Page 146 - The Voice of Authority

The same scene unfolds in the workplace. Aside from
the expectations raised by our Internet culture, the speed
of passing on information one to one—Jill to Jeremiah,
manager to staff, Bob in Accounting to Akemi in Engi-
neering—makes people feel like family. For further evi-
dence, tune in to the most popular TV sitcoms and see how
often the storyline centers around the characters’ personal
lives at work. Their work colleagues have become their ex-
tended family. That said, when employees hear company
news from outsiders—the media, a supplier, another
company—rather than “the family,” they feel betrayed.
Can you imagine turning on the TV tonight and dis-
covering that your brother has been arrested on drug
charges? Nobody from the family has bothered to call and
let you know. Or, how about reading the newspaper and
seeing a notice in the Obituary section that your cousin has
died and no one has told you? Would you be angry? Hurt?
Incensed? At least inquisitive as to why someone failed to
notify you?
Similar feelings run through the minds of employees,
suppliers, and customers when they learn of company
events from an outsider—the newspaper, TV, radio, a
blog, the next-door neighbor, or the guy at the gym, rather
than from their own organization or boss.
The meaning of “outsiders,” of course, varies. Some-
times Francine’s boss tells the news to her department,
news that Francine shares with Frank over lunch—whose
manager hasn’t even thought about telling his own staff.
Result: In Frank’s mind, by all rights, he has been wronged.
His department has been “left out” in getting the family
news.
The issues of speed and timeliness have become even
more complex as hierarchies disappear.

134 The Voice of Authority