the big picture in a way that they can see it clearly.

The consequence is that employees will think they are being fired: and psychologically, as long as they think so, you will get totally different results from what you intended.

Heavy price

Companies pay a heavy price for allowing rude, abusive, toxic behaviour to go unchecked.

Few things lead to a greater desire for revenge than being treated disrespectfully.

Yet, many organisations show spaghetti spines when it comes to holding people accountable for rude, uncivil behaviour.

The results of this stance are predictable. Just as children learn what they can get away with and what they can’t by the responses — or non-responses— of others, so do adults behaving badly.

To help companies through this process, the first thing we do at Outdoors Africa is an organisational scan, which helps identify where the company is and where it wants to be.

Then we are able to bridge that gap in a smart and rational way.

In the organisational scan we look at things like the company strategy, how it is understood and challenges.

We also work with clients to communicate the idea of performance management to staff, and ultimately help them implement a performance management platform.

We make sure employees have as much positive control over their jobs as possible.

For those who haven’t yet demonstrated the maturity, responsibility, or skill to warrant a great deal of decision-making authority, we work with them on a professional development plant. We show them how they can earn the expanded autonomy.

If you do these things, your employees won’t be spending their time looking for opportunities to spit in your sandwich, but instead, will be looking for opportunities to make a difference and help your organisation succeed.

Mr Waswa is the managing director of Outdoors Africa Ltd, a human resource and management consulting company.