Employee Engagement at the USPS

Managers Make All the Difference! Over the Thanksgiving weekend I had the opportunity to talk with a close friend and sister-in-law over a couple of drinks. The conversation quickly turned to work. Since work is such a big part of our lives, it's quite normal that we spend much of our time talking about it. The down side is that much of that talk is negative. A little background on Jill's work: Jill works for the United States Postal Service as a PTF or Part-Time Flexible. It seems that the "PTF" classification means that the post office can screw with her life as much as they like. Jill is a "part-time" worker who typically works 50 or more hours a week and usually only gets one day a week off (most often, Thursday because that is what she asks for every week). On one day she may go to work at 11:00 am. The next day may be 1:00 pm. One day she may work 10 hours, the next 12. You certainly have to be flexible to be a PTF. Jill also deals with "office politics", as many of us do. For example, Some of her co-workers are jealous that she is able to get Thursday's off (I can't imagine why) and some seem to be willfully malicious in their attempts to promote themselves while degrading others. All in all, this does not sound like a good job to me. Nor a healthy one. At one point in our conversation I suggested to Jill that she call in sick the following day (she was scheduled for a 12 hour day). I said this half jokingly but hopeful that she would. With her work schedule I hardly get to see her anymore and I wanted the opportunity to spend some time with her. Jill's response ... "no, I can't. I respect my boss and I won't do that to her". This is employee engagement! In the face of over-work, uncertain hours, office politics and, overall, a pretty lousy work environment, Jill is still committed to her job for the sole reason that she respects her boss. This is a living example that managers make all the difference. A good manager can turn a lousy job into something we commit ourselves to and give extra effort towards. Although I didn't ask specifically, I assume that Jill's commitment is to her boss and not to her job. If Jill did not have respect for her boss, in all likelihood, she would have called in sick and left that particular office short-handed on a busy holiday weekend. As our conversation continued, I learned that many of Jill's co-workers are jealous of Jill's relationship with her boss and they assume that Jill gets preferential treatment when, in fact, she doesn't. What Jill does get is reciprocal respect. It works both ways. When you respect someone, they are more likely to respect you. What this told me is that Jill's boss isn't as good a manager as I initially thought. I am making assumptions here but it appears to me that Jill's boss has managed to earn Jill's respect due only to a natural affinity between her and Jill. In other words, they just naturally hit it off. Where Jill's boss fails is in building that affinity, and thus respect, with her other employees. A great manager knows that every person is different and she must find that uniqueness and learn how to capitalize on it. What ever she does in her working relationship with Jill does not necessarily work with other employees. She needs to discover what does work. This is the best, and hardest, challenge of management. If Jill's boss knew the intricacies of each employee and treated them in the way that best suits them, best motivates them, she would earn their respect, dedication and engagement at the same level she has earned Jill's. In doing so, she would greatly reduce and possibly eliminate the petty jealousy, the self-promotion, and many other issues that make up the current cultural environment. Out of that, a team mentality would spring up and each employee would be working towards a unified purpose with trust and respect for each other. Engagement would go up. Satisfaction and fulfillment would go up. Sense of purpose would go up. Productivity would go up. ... Sick time would go down. One last thing I heard from Jill in the course of our conversation... She has a good friend at work. In nearly all surveys and studies on employee engagement two of the most important factors are 1) a good manager, and 2) a best friend at work. From the outside Jill has what I would call a lousy job. The pay may be decent (I don't really know), but the conditions, the hours, and even the culture leave much to be desired. I often wondered why she's not looking for something better. Now I know. Good manager. Best friend.