Survivor
We’ve all seen, or at least heard of, the
backbiting, manipulative skills of the contestants on
“Survivor.” Little did you know, those same
traits are slowly making their way into the
workplace.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal
article, many are starting to play the same survival
games in the office. “People are built to
constantly size up the costs and benefits of their
behavior, to decide when to be the good Samaritan and
when to cheat, when to form coalitions and when to be
honest and when to be dishonest,” says Rutgers
University anthropologist Helen Fisher.
Manipulative skills have always been around
in the workplace, but they are heightened due to the
success of the popular television show. Past President of
the American Psychological Association Frank Farley feels
it is naïve to think such behavior doesn’t
influence the public. “‘Survivor’ was
very popular in the workplace. There were office polls on
who would get voted off. Some workers would joke about
who they wanted to vote out of the office. I would expect
it to have some negative fallout,” says
Farley.
Social changes could take place, though in a
subtle way. Psychologist and change expert James
Prochaska believes, “As this show becomes a
national phenomenon, I can see some social norms
changing. It could give people permission to be more
overt and aggressive.”
Survival in the corporate world means
understanding office dynamics. So look over your
shoulder—Machiavelli may be sitting next to
you.
For the Good of
the Group
Do you ever feel as if your manager’s main concern
is finding a way to impress the higher-ups? If you do,
you also know that this habit can become disheartening
and annoying. But did you ever stop to think how
necessary this behavior is? According to a recent article
in the Wall Street Journal, this method of managing,
commonly referred to as “managing up” or more
informally, as “brown-nosing” may be what
inevitably brings opportunities to your department.
Remember, “managing up”
doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing.
“Managing up well isn’t about jumping up and
down and saying, ‘Look at all the wonderful things
I’ve done,’” notes Check Lucier of Booz
Allen & Hamilton, McLean, Va. Instead, it’s
important to recognize this relationship can increase the
possibility that your department will have a say in
important decisions and will more likely receive
requested funding.
“It’s my responsibility to get
visibility for my team at the senior-management
level,” states Beth Klein, a vice president and
general manager for General Electric. So the next time
you feel a twinge of resentment for not receiving the
attention from your manager you know you deserve, keep in
mind—this may be for the benefit of your entire
department.
Less is More
While recent figures seem to point toward an economy that
is on a downward shift, it’s important to keep in
mind that there are still employees out there who want to
work less. While many spend their time nail biting about
future employment, higher-ups should take solace that
some employees will volunteer the cut to part time. One
problem: Those who do commonly get the
“thumbs-down.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, the
number of current part timers who asked for their
reduction in hours has steadily fallen over the past few
years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 13.8
percent of part-timers chose the time reduction in
2000—this number is down from 14.3 percent in 1994.
And while this number goes down, the number of workers
who would volunteer the move to fewer hours goes up. This
phenomenon may be attributed to the rising number of baby
boomers who prefer transition to retirement or part time
parents trying to find the balance between work and
family. So if an employee proposes a move to part time,
hear him or her out. It may keep a valued employee
around, resulting in benefits for your company.
Not Enough Time in the
Day
Finding the best way to deal with information overload is
certainly a topic many professionals spend a great deal
of time debating. From the Internet to a vast array of
periodicals, the amount of information seems
endless—and finding what is useful appears
hopeless. While no one has the answer to solve all of our
problems, many people have tips that may help to lessen
the burden.
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal
highlights the strategies of several successful
businesspeople. Many have sharpened their e-mail reply
skills to the point that they are able to answer 10
messages in the time it took to answer one several years
ago. Some have discontinued thoroughly reading
everything. Now, they simply read headlines or
introductory sentences to evaluate the
information’s usefulness.
One businessman, Paul McNulty, Wheelhouse
Corp., Burlington, Mass., makes a point to almost never
leave unanswered messages in his inbox. And when he does
feel as if he is getting buried under a pile of unused
information, he takes off for a morning or two, stays
home and catches up.
Don’t lose sight of the fact that this
information becomes useless if you don’t find a way
it can apply to your work. In order for professionals to
accomplish this, Nancy Koehn of the Harvard Business
School, recommends taking time to “think creatively
about all the information they are ingesting and put it
to work.”
March 2001 News for a
Change Homepage
Issue Highlight —
Someone To Watch Over Me
With A Little Bit
Of Luck
