Confronting Abuse at Work
If your New Year’s resolutions include better job performance, one essential ingredient may be your relationship with your boss. Recently researchers at the University of Haifa (Isreal) examined how employees cope with the stress of abusive treatment by a superior. Read the rest of this entry »
The Price of Job Security
Coonskin caps covered hearts in respect for Fess Parker, better known to all as Davy Crockett who died last week at the age of 85. The three part series in which he starred for Disney in late 1954 and early 1955 was dwarfed the merchandising bonanza that followed. It was perhaps, the first, inkling marketers had of the buying power of the baby boomers, as the hula hoops, Barbie dolls and trends that followed.
But, if Fess Parker had designs on being something other than a stalwart player at the Disney studios, he was destined to be disappointed. As Richard Severo pointed out in Mr. Parker’s obituary in The New York Times, “He began to chafe at the roles the Disney organization was offering him, and when he refused to appear in “Tonka,” the studio suspended him. He was unhappy, too, that Walt Disney had discouraged his being cast in “The Searchers,” the John Ford classic starring John Wayne, and “Bus Stop,” with Marilyn Monroe.”
Of course, no one will know what Mr. Parker’s acting future might have held, if he had appeared in those films. After he hung up his buckskin, he went on to a business career, including that of vintner. Was he typecast by Disney? Or were they just unwilling to tinker with success?
As Towers Watson reported last week, in the aftermath of the great recession, employees are seeking security. To what extent is it okay to give up some of your dreams for security?
The Organization Man, “The Sequel”
William H. Whyte Jr.’s The Organization Man was a seminal work of the 1950’s .The book detailed what Mr. Whyte believed was the sacrifice of a generation in exchange for finding and keeping jobs that promised security. That generation came of age in the “Great Depression.”
Are we on track for The Organization Man, “The Sequel?” In their Global Workforce Study released today Towers Watson, a human capital firm, showed a workforce weary of the fallout from the recession. And, perhaps not surprisingly, there is a renewed interest in job security. When respondents were asked about the factors most important in a preferred work situation, 86% chose a secure and stable position. Fewer, 74%, chose substantially higher levels of compensation.
Has the pendulum swung away from the idea Daniel H. Pink, author of the recently released Drive, first popularized in Free Agent Nation? Said Laura Sejen, a leader of the company’s Talent and Rewards business, “Where once employers fretted over a ‘war for talent,’ now they must plan for a workforce that appears ready to settle in for years—perhaps even decades.”,
What will this mean for those joining the workforce in coming years, and folks who are delaying retirement? Share your thoughts!
Tags: Daniel H. Pink, employee attitudes, free agent nation, job security, organization man, recession, war for talent, William H. Whyte Jr., workplace trends
