The number one cause of suffering in organizations

The number one cause of suffering in organizations

Bureaucracy has lots of ways to make people suffer. But the worst suffering we bring on ourselves.

In a word, it’s role ambiguity, as in, “What the hell do you people expect of me??!!

When most of us are uncertain about our role, we refuse to talk about it. Instead, we stuff that uncertainty, and live silently with it. And that’s where all the ulcers, heart attacks and mental and physical ills come from.

Being clear about one’s role, and feeling good about, is at the core of comfort in any setting. But what happens when somebody requests some action dealing with an area that seems to be beyond our job description? Or we look around and discover someone carrying out a task that we thought was our exclusive responsibility. That’s called role intrusion.

Then there are situations where the role is clear enough, but we don’t want to carry it out. That’s called role conflict.

All of these situations have us asking, “What in the hell do you people expect of me?” And instead of saying it out loud, we stuff it. And then the suffering really begins.

The solution is a process called role negotiation. Here’s how it works. Make a list of everything you do on your job, from the minute you enter until you leave. If you start by watering the flower pots in the office, put it on the list. Make the list as complete as you possibly can, listing every action separately.

Then place a “K” beside those tasks you want to keep doing. Put a “G” beside those you’d rather give to someone else to handle. Finally, add some tasks you do not now do but would like to carry out, even though that might require some orientation or training. Usually these items would tend to make your work more interesting to you.

Then take the list to your boss. Most bosses (not all) want employees to be happy in their work, and they are eager to learn how employees believe they can increase their contribution to the organization.

The boss’s job is to talk to others who might be willing to take on the “G”s on your list. If there are no takers, then s/he needs to look for ways to redesign the task itself to make it more attractive. For example, if the undesireable task is stuffing envelopes, make it more fun by placing the stuffing table at the front door where extroverted employees are able to chat with customers while they stuff.

I’ve seen role negotation done publicly in groups of employees, each with his or her own list. Interestingly, I’ve seen people volunteer to take on tasks objectionable to others.

Above all, don’t stuff your uncertainty about what’s expected of you. You’ll suffer in ways beyond those you may be conscious of.