Technology is Like Chemotherapy

-

Technology Can Kill You or Save Your Life



So my phone had issues...or I had issues with my phone, however you would like to put it. You cannot go without a phone or with a phone that answers for you without you being able to access the messages....and since I liked my phone I reluctantly went to buy a temporary phone....I was inundated by daily emails from my kids and siblings on "how is your phone?"  This is the first time I was on that side of the issue.         

How many times have I called an employee or a candidate to only get the message that the voice mail was not set up yet, or the box was full? Or how many times have I left messages that were left unanswered? I always assumed that they did not want to answer...and sometimes thought that they could not answer for one reason or another...I particularly recall one employee who could never fix her phone issues: she indeed had several of them. She evidently did not get the message that communication means matter...How annoying! It was useless to attempt to reach her through her phone. We are in a world where communication needs to be fast and reliable. Phone or internet issues? The bottom line is that the message does not get through, connection is missed, and nobody wins that way...

Usually people "love" their phones..... Let's face the ugly truth: they eat, walk, shop, play, drive with them...they live with them...Ever thought of something else that is so essential to people's lives? Chemotherapy comes to my mind. Not that everyone needs chemotherapy but everyone feels compelled to accept it whenever needed. It is often explained as the best course of action. To me, it is the solution of last recourse.....Un mal nécessaire as is said in French. You resort to it because you feel that you have to ...and it will save or kill you. You have to understand the risks. Like climbing up the mountains.....

Go Around it...Let's Move Forward

Same with technology. I  have known several employees and employers alike who had the hardest time adjusting to technology changes. So, it is easy to blame the IT guy. It affects their performances, it affects the perception of their businesses - oh! by the way, have you seen these very amateurish "business" websites? ...But I have to say that some business owners are very set in their ways of doing things...Or want to invest only so much...Garbage in, garbage out...some concepts seem to be difficult to grasp...Or "some things never change" as told me a former colleague, recently.

It is never easy to adjust to changes, let alone when it comes to computerized systems! It comes as a whole package: HR and communication are enhanced by technology. I have not known or seen of any organizational changes that did not come with a system enhancement in terms of operations or production. If you are an employee, you would be better off learning as fast as you could. If you are not ready for that learning, reassess your options. If you have subordinates, please, don't rely on them to do all the job for you: it is not fair....

So you learn everyday. And let's smile: when you get used to the new system, it changes again! As for me, I was given a third new phone: it is supposed to be reliable, faster, user-friendly, loaded with apps, newly introduced on the market, sleek looking..oh! all you want from technology that won't kill you! Let's move forward...






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

COMMUNICATION, SAFETY & WORKPLACE: "Je suis Charlie"

-
Image
©AR_HRComatrix_SCharlie C ommunication is powerful, today more than ever, with social media . Frontiers are erased . Time elapses. Things and situations take a different dimension. Everything is "here and now ". This week, " Je suis Charlie " has been the most recent and poignant picture of the power of communication. All started and ended in the workplace . Chilling for HR and Safety people. P eople all the over the world spend most of their time at work . The typical workday is about six to eight hours in the the US with the new approach to the notion of full time job . In France it is typically eight hours, with often some flexibility, and despite the official 35 hours a week. . How can we protect workers against unexpected violence since they spend most of their time at work? H R is not about damage control ; it is about proactivity . Disturbingly enough, only 31% of workplaces in the US seem to be proactive in emergency preparedness, acco...
Read more

CATCHING FIRE: WORDS of WISDOM ABOUT and FROM MILLENNIALS- LESSONS FROM MILLENNIALS Part II -

-
Image
A lot has been said about Millennials. There are you tube videos , articles , blogs , research and polls... Most of them trying to help us understand this new generation. They appear as aggressive, daring, intimidating,  careless, smart, fast, clueless, in sum "different," regardless on who sees them. They certainly have many faces. Turning a New Leaf With Millennials © 2013 AR_HRCom-Millennials Those of us who have been working side by side with them have most likely experienced mixed feelings. It is basically turning a new leaf. Let's move toward greener fields! These young  partners can be exuberant and very lively and their concerns about professional or personal life can feel overwhelming. Often times you get what you see and hear. Does it make your assessment easier? I doubt. To me the challenge in assessment comes from the necessity to distance oneself from the individual. The ability to intellectualize things in this matter is a real gift. I can dea...
Read more

Holistic HR - Part I: Is Mental Wellness Relevant?

-
Image
Ad_HRComtx_1_620 © A s we are navigating the new ways of work, one aftermath of the pandemic for many of us is the unpleasant discovery of unvisited or neglected matters: our mental wellness. More than ever HR has to embrace its evolving approach to its core responsibility: HR is about "the whole person". T he pandemic has brought to the surface so many elements that neither HR nor the people had thought about, although always existing. To me, the two major concerns about mental wellness are depression and domestic violence. I have to admit that I never seriously thought about it until I lost sleep myself and couldn't understand why I was so inexplicably restless and unfocused. Quite a few people I talked to shared similar occurrences. This can only be exacerbated by the sense of isolation from familiar working environment as we work from home or are still transitioning to go back to work. If any of this happened to you, you are quite normal in highly abnormal ti...
Read more

Holistic HR - Part II: Socially Distant and Staying Relevant

-
Image
Ted_HRComtx_HolisticHR © Carving a Path for 2021 I t is said that silence is death, and that no news is good news. I have to say that I have been like many of us: affected in one way of another by Covid, being socially distant within relevancy. New resolutions? At least, carving a new path... in this icy cold world full of hot topics. It is not easy: it takes daring and willingness.   T he new year - already not feeling so new by now - has to be better in many ways, because it is practically a call to duty. What the pandemic has brought to us is not isolation but the exposure to a global environment that could reveal itself to be highly toxic , as well as the possibility of exacerbation of some situations of at-risk people . As we advance into 2021 we see the emergence of Wellbeing vs. Wellness verbiage because if anything last year has brought to light, it is the awareness of the importance of mental health .  This is more than ever a reason to understand and embrace that...
Read more

WORK LIFE / BALANCE DEBATE- PART II: The Five TOPS by Regions, Countries, Companies and Jobs -

-
Image
The FIVE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES BY REGIONS and COUNTRIES I t is educating to see the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)  map of better life index . The assessment of better life varies by regions and by countries, from life satisfaction to safety through education and environment. OECD better life index responses - 2014 Interesting enough, Health is primary in France, Canada, Australia, the Russian Federation,  and Norway. Life-Work balance is important in Mauritius Island, Mali, Montenegro and Nicaragua. Life Satisfaction prevails in US, Germany, UK, as well as Croatia, Poland and Sweden and Finland. Safety is paramount in Japan, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, and The Bahamas. Education is important in Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina The FIVE TOP COMPANIES According to Glassdoor, there are 25 companies that are rated to be the best in work/life balance policies. Employees do love it. Those organizations include non-profit, as w...
Read more

Christmas ..Holidays...Party Season..Why?

-
Image
You Party because You are Expected To .... By now you have your Holiday party planned or maybe you are already over it. Preparation can be hectic . You have been trying to give another nice end-of-year party and your hopes are that it will be. It is amazing when we break it into pieces how many things something as simple and as common as a end-of-year Holiday party could involve. From very small to very large organizations, the idea behind it is to cultivate good employee relations . Employees look forward to this event. Life partners are involved in "shopping" for the occasion. It is indeed the networking event of the year for many, the one coming after social networking . As a child I remember going to business Christmas parties where the whole family was invited and children given very nice presents by Santa Claus! For HR, it falls into a busy period: time for performance reviews, time for seasonal hiring for some, time for reporting, and this year, time for prepar...
Read more