Asking For Workplace Favors Has Limitations
Have you ever needed a hand? Have you asked for help or asked an employee to do something appropriately professional, yet not in their job description? Do you believe that asking for workplace favors has limitations?
You probably should.
Wells Run Dry
A free drink refill at your favorite restaurant may not be a bottomless opportunity.
Asking your neighbor to hold the garage door while you install a new screw isn’t acceptable every day.
Expecting employees to work late or come in on their scheduled day off should be something less than the norm.
Sometimes, enough is enough. There probably are limitations.
The limitations that guide us are based on our expectations. The measurement that guides the expectation is often based on our individual values and beliefs.
Hence the story, “I walked 10 miles, uphill, in the snow, to school when I was a kid. Both ways!”
Society has insisted on showing us that values and beliefs are not universal.
Workplace Favors
There are plenty of fully performing employees who just want to work their shift and go home. If you are in a leadership role in the organization you may desire to work extra hours, even when you’re salaried. That doesn’t always mean that your expectation should be the same for others.
There is a race to the top and a race to the bottom. Expecting the performance and beliefs that propelled you up the ladder to be delivered by the average fully performing employee may be a big mistake.
Delivering on respect and being committed to workplace relationships are vital competences for today’s leader. They guide the organizational culture.
Going to the well too many times is never a good idea. A race to the bottom often starts as the well begins to run dry.
Don’t expect too many favors.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
