Has your Business Enslaved you?

Imagine dying at your desk. On the job. Pretty awful, right? Well it happens. When work becomes the only thing you live for, it kills you. Did you know that sitting for too long can hurt you? Working for too long, not taking vacations, it's all there and it can all cause damage. I touched on it before in this blog, but I want to cover something different.

Stress from your job can trap you by itself. But there are other aspects of work that we can fall into and not even recognize that we are doing ourselves harm. This article discusses the aspects of self-enslavement, especially at work. We trap ourselves within our own lives- too many activities, too many jobs, not enough vacations. Many people that I know have enslaved themselves.

We constantly tell ourselves that we must work more. More activity to cram into a day, more work to get ahead, more strain, stress, and worry. People all around the world (including America) are literally working themselves to death, and it is socially acceptable.

And that's the tragedy.

Work should support your life, not become it. No living being was meant to work for as long or hard as humans do, or force others to do. You work to (hopefully) be fulfilled, and to support yourself and/or your family. Work has a duty to support you, not trap you inside a cage.

Working hard is fine. Don't get me wrong. But I've said it before, and I'll say it again- there are so many more things to life than just work. And there are so many more things to life than not working! The key is simply balance, and that my friend, is not what humanity has. The scales are tipping toward toil and death, and it's time to lighten things up, no matter how grim any given situation is.

Lighten up!

Employees: Friends or Assets?

Neither.

In the workplace, there are many different obstacles and trials to confront and overcome. One of these is human nature. Sure, we can say we're professional. We can act that way, dress that way. But beneath the surface of that smiling suit is a person. A person with emotions, desires, and ideas. Should your employee be your friend? As an owner, no. Should they just be another expendable asset in a spreadsheet? Absolutely not. Balance is key.

I hear too many stories about hundreds of people being laid off en masse from a huge company. Hell, way back when, I received a pink slip along with five thousand other hardworking people because the company I worked for decided to outsource all of our jobs. And there's my problem, right there. I understand that there is a company to maintain and sustain. But people are alive. They have feelings, they can be hurt. They can feel neglected, or used.

See? They're seen just as assets. Expendables. This is just wrong. I'm sorry, but it is. Now don't get me wrong. If an employee is not doing his/her job, you should consider giving them the axe, but there are right ways and wrong ways to go about doing it.

Then there's the other hand. Employees as best friends. Employers playing favorites, getting comfortable. There is no pulling back once you have made the plunge from employee to friend, especially if you share company/personal secrets with him or her. Most employees? I don't think they would hold sensitive information against you, but. Some will. Period. Once a boss becomes too personable, they lose authority, and are easily written off. I've seen it firsthand! As they lose authority, they lose respect, and then? Well. Do you really need to know what's next?

Balance is key. The maintenance and health of a business is very important- not only to you but to your employees too. Whether they wanted to or not, they are working at your establishment, your business. But they are not robots. They are people. And should be treated with respect. That's the key. Respect is a finite commodity. It ebbs and flows with society, and it also changes on the fly in everyday situations.

Friendship is...difficult in business, especially when defining the boundaries of employee/employer relationships, but a surefire thing that everyone recognizes is respect. Have respect for yourself and your business first, and everything else that revolves around these two very important items should start to settle into their proper perspectives.

Meaningful Business Growth

I heard a terrific quote the other day, but I cannot remember who said it, or where I saw it. It's a pity because I'd really like to give them credit, but the saying basically went like this:

"Growth for the sake of growth is the same goal of a cancer cell."

Powerful stuff. This idiom can be applied over many different situations and over many different perspectives, but let's shift the focus onto business. Or better yet, business growth. In a typical mindset, an owner wants to expand their business. You know, more equipment, more customers, more assets, more more more! And it's good to be motivated! Don't get me wrong. But sometimes, that motivation can be toxic, and maybe not for the reasons you'd suspect.

Businesses that are not turning over a profit typically look at this solution first- more sales. More income is great! It helps you run the business more efficiently, give bonuses, treat your employees right, and let's not forget about building you that nest egg. But some businesses don't have difficulty with finding work. Yet they still push for the gain of more customers, more cashflow. And often, they will keep on expanding until they reach a point where they might have to close down. Wait...what?

Why would that happen? A business with a lot of customers, literally flush with work, is going out of business? Oh yeah. It's easier than you think, and it's because no-one thought to look at all the other problems. Every business has problems- Budget is no exception. But when business owners, CEOs, Presidents, you name it, get flustered over money, more often than not? That's all they focus on. Other problems get overlooked.

Is your pricing right? Is your overhead realistic? Do you have to put any customers to collection? Are employees too slow on the job? Are customers being treated well? How's the quality of our work? These are just a handful of the questions that sometimes never get asked simply because a business was focused too much on the wrong thing.

See what I mean by meaningful business growth? It doesn't always mean a new client, a fat check from a recent job, or even a bigger office. Business growth is a process, because a business grows in parts. If one part gets too big, the whole operation suffers, and if you aren't looking at the problem, well. I don't think I need to go on.

Make sure you know what's wrong in your business. What's right! Have a finger on your business' heartbeat because until you ask the questions and do the digging? You're just guessing.