RESISTING DIVERSIFICATION

Lynda Rogle — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 17:04:47 +0000

DIVERSIFICATION AT WORK

Resistance

Change

In this age of resistance to everything new from technology to politics, it’s sometimes difficult to pinpoint exactly why people resist change. The obvious answer is, we resist when we do not see the benefit of making a change.

Comfort Zone

An irresistible Attraction

Our comfort zones are also difficult to resist because we grew up in an age where the entire purpose of life is to make things easier. Challenge has taken a back seat. Diversification in the workplace is more widely accepted because the world has become globalised.

Lack Co-operation

However, pockets of resistance do remain in some companies. These often emerge only after a project stalls or fails completely. The usual culprit in these cases is a deliberate lack of co-operation from the people involved. To overcome resistance to diversity from your staff will benefit both workers and management.

Locate Problem

Unconscious Avoidance

Find the root of the problem. It isn’t always obvious. We are experts at disguising our motives for avoiding genuine change. We do this because it may mean more work, disrupting relationships, or stirring up issues that workers have not dealt with. Issues could be racial,
gender or worker-rights based.

Allay Fears

Worker Insecurity

Fear of loss of status, position, value and power is real, and this is a common driver of resistance. I may fear that to empower my subordinate could reduce my own power; or if I include you, then the space for me to take part shrinks. This kind of thinking only sabotages a company that is looking to be a leader in the industry. Allay worker insecurity by showing how change is beneficial to both the company and worker.

Inclusion

Value Ideas

Get resistant workers to co-operate by including them in company plans. This makes anyone feel valued. Have follow-up meetings to assess the success or not of decisions taken. Encourage workers to offer ideas on how to make projects work better.

Social Activity

Overcome Differences

We must factor social interaction time into the work week. Inviting staff for a drink after work once a week, as is common practice, is not the only way to encourage this. A sport activity that could include family members often helps workers to get a better understanding of differences in the culture and behaviour of work-mates.

Language

Understanding other Cultures

Encourage an interest in other languages and their usage by offering workshops, where the role played by language in daily interaction features prominently. It could be a playful and comedic workshop that teaches you to see things differently.

Value

Reward

Show the value that diversification brings to individual lives, apart from adding value to the company. Teach staff that to work with diverse people and cultures, only enhances work experience and improves ability to adapt, innovate and grow. When we embrace something that is different, it becomes familiar thus making it our own. We help workers come out of their comfort zones when we show them how change offers new challenges and new experiences, resulting in greater rewards. It also helps when we show them how getting too comfortable can disable.

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Lynda Rogle © (Lynda Stephen)

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Perceptions under Emergency

Lynda Rogle — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 11:07:36 +0000

Perception under Emergency

When life is proceeding in a balanced, calm way, our perceptions are likewise calm and balanced without too much to challenge one, and things appear to be okay. My awareness came into sharp focus recently when tested in the health aspect of living.

Spending over seven days confined to a bed physically can tax one’s sanity to the limits; not crazy-insane, but I came close when I recently had to go into high care at the hospital for intestine obstruction. There’s nothing like unremitting pain to bring you low! It was a humbling experience.

My Trunk

I spent the first two days in a surgical ward. There I had the most uncomfortable procedure ever, pain aside, in which they thrust a tube through my nose. They did this to suction out stomach gases trapped there due to the obstruction. I thought I’d really lose my mind, and the poor nurses took the flack for my misery, brought on by the pain.

Volcano

A burning sensation in the nose, a throttling feeling in the throat while puking, puking your guts out of an empty stomach turning into a torrent of liquid! Where on earth, or rather in my body, did it all come from? Focused on the cleanup, before they secured a bag with the nose accessory, nobody supplied any answers to my question. And then I’m told that I have to keep the elephantine extension to my tiny nose for 48 hours. It turned out to be an under-statement for obvious reasons–if I’d known it would remain for longer than 48 hours, I’d probably have yanked it out right away. The good doctor knew it would get better as he calmly congratulated me for my co-operation; and this was after I had sprayed him and a nurse with the most horrific contents of my stomach! I stared in confusion, thinking, co-operation? Did I have much choice? He had dutifully explained what he was going to do, and then he did it. Apologies came later!

Settling In

The next day my “trunk” settled in, making me more tolerant of the nurses whom I had blamed for my misery. The good Lord came in for an extensive brow-beating too. What had I ever done that was so bad to deserve this, I asked him repeatedly? He answered with silence–sometimes the best answer. He soon showed me why–no sooner had I said a few calming prayers, instead of ranting, it all subsided. No more pain or puking as the drugs kicked in.

God works with Doctors

It reminded me of someone saying ‘God works with doctors and medicines to heal’ and I thanked him quietly, taking the silent reprimand humbly. Without doctors, nurses and hospitals I would probably have died a painful death as the body starved and dehydrated; as happens in so many war-torn countries across our borders. In the months preceding this incident, I had lost any appetite for food to the point of surviving mainly on liquids. I had dismissed this as related to my diminished sense of taste that I thought was inevitable with ageing. My body is just old and tired, I’d often explain. The accompanying pain had a purpose though, as no amount of pain killers would mask it, and it finally drove me to seek help in desperation.

Intensive

Comparing wards was also a revelation. The Intensive Care Unit was of necessity, a well-oiled machine running smoothly with a personal nurse in attendance 24/7. They require no bell to call the attention of a nurse. You become another fixture to the bed until they allow you to move. Bed baths and body massages are the order of the day, again because you cannot move–a first for me. It is both a hell of immobility and heaven of personal attention. Thankfully, there is no alimentary canal issue to deal with, like bedpans or sanitary wear, because you eat nothing but ice for two days after the operation.

Intravenous

The stomach and gut were empty, anyway. They introduce intravenous feeding on the third day, and by this time, your body thinks it’s dead. I missed the massages when I returned to the general ward. The daily visit by a physiotherapist who teaches you to move again was a welcome break from the monotony of staring at the ceiling, although my dreams were much more vivid. I once awoke to write in the semi-darkness a story inspired by a dream which fascinated the nurse. She couldn’t imagine I could see in such a poor light. And I didn’t want to disturb the sleeping neighbours. The interaction between patient and nurse is a much more pleasant one than patient and ward nurse. I wondered why this was so? There seems to be a much more rigid protocol in place in the wards.

Independance

However, the ability to once again move away from the all-controlling bed into a bathroom or to take a walk and chat to other patients heralded a return to normality and was most welcome. Thus began the road to recovery.

Diet

My humbling experience helped me realise that no matter how healthy a diet you follow, you are still not in charge. Here, the obstruction grew thirty years before by the healing process of an old operation and the scar tissue from that occasion. If something is wrong with your physical structure, it is best to get it fixed before your perfect diet can be useful. The people in charge were God and the doctor. God, for guiding me to a doctor who knew his business (so many don’t) and a doctor who successfully removed the obstruction that was starving the body of nourishment. Not forgetting the medical staff who assisted so well. I give thanks daily to God for a successful outcome of this horrific experience.