On External and Internal Distactions at Work

We continue to find ways to promote stability in the workplace referencing the Rule of St. Benedict. The motivation for this endeavor was primarily threats coming at us from outside. Since we haven't discussed these for a while, here's a quick re-cap.

Now, there are always external distractions that may hound us when we're trying to do our job. By "external," we mean those that come from outside ourselves. So, for example, a colleague who's constantly interrupting us with gossip, general chatter, etc. We're not talking about the occasional remark of a friendly co-worker; rather, repeatedly interfering with our efforts to concentrate on our work in order to do a good job.

Depending on your particular situation, you may face more or less of these outside distractions. I once worked for a boss who constantly interrupted my efforts to do my job. We might call him "needy." He needed and wanted attention to whatever concerns he had at that time; or he might need someone to talk to about...well, anything really. You'd think this behavior strange from someone charged to increase the bottom line by managing and motivating employees to work hard and work efficiently. Go figure.

But rather than these typical outside distractions, our concern has been those distractions that have come at us in recent times. Here are a few examples: 

• Forcing workers to take an experimental injection or lose their job: While many accepted the jabs, some of us sought exemption, requiring extensive paperwork and/or hiring an attorney to provide needed legal counsel.
  
• Disruption of supply chains: Depending on our business, our companies may not be able to obtain necessary parts to manufacture products. On the personal side, shortages of necessities. While these have been selective so far, one of the biggest reported issues has been difficulty in obtaining baby formula - a big deal if that's what you rely on to feed your newborn/recently born child.
  
• Inflation: This impacts our company's bottom line and our personal finances.

While the specific impact on every individual depends on personal situation and particular workplace, these have and continue to distract many of us, even cause some of us to become distraught in certain circumstances. I'm not aware of any studies that measure the impact on business results from such distractions; but we can gauge this by individual experience and common sense.

Given these distractions, it would behoove owners and managers of businesses to consider the impact these wield on the bottom line, never mind the health and sanity of the worker. Has this been the case in your workplace? Do you hear any of this even discussed, never mind addressed in a meaningful way? My experience and that of clients and others tells me owners and managers have done a poor job here. And whether the distraction is general or one or more of these recent "special" distractions, we can conclude that a poorly managed business fosters an undisciplined or chaotic environment. Such a business will obviously fare much worse than a reasonably well-managed workplace. A well-managed workplace should provide the calm, stable background that would support our diligent pursuit of excellence in doing our job.

In considering all this we've found the Rule of St. Benedict to be a rich source of ideas for ways to promote the needed stability in our workplace. The next entry in the Rule addresses the time the monks dine. Given all we've discussed here, it's an example of a superb manager - St. Benedict - attempting to get every detail of the running of his monastery in order. Look how specific he gets here; but also note that he leaves a fair amount of discretion to the abbot when organizing the times of meals. That discretion considers the particular location and circumstances of the monastery, as well as the welfare of the individual monks.

Would that our owners and managers displayed such sensitivity to their workers as well as this superb degree of careful planning in all their decisions. 

"From the feast of Easter until Pentecost let the brethren dine at the sixthe hour and sup in the evening. From Pentecost throughout the summer, unless the monks have work in the fields or the heat of the summer oppress them, let them fast on Wednesdays and Fridays until the ninth hour; on the other days let them dine at the sixth hour. If they have fiedl work or the summer heat be extreme, this dinner at the sixth hour shall be the daily practice, according to the abbot's discretion. And let him so arrange and ordain all things that souls may be saved and that the brethren may do their work without justifiable murmuring. From September the 14th until the beginning of Lent let them always have their meal at the ninth hour. In Lent until Easter let them have it in the evening. Vespers, however, should be so timed that the brethren may not need lamplight at the meal, but that all may be accomplished by daylight. And at all times let the hour of the late meal or supper be so arranged that everything may be done by daylight."

A final note: We each might consider, in our own lives, both at work and at home, regularly scheduled meals. This seems to have once been common practice at home. But more and more I hear of people whose meals are relatively haphazard. For us at work, a regular eating plan helps us regulate our day, lending itself to a more stable environment at work. And at home, in the case of having a wife and children, the family meal remains one of the staples of a stable family life.

You might not think the planning of meals could be so important. But, as usual, St. Benedict knows what he's talking about.

So much for external distractions. Next time it's on to internal distractions...