Rehumanizing Policies

Policies are a key part of organizational life and are reflective of organizational culture. In general, however, policies are often viewed by employees as a necessary evil at best or dehumanizing at worst. In some or many ways, “policy” is a four-letter word. In a recent meeting with a diagnostic imaging department team inside a healthcare system, the Director was reviewing various policies to make sure that staff were aware of the “rules.” The conversation included typical policies related to attendance, tardiness, excused absences, paid-time-off, etc. This somewhat mundane review of policies triggered a good, healthy, and needed discussion of policies in general and how to create systems or policies that will better match with the complex realities of human beings that work in today’s organizations.

A poignant example of the need for more thoughtful creation and enforcement of policies was offered by the Director. In a small critical access hospital, the lone diagnostic imaging technologist at work one day was given a challenging imaging assignment. She needed to image her boyfriend of eight months with whom she had seriously discussed marriage in the near future. Sadly, her boyfriend who had been in an auto accident did not survive his injuries and passed. This young woman was left with not only the trauma of imaging her dying significant other but also with the additional trauma of trying to work through the bereavement policy at the hospital which only allowed for paid time off in the case of the death of a spouse. Having not yet been married, she was ineligible for this least of human kindnesses per the policy. This is a somewhat extreme example, but it illustrates the point. The policies that we create need to be able to be applied in a way consistent with our desire to treat all team members as valuable human beings deserving of compassionate and dignified treatment. They may need to be rehumanized.

Things to Consider When Rethinking Policies:

When reimagining policies, the overall revision approach is more in keeping with the realities of a 21st century workforce of human employees by following some key principles. The current situation may require a shift in the way we think about various management practices (Burkus, 2016). Consider the following as you work on the revision of existing policies:

·      Shift the paradigm.

Move from amber or orange to green and teal. Frederic Laloux has created a brilliant model explaining the evolutionary scale of organizational culture (2014). In this model, earlier forms of organizational culture fail to reflect the need to treat all employees as intrinsically valuable human beings rather than “human resources.” Earlier cultures, including amber (traditional/hierarchal) and orange (organization as a machine to improve), fall short of the more humane approaches included in green (human family) and teal (evolutionary wholeness) approaches. The foundational mindset we utilize as we conceive of new or revised policies needs to be in keeping with a more people-first organizational mindset.

·      Treat people like adults.

In amber or orange organizations, people tend to be treated, albeit not always consciously, as either children or resources. In the amber culture, the larger organization knows best and will create systems. policies and enforcement of those policies for the “children” it is “parenting.” 

Adult relationships require adult mindsets and behaviors. Too often, organizations “parentify” with the unconscious support or childlike discipline of employees who are more than willing to be relegated into the posture of a child. In adult-adult relationships, we are able to capture both important aspects of a given policy emphasizing both personal accountability, responsibility and ownership with the need for organizational consistency and fairness to all employees.

·      Focus on the 95%

It is clear that most people in most organizations want to do a good job, are responsible people, and are not trying to take advantage of the loopholes that can be found in policies. However, the thrust of many policies is aimed toward the much smaller percentage of potential employees (the five percenters) with the opposite disposition (Bingham, & Dusin, 2018). How many of your policies fall into this trap of allowing the bad actors to dictate the situation for everyone else? Think first about the majority 95% of responsible people. How will your policy affect them? Then, try to create policy to deal with the exceptions and make the distinction clear between the two.

·      When in doubt . . . values trump

If core values are real and the clearest expression of the heart of the organization, they need to guide the creation of policies and in the event of conflict between values and policy, they need to trump. In the example above, the value of treating this x-ray technologist with dignity, respect and kindness would rightfully trump any written policy that failed to uphold this key cultural value. It may be good practice to intentionally state the connection between the policies and the cultural values that govern their interpretation and application.

·      Don’t overspecify or overly narrow in

In many ways, less is more, and guidelines are better than over specificity in many cases. Leave room for wisdom and contextual or systemic thinking. Let the values of the organization reflected in the policies set individuals up to make good people-first decisions. We can be tempted to want to lock things down for the sake of clarity and fairness and sometimes this may be possible, but often that level of detail may not work in the complexity of real-life situations people face. 

·      Where possible . . . be a little radical

To shift paradigms often requires more than just incremental change. As you reimagine policies in your organization, push the envelope where you can within the constraints of the context. Think about getting rid of bereavement policies (Bingham & Dusin; Burkus). Focus less on trying to control things from the outside in and think about how to create the right broad strokes of culture that will help employees in the organization truly feel valued and empowered. It may not be possible in your organization, but think about the power of a singular policy to specify the expectations around employee conduct: “Everyone is expected to act in the best interest of the company and their fellow employees.” (Bingham, & Dusin, p. 47). This overarching value of thinking of others covers so many of the anticipated negative behaviors of employees.

In any case, be aware that policies are a key part of your organizational culture. They are where the rubber meets the road and how your employees will either experience the best intent of your organizational values or the worst, unintended, consequence. Whatever we say we believe in our mission, vision and values statements (aspirational culture) can be completely lost if we fail to develop policies that reinforce those beliefs (actual culture).

References:

Bingham, S., & Dusin, B. (2018). Creating the High Performance Work Place: It’s Not Complicated to Develop a Culture of Commitment. Oceanside, CA: Indie Books.

Burkus, D. (2016). Under New Management: How Leading Organizations Are Upending Business as Usual. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Laloux, F. (2014). Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness. Brussels, Belgium: Nelson Parker.