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Who controls the workplace environment?
It has been thought that controlling the work environment has always been the management’s responsibility. But today’s workforce that is reasonably young, tech-savvy, self-assured and confident of their abilities would like to believe that they control the environment they work in. They would like the workplace culture to be in alignment with their lifestyle and work habits. They have succeeded in certain aspects. Workplace attire is no longer strictly formal t
hanks to the dressing styles of the young workforce and the lingo used at the office too has changed comprising of the latest jargon used by the young crop of employees.
The question is: has the management given control of the workplace environment to its workers? The answer is yes to a certain extent and the management has become less rigid in terms of employees’ adherence to workplace policies and procedures. But it does expect employees to conform to the corporate culture to a certain extent.
Interestingly, the workplace of today is characterised by two opposing trends. On the one hand, employees are given leeway in the way they dress and act. On the other hand, the management’s tendency to micromanage has increased. Though the two are different aspects they are certainly related. The possible explanation for the increased tendency to micromanage is because of the fact that the young workers certainly do not present a picture as serious, dedicated workers in the way they dress, speak and act.
If this is the reason for this dichotomy in workplace trends, then the solution can be a re-examination of the corporate culture by the management. This involves bringing about fundamental changes that will influence the discipline, accountability and the ability to do things in a planned way on the part of employees. The first step in this is to take control of the work environment.
The management must take an active role in not only defining the physical environment of the workplace and making it conducive for workers but also alter the management style to suit the employees. This refers to changing aspects like ethics, behaviour, commitment, professionalism, drive and interpersonal relations in employees for the better.
The manager has to change his style of functioning in order to bring about effective changes in these aspects. He has to spend more time on controlling these factors of the work environment rather than micromanage. For this he has to:
• Give adequate authority to employees
• Delegate responsibilities
• Increase their accountability
• Encourage teamwork
The manager must curb the tendency to micromanage and instead display that he has confidence in the ability of his team members and trusts them to do their work efficiently. If he treats his subordinates as professionals then there is no reason that they should not behave in that way. Such an attitude promotes trust and loyalty among the employees and encourages better teamwork among them. Besides they develop a sense of ownership towards the company.
If the management spends more time on close supervision rather than concentrating on improving the work culture, then there is bound to be a decline in employee discipline and efficiency. A manager is expected to guide employees to do a good job and tell them the rules and the dos and don’ts, and then it is up to the employees to complete the task using their abilities and skills. He cannot lead them by the hand every time; this will obviously affect their sense of accountability.
The workplace environment is influenced partly by how employees behave and partly by the management style of the organisation. Both have to be in tandem to create an ideal environment.
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