Now that I think of it you’re not entirely wrong either though. There must, at some level, be a certain amount of rationalization in the minds of managers who implement changes that are not going to make anyone’s lives easier, and then lie and say they will—because most people don’t like to think of themselves as cynical bastards. Is it a doublethink thing? Do they tell the board that it’ll increase profits by doubling widget production, and then go out on the floor and say it’ll make life easier, and somehow hold both as true in their minds at the same time?
I’ve been a manager, but I don’t recall ever doing that. I’m pretty sure I always told people “They’re giving us a new widget thing. We’ll be able to make twice as many widgets in a day. You get to spend Wednesday training on it instead of working.” My people were generally fine with that. It made no difference to the X amount of work they were doing per day, and if X was acceptable to all parties and the coffee strong and plentiful, everyone was happy.
Until, of course, Widgetron™ turned out to be an overpriced pile of crap that kept breaking down, but that’s another issue.
You get to spend Wednesday training on it instead of working.
As soon as Widgetron™ becomes the industry standard, there will be no Wednesday trainings anymore. Knowing how to use Widgetron™ will be a job requirement.
And then every job applicant needs a WOC (Widget Operations Certificate) before they’ll even be considered for the role, and then there’s a whole quasi-academic professional body set up to provide training courses and administer the WOC test, and so that provides employment to a bunch of Widget Operations Instructors… Economics is weird.
Now that I think of it you’re not entirely wrong either though. There must, at some level, be a certain amount of rationalization in the minds of managers who implement changes that are not going to make anyone’s lives easier, and then lie and say they will—because most people don’t like to think of themselves as cynical bastards. Is it a doublethink thing? Do they tell the board that it’ll increase profits by doubling widget production, and then go out on the floor and say it’ll make life easier, and somehow hold both as true in their minds at the same time?
I’ve been a manager, but I don’t recall ever doing that. I’m pretty sure I always told people “They’re giving us a new widget thing. We’ll be able to make twice as many widgets in a day. You get to spend Wednesday training on it instead of working.” My people were generally fine with that. It made no difference to the X amount of work they were doing per day, and if X was acceptable to all parties and the coffee strong and plentiful, everyone was happy.
Until, of course, Widgetron™ turned out to be an overpriced pile of crap that kept breaking down, but that’s another issue.
As soon as Widgetron™ becomes the industry standard, there will be no Wednesday trainings anymore. Knowing how to use Widgetron™ will be a job requirement.
And then every job applicant needs a WOC (Widget Operations Certificate) before they’ll even be considered for the role, and then there’s a whole quasi-academic professional body set up to provide training courses and administer the WOC test, and so that provides employment to a bunch of Widget Operations Instructors… Economics is weird.