tawandamusarurwa
HAPPY new month to you all in advance!
I also wish you a blissful Workers’ Day tomorrow. When we talk of work, the subject touches everyone in one way or the other.
Changing Perspectives
Rutendo Gwatidzo
Either you are employed or you are the employer, or you probably stay with someone who is either of the two.
Time moves fast.
It seems like yesterday when the month of April began but today, we are already kissing it goodbye.
It also seems like yesterday when schools closed and now, they are preparing to reopen.
Many are probably now grappling with school fees.
Seasons come and go.
And many other things in life change.
However, some things, like salaries, do not seem to change.
Once upon a time
Once upon a time, employees used to look forward to Workers’ Day, while employers used to plan around it.
It was a day of smiles, unity and hope.
This is the day when salaries would increase at least once in a year. Nowadays, organisations adjust salaries according to their revenues, and this has created gaps and inequalities among employees in same industries.
VUCA times
We are living in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) times, where survival has become more important than anything else.
Such an environment is constantly changing and very unpredictable.
As such, we need to unite to make it.
For instance, VUCA times are all about survival of the fittest, but if we all put our efforts together as teams or groups to accomplish one common goal, we will overcome.
Combing efforts makes us stronger.
One of the biggest challenges we face today is division among team members, families or communities.
This is what causes our challenges to seem bigger than they are.
Come to think of it, VUCA times have always been there since time immemorial.
In the Bible, the time when Moses and the Israelites were in the desert is instructive.
Things have always been ambiguous, unpredictable, uncertain and difficult.
During the slave trade, for example, some people were sold to faraway places, raped, abused and killed.
But, instead of crying victim, the slaves eventually put their minds and efforts together to change their circumstances.
Organisational status
One of the biggest challenges we have in organisations today is division and lack of hope.
Many teams operate in silos and are not as successful as they should.
The other main challenge is the division between employees and management. A significant number of employees do not take ownership of the businesses that sustain them.
They see work as a place to while up time.
Performance in many organisations is increasingly becoming poor.
Instead of getting better with time, some employees are actually getting worse, yet they still expect increments.
Employees need to combine efforts towards meeting the organisation’s vision and goals.
Only if organisations are making profits can they be able to increase salaries.
Do not lose hope. Once hope is lost, effort, motivation, innovation and creativity can be lost as well.
General facts
VUCA times do not go away easily.
They will always be there in one way or the other.
However, they might differ in extent.
Do not allow VUCA times to completely take away your happiness.
One author once said: “Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed.”
Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.
VUCA times require a flexible mentality and attitude in order to survive.
When the going gets tough, get tough and get going.
Instead of being limited by a river, learn to swim and cross it.
The beauty of life is that at every stage there is always someone, a solution or a method available to take you to the next destination.
Learn to enjoy even the little things in life that make you happy.
Enjoy successes bit by bit.
VUCA times will always exist for various reasons and they come in different forms, for example, Covid-19, economic challenges, political unrest or natural disasters.
If you wait for untroubled times, you will find yourself waiting forever.
Life is too short — enjoy what you can; be happy regardless.
Rutendo Gwatidzo is managing consultant at The HUB HR Consultancy, a culture and change management organisation. She is a multi-award-winning leader as a consultant, speaker and mentor. She is also the author of “Born to Fight” and “Breaking the Silence”. Contact detail: 0714575805/ [email protected] / Rutendo Gwatidzo official fb public page.
Online Reporter