The Complacency Conundrum
Posted by estiator at 11 May, at 13 : 44 PM Print
MANAGING FOR SUCCESS By CONSTANTINE N. KOLITSAS Business Coach
Here’s something we all know: Covid accelerated the complacency of a work- force that was already in decline. The signs are everywhere, and they’re not so subtle. And the threat of job loss doesn’t really concern anyone anymore because they can just go out and get another job tomorrow. The problem, of course, isn’t confined to hourly employees— managers at the highest level regularly demonstrate the “I don’t really give a shit” mentality. The job is good as long as it’s fitted to their liking. And when it isn’t, many will disregard policies and procedures that are somehow inconvenient. And many will put the best interests of the business behind their own narrow self-interests.
It sounds clichéd, but the problem starts in the home. Back in the day (and yes, I hate that I’m actually using a phrase that makes me feel antiquated, but I’m using it for emphasis), our parents demanded from us good marks in school, involvement in organizations that addressed the betterment of society, and participation in activities that benefited our physical well-being. And when we got our first jobs as teenagers, they stressed the importance of being good at what we did. We were molded into being functioning members of society, putting our best efforts forward in everything we did.
I’m not a child development expert, but my guess is that in the generations that followed, this kind of upbringing is not as common. If so, I believe that it would manifest itself in the work product of more people.
And it gets frustrating.
Just the other day, a general manager at a restaurant I frequent expressed to me that she was dealing with frustrations over the lack of effort in her front-of-the- house team. When quizzed at pre-shift meetings, none of her servers could name all eight of the wines the restaurant offered by the glass. And teamwork was at an all-time low, with most of the team ducking out so that others could bear the brunt of the workload.
The job is good as long as it’s fitted to their liking. And when it isn’t, many will disregard policies and procedures that are somehow inconvenient.
“Maybe it’s my problem,” she confided. “Maybe my expectations are too high and I expect people to think like I do and to behave in circumstances the way I would behave.”
And herein lies the problem—she was raised differently, as was I and, I suspect, as were you, dear reader. Fair warning: This is one of those columns where I don’t have the answer. Instead, I’m trying to define the problem. Because perhaps if we position the problem in the right way, the answer will present itself.
To turn the issue back to the manager level, her comment spot-on reflects what’s happening in the industry. The truth is that there is a little interest on the part of young managers to do the right thing. The current atmosphere is being shaped by their friends in other industries who are now often working from home, as well as by a climate where the culture is telling people that they shouldn’t need to work hard.
Again, there are no solutions here, but we need to understand the mentality we are dealing with and that the times have changed. Figuring out how to hold people accountable in the current climate, how to shape their priorities, and how to motivate them to do the right thing needs to take into account how they are raised, and what the external environment is telling them.
Constantine Kolitsas is a business consultant and president of Greca Hospitality Group, the owners of Greca Mediterranean Kitchen + Bar. He can be reached at dino@grecamed.com.
