In a recent HRTools.com Insight series, author Eric Jones discussed belief systems and how they affect employees.
I’ve been thinking a lot about beliefs recently and how they affect the reality that we live in. Here are some things I’ve noticed:
- When you believe something, you start to subconsciously look for “examples” that prove you’re right.
- When you believe something, you start to view the world through a “belief lens.”
- When you believe something, you tend to judge others based on how they stack up to your belief.
There’s nothing wrong with having beliefs—whatever yours might be. But one problem people often run into is allowing beliefs to cloud their reality.
For example, here are two beliefs that I have:
- People should do what’s best for them regardless of what others think.
- Work isn’t a place you go, it’s something you do.
Now there’s nothing wrong with my believing either of those two things, but when those beliefs start clouding my vision, that’s when it becomes a problem.
Let’s take my belief about “working isn’t a place you go, it’s something you do.”
I’m a strong supporter and advocate for the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE). A ROWE is when employees are judged based on the results they achieve and not on the amount of time they spend sitting behind a desk at the office.
As a Gen Yer and forward-thinker, the idea that work takes place in an office between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. is ridiculous to me. People can be just as—and usually more—productive working from home or from a coffee shop or from three states over.
Because I have this strong belief, however, I tend to look at the world through this lens. I tend to view companies who refuse to give ROWE a chance as too conservative, and I view employees who actually want to work in the office instead of at home (or elsewhere) as old-fashioned.
But those judgments aren’t necessarily the truth. That’s just my reality due to my beliefs.
The same goes for employers.
When an employer has a particular belief, that belief also becomes his/her reality.
Here’s an example to illustrate what I’m talking about:
Let’s say Employer X has been in business for 30 years. The company has always done things a certain way and so Employer X doesn’t feel there’s any reason to change. This employer’s belief is “don’t fix what’s not broken.”
The problem with Employer X having this belief clouding its reality, however, is that it’s affecting the company. Turnover rates are up, productivity is down and morale is even lower. Employees at the company want more flexibility, they want less micro-management and they need better processes for getting work done.
But because of Employer X’s belief that you don’t have to fix what’s not broken, the company keeps running things like it’s 1979.
It’s important to have beliefs. Beliefs help you navigate through life and give you something to put your faith in.
Allowing beliefs to cloud your reality to the point of not seeing any other perspective/viewpoint, however, is generally a bad idea. It could even be crippling to the company you’ve worked so hard to build.
That’s why I’d like to encourage employers to take a step outside their comfort zones and challenge the beliefs they currently hold with respect to their organizations and their employees.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- If your belief is “Don’t fix what’s not broken” you should break something! A process, a procedure, a policy—whatever. Find something at your company to break and then put it together in a new way. The outcome will likely be a surprise, in a good way.
- If your belief is “Work happens in the office” you should allow employees to work from home at least one day a week. You’ll be amazed at how quickly productivity at your company will soar.
- If your belief is “Employees need to be micro-managed to get anything accomplished” you should come up with a list of expectations for each employee’s job and set them free. Follow up with them once a week and watch the difference it makes.
Sure, challenging your beliefs can be difficult, but it’s not impossible. And you never know, you may even end up in a better place than you started in.