Page 12 - BusinessWest June 17, 2024

EDITORIAL >>
The Importance of Summer Jobs
Summer is officially here. For college students, it started more than a month ago. And for high-school students, it began just a few days ago.
That means a lot of people are looking for work, and that’s good, because companies across every sector of the economy are looking for help. This juxtaposition of demand and supply is a positive thing because, as we’ve noted many times in the past, summer jobs — often the first jobs for a great many teenagers — are critically important for these individuals, the companies that hire them, and the region’s economy as a whole.
In short, these jobs help introduce people to the world of work, to companies in this area large and small, and, perhaps, to rela- tionships that can last years, decades, or even a lifetime.
Which is why businesses should create such opportunities, if they can. And, in this time of workforce challenges, most of them can — and they are.
No matter where you end up in life — professionally, geograph- ically, or otherwise — you remember your first job. And your sec- ond. And your third. But especially your first.
In this market, it might be working the counter at Friendly’s making Fribbles. Or bagging groceries at Big Y. Or working one of the carny games at Six Flags. Or working at one of the farms in Hadley, Hatfield, or East Longmeadow.
In each case, skills are learned, and work habits are devel-
OPINION >>
oped. Young employees learn about the need to be on time, work beside others, and operate as part of a team. These employees learn not only from their supervisors, but from everyone around them.
The work may not always be fun and exhilarating, but it puts money in one’s pocket and helps keep him or her out of trouble. As for college students looking to earn some money between
semesters, summer jobs can and often do provide more than that. In many cases, jobs or internships can introduce them to careers and companies they can work for in the years to come.
Time and again, we’ve read and heard stories about young people who were undecided about what they wanted to do career- wise and were put on a path — or a different path than the one they were on — because of a summer job or internship at an accounting firm, marketing firm, or even a law firm.
These stories relate the importance of summer jobs — be they first jobs or someone’s fifth or sixth — to creating real opportuni- ties, for both employees and employers.
Summer jobs have always been important, but in this climate, when businesses of all kinds and sizes are often desperate for help, and when many young people are trying to enter the work- force and perhaps start down the path to a career, they are more important than ever. BW
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Creating a Drama-free Workplace
BY KIM DUNN
Many organizations face the challenge of creating and keeping their workplaces free from conflict and drama. Although drama comes from many places and in many
forms, the only sure way to rid your organization of it is to get to its true source.
Identifying the cause or source is where you get to put your detective skills to work. Digging down to the root of the prob- lem starts with asking deep and meaningful questions to draw out what the true issues are that are creating the conflict. To do this, you will need to become an expert fact finder, which is often easier said than done. In many instances, there is not just one issue, but many, and the path to identifying what has created the tension or conflict between employees is murky and blurred with emotions.
It is interesting that there are some organizational cultures that seem to breed drama and others where there is rarely an issue. My research and experience with managing conflict in the workplace has reinforced that failing to address the following items will almost always lead to workplace drama.
• Inauthentic Leadership. A lack of authenticity creates a belief that management is hypocritical and that they only talk the talk, but do not walk the walk. In this environment, employees lose enthusiasm for their jobs, passion for what the company rep- resents, and, most dangerously, they lose trust.
• Lack of Transparency. Misguided attempts at confidential- ity can create the sense that everything is a secret. In the face of lacking information, employees will write their own story, which is almost always dangerous. Remember, employees usually know more than you think they know. Old-fashioned though it may sound, it pays to be open with as much information as possible.
• Not Addressing Bad Behavior. Many leaders hope drama will just go away if they ignore it. We know all too well that bad behavior never goes away on its own. The fact that the drama exists must be acknowledged and accepted so that action can be taken to address it. Inconsistency in dealing with conflict not only
leads to the erosion of trust, but also increases the chance that it will return for a second act.
What all of these causes have in common is that they lead to a lack of trust in leadership. When employees do not trust and respect leadership, they will quickly become disengaged.
Drama can be created from many sources, and once you have identified the ‘what’ and the ‘why,’ you can begin to take the action necessary to repair the damage or at least stop the bleeding.
If drama is alive and well in your organization, do not wait to take action to uncover and address the issues that are creating or feeding it. Drama impacts the bottom line because it takes up time, and time costs organizations money. That alone is reason enough to make it a top leadership priority.
In taking the steps to address workplace drama, it is important to remember that not all drama is created intentionally. It can be driven by insecurity, fear, or other emotional issues that have not been identified and dealt with. In many organizations, drama is created because people simply do not have the skills to manage conflict. Not many of us wake up in the morning looking forward to managing conflict; however, not having the skills to deal with it can lead to disastrous and expensive drama-filled workplaces.
The culture that you and the leaders are creating and culti- vating in your organization must be a priority. By modeling the behaviors of collaboration, support, and customer focus, you
will create a foundation where destructive behaviors are quickly identified and corrected. You can even take it a step further and build these behaviors into your performance-management system, which will help reward the best and address the rest.
The one thing we know for sure is that if conflict, aka drama, is not dealt with quickly, thoroughly, and consistently, it will never go away. BW
Kim Dunn is a Strategic Human Resources consultant at the Employers Assoc. of the Northeast. This article first appeared on the EANE blog; eane.org
12 JUNE 24, 2024
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