Author: S Ramesh Shankar

Born in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India, I have been brought up in different parts of India. Graduate in chemistry and post graduate in personnel management and industrial relations. Have been a HR practitioner for 38 years in the industry and have experience in working in steel , automobiles, FMCG and engineering industry. Was head of HR for Siemens in South Asia based out of Mumbai till March 2019. Currently founded hrishti - joy forever, a social enterprise to give back to society and work as Chief Joy Officer.

Re-humanising the workforce

I was attending a coaching conclave and one of the panelist’s who is an expert on predicting the future talked about “ Re-humanising the workforce” as the fifth industrial revolution. It kindled my conscience and I thought I could share what organisations can do in the future to bring back “humanness at the workplace”.

Although I am not an expert on predicting the next industrial revolution or in generally predicting the future, I still believe that we could take the following actions to bring back “humanness” in organisations.

1. Focus on the individual : Today employees are not treated like human beings who are unique and talented in their own way. Most employees are considered a cog in the wheel and treated like commodities. They are further branded as bad, good or great and then their treatment in the organisation is linked to the type of categorisation. Organisations can bring back focus on every individual as a resource and build the organisation processes around her or him.

2. Family as a social institution : Organisations no longer value family as a social institution. The employee is considered as a unit of purchase to meet the goals of the organisation. Her/his value is determined by the market and is negotiable. An employee is no longer valued as a member of a family, which is part of the larger community around the organisation. Organisations need to connect with families and communities and involve them in development of the individual.

3. Equity & fairness : The principle of equity and fairness is no longer considered an essential norm in organisations. We tend to treat employees as units of consumption and individually negotiable in the market place. The need to be fair and equitable and perceived to be that way, is no longer valued by organisations. It is high time equity and fairness is not only a value within organisations but permeates across the society at large. This will reduce social tensions and crimes in society.

4. Team work : The focus on individual talent and the need to retain her or him has gone to the extent that team work is not considered an important glue in organisations. It is increasingly believed that excellent individuals can take care of lack of teams by bringing value to organisations. Organisations have to believe that team work is critical for organisational success in the market place. The best individual is as good as the team she or he works with. No individual is bigger or better than the team.

5. Purpose : Organisations no longer have a compelling purpose which is beyond product, service and profits and impacting the society at large. This results in employees’ inability to identify with the purpose and thereby employees leave organisations when their purpose in life does not match with organisational goals. It is high time , organisations rise beyond narrow boundaries of profit and work for societal well being.

6. Community connect : The fact that organisations exist to add value to communities around them is no longer valued. With increasing globalisation, the connect with communities around organisations is almost defunct. Today corporate social responsibility is more of a statutory obligation rather than a sacred duty of organisations. It may be time for organisations to remember that their growth and success in the market place is linked to the prosperity of the communities around them.

7. Valuation vs Value creation : Today most organisations are keen on working towards valuation of their brand and shares. They seem to look short term and not necessarily keen on value creation. Value creation could mean adding value to all stakeholders like employees, shareholders, customers, suppliers, communities around them and the government at large. It is time to wake up and realise this responsibility.

8. Technology & human connections: I am a great fan of technology and have always tried to use all forms of technology including social media to connect with employees and other stakeholders. However, today technology has made relationships impersonal. We do not know the birthday of our own team members and do not wish them in person. We are not aware of our neighbours and think that technology can bridge this gap. Organisations need to promote human interconnectedness through human relations and not only be dependant on technology.

9. AI & emotions : While artificial intelligence and machine learning may be able to do most of the jobs which humans are doing today, they may never be able to express emotions like humans do. We need to keep in mind that human beings are born emotional and hence organisations need to be more sensitive to human emotions in the future than they have been in the past.

10 Employee wellness & health : The focus on employee wellness much beyond employee health and safety is going to be critical for organisations in the future. We need to care for physical, social and mental health of employees. WHO has said “wellness is optimum state of health of individuals and groups and positive approach to living”. The pandemic has made organisations realise the importance of wellness. It is critical for organisations to proactively promote wellness in the future.

It is time for organisations to bring back humanness in all their dealings. They need to realise that employees like suppliers, customers, shareholders and governments are partners to their progress. If they do not deal with them with humane approach, their extinction will be sooner than later. However organisations which are humane will continue to thrive and grow in the future.

S Ramesh Shankar

29th August 2022

 

 

Gift a smile every week in the new year

It is that time of the year, when we think of new year resolutions. Most of us make resolutions to reduce our weight or get healthier and so on but break it within a fortnight of the new year.

This year I thought of a novel idea, which may not be difficult to implement but may also be sustainable for the rest of our lives. Why not we try to make at least one person smile every week of the year.

I initially thought why not make someone smile every day but then to make it more practical and sustainable ,thought of once a week. Anything which is not sustainable may fizzle out even before we imagine it.

My definition of happiness in life is attitude, contentment and gratitude. A positive attitude to life and living, being happy with what we have and not worrying about what we do not have and being grateful to all the people, who have made us successful in life.

I further realised that happiness is contagious. If you make someone happy, you are not only happier but you spread happiness to others connected with them too.

Another great learning in life is that you do not need to be wealthy to be happy or to make others happy. If we are content with what we have and we learn to live in absolute, then we are bound to be happy.

Happiness is a state of the mind. I have met people, who have nothing in life but are very happy. On the other hand, I have met millionaires, who spend sleepless nights to protect their wealth and multiply it. I am not sure if these millionaires will ever have the time to enjoy and be happy in life.

Happiness is to celebrate every moment of life. It is not something you can wait for ,to enjoy in the future. It is ephemeral and in a way spiritual. You can feel happy but can never buy happiness from others.

Another insight is that if we give more, we get more in life. If we spread happiness, we are bound to be happier ,every day of our lives. It could be spending time with your friends or relatives.

Just playing with your kids or vacation with your family can make you discover happiness. Even calling friends in distress and enquiring about their health or welfare could make you happier. Visiting your parents for no reason ,can make them happy. Visiting a school or college teacher after many years of passing out, can give them immense joy.

Happiness is self discovery. It comes from within more than from outside. This may be learnt ,as we experience life. Material things can make us momentarily happy but sustainable happiness comes from love and joy.

I have resolved to try to make at least one person happy every week in this new year. How about you trying out this idea ? You could visit a friend or your relatives. Just call someone and express gratitude for all that they have done ,in your childhood.

It could be just meeting a security guard in office or your gardner in your community and enquiring about their welfare. Life is happier when we make others happy. We need to try to experience this moment of joy in life.

As in the photo above, my friend’s daughter came all the way from New Jersey to Bangalore to spread happiness amongst differently abled children by sharing her dancing prowess.

Let us resolve to make at least one person in our lives smile every week. If we can do every day, it may be better ! Let it become a habit for the rest of our lives.

Let’s start today. Wising all of you the best of health and happiness in 2024

S Ramesh Shankar

1st Jan 2024

“Goal” or “No goal” – which is better ?

I was reading an article recently on whether having a goal for anything is better than not having a goal at all. This was insightful. I always believed that it is important to have a “goal” in life and at work so that we have something to look for.

The author of this article challenged this mindset of mine. She said if you have a goal, you may get limited in your thinking. You may think if you have achieved your goal, then you have arrived in your life. However, if you do not have a goal, your search for excellence never ends. It is an unending quest to improve yourself.

I liked this idea and hence decided to reflect on the same. I love driving and always plan for the same. I am clear on my destination and the stops on the way. I book my accommodation and even plan where I would have my breaks for food and so on. This is like setting a goal in life or work.

However, on the other hand, imagine going on a drive without a destination in mind. Just take your car out and drive on any road which you like that day and let it take you to an unplanned destination. Isn’t this exciting ?

I recently was driving from Chennai to Bangalore in my car. Both me and my wife all of a sudden decided mid way that we will divert our journey to Salem and take a break. We neither had planned for it nor were prepared for it. We bought some clothes, booked a hotel online on the way to Salem and spent a few days there. This was one of the most exciting holiday of ours.

Life is no different. It may be a good idea to plan a goal and put in all our efforts to achieve that goal. But once we achieve that goal, we may sometimes wonder what next and set another goal. Sometimes on our new year resolutions, we keep resetting our goals to suit our needs. This way the goal itself may become infructous.

Even at work, it may be a good idea to set our goals and strive to achieve it in our given time frame. But then if we reach a stage of life or work when we are able to excel without even setting a goal, we may have achieved “nirvana”. A stage where we are able to thrive in life without any goals, we may reach self actualisation.

What I enjoyed about this article was it challenged and changed my mindset. We sometimes start believe in everything to be structured and finite. Sometimes a pandemic may challenge the way we live and work. It may be a necessary situation to challenge our mindset. For eg, the pandemic made many CEOs & CXOs believe that “work from home” is a viable flexible option and need not hamper productivity at work.

Everything in life is similar. We start believing that what has worked for us over the years and what we have learnt from our elders and seniors are the only way to do things. An alternative view may shock us sometimes but if we are willing to be open and challenged, we may look at life with a whole new perspective.

Lets us keep the windows of our mind open always. Life is fun this way.

S Ramesh Shankar

16th Oct 2022