Let Us Be 'Tasty'!

Please don't make us give up our individuality. Please don't suppress our 'authenticity,' in pursuit of so-called 'professionalism.'

Our individual expression in the workplace is what keeps us sane. It's what keeps us happy. It's what keeps us truly productive. And if we're happy and productive, our customers are happy, too.

So, let us keep our bling. Our silly hats. The wind-up toys we put on the counters. Trust us. Respect us. Customers get it. It encourages social interaction.

This year, researchers at the University of Michigan reported that people they studied who engaged in social interaction displayed higher levels of cognitive performance, or intellectual activity - such as thinking, reasoning or remembering - than those who do not.

Which is my next point. Remember, we have brains, too. And we're at the sharp end of production, administration and customer contact. We know what we're doing. So, please take the time to listen to us.

It's all very well saying that the success or failure of all of these changes is in our hands. Fine. If you recognize that, then why not also recognize that implementation might be at its most productive if we're all involved in helping to make the decisions as to how to implement?

Try engaging with us. Maybe hold a department meeting or two. If you treat us like cyphers, like soldiers in a regiment, to be lined up and given orders, well, that's what you'll get. Who wins then?

Bottom line? You want us to be more as a co-op. You want us to give our customers an 'authentic' experience. So, let us be individually 'authentic,' too. As my good friend Eliza says, let us be 'Tasty.'

You want us to be more than hourly grunts. You want us to be team players. So, respect us, and treat us like we're part of the team, too.

Whad'ya say? Maybe? Huh?

*******

By the way, do you like my bonnet?

It was Jaishree's Birthday, and she said I should wear her bonnet. No, I didn't get the connection, either.

And yes, I was allowed to wear it all day.

That's because I'm lucky enough to have a great manager, who has a sense of humor, and who truly gets it (and who...um...even as I write, is - I'm sure - slipping that $20 'handshake' into my mailbox...).