Dangerous and Unmanageable Workloads Becoming the Norm?

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In the popular MAX (HBO) series, “The Gilded Age,” there is an interesting scene where industry titans of the late 1800’s meet to discuss the unreasonable demands of emerging unions representing blue collar workers. They’re scoffing at the demands for fewer working hours, more safety, improved working conditions and of course pay. What seems reasonable today was considered rebellious heresy amongst entrepreneurs and industrialists just a few generations ago.

When I observe what’s happening with industry titans today (perhaps Elon Musk, Amazon’s Andy Jassy, many others, even the FAA leadership, I’m not sure the mindset of BIG BOSSES have changed that much?

The recent NYT story on the plight of air traffic controllers should send shivers up the spine of anyone connected to air travel.

“In the past two years, air traffic controllers and others have submitted hundreds of complaints to a Federal Aviation Administration hotline describing issues like dangerous staffing shortages, mental health problems and deteriorating buildings, some infested by bugs and black mold.

There were at least seven reports of controllers sleeping when they were on duty and five about employees working while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The New York Times obtained summaries of the complaints through an open-records request.”

To make it a little more personal, the following is a story, reported in a different NYT article, capturing the experience of many nurses in the health care services business.

“Advanced Care Staffing (A.C.S.), the staffing agency that hired him, promised he would be responsible for 20 to 30 patients, but the reality was more than 40, leading to a dangerous and unmanageable workload. On two occasions, he was the only nurse on his floor, responsible for upward of 80 patients. Some days he would wheel an oxygen tank into the room of a patient who was struggling for breath and begin administering lifesaving oxygen, only to hear another patient screaming in pain and drilling the call button. ‘I’m just by myself,’ he said to me, trying to explain his feeling of helplessness at the time. ‘I cannot split myself.’ Vidal was so busy he rarely had 10 minutes to rush to the kitchen to microwave his lunch. He was terrified that someone would get hurt and he would lose his nursing license, probably the most valuable thing he possessed. He started to get headaches — to feel sick and exhausted all the time. Fourteen weeks after starting the job, he told A.C.S. he wanted to quit.”

What makes this story even crazier is that ACS apparently wanted to “fine” the employee up to $20,000 for quitting and and breaching an employment contract . Hmm.

Of course, there are examples of great organization cultures and leaders that create superb (although imperfect) places to work. I’m blessed to be advising a few of them. And unfortunately, there will always be a minority of employees who act entitled and do not contribute their fair share. However, there are way too many work situations where too many people are simply miserable because they cannot possibly succeed. Conditions, like continuous 10 to 12 hour days, compulsory overtime, inadequate coverage, poor processes, etc. Guaranteed burn out and failure.

What to do? I believe the answer is at the governance (board) level. All organizations ideally would employ an index of diagnostic measures assessing the company culture and/an employee net promoter score. Leadership bonuses should be materially impacted by the results of these scores. Put some teeth into the belief that people have a right to work in conditions where they can thrive. EBITDA, net income, shareholder return is NOT a sufficient judge of performance. And putting in penalties or handcuffs to keep people from quitting is regressive. And the FAA, you have no excuse to justify the mess regarding air traffic controllers. We do have enough people and resources if we have the will and commitment to understand that work is more than a paycheck. It’s where we as humans want to thrive.

Surely we’ve advanced from the late 1800’s? Haven’t we?

Think Big, Start Small, Act Now,

- Lorne

One Millennial View: The short answer is, yes. We’ve come a long way from children managing shift work in mines in North America, however we’re far from perfect. The good news is, we’re able to ask critical questions and be more observant about conditions. The truth is, in 2023, we can’t even fathom the smell of the late 1800’s, so we’ve come a long way. There’s work yet to be done, thankfully this time it’s not child labor.

- Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

Dangerous and Unmanageable Workloads Becoming the Norm?

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