Knowledge Exchange

How Local Leadership Affects Your Bottom Line? - Friday, December 05 2008

Professor Dalton Kehoe, York University and Entec Corporation Associate
Walking the Talk on "Human Assets" - NOT!
It is widely proclaimed that we are in a knowledge-based economy where highly-skilled individual employees are vital to organizational success. In fact, many organizations find themselves competing for the top talent and seek to be "employers of choice." As a result, some variation on, "People Are Our Most important Asset." is commonly pronounced. Despite these statements of good intention, the research tells us many companies still see their "valuable human assets" as either instantly expandable or simply expendable.

Even though we have moved from an economy of physical performance to one of mental performance, the central managerial mantra remains: "Do more; do it faster." Our 21st century approach to this management style, so far, has been to add two other stress-inducing commands: "Do it with fewer resources." and "While you’re working harder, get up to speed on another new "app" or data management system after works hours or on the weekend." Current management practices demonstrate little recognition that a mentally and emotionally healthy work environment is essential to support knowledge-based work.

Large scale research on the causes and effects of stress in the workplace, demonstrate that the traditional approach to efficiency is undermining the "knowledge worker’s" mental and emotional health the way production line "speed ups" used to numb the minds and break the backs of previous generations of workers. This effect shows up in societal level data recently reviewed by Canada’s Business and Economic Roundtable on Mental Health. They give us a "big picture" view of what this approach to efficiency costs us all every year: US - $200 billion in absenteeism costs and $75 billion depression; Canada - $20 billion in absenteeism and $8 billion in depression.

In a recent, national study of a variety of workplaces, Carleton University business professor, Linda Duxbury reveals these significant trends from the last 10 years: job stress has risen, while job satisfaction and employee commitment to their organization has fallen. Technology is seen as increasing, both workload, and also stress. More people are working longer hours and individual efforts to balance home and work life are failing. As she says, "when it comes to choice between work and home, work always wins."