In response to a post on LinkedIn: Article referenced: Why empathy is today’s most effective leadership skill
My Thoughts:
I get this, and I see the virtue in it, but playing the devil’s advocate, how do we view this now with what seems to be happening recently? We have companies who report to shareholders who are now coming to realize these virtuous models are not sustainable.
Case in point, Twitter, viewed as one of the world’s most “employee safe” and equitable companies, just lost 50% of their employees. Elon Musk, who strongly believes in the Pareto theory, has kept Twitter functioning perfectly fine and has even made many significant improvements, all with half the employees.
Can a company be expected to take a personal interest in every employee’s life to the suggested degree? Don’t get me wrong; I am all for healthy working environments, but at the end of the day, is it not called “work” for a reason?
Can the employee of today, who expects all the trappings of a “virtuous company,” expect to compete on the world stage, in direct competition with a growing number of available workers, willing to work long hours for extended periods of time, and even sleep at the office? How, then, can a “virtuous” company with a 30-hour workweek compete with a company filled with employees who work 40, 50 and 60 hours a week?
Competing with companies that accomplish in six months, what some companies take over a year to accomplish, is the harsh reality of what basic math tells us.
This is happening out there as people like Elon Musk and Jordan Peterson paint a much different picture of what success is and are firing warning shots of these very harsh realities.
It all comes down to what history has shown us for hundreds of years, and that it all comes down to profit as we now find companies who may be headed down a path where they are cutting cheques they can’t cash.
The Canadian Truth Network 