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1-Page Summary of Invisible
“The New Landscape of Business”
In today’s difficult economic times, employees are worried about being laid off. As they become more anxious and risk-averse, their productivity declines. At the same time, workplaces have become more stressful and less supportive of employees. A study in The New York Times reported that:
One quarter of those surveyed complained about being driven to tears at work. Half said there was yelling and verbal abuse in the workplace, and a third received unattainable deadlines.
According to a recent study, just over half of workers need to work 12 hours per day in order to reach their goals. The statistics also show the bottom-line consequences of having a disengaged and frustrated workforce. This is called “presenteeism” which occurs when employees are present but not performing well on the job. It costs American companies an estimated $150 billion every year, and it’s because staffers feel that their hard work is “invisible” to employers.
A Fable About Work, Part I
The Wurc-Ur tribe lived on a remote island. They coexisted with the Highlander tribe for generations, but the Highlanders rarely saw them. The Highlanders knew about the Wurc-Urs because they gathered jewels from mountaintops and left them for the Highlanders in baskets filled with fruits of labor (foods). In return, the Highlanders left gifts for their predecessors—the invisible people—but never thanked them. Over time, as fear took hold of their culture, they faded into oblivion by trying to be unnoticed so that they wouldn’t get criticized or eliminated like those who came before them had been.
Fade Away
Allison worked hard in a corporate public relations office and took pride in her work. She was assigned to help the company’s economist with monthly cost-of-living reports, which she spent many hours working on. One day while walking down the hallway, she heard him refer to her as “the girl.” She had been working with him for more than a year at that point and he hadn’t even bothered to learn her name. She felt unappreciated by him and diminished because of this oversight. 80% of surveyed workers responded that they feel unacknowledged at work when their employers fail to acknowledge them or show appreciation for their efforts. When employees feel ignored or unvalued, they stop putting their best effort into their work over time because it no longer seems important enough to do so or is simply not worth it anymore due to lack of recognition from management. This costs companies money because those employees eventually become indifferent toward doing what needs done (which usually involves contributing something meaningful) since there are no rewards for doing so despite all the effort put forth. Leaders can counteract this apathy by setting a guiding vision, deliberately noticing when employees do something that brings the company closer towards meeting its objectives, celebrating workers’ accomplishments, and acknowledging contributions made by individuals regardless of whether those contributions were part of an assigned task or not.
Managers should focus on people, not just the technical aspects of their jobs. They need to make employees feel valued and appreciated. This will help them stay focused on their work and keep them happy at a company for longer periods of time. Gallup found that employees who are treated with respect are more productive than those who aren’t. They’re also better workers because they have good relationships with other staff members, customers, and management as well.
