Today I have a simple idea which can help us move along the path towards more generative, meaningful work.
Interestingly, it has almost nothing to do with how we act at work.
But it has everything to do with how we act towards those who are working around us all the time.
I call it “The Dignity Test,” and it works like this. In every interaction you have with a “service person” — this includes passing a Target employee in the aisle, seeing a janitor sweep the floor at the Apple store, watching over the barista behind the Starbucks counter as they make your latte — make a conscious note to check what you’re thinking. Particularly look to see if you’re thinking anything about them.
The next part is to make sure that, in our perception of them, we dignify them. We must make sure we are thinking of them as a human being, not just as the mechanism which gets us the thing we’re buying or the guy who keeps the garbage off the ground or the machine which keeps us caffeinated.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll notice that far too often we see these people as disposable as the consumable we’re purchasing.
Harsh? Yes. True? Afraid so.
Somewhere along the line, even though we know better, our perceptions got damaged. We began to see some jobs as “lesser,” and this transferred into how we view the people who do those jobs.
We don’t mean to, but it happens quite often.
So I suggest we start here, and take it one day at a time — let’s constantly be aware, and adjust, our perceptions of all the service people around us.
And here’s why it matters in our own work. In our workplace, there are jobs we view as somehow “lesser” than ours – but they are not. We can’t begin to comprehend how anyone would want to do those things – but they do.
In a world that’s becoming increasingly collaborative and cooperative, seeing everyone as a partner is a much more helpful, productive, and profitable mindset. The people who are outside the scope of what we enjoy are exactly the people we need the most. But we can’t work with them unless we respect them.
If we can adjust the way we think about the people around us outside of work, it will help us do the same in our workplace — and will get us one step closer to building a strengths-based culture.
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P.S. I had an instructor in grad school say to always remember to “Dignify the Detail Doers.” Yes, that pretty much sums it up.
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Recognizing A Revolution by Josh Allan Dykstra on April 25th, 2011
The Power Of Invisible Business by Josh Allan Dykstra on April 16th, 2012
A Tale Of Three Bricklayers by Josh Allan Dykstra on October 17th, 2011
Copyright © 2005-2012 Josh Allan Dykstra
4 Comments
Ellen Ingraham
Love this Josh. Completely agree. Glad to know people like you are our next business leaders – gives me and our country hope!
08 Aug 2011 10:08 am (@ellening)
Jim Seybert
Excellent – you’ve stated it clearly and I hope it sinks in. There are a couple of professional people I’ve known over the years with whom I’ve refused to eat because of the way they (unknowingly–I hope) treated the “help.”
I mean, even if you’re the least caring jerk on the planet, you should treat the waiter nicely to keep him from putting his thumb in your soup.
So – here’s a question:
Do you SAY anything to the person you’re with if they disrespect others?
08 Aug 2011 05:08 pm (@@jimseybert)
Josh Allan Dykstra
Thanks guys!
Good question, Jim — what do you think? My tendency (or at least I try to do this) is to take that behavior I see and use it to force a self-reflection. Otherwise it’s really easy for me to get quite judgmental, at least internally.
On the other hand, we obviously don’t want to be associated with this kind of behavior, either. So maybe something should be said, depending on the severity of the situation…?
09 Aug 2011 09:08 am (@joshallan)
Anthony Markovich
Josh,
You are spot on as ususal. It’s a true shame that so many jobs are viewed as “lesser”.
I just had a conversation the other day with some friends about this. We were talking about how the plumbers, electricians, mechanics, etc. of the world are looked down on. How ridiculous that is! These are vital, crucial types of jobs and these folks are truly skilled! We depend on these people to keep our world going. Yet these folks are often seen as less than simply because they did not go to a 4-year college.
11 Aug 2011 03:08 pm (@Twitter Name)
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