Theft at the Public Till
Why do so many employees become burned out and bitter? Burnout is not a function of how much work they have to do so much as how controlled and powerless they feel. What kind of job is associated with high levels of psychological stress and coronary heart disease? Not the success oriented, managerial or profes- sional occupations (where Type A and high incomes are most prevalent) but those where individuals have insufficient control over their work situation. Which characteristic of an organization is most likely to kill creativity? Not inadequate pay or tight deadlines, but a lack of freedom in deciding what to do or how to accomplish the task, lack of sense of control over one's own work and ideas. Why do people so often mutter and groan when a change in policy is announced? Not because it is a change but because it is announced-that is, imposed on them. ("People don't resist change; they resist being changed.") Rosabeth Moss Kanter studied a range of large American corporations and reported the news about change in her book The Change Masters. She came up with ten rules for stifling initiative and they seem to describe gov- ernment almost to a tea: 1. Regard any new idea from below with suspicion-because it is new and because it is from below. 2. Insist that people who need your approval to act first go through several other levels of management to get their signatures. 3. Ask departments or individuals to challenge and criticize each oth- ers proposals. 4. Express your criticisms freely and withhold your praise. (That keeps people on their toes.) Let them know they can be fired at any time. 5. Treat problems as a sign of failure. 6. Control everything carefully; count anything that can be counted, frequently. 7. Make decisions to reorganize or change policies in secret and spring them on people unexpectedly (that also keeps people on their toes).
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