Passed your used-by-date

Not listened too...

Let me tell you about a circumstance I have seen and/or heard about often in workplaces these days. There can be people who have been practitioners of a certain craft for many years. They have been through all the ups and downs. They have seen fads and fashions come and go. They are very experienced and have been through all sorts of situations. (Let me say too, that there are many things in life you cannot learn except by experience. It is like me learning the plumbing trade, there are practices, perspectives and insights that you can only pick up by experience in the field.) They are workers in their firm, they produce the income, but managers and office people actually run the firm. Often when things are decided these experienced workers are never consulted! Systems are set up by people who have not been practitioners, but the practitioners are expected to fit into the systems. Unfortunately, I have seen it again and again, that when these experienced workers do speak out, they are treated like "old-people-past-their-used-by-date". Their wisdom is not respected in this big new world. Often too it is not even properly listened too. Because they may question one part of some "system" it is assumed it is just the grumblings of an old person unwilling to change, and therefore it is not taken seriously.Their issues may well be valid, but they are writeen off too easily.

I have often met older workers who have grown quite cynical about the firm they work for, though they enjoy their craft. They tend not to respect their bosses. I have tended to think less of these people because of their cynicism. Sometimes, to be honest, they are grumbling old people unwilling to change. But not always. Sometimes they actually have insights that have come from their experience and their reflection on their work and life itself. I have come to understand the reasons for some of the cynicism. They feel totally undervalued. They feel their years of experience are written off. They feel that whatever they say, they will not be listened to. They are made to feel like old fools.

I once took a wedding for a young new accountant for a big well known firm. He was fresh out of university. He was looking forward to a career in the office. As we talked about their future I asked him which office he would be working in? He told me that he would not be in the office for some time. He would be working with a roading gang. Then after a time there he would be going into some workshops to work. After that he would be moving to a quarry. The firm's policy was that you did not work in the office until you had experienced the nitty gritty of the practitioners in the field for a decent length of time. I think that policy was wise! I love the TV program "Under-cover boss" where the boss goes under cover and works with the people in the field. Every time I have watched it the boss learns heaps from these older experienced people who have actually been there and done that. The people in turn, get the feeling that for once their voice has been heard. They are so grateful!