"You know, Robert, I have no expectation to ever be happy at work. I just hope to be a little less miserable."
That's the line from a restaurant server that Robert Martichenko, board chair of TrailPath Workplace Solutions and founder of the lean consultancy LeanCore, can't shake.
Operational supply chain roles aren't easy, but that doesn't mean it isn't possible for people to find dignity in their work. Hoping to be less miserable one day at a time does little for individual frontline workers, and it does even less for the company that employs them and the customers they serve.
In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Robert and Kelly Barner dig into what dignity means in the workplace, and why it is not the same thing as respect:
- Why "respect for people" is the wrong frame, and what dignity actually requires
- The four states TrailPath's research finds people in at work — and why nearly half of most workforces are declining or surviving, not growing or thriving
- What the second law of thermodynamics has to do with your supply chain, and why chasing unit cost quietly cost procurement its relationships
Links:
Robert Martichenko on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertmartichenko/
Kelly Barner on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-barner-6884443/
Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/art-of-supply-6895142546301960193
Art of Supply on AOP: http://www.artofsupply.com
Subscribe to the Art of Procurement Newsletter: https://resources.artofprocurement.com/art-of-procurement-podcast-subscribe
