|
Today’s Tip: People vs. Objects
“He/She is mine.”
“Have your people call my people.
”Check with the Human Resources
Department.”
What do all of these have in common?
All of these phrases are fairly common in
today’s world. And all of them refer to people not as human
beings, but as our property, an object or commodity:
-
The pronoun “mine” and the adjectives
“my” and “your” mean something belonging to or possessed
by you or me. The literal meaning when we call someone
“mine” or yours”, therefore, is that we possess that
person, they belong to us just as a car or other object
might.
-
The term resource means something that
can be used for support or help. Therefore, to call
employees Human Resources diminishes people to the level
of equipment, raw materials and other commodities used
to produce the final product.
Of course, we cannot and do not own or
possess people. We have relationships with them. And while
we may engage the services of someone, we do not want to use
them. We use objects.
Why is this important? To treat people as
objects is to diminish their sense of self. It trivializes
them, breeds resentment and weakens relationships. As a
management tool it might make it easier for managers to make
decisions that effect large numbers of employees, but it has
a negative impact on those employees. People perform at
their highest levels when they feel they are respected and
valued; when they feel like a pawn or unvalued, their
performance suffers. Sadly, many people tell me they feel
like slaves at their jobs.
Reducing people to objects or commodities
is a tool used to maintain control and power over them. It
is widely used by those who commit violence against others.
This is not the message decent people, people like those of
you who are reading this, want to convey to others.
Instead of saying he/she is mine, we can
say he/she is my spouse/child/co-worker/friend. Adding the
relationship turns the pronoun into a modifier and changes
the meaning. Likewise, instead of talking about my people
and yours, we can name the people we want to connect. And
companies could benefit from looking at the language they
use too – remember the old Employee Relations Departments?
Our words are powerful. They create our
truths and our realities, so it is incumbent on us to choose
them wisely and make sure they generate the message we
intend.
If you hear someone speaking in a manner
that objectifies people, I challenge you to gently rephrase
what they are saying and put the humanity back into the
discussion. I also challenge you to make sure you are not
talking of people as objects. Your relationships will be
stronger for it.
Remember… it’s all in how you say it!
I love hearing the stories of
how this newsletter has helped people – keep them coming.
The ideas for these
newsletters are pulled from special requests or situations I
encounter in my day-to-day work. This month I chose to
indulge myself and draw on my work on modern-day slavery and
trafficking in humans. If you have a specific communication
issue you would like to see addressed in this forum, let
Sherry know by contacting her at
sherry@thewattsconnection.com.
Happy Holidays
Wishing you all the blessings
of the holiday season and a very happy, healthy New Year.
Let Sherry Help You:
Sherry often speaks to groups interested in
learning how they improve their communication skills. If you
know of a group looking for speakers, ask her how she can
tailor a program to their specific needs.
If you want to learn more about how coaching can help you
take your communications to the next level, Sherry offers a
complimentary coaching session designed to help you
experience coaching and see if it is right for you.
You can contact Sherry at
sherry@thewattsconnection.com.
Subscribe now:
If you liked what you read in this issue,
we invite you to:
-
Subscribe and receive this e-zine
once/month, send an email to
info@thewattsconnection.com
with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. You
will not receive another e-zine from me unless you send
the email asking to subscribe.
You will be able to unsubscribe at any time by
sending an email with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the
subject line. FRIEND: As we discussed, I have
already added you to the subscription list, so you do
not need to respond unless you decide to unsubscribe.
-
Contact us and let us know how the tip
helped you.
|
