The work environment is no longer a safe place, people don’t bring their baggage into the workplace, they bring cargo. As we become a part of a new normal of never telling the truth and the fear of having Human resources perform a TSA style colonoscopy on your every human interaction, I cannot help but wonder how things will be….

I never realized in the work environment that a disagreement with someone or having a different viewpoint is considered an emotional  attack?? Or not having things work out how you may have planned them is considered a violations of one’s rights? (What is the saying?? “if you want to make god laugh, tell him your plans”.) We now live in a work environment where I cherish the “good ole days”!!!!! Things use to be so much more overt, we now live in a covert nature of how we communicate.  When someone is talking to you, it’s the words unsaid that matters most, …. but since I tend to rely more on people’s actions than words I find it very easy to find the truth as our physical manifestations of our behavior are far more honest .  I know individuals whom are absolute believers in what people say. Kind words are interpreted as absolutes truths, as opposed to agenda driven. Very few individuals can reach the  authenticity of being what you say, what you believe and what you do.

 

We live and work in an environment where the new generation expect results yesterday and promotions as easily as we can obtain a starbucks “Chocolate Mocha Venti”.  Job security is based on, ” I am good and I deserve it”! Rather than the absolute truth, it is based on meritocracy.  I have lived in an academic environment of the practice of medicine throughout my career and my friends in the business world remind me of how absolutely out of touch with reality academic medicine may be, and I whole heartedly believe them.  While visiting having beer and BIO-POLITICAL  rounds with a group of my business friends I started to tell them the idea of academic tenure, at my institution, tenure is a position renewed every seven years, at most academic institutions tenure is a lifetime, “forever”. Yes all for the sake of academic freedom.  They explained to me why and how this has destroyed the academic institutions as we know it…. So as they see it, the cost of an education has gone up exponentially as have administrative salaries within academic centers. Where does the funding come from??? All the junior and mid faculty that kill themselves, do not take care of themselves physically experience divorce rates four times the general population, add in four times the suicide rate, Twice the drug abuse and alcoholism rate and not to their surprise, why specialty of medicine is no longer sustainable. The small people support the “tenure” people.  So as they remind me, why does academia pay some faculty a high salary to sit and think with no output??? Seems like a system that cannot and will not survive in the new affordable care act, decreasing reimbursement and burnout  of our health care providers.

Do we not have a responsibility to contribute to the academic success and financial success of the organization that gives us our check??

 

 

The new normal is that women want to be “treated like Men” in the work environment. Really??? is this one of those things of the grass is always greener on the other side?  Perceptions can be very deceiving, women wanting to be treated like men? lets look into this further…..Men in the work environment can be vicious, despite being in the 21st century, you are always considered a ‘weak player” if you leave the office early to pick up your kids from school, take them to the doctors, forget about staying home to take care of your sick child, that is still not acceptable in the corporate world if you want to move up the ladder. What about how difficult we are on each other, do women know how much we tease each other?? talk about hair, fat ass, comb-overs? that is fair game in a mans world.

I can tell you of a recent experience regarding women and men in the work environment, I am a proud believer and supporter of the idea that we need more women in leadership roles in the work environment.  The glass ceiling still exist in the executive suite and few women reach the corner office.  I work in the worlds largest medical center and have relationships with many hospitals.  While trying to build  a similar program at our sister institution, a women was hired to replicate my successful program.  She was hired at exactly twice my salary with the stipulation that she could only work one in four weekends because she has two kids? Moreover, I was requested to cover one of those four weekends, because this was an opportunity to recruit a woman to the position. They said she was excellent as a “multitasker”?  Really us men cannot multitask? I thought I could do a pretty good job at managing a heart attack in the emergency room, giving orders for shock in the intensive care unit, all while making my kids lunch for school.  I declined the offer, not because I do not support her, but on moral principal, I also have two children, the same age as hers, I would like the same benefits to spend time with my children as hers. This event left me asking, are my kids less important than hers? Do I love my kids less because I have to stay to cover her service while she goes home to hug her kids, love them and spend time with them?  A more global question came to mind, what about single men and women and single mom’s with no support from their ex-husbands/Wives?? Ask them how they feel about increasing their work load to support the woman whom needs to leave early to take care of their children, are their lives marginalized??

 

 

The story only becomes more interesting, she only lasted several short years, she was never fired, however two highly motivated, bright young cardiologist were hired whom were able to perform at nine times her level.  In the current work climate, you could never tell her about her performance, so what better way to solve the problem than to be eaten up by the competition. That is an example of what it is to be treated “like a man”. Now lets add in the factors of Racism,Nepotism,cronyism, etc,  regardless of ism…. Being treated like a man is far less civil than we all think.

 

Social scientist  have only known for 15 years that men actually play a very important role in the family, yes only 15 years ago!!!!!!  it appears that women are good at teaching love to children, however men are critical to self-esteem of young boys and young girls.  Quite simply, children can grow up and be great citizens without the love of their parents, although can still have significant risk for drug abuse, violence and time incarcerated, However children cannot be a productive citizen and have normal healthy relationships without self-esteem. Maybe fathers are important after all…..

 

So what about the socio-politico-Warfare of the work environment and avoiding a visit to the Human Resources office??? Live and work for something greater than yourself.  When issues come up, stay on your own personal mission statement to do great work and deliver a good product, there are still many opportunities for workers like this.  I still live by the mantra that there are two types of individuals in the work place:

 

1) Come to work on time, Complete more than what you are asked to do.

 

2) Come to work late regularly, Complete less than what you are asked to do.

 

 

Guess whom has the brightest future??????