Problems People Face at Work

1. Problems People Face at Work Kris Varma

2. Problems People Face at Work The objectives of this presentation are to: • Consider problems people face at work. • Examine how individuals within and outside the Sai Organisation cope with such problems. • Consider the implications of such problems for human values education. • Seek input from you to determine whether the problems and issues you face at work are similar.

3. Problems People Face at Work To achieve these objectives telephone and face to face interviews were conducted of: • 5 Non Sai Organisation individuals currently in employment. • 5 Sai Organisation individuals currently in employment. The people were selected randomly. One person completed the questionnaire herself. Everyone participating was told that: • Their names will not be disclosed. • The organisation they work for will not be disclosed.

4. Problems People Face at Work • 5 Non Sai Individuals interviewed included: • 1 Community Relations Manager • 2 Accountants • 1 Human Resources Officer • 1 Lawyer • 5 Sai Organisation Members included: • 1 Risk Analyst Granting Commercial Loans • 2 School Teachers • 1 Accountant • 1 Business Executive

5. Problems People Face at Work Issues faced by Non – Sai Organisation Individuals • 1 individual had a New Manager who found it hard to Manage the person and constantly made statements to undermine her. • In the second individual’s case, the Manager was making the employee’s life difficult. • Manager was treating a qualified lawyer like a secretary and not taking into account any of the sensitivities involved. • Manager making an employee’s life very difficult and “mothering him” which the employee found hard to cope. • Newly appointed Manager started to Manage a Senior employee very closely which caused the employee untold stress.

6. Problems People Face at Work Non – Sai Organisation Individuals (Cont) Managerial Behaviour • 1 individual was asked whether she knows trial balance when she is a qualified accountant (CPA) and has prepared a number of trial balances in her career. • An individual was asked whether she knows anything about SAP when she was a part of the implementation team for SAP. • An individual was told that the Manager does not have time to discuss reporting requirements when it is the Manager who wants reports in another format. • An individual was told during performance review over the past 6 months to improve her performance or face disciplinary action when the Manager did not identify and discuss specific issues despite request.

7. Problems People Face at Work Managerial Behaviour (Cont) • An individual was told that he is not performing as per client requirements but Manager did not have time to provide clarification. • An individual was told that he has not been friendly with clients staff but no specific examples were provided. • An individual was told that he has not been delivering work on time and to required standards with no further clarification.

8. Problems People Face at Work Managerial Behaviour (Cont) • The Lawyer is often asked to search for old case files from the vault and this takes half a day. • The Lawyer is asked to arrange meetings and prepare tea and coffee for meetings when the secretary who is supposed to provide this service is sitting down with nothing to do. • The Lawyer is asked to work on basic documentation only when she has qualifications and experience in working on other more complex documentation. • Manager often shouts at the HR Officer in the presence of other staff and Managers. • Manager tells HR Officer how he should eat, drink and wear clothes. The HR Officer finds this offensive and thinks the Manager is mothering him. • The HR Officer is slow and methodical but the Manager feels that he is not performing and tells him so in the presence of others.

9. Problems People Face at Work Managerial Behaviour (Cont) • The HR Officer sends out by mistake prohibited content by an e-mail and realising his error, is able to retrieve the e-mail so that only 2 other people have seen it. The Manager issues him final warning. • Manager writes reports instead of the Community Relations Manager • Manager attends all internal and external meetings and excludes Community Relations Manager from such meetings although his area of work is not Community Relations and he is often unable to answer questions. • Manager criticises Community Relations Manager to people she deals with in Local Councils and information filters down to her. • Manager changes Community Relations Manager’s position title 4 times in 6 months and issues different Position Descriptions although the role of the employee does not fundamentally change. • Manager meets all Executive Managers himself whereas the Community Relations Manager has been doing this in the past. • Manager goes to meet a State Minister without the employee when the Minister asks to deal with the Community Relations Manager.

10. Problems People Face at Work Issues Faced by Sai Organisation Individuals at Work • 2 Teachers face issues with children and 1 Teacher also faces discrimination in promotion. • Accountant works with a Manager who does not appreciate her work and publicly talks about her lack of qualifications and ability. • Colleagues are engaged in footy talk of no interest to the candidate and colleagues are not prepared to accept a negative decision and question her qualifications and experience. • Qualifications regarded as basic by fellow employees who feel that pronunciation difficulties make this apparent.

11. Problems People Face at Work Sai Organisation Members in employment (Cont) Teachers Issues • One teacher had a complaint against her by a child. This went to DOCS for investigation but was dropped. The complaint was about the teacher slapping a student when this happened accidentally as the Teacher was turning. • One of the teachers has coped with issues such as parental abuse of children, pregnancy and unwarranted shouting. • One teacher being Indian by background initially faced comments such as: • You are a curry. • Usage of b…. And f ….. Words by students. • Animated debate and shouting with a student which resulted in the students suspension. • Pregnancy of a Year 9 student which was a nightmare to handle. The student, a migrant who came as a refugee came from a broken family and was finding it hard to cope.

12. Problems People Face at Work Teachers Issues (Cont) • One teacher faces disengaged students who do not want to come to school, claiming often that they have lost their books. • One English Teacher initially faced issues such as “Miss - Do you speak English?” • One teacher faces more problems with migrant refugees. They come initially as refugees and find it hard to adjust to mainstream society. They are from low socio economic and NESB background. They come from broken homes and do not respect a female teacher. • Children use a rubber band to throw things around when they do not want to learn as a lesson is being held. • One Teacher has not been promoted despite several applications and interviews for higher level positions for which she meets all criteria better than other applicants. She therefore feels that she should not be applying for future roles due to bias and discrimination. • Student discipline is an issue for one of the teachers. • Truancy is a common issue faced by one Teacher.

13. Problems People Face at Work Work Issues faced by Sai Organisation Individuals • Accountants work is not appreciated. Manager publicly criticises the Accountants work. • Manager is constantly critical of employee’s work during performance reviews. • There is footy talk during working hours which does not interest the Individual. • Qualifications of an individual are questioned when decisions are made by the individual not in favour of the applicant. • Qualifications are regarded as basic by fellow employees. • Other employees are critical of his pronunciation. • Different cultural background means that the candidate is excluded in social gatherings by fellow employees.

14. Coping Strategies Used by People Interviewed Problems People Face at Work

15. Problems People Face at Work

16. Problems People Face at Work

17. Problems People Face at Work Implications for Education • In comparing the Non-Sai Individuals with the Sai Organisation individuals, it appears that the Sai Organisation individuals are able to cope better with problems at work. This is evidence that Sai Organisation programs are effective. • 2 Sai Organisation individuals I spoke to were very supportive of programs such as STP. STP could therefore be encouraged in other locations within the organisation where it has not been implemented so far. Other STP style programs could be drawn up for adults. • Meditation and Daily prayers were used by 2 Sai Organisation individuals very effectively to deal with problems at work. These were learnt through the recent STP Code introduced in NSW. • The calmness of some Sai Organisation individuals at work have won friends and also enabled greater social acceptability within the organisation. • 2 individuals outside the organisation were on stress leave and 2 others were very close to becoming stressed at work. This suggests that the Sai Organisation Education programs taken to the public will benefit those who are facing problems at work.

18. Problems People Face at Work Implications for Education (Cont) • Managers within organisations require training in People Management. Human Values training if included as a part of this training, will assist them in managing and interacting with their staff better. The question is “Should the Sai Organisation play a role in such education programs?” • Individuals outside the Sai Organisation are coping with problems at work differently to those within the organisation. The question is “Should the Sai Organisation produce booklets and material on coping with problems at work from a Human Values Perspective?” • There are generational and cultural issues faced by people at work. What role should the organisation have in educating organisations on these issues?

19. Problems People Face at Work Implications for Education (Cont) • The Fair Work Act and the Unfair Dismissal Legislations place an additional burden on organisations to manage their staff well or face Legal battles. Should the Sai Organisation produce programs to educate Managers and Organisations in managing their staff from a human values perspective. • 1 individual within the Sai Organisation said that the organisation is not ready to go to the community with human values education programs. This is because we have as an organisation not taken action to understand what other programs are being offered in the community and how we can bland our programs with these. The questions is, “Is there a need to bland our programs with that of other organisations programs, particularly in those cases where such other programs are also successful?