How do you assign work/task to your Work From Home (WFH) employees?

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the work-from-home (WFH) arrangement is one of the ways organizations today continue their operations. But how are you going to assign tasks to your work-from-home employees when they are working in the comfort of their homes, and when you cannot directly supervise them?

The best course of action here is to maintain the status quo. Your WFH employees will have the same workload they used to have when they were not yet under the WFH setup. Is this still achievable? Yes, of course! Considering that there is no more travel time, less preparation in the morning to report to the office, and the same ease applies in the afternoon when going home.

WFH is the future of the work setup, and there is no turning back. Whether we like it or not, we have to adapt to this new work environment, which is very favorable to employees and to the organization as well.

The Covid-19 pandemic, along with the availability of high-tech modes of communication such as the internet, has forced organizations to take a closer look at the WFH setup. But WFH is not new; this arrangement has been going on for quite some time for some organizations. However, the pandemic has forced all organizations to harness the usability of WFH arrangements.

They now find this setup very useful, cost-effective, and practical in addressing the many work challenges organizations face today, challenges that have been primarily influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Profit Sharing/stock ownership as method of Motivation

Do you want to strengthen the motivation of your employees?

There are big corporations that offer creative financial schemes to further motivate their employees. One of these methods is called profit sharing, which is essentially the allocation of a certain percentage of the organization’s earnings to its employees. Another method is stock ownership, where employees own shares of the company in which they work.

This is a very viable means of motivation because workers are entitled to these attractive financial schemes. Who would not work hard if employees are given financial rewards from the net profit of the organization? Who would not work hard if employees are offered shares in the company they work for? Stock ownership is actually being implemented by big corporations worldwide. However, the globalized economy makes stock ownership quite risky.

For example, if an economic power such as the United States, China, Japan, or other economically powerful nations experience problems with their economy, there is always the risk that your local stock market will also be affected, which may result in the devaluation of your local stocks. Nevertheless, this is still a good scheme to impress upon employees that they are valued by their organization.

How about small-scale businesses? Can they also offer profit sharing to their workers? Of course, they can! This can be done by forging an agreement with employees that they shall be entitled to a certain percentage of the organization’s yearly net profit.

Profit sharing and stock ownership are very effective motivational tools that are seldom used by organizations. Why? For the simple reason that there are greedy business owners who only want the fruits of their organization for themselves. They do not want to share them with their workforce, who play a big part in the realization of organizational goals.

Why not try sharing a percentage of your profit with your employees? Why not offer them the option of stock ownership? See how they will plow back this goodwill in terms of motivation and concern for the well-being of the organization. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

How do you strengthen the commitment of your lazy subordinates?

Do you want to strengthen the commitment of your lazy direct reports and subordinates? 

There are managers who complain that they don’t have a committed workforce. This is actually a very valid observation, as there really are workers who exert only half-hearted effort toward their work. 

What is the cause of this? Is it an attitude problem? Is it attributable to the inherent laziness of certain workers? It can indeed be both an attitude problem and the inherent laziness of some employees. However, when employees accept an employment offer, it simply means they commit themselves to follow the discipline and culture of the organization they will be working for. If they agree to work for an organization, why are they still lazy and why are they still less committed?  

We can somehow trace this indifferent attitude back to their managers. A manager who is lazy and lacking in commitment will breed the same kind of direct reports and subordinates. Therefore, the key to changing the attitude of these workers lies in the hands of the manager himself. If he wants his direct reports and subordinates to change, then he must first change and lead the way.  

From being lazy and half-hearted, the manager must now become very hard-working and committed. If we apply the principle of leadership by example, it is expected that the direct reports and subordinates will also become very hard-working and committed. 

Managers sometimes look very far for the solution to their direct reports and subordinates’ behavioral problems, especially laziness and lack of commitment, not knowing that they are actually part of the problem. Certainly, they would also become part of the solution, provided they change their own negative attitudes and behaviors. — Marino J. Dasmarinas

On promotion

 Are you expecting to be promoted? 

Every employee has this inner desire within themselves to be promoted and be ahead from their contemporaries in their organization. However not everyone who desires to be promoted wants to work hard for that coveted promotion they simply take it easy. Then when they are not chosen they sulk and blame anyone but themselves.  

Employees who want to be promoted must work for it; the best starting point is to work hard in their present job assignment. You work hard not because you’re expecting to be promoted you work hard because that is the right action to do. 

Every worker must work hard so that they could give equitable value to the salary that they receive from their organization. Promotion is simply a reward for a person who works hard. But there are also times that no matter how you work hard you are not chosen to be promoted. So what would you do? Will you sulk and be indifferent to your organization?  

The proper attitude to have is to continue on working with zeal even if you are not chosen for promoting. You will always have a good karma once you choose to continue on working with passion no matter what the outcome of your desire to be promoted. For example, the good karma would come in the guise of an unexpected promotion or a job offer from another company.  

Let us say that you continue to work with enthusiasm even if you were not promoted. Then it happened that there again was a window for promotion. So you aspired again and by this time you’re expecting that you will now bag the coveted promotion. However to your great dismay you were not chosen again even if you were the most qualified.  

So what would you do now?  

If you believe in yourself and you firmly believe in your competence, it’s high time for you to walk away from your present employment. Look for an organization that would value your hard work and competence! - Marino J. Dasmarinas

The price of manipulative Leadership style

The story is told about a politician who cannot accept that he lost an election contest. So, he  fed his rabid supporters a false narrative that he was cheated. But whenever he was asked to provide evidence about his allegation he could not present any.   

His narrative of being cheated struck a chord among his rabid supporters that they believe it hook line and sinker. Hence, the losing politician told his rabid supporters to be ready to protest and they marched and protested. 

However, during the day of the protest the losing politician was nowhere to be found he simply let his supporters undertake the protest. Unfortunately it turned violent and there were casualties among the politician’s supporters and the authorities. An investigation was conducted by the police and they found out that the losing politician fed his rabid supporters the false narrative that he was cheated. Therefore the manipulative, arrogant and egotistical politician was arrested and was put in jail. 

Manipulative leaders/managers exist in every area of an organization. They are arrogant, brash and egotistic. They exist not to serve their organization but to serve their own selfish interest and agenda in the organization. They will do everything including feeding their direct reports and subordinates false narratives for them to survive. And they would be quite successful in using their manipulative leadership for a certain period of time. 

But leaders who employ behaviors that are deceiving and manipulative do not last for long. They are sooner or later exposed for their insidious behaviors and actions. Not only that they are exposed for who they really are they are also severely punished by laws that measures up to their crimes and they are judged harshly by history. Why? Because that’s the steep price that they have to pay. 

Do you know a leader/manager that has a manipulative behavior? – Marino J. Dasmarinas    

On undesirable behavior

Once upon a time there was a professor who had a group of favorite students. Whenever there was a recitation he would always call upon this select group of students. He was confident with them for the reason that whenever they were called they would always give a satisfactory answer. 

But as the days of his class were progressing he noticed also a sudden change on the behaviors of his favored students. They started to behave abrasively they would react to questions even if the questions are not meant for them to answer. So the professor thought of a strategy on how to stop their undesirable behavior. 

During their succeeding classes he did not anymore call on them during recitations. He also distanced himself from them unlike before where he would easily open conversation with them. By doing this the professor sent a strong message to his former favored students that he means business and he doesn't want any misbehavior in his class. Soon enough their undesirable behavior stopped. 

In an organizational setting a manager/leader deals with a lot of behavioral idiosyncrasies. There would be direct reports or subordinates who would always try to get your attention as if to tell you that they know more than their co-employees. Or they know more than what you know and they would somehow try to dominate you. The moment you fail to properly handle this kind of employees they would become a behavioral nightmare for you.  

So what must you do as a manager/leader? Start by keeping your distance from them. If before there was no space that divides you; start by creating an invisible demarcation line so that they would know their limits and the proper respect that they must observe over you.  

This doesn't mean that you will not be accessible to your direct reports and subordinates anymore. This simply means that they must learn to respect you because of the position that you hold in your office. And you must act respectably as well because respect is always two way traffic as the saying goes, “Respect begets respect.” - Marino J. Dasmarinas

On dealing with your problem employee/s

Do you have a problem employee in your organization?

Every organization has its own share of problem employee/s; name any organization and there is somebody who creates headache for the manager/leader.

 

How would you deal with this problem employee? Would you immediately impose punishment or you talk to him/her first? It’s no brainer that the best course of action to take is to talk to this problem employee/s first, for all you know he/she only needs attention.

 

Punishment must always be the last option for an erring employee. Because the moment you impose punishment. You are actually planting the seeds of resentment in the heart of your employee and this is best illustrated by this short story.

 

Mr. X is an HR manager in a private organization, like other HR managers he also has his own share of problem employees. But what makes him unique is this: He has never resorted to punishment to straighten out a problem subordinate. He always resorts to diplomacy and so far this method always bears fruit for him.

 

When asked why does he refuse to use punishment as a tool in disciplining erring employee/s? This was his short but insightful answer.

 

When he was a child he was always been subjected to corporal punishment by his retired military man father. Whenever he commits a wrongdoing there was always a corporal punishment immediately imposed upon him. 

But unknown to his father there was always resentment in his heart whenever he was punished. The trend of imposing punishment as a means to correct his breach of discipline continued for  a long period of time. until it reached a boiling point that he argued with his father.

 

Punishment as a measure of discipline always has its limitations; it may work initially but the moment you impose punishment you are actually igniting the smoke of resentment in the hearts of your erring employees. Until such time that this smoke becomes a full blown fire that can destroy not only you but also the entire organization.

 

Always use diplomacy first in dealing with your erring employee/s for this is the best path to take. Then if all else fails you can now resort to the appropriate punishment. - Marino J. Dasmarinas