Akkam’s Razor

So I’m on this committee for customer service at my place of employment - it appears the purpose of said committee is to let the change agents in their respective parties share customer service practices with thier coworkers.  No, I had previously dismissed all the usual "Fish" type management theories (have fun, be there, choose your attitude, etc.), but age, experience, and being in an appropriate work environment has taught me that there is a value in that type of work philosophy.

A tremendous concern that I have is that the people inside of the organization (and that’s any organization), will have to continue to stretch  to make up for systemic deficiencies in the organization.  We’ve (as a collective workforce) spent the last two decades with nothing but bankruptcies, reorganizations, buyouts, early-retirements, mergers and acquisitions, and downsizing.  And each step of the way, those who have to do the most adjusting are those in the workforce.  You just get told to "think outside of the box".

I have Google News setup to email me whenever the terms "GenX" or "Generation X" show up in a news item.  Much of what I have seen has made me grit my teeth… we’re lazy, slackers, have no legacy in music, we’re stingy, self centered, etc.  In some regards that’s true, but it’s the baby boomers evaluations of me that pisses me off the most.  Lazy?  Why would you expect someone to throw their life into their job when they may not get a Christmas bonus, get no raises, and if some people need to go, they are just as likely to get laid off as anyone else.  If your employer has no loyalty to you, and never will, how much loyalty should you give your employer?  I think the biggest problem employers and older employees have with my generation is our intolerance for bullshit.  Don’t keep telling me how great everything is when the news and financials tell me something completely different.  Don’t tell me to follow the rules when you don’t.  And don’t tell me to "think outside of the box".

I am continually seeing that EVERY single system, process, organization, and institution that we interact with on a daily basis is broken.  From the nations infrastructure (highways, airports, electrical grid), to our financial industry (excessively debt leveraged), to our churches (the glass temples of Christian Evangelists to the dark corners of Catholic sacristies), to our education system, electoral and campaign finance systems, and government itself. 

For these two decades, all we’ve been doing is thinking outside of the box…people doing more in the same amount of time, spreading themself thinner, needing to be a  two income family to make due… maybe it’s time to stop "thinking outside of the box", and to look back at the box, realize it’s broken, and start working on the new box.  Plenty of people will be upset by that, and some people will lose, some will lose alot, but we as a whole have much more to gain.