For a long time, I’m thinking of how a company should treat their employees. Mostly this is driven by the experience I’ve made in my career. The main point for me seems to be the lacking respect for the individual human being. Each and every person working at your company contributes to the existence of the firm, giving a real important asset: the personal lifetime. Recently I’ve watched a discussion on TV in which a psychologist told his main thesis: „Many people just escape from their real life into work“. That made me really think. In many ways. First I love most of my work, mainly the content of my job. Second, sometimes having some trouble in private life tends to force me into more work. This led me to another thought I’ve had sometimes before: Life is not for work, but you need the work and hopefully it is also an source of energy for one – but it cannot be the essence of life.
Truly, this is a somehow philosophical attitude and perspective. But when I should formulate some principles for my own company they could look like these:
- The company is not an employees life
- If you want involvement of the employees heart give them love and a context they can love
- Workplaces need an human environment and is not a hall for machines
- Be interested in the people
- Be interested in the work the people create
- Be open and do not judge people by stereotyped thinking – especially when it comes to their skills
- Be open for the development of personalities and professions – and support the development
- Be honest but polite
- Work time is one of the main times of everyone’s wake time – it should be time where they can live and develop
- Companies have to be democratic
- Talk with your employees, often – see them as co-workers.
- Motivate everyone to act social
- Don’t accept overtime – never!
The founders of Adobe Systems for example hadn’t have special statements about the corporate culture (like many companies have to put them on their walls just to look good) but they want to treat their employees like they wanted to be treated them-self. That sounds honest to be and a good point to start. Of course, I don’t think that they can ensure this in such a big company like Adobe is in the present.