I’m teaching my favorite class at JFKU this quarter (I admit, it’s one I developed) – Organizational Culture and the Emotionally Intelligent Work Environment. It’s a hybrid class – a combination of classroom and online – and one of the online discussion threads provided a workplace example of culture change I found very interesting. The environment was a hospital section where patients are under care but able to have visitors. The MBA student who started the thread was telling her story about being transferred to supervise this unit having morale and performance issues and turn it around. She says that the first thing she noticed is that the staff rarely acknowledged visitors. She was appalled! If they didn’t show care and respect for family and friends of patients, what message were they sending about the care they were paid to do for their loved ones?
She laid down a new law. “You will speak to and engage everyone that comes to this unit. You will greet them, make them feel welcome, and ask if you can be of an assistance.” Of course, they weren’t happy. Sometimes you DO have to tell people what to do when they act like they don’t know. But they do, and I think this is why Angela’s order began to turn things around. When people begin to see the effect that kindness and care have on others, they get back in touch with their empathy. It’s like smiling at a stranger on the street and they smile back. You smile at the next person you see and they probably do the same.
