“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” John F. Kennedy.
It was another interesting week in the UK last week with the publication of a report by a senior civil servant into alleged gatherings/parties at Government buildings during previous national lockdowns. Under the rules of these lockdowns such gatherings weren’t permitted. One of buildings under investigation was Downing Street, the residence and workplace of our Prime Minister.
There were many conclusions in the report and they’re well reported in the UK. I’m therefore not going to detail them here in this blog. However, one that really stood out to me was the treatment and poor behaviour towards some people working in Downing Street in support roles. When detailing her findings, the report’s author Sue Gray said “I was made aware of multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff. This was unacceptable.”
It was sad to learn of such unacceptable behaviour towards people who perform very worthwhile duties. It’s sad that they hadn’t been properly respected and valued appropriately. In my experience, when people are shown respect and valued, they feel better, are happier, perform at higher levels and as a result are more productive.
Perhaps the individuals who behaved badly would learn a great deal from the phrase “It’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice.”
Thinking about the topic of valuing people reminded me of a story about a series of experiments which took place in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s at Western Electric’s factory at Hawthorne, USA. They became known as the “Hawthorne Effect” and they marked a change in thinking about work and productivity.
The experiments established that the performance of employees is influenced by their surroundings and by the people that they are working with as much as by their individual talents and innate abilities. They were conducted under the supervision of Elton Mayo, an Australian-born sociologist who eventually became a professor of industrial research at Harvard Business School.
The original purpose of the experiments was to study the effects of physical conditions on productivity. Two groups of workers in the Hawthorne factory were used in the experiments. Initially they involved a dramatic change to the lighting in the work area for one group. The lighting remained unchanged for the other group. The researchers found that the productivity of the more highly illuminated workers increased much more than that of the other group.
Other changes were made to working conditions including working hours and rest periods. Productivity showed signs of improvement every time a change was made and got better even when the lights were dimmed again. When the experiments finished, productivity at the factory was at its highest level and staff absenteeism had reduced.
The experimenters concluded that the fact that someone was concerned about the workers conditions and gave them the opportunity to discuss changes before they were implemented had the biggest impact on productivity as opposed to changes in physical conditions (i.e. the change to lighting).
I believe that this story demonstrates the importance of rewarding and recognising people’s contributions. It’s a priority if you lead a business or a team to ensure colleagues feel valued and good about themselves. A genuine thank you and expressing appreciation cost nothing and can have a massive positive impact. Whilst it’s important in working environments, it also has equal significance in our personal relationships.
This week, why not take a few moments to reflect and consider if you need to show greater appreciation for the contributions of others.
To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk