Chapter 6

The Climate and Culture of your Organisation

28. What to do if the structure of your organisation is causing you stress

Discussing organisation design, The WallStreetJournal of 26 October 2009 reported the following:

 

We’ve all been there. You want to get something done at work that seems so simple. And yet it ends up being so ... hard. Too many layers, too many rules, too many cooks, too many everything. What’s even more frustrating is that those at the top often aren’t even aware of the frustrations. After all, they don’t have to deal with them. In fact, they often put those complexities there in the first place. So they remain blissfully ignorant of the problems they’ve created. Until, that is, it’s too late. Until the [organisation] is toppling under the weight of its own inefficiencies.

 

Do you ever get stressed because this happens to you in your organisation? Your ideas have to be approved by your boss, who has to get the approval of their boss, who has to get the approval of a committee, and so on! So you stop coming up with ideas. It may be that the design of the organisation is causing you problems and therefore stress.

Organisation design can be thought of as the formal structure of an organisation. To find out about your company’s organisational design, look at the organisational chart. The organisation should be structured in such a way that it provides excellent customer service, increased profitability, has minimal operating costs, operates at maximum efficiency with minimum cycle time, and has committed and engaged employees. When you examine your organisation’s design do these points apply?

How do you know if organisational design is causing problems at work?

A poor organisational design, apart from causing you stress, can result in numerous problems including:

• Delays in decision-making - it takes ages to get something done, if it’s done at all.
• A lack of trust between workers and management.
• Poor or little focus on the customer.
• A mentality that produces ‘silos’ and ‘turf wars’. A silo mentality occurs when several departments or groups do not want to share information or knowledge with others in the same company. A silo mentality reduces efficiency and can be a contributing factor to a failing corporate culture. A turf war occurs when people say ‘it’s the marketing department’s work’ or ‘my department should get the resources, not yours’.
• The ‘it’s not my job’ syndrome.
• A blame culture.

What can you about it?

Tell your boss about the benefits of good organisational design. It’s best to mention this casually or in passing. You could say that good organisational design improves communications, productivity and innovation - an organisation where people can work effectively. On the other hand, although a company has great employees and leaders, a poor organisational design can mean it does not perform well.

If the current organisational design is causing you too many problems and you can’t get it changed, you may have to deal with the status quo. For instance, if your organisation is multi-layered and decisions are hard to come by, and you can see no way you can personally improve the decision-making process, you need to find personal strategies for coping. These personal strategies are mentioned throughout this book, but here are a few that you might use: develop a network of people, learn new skills that will help you if you want to leave your present job, be optimistic about life, do exercise and make sure you have interests outside work.

29. How to increase your commitment to the organisation

How strong is your commitment to the organisation you work for? Do you accept the organisation’s goals and values? Are you willing to expend a lot of effort for the organisation? Do you want to stay in your current job? These are some of the factors that will help determine if you are committed to the organisation. If you’re committed and you have adequate job experience, it has been shown that you will perform better and make any stress that you may have work for you. The reverse occurs if you have a lower level of commitment and weaker job experience, and your stress can make your performance poorer.

Maybe you’re a school teacher; your commitment (and intention of leaving) depends on your belief that you are competent, the amount of stress that the job gives you and the environment in which you have to work. This may be true of other jobs as well (it’s also been found in blue-collar roles). One study found that if you suffer from stress you feel less emotionally committed to the organisation and if you have yet more stress to deal with, your sense of belonging is reduced (although you might still stay in the job). Stress, in other words, affects your commitment to the organisation you work for.

To find out if you are committed to your organisation, take this test, scoring each as follows.

• 7 = it’s definitely true of me
• 6 = it’s generally true of me
• 5 = it’s often true of me
• 4 = it’s sometimes true and sometimes it’s not true of me
• 3 = it’s often untrue of me
• 2 = it’s generally untrue of me
• 1 = it’s definitely true of me

1. I am willing to work harder when required.
2. I would leave the organisation if a similar job came up elsewhere*.
3. I have very little loyalty to the organisation*.
4. I would take almost any job so that I might stay in the organisation.
5. My values and the organisation’s values are pretty much the same.
6. I am very proud to tell people I work for this organisation.
7. I am glad I work here, because I could have gone elsewhere.

For the two items marked with a * deduct your score from 8 to get a new score. Add up your final scores. If you scored 35 to 49, you are committed to the organisation - the higher the score the more committed you are. If you scored 7 to 21 you are not committed to the organisation - the lower the score the less committed you are.

How does it happen?

• The organisation has changed for the worse since you joined.
• You feel as if you are working in the wrong kind of organisation.
• For many reasons, you have lost any loyalty to the organisation.
• The organisation has let you down badly.
• Your organisation has been taken over by another company with a different culture.

How do you know if your commitment to the organisation is causing you stress?

• The organisation doesn’t value you or your work.
• You are in permanent state of stress at work, which is caused by the organisation.

What can you do about it?

• Support the organisation’s mission and ideals - look at mission statements, annual reports, etc., to help you fully understand what these are. Once you have understood the organisation’s values you need to reflect on your own values. If there is little to no overlap you need to consider if you are working for the right organisation - because it is unlikely you will ever feel you fit in and this will cause you further stress.
• Embrace change. If you can see there is some synergy between your values and those of the organisation, but there are areas of divergence, you can look at any areas you can work on to change.
• Show you hold the values of the department. You can do this by exhibiting a strong work ethic - that you are dependable and responsible, honest, adaptable and trustworthy, and that you are loyal to the department and organisation. These are what employers look for in their employees and they will help you to progress in the organisation.
• Support the decisions made by your organisation and speak positively about it outside of the work. Do not be surprised that what you say about the organisation gets back to your boss and managers, and if it’s negative it may be held against you. So be careful about what you say.

30. How to change the organisational culture

Is the organisation in which you work supportive and open? This is a major aspect of the organisational culture. Organisational culture is like the ‘personality’ of an organisation. It affects the way we think, the way we speak to others in the organisation, what we tell others about the organisation and our attitude towards it, the atmosphere found there and so on. It’s the way employees usually behave at work. Organisational culture determines how buildings are used, the furniture in them, the clothes employees wear, the symbols found in the organisation, etc. Organisational culture is determined by the people at the top and by the employees.

It has been said that the culture of an organisation is the single most important factor accounting for success or failure. Organisational culture, when it’s healthy, produces good performance from employees and keeps stress levels lower. When organisational culture is bad, employees get frustrated and stressed. Which kind of organisational culture do you work in?

The existence of competition in an organisation, due to, for instance, downsizing and budget cuts, develops stress in the form of job insecurity, work overload, difficulties in obtaining promotion, competition within and between groups, and an under-utilisation of staff skills.

Here are some of the items you might consider in order to determine if the organisation’s culture is causing you stress:

• Staff are treated fairly depending on their performance.
• Staff are treated with no favouritism.
• You can disagree with your manager and it is not held against you.
• Absenteeism is not a problem.
• People here are well qualified to do the work.
• You like your colleagues.
• Managers try to achieve their objectives.
• Meetings are open and everyone is encouraged to contribute.
• Those chosen to work in the organisation have good qualifications.
• You enjoy the company of your colleagues.
• Your managers show the drive to achieve.

How does it happen?

• Your organisation is taken over by or merged with another whose culture is quite different.
• The owners or bosses of the organisation set the (negative) culture.
• The (new) technology your organisation uses changes the organisational culture.

How do you know if the organisational culture is affecting you?

• You disagree with certain aspects of the organisational culture.
• You are frustrated by poor communication in the organisation.
• The leader of your department or organisation has a neurotic style and this is affecting you. Dr Kurt Motamedi, professor of strategy and leadership at Pepperdine University in the USA, believes that the neurotic management styles of key managers dominate the organisation’s culture and norms. Employees are berated, dismissed or left to their own devices without direction. When people find themselves in a neurotic culture, feelings of insecurity become pervasive and employees feel emotionally abused and abandoned.
• Your organisation has a poor reputation and it is difficult to recruit suitable candidates.
• Your organisation (and you, perhaps) is affected by absenteeism, stress and disability.
• Bullying and harassment are tolerated within the organisation.

What can you do about it?

If your organisation is taken over by or merged with another whose culture is quite different, ask your boss if you can:

• Have a meeting to discuss any differences between your organisation and the new order. If not, this can be done via newsletter or anything that will inform employees about what is going on.
• Decide if you will compromise or accept the current organisational culture. For this, you have to understand the culture of the organisation. In order to find out about the culture of an organisation you should walk around your department and look at how the space is divided, if there are any common areas, who gets the best offices, what’s on the walls, etc. If you can, you could talk to staff and ask them what it’s like working there; enquire about the information and feedback they get from their bosses; and how the organisation deals with new staff (what training they get, whether they are introduced to colleagues, and so on). The organisation should provide training, especially for new staff, about the culture of the organisation.
• If you talk to like-minded colleagues you can set up a subculture in your department. A subculture is a set of values shared by a minority, usually a small minority, of an organisation’s members. These often occur in departments where members have had to face distinctive problems and have a wealth of shared experiences. Of course, you have to be certain that your subculture is acceptable to the organisation as a whole.

31. Office politics and how to cope with it

Office politics is quite normal - it is basic human nature operating in the workplace. If you’re working with other people, as you’re likely to, then you will encounter office politics. It comes from competition among employees for things such as money and promotions. It also is based upon the personalities of some people.

Office politics is more than just disliking some people at work. It refers to the use and acquisition of power outside of the employee’s job requirements. The outcomes the employee is pursuing by the use of office politics, or the means by which the outcomes are sought, or both, would not be approved by the organisation. Office politics can cause stress for colleagues and can result in conflict within the organisation. A recent survey of almost 500 managers found that conflict in the workplace had increased, and 44 per cent of them believed office politics was the main cause of this increase.

Maybe you are stressed because a colleague is using office politics to advance themselves; looking at dealers in the London money market, it was found that more than 45 per cent felt coping with office politics was a stressful work-related item. Many managers who play at office politics cause their staff stress. It has been said that office politics determines promotions, transfers, supplies, equipment, who is in charge of what and how managers liaise with each other. One psychologist said if you have more than one employee, you’ve got office politics - it will determine who gets a pay increase or a better job. Another management researcher noted that if you try to ignore office politics, then you’re a fool. The research further highlighted that underperforming organisations are more likely to experience an increase in political behaviour as well as viewing such behaviour as a source of conflict.

How does it happen?

• You have to work with someone who knows how office politics operates.
• You don’t think you can maintain your credibility and beliefs if you indulge in office politics.

What can you do about it?

If you’re an employee, use techniques that will help you when in competition with colleagues:

• Build an image of success by being associated with successful projects and individuals. Emphasise successes and don’t mention your failures.
• Create obligations in others. Do favours for those who might help you in future by returning your favour.
• Establish relationships with powerful people. Find a mentor who is important and influential in the organisation.
• Always give excellent performance. Go beyond the job you have, volunteer for demanding and unpopular projects.
• Talk positively about the organisation and department you work for.
• Endeavour to be known as knowledgeable and keep an ear out for information that might be useful for your role.
• Develop a network of relationships throughout the organisation. You can use modern technology to build up a network of people that can help you at work (and maybe when you want to get a new job).
• Manage your boss. Understand their aims, goals, strengths, weaknesses, blind spots, pressures and preferred work style. Keep your boss informed and be careful with their (limited) time; give them help and support.
• Remember the expression ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’? This is very relevant to office politics. To those you regard as your ‘enemies’ you should always be pleasant, but be careful what you say to them. Find out what motivates them and from this you can learn how to avoid their unfriendly muckraking.

If you’re an employer or manager:

• Team building is a good way to prevent the negative effects of office politics. People have to work together in order to successfully complete a project.

Whatever your position in the organisation:

• Don’t gossip or spread rumours, don’t get involved with others’ arguments, don’t complain and maintain your integrity at all times.

Sometimes you will have to protect yourself from others. You might select one or more of the following defensive but negative behaviours (which you might later come to regret because you are associated with them):

• Pass the buck, job, criticisms, etc. on to someone else.
• Plead ignorance or lack of skills.
• Support an action in public (and do as little as possible in private).
• Appear to be so busy that you cannot support your colleague.

These are unprofessional and may not enhance your integrity.

32. How to deal with favouritism in the workplace

It won’t be a surprise to you. Nepotism, cronyism and favouritism occur in many organisations, and are used to give preferential treatment to relatives and friends in employment. One study showed that nepotism, cronyism and favouritism created job stress within the workplace, and nepotism was found to be the biggest factor in creating job stress.

Favouritism happens when the manager, boss or leader displays preferential treatment towards those workers with whom they are connected in some way. This negatively affects other employees and possibly the overall performance of the organisation. It can be completely demotivating to staff. Favouritism in the workplace means that someone - or a group - is treated better than others and the reason is not necessarily related to superior work performance. The person who is favoured might be promoted faster than others, get more for doing the same job, be granted more freedom than others, etc.

As the result of favouritism, your boss might: ? Spend more time with the chosen employee.

• Confide in the favourite employee.
• Discuss confidential issues with the employee.
• Overlook any of the employee’s mistakes.
• Listen to and follow the employee’s advice.

One study in the USA found that nearly 40 per cent of employees felt there was favouritism within their department.

What can you do about it?

For employees:

Talk to the human resources department in your organisation or to a manager you can trust. Make it clear what you are worried about, and give them any relevant information about the occurrences of favouritism. Ask human resources or the manager what you should do while your claim is being checked. At the same time, ensure you are performing to the best of your ability so the favouritism you claim is not mistaken for the other colleague simply performing better than you.

 

For employers, to ensure there is no favouritism in the organisation:

• Inspect your organisation’s methods of selection and promotion.
• Have mentors for minority staff.
• Ensure that any advancement and perks are based on performance.
• Do not support husbands and wives, etc., working in the same department or even in the same organisation.

Don’t get caught up

Don’t get caught up in forming a grudge against your colleagues. The ‘favourite’ may be unaware of preferential treatment; reserve your judgement and energy for the company’s investigation into your claim.

33. How to make sure there is no discrimination in your workplace

Do you feel you have been discriminated against at work because you’re a member of a minority group? Does it cause you stress every day you go to work? Everyday discrimination is defined as the subtle acts that are experienced by members of a group (racial, religious, national) on a daily basis. Does this fit in with how you feel?

Discrimination can cause stress. In the UK it has been shown that black African-Caribbean respondents reported higher work stress than either Bangladeshi or white respondents, and that racial discrimination among black African-Caribbean female respondents resulted in greater perceived work stress and higher levels of psychological distress.

The UK government has said ‘it’s unlawful for an employer to discriminate against you because of your race. You are protected against racial discrimination at all stages of employment’ and ‘the Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against you because of race. Race includes colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origins. Under the Act, it doesn’t matter if the discrimination is on purpose or not. What counts is whether (as a result of an employer’s actions) you are treated less favourably than someone else because of race. The Equality Act 2010 protects all racial groups, regardless of their race, colour, nationality, or national or ethnic origins. The laws against racial discrimination at work cover every part of employment. This includes recruitment, terms and conditions, pay and benefits, status, training, promotion and transfer opportunities, right through to redundancy and dismissal’. You can’t be discriminated against because of your:

• Gender
• Marriage or civil partnership
• Gender reassignment
• Pregnancy and maternity leave
• Sexual orientation Disability
• Race
• Colour
• Ethnic background
• Nationality
• Religion or belief
• Age

That’s the UK law.

 

You might be suffering from one or more of the four major types of racial discrimination - direct discrimination (where, for example, race is an effective cause for less favourable treatment); indirect discrimination (rules or policies are imposed on everyone but which particularly disadvantage members of a particular group if that cannot be justified); harassment (participating in, allowing or encouraging unwanted behaviour that offends someone or creates a hostile atmosphere, for instance, making racist jokes at work); or victimisation (treating someone badly because they have complained or supported someone bringing a complaint about discrimination).

What you can do if you suspect you’ve been discriminated against

The UK government suggests that if it’s another employee who is the source of the problem you should talk to your immediate boss and explain your concerns. If it’s your boss who is discriminating against you, you should talk to their boss or to the company’s human resources department. If your employer won’t help, then you may need to make a complaint using your employer’s grievance procedure.

Don’t forget your trade union official may be able to help you, and make sure you know the current law concerning racial discrimination before you make a complaint.

Maybe you feel you have been subject to sexual discrimination. You believe you are doing the same work as a colleague and getting paid less, or are being discriminated against in some other way because of your sex. The UK government is quite clear about this:

 

Under the Equality Act 2010 it’s unlawful for an employer to discriminate against you because of your sex. Sex discrimination law covers almost all workers (men and women) and all types of organisations in the UK. It covers recruitment, employment terms and conditions, pay and benefits, training, promotion and transfer opportunities, redundancy and dismissal. If you believe that you are being paid less than a colleague who’s doing the same job, then you can refer to the rules about equal terms and equal pay. Where men and women, working for the same employer, are doing one of the following they are entitled to the same terms in their employment contract: the same or similar work, work rated as equivalent in a job evaluation study by the employer, and work of equal value.

What you can do if you think you are being discriminated against because of your sex

You can talk or write to your employer, and if they won’t help you may be able to take your case to an employment tribunal. You can also contact ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation & Arbitration Service) and your trade union. Again, make sure you know the current law about sexual discrimination.

There are other forms of discrimination in the workplace, and they may be subject to different laws: age discrimination, disability discrimination, and religious or belief discrimination. Whatever the discrimination, they can all cause you stress.

34. How to deal with violence at work

Don’t be surprised if you have witnessed or experienced violence at work. A recent report showed that across the EU an average of 5 per cent of employees reported being the subject of physical violence - from a colleague. The figure was even worse in the UK, at around 9 per cent. Both being a victim of physical assault and simply seeing violence at work can result in trauma. The fear of workplace violence can result in anxiety and a desire to leave the organisation.

If you’re a taxi driver, you know all about violence at work. The murder rate associated with occupations in the USA, measured per 100,000 workers, is the highest for taxi drivers - who are four times more likely to be murdered at work than police officers or other law enforcement workers. In the West Midlands in the UK, recorded crime statistics in 2010 showed a fivefold increase of violent attacks on taxi drivers since 2000, and that feedback from taxi driver and operator associations shows the West Midlands figures are far from being an isolated trend.

Hopefully you’re not a taxi driver but you may have witnessed or experienced violence at your place of work. It seems those jobs that are subject to violence have certain features in common: employees encounter members of the public, they handle cash, staff work alone or in small numbers, employees work early in the morning or late at night, and the premises they work in are relatively unsecured and tend to be located in depressed areas. The major factors that can result in violence in the workplace are as dealing with the public, denying someone a service, making decisions that affect other people, having to supervise and discipline others, working in a job that involves the security of premises, having to work with valuable items, working at night or at weekends, working alone, doing a job that involves alcohol, being a care worker and going into other people’s homes. So if you are working in a job that contains more of these factors you have a greater chance of encountering violence at work. For instance, as well as taxi drivers, it has been suggested that psychiatric nurses encounter more workplace violence than other nurses. Psychiatric nurses work in a job that attracts many of these factors and this also applies to ‘ordinary’ nurses.

What you can do about eliminating the prospect of violence at work

For employers, the possibility of violence at work can be reduced by:

• Using stress reduction programmes, as stress is regarded as a major source of violent behaviour. Stress reduction programmes - or stress management programmes - are often offered by an organisation’s human resources department. These generally consist of indicating what the major sources of stress at work are, how to recognise stress in yourself and others, and how to increase your resilience to stress. The main aim of these courses is to examine the effects of stress and to encourage the individual to develop a personal stress-control plan. If you want more information on stress reduction or stress management programmes there are numerous references online, or you can contact a local EAP or stress management consultancy.
• Improving employment screening - using psychometric tests and background checks to determine who might be prone to violence.
• Ensuring that the organisation’s non-harassment policies are implemented.
• Making use of EAPs.
• Educating employees about the causes of workplace violence.

For employees, violence at work can cause pain, suffering and even disability or death. Physical attacks are obviously dangerous, but serious or persistent verbal abuse or threats can also damage employees’ health through anxiety or stress. What can you do if you witness or are the victim of violence at work?

• Report it to the human resources department.
• If you don’t have a human resources department or equivalent then report it immediately to your supervisor or a higher authority.
• If it is your supervisor, boss or owner who is the cause of the violence, and you don’t have a human resources department, then you should take legal action.
• In all these cases, ensure that appropriate action is taken.

If violence at work does occur then the victim or witness may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Post-traumatic stress disorder is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of life-threatening events, such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents or violent personal assaults. The symptoms of PTSD can include reliving the experience through nightmares and flashbacks, difficulty sleeping, and feeling detached or estranged, and these symptoms can be severe enough and last long enough to significantly impair the individual’s daily life.

How can PTSD be treated? Treatment for PTSD comes in a variety of forms of psychotherapy and drug therapy. There is no definitive treatment, and no cure, but some treatments appear to be quite promising, especially cognitive behavioural therapy, group therapy and exposure therapy, in which the patient repeatedly relives the frightening experience under controlled conditions to help them work through the trauma. Anyone who suspects they are suffering from PTSD should consult a medical professional.

35. How to cope with political correctness in the workplace

Are you unsure about political correctness? Do you worry you might say the wrong thing to a colleague? Are you afraid to criticise one of your employees because you’re afraid you’ll be accused of discrimination? Do you fear offending someone and losing your job, or getting yourself or your employer sued?

Well, one of the authors of this book understands exactly what you are going through. Some time ago he had to examine a dissertation written by a student at a different university. It was a poor piece of work that he was asked to review, and the author of the dissertation was given some advice on its failings and how they should be corrected so that a resubmission would obtain a pass mark. On receiving the poor score, the student threatened to take the examiner to a tribunal and to sue his university. The basis of the student’s case was that the examiner was biased against the student because he was from a minority ethnic group. The examiner was completely oblivious to the origins of the student. The case was quietly dropped, and the student resubmitted the dissertation and was awarded a pass. For a short period of time, the examiner was very concerned about the potential of the case.

What is meant by political correctness? Political correctness (PC) describes language, ideas, policies and behaviour that reduce any social and institutional offence in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, religion, beliefs or ideologies, disability and age- related environments. On the other hand, many people see PC as having the potential to be something more invidious:

• Doing the reverse of what common sense would suggest.
• Inconveniencing the innocent while making life easier for the wrongdoer.
• Not telling the truth in case it offends.
• Changing your language where you perceive it may offend.
• Doing exactly the opposite of what you preach.
• What you do has the effect of making the problem you were trying to cure far worse.
• Doing ridiculous things just for a political reason.
• Favouring a minority just for a political reason.

You’ll have to judge for yourself which version of PC is acceptable to you.

How to be politically correct

The main thing you have to do is to learn about other people and cultures. If you do that you can then:

• Be careful how you use humour. You might think you’re being funny but you might be offending other people.
• Get rid of your assumptions of other people. Think about why you have (usually negative) views about the people in a particular group. Once you have done that you can remove these hurtful ideas.
• Make friends with people from different cultures. You’ll be amazed how much you have in common, especially when it comes to the organisation you both work in.
• Mind your language. Different cultures have different ways of talking to each other, which you might not be familiar with. They may also differ in how they employ body language, nonverbal cues, communication style, etc.
• You might also want to attend a course run by your organisation, or an external agency, which will help you to be aware of other groups and how you can improve your relationships with them.

36. How you can get the organisation to be more committed to you

Do you have the feeling that the organisation you work for is not on your side and does not support you? Meanwhile, you give your best and are committed to the organisation. If so, it’s not surprising that you get stressed. If you believe you don’t get the support from the organisation that you need, this can cause you to have lots of psychological problems and your performance may drop off. You may also think of leaving the company. Numerous investigations have shown that employees believe their organisation has a general positive or negative orientation towards them. This orientation is both to their contributions and their welfare.

Complete this short questionnaire (developed by the University of Delaware) to determine if you think your organisation is committed to you. Listed below are some statements that represent possible opinions you may have about working in your organisation. Indicate the degree of your agreement or disagreement with each statement by giving each a score as follows:

• 1 = Strongly disagree
• 2 = Moderately disagree
• 3 = Slightly disagree
• 4 = Neither agree nor disagree
• 5 = Slightly agree
• 6 = Moderately agree
• 7 = Strongly agree

1. The organisation values my contribution to its well-being.
2. The organisation fails to appreciate any extra effort from me (R).
3. The organisation would ignore any complaint from me (R).
4. The organisation really cares about my well-being.
5. Even if I did the best job possible, the organisation would fail to notice (R).
6. The organisation cares about my general satisfaction at work.
7. The organisation shows very little concern for me (R).
8. The organisation takes pride in my accomplishments at work.

Those statements marked (R) are reverse-scored. This means you subtract your original score from 8. Now add all your scores.

If you scored between 8 and 16, you feel you are not receiving the support and commitment you require from the organisation.

If you scored 17-40, you are getting some support and commitment from the organisation.

If you scored 41-56, you feel you are receiving the support and commitment you require from the organisation.

If you believe you are not getting the commitment you need, the above statements will help to show where the problems lie. You can then ask your boss to remedy the failings. For instance, if you scored very low (after you have reverse-scored your original score) on statement 3, you can find out what happens to your complaints, who is not replying to you and why. You can then attempt to have the system for handling complaints changed.

What can you do about it?

If you want to increase your organisation’s commitment to you, you need to appreciate the qualities the organisation looks for in its employees. These include punctuality, honesty, an ability to handle pressure, dependability, efficiency and creativity, as well as doing a good job. You should ensure that you meet all of these requirements.