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1) autonomy (feeling
that your activities are self-chosen and
self-endorsed)
There is nothing more satisfying to a morale buster than to take away CHOICE. Truly, this is one of the most effective ways to create some very downshifted people. How can you accomplish this? 1) Create a schedule that allows no
choice. Be totally inflexible regarding
part timers, rotating shifts, comp time and
call in. Mandatory OT is a must, the more
the better. Be ruthless. What matters most
here is rigidity - no creative schedules or
input from staff - morale will shift for the
better and that is exactly what we're trying
to avoid here.
2) Never, ever ask a trainee how they are doing or what they need - it just isn't a good idea to make them feel they have any part in their training. They must feel totally at your mercy and SILENT. Ensure they understand that to speak to their needs or feelings would be pointless. |
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(2) competence (feeling that
you are effective in your
activities)
This is a no-brainer with Trainees. Nit pick and for sure, don't encourage. Demean, yell, throw things - get them to cry or consider quitting. Act as if their lack of understanding or skill is a 'personal affront' to your ability to train. Sigh, roll your eyes, frown and generally show your displeasure that they exist in your world. Experienced people who ARE competent may be a
tough nut to crack. MICROMANAGE THEM.
Yes,
second
guess everything they do. Watch them like a
hawk! Rarely praise, too much may create a
sense of well being. DO NOT have regular
evaluations or you may be forced to
acknowledge good work.
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(3)
relatedness (feeling a sense of closeness
with others)
Trainees HA - simple. Don't introduce them, forget to use their name. Tell them to be invisible (warn the floor to treat them as if they are). Get rid of any mentor, orientation, welcome flyers, or cakes. Make trainees feel like total outsiders (losers). You can not only destroy their happiness at finding this wonderful job - it will interfere with their learning potential. SCORE! Encourage IN GROUP or
cliques. They are your allies to destroy the
closeness of the entire team. REWARD cliques
with favoritism. But if you want to lower
the morale of even the in group be secretive,
illusive, behind closed doors, give them
false or no information and end all regular
team meetings. Discourage
social gatherings. Start gossip - find a
target and be sure to create negative
nicknames and labels and make
them stick for YEARS. .
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4) self-esteem
We have this down. Let me tell you how I know. I was teaching a class and said something about 'low professional self esteem'. A young woman raised her hand and said to me, "When I am out in the world and I tell people that I am a 9-1-1 Operator they praise me and my self esteem couldn't feel higher. Then I walk through this door and I change. I become somehow unworthy, lesser, afraid that I don't measure up, protective ..and you are right, I have low professional self esteem - but only when I walk through that door." Congratulations to this toxic workplace! Don't know how we do it but destroying
professional self
esteem seems to be easy. Keep up the good
work. Continue to worry about liability.
Tell them to love it or leave it. Limit
training. Fight to keep the pay low as you
can - it indicates worth. Stop public
education programs, keep the responders from
understanding the work. Never support their
needs - this is VITAL. We don't want them
knowing how really important, how vital, how
wonderful they really are.
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If an agency has low morale the reason is quite simple - needs are not being met. The solutions are a bit more complex because they involve change. The complexity is that you know what needs to change - it's accomplishing it. Systems that value people as individuals is the key. Processes that allow for continual reinforcement, open communication, training, teambuilding, and care. New systems and processes are often put into place but results don't show up fast enough so they end. You know what is right. Do this, have the patience to allow the toxicity to dissipate and the system to work. No person goes to work to be unhappy, but many people are. The question is why? The answers are known.
Respectfully,
Sue Pivetta
Professional Pride Training Company
email:
sue@911trainer.com
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