It seems that winning anything, anywhere, starts in the workplace. In college I was a teaching assistant for a professor who pioneered research about the effects of alcoholism in the workplace – that led to the design and implementation of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Alcoholism had been a huge societal problem and it suddenly became the responsibility of America’s employers to try to get it under control. Same with drug abuse – why is it that drug testing is primarily related to employment. Not that companies can completely fix these larger problems, but their leverage over workers intent on getting and keeping their jobs helps in mitigating negative/antisocial behaviors. Employers are hugely motivated to work with their employees to assure they can deal with issues big and small relating to customers – from product quality to productivity to critical thinking to service excellence to customer satisfaction, it’s in their best interest. That’s why employee assistance programs, emotional intelligence training, and management soft skills are so critical – how else can restaurants employ people in their kitchens who on the outside are members of rival gangs but who on the inside must bury those feuds and work together. And I suspect topical issues relating to political polarization and bullying may present similar challenges going forward. For a company to win at anything they must first win the battle of preparing their workers for anything in the workplace. Meaning they must prepare their managers and supervisors to deal with these challenges. If you’re a leader, implement effective management skills training today.
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