I'm wondering about Mr. Slater's rant on a recent Jet Blue flight, but more than that, I'm wondering about the nation's response to it. I'm not sure which is more telling, the initial transactions (the head bump by the passenger or the response to said bump), or the cultlike following Mr. Slater has attracted. I'm wondering: are we all so miserable at work that someone else's mad rant and storming out of the 'office' is cause for applause? I'm just wondering.
Did Mr. Slater have a real grievance? Absolutely. The passenger was ill-mannered and should have at least offered an apology for bumping Mr. Slater in the head with her bag. Of course, she offered no apology (because service people are not entitled to basic respect, but that's an issue for another day) and so Mr. Slater probably worn down by one too many ill-mannered passengers, blew a gasket.
So here's my big question: what is it that is happening in organizations that is causing employees to be simmering pots of rage? It seems to me that the only reason this thing could have resonated so deeply with the populace, is that people are unable to speak their piece in peace in their work environments. More than that I think that people are being bullied and harassed in awful ways at work and consequently, they are longing for a hero, someone who says one day, "Enough with this crap! I'm done!", enter Mr. Slater with his Facebook fan page with one hundred thousand plus fans.
If I were an HR practitioner, I'd be looking at the events of the last couple of days and asking myself whether there was something bubbling under the surface at my organization as well. I'd be asking myself whether my company had any staff who, given the challenging economic times coupled with the stresses of family life, might be on the verge of an explosion of their own. I'd be asking the question and talking to other HR people in the organization to get a sense of whether anyone else felt this was something we needed to be acting on.
My feeling is that Jet Blue was lucky. Mr. Slater only cursed out a passenger and deployed a safety device unnecessarily. Other employees under the same pressures might express their distress in ways that could endanger lives. I'm just saying.
The wave of approval for Mr. Slater's actions is very telling. Is anyone listening to the story the response is telling us? I sure hope so.
Did Mr. Slater have a real grievance? Absolutely. The passenger was ill-mannered and should have at least offered an apology for bumping Mr. Slater in the head with her bag. Of course, she offered no apology (because service people are not entitled to basic respect, but that's an issue for another day) and so Mr. Slater probably worn down by one too many ill-mannered passengers, blew a gasket.
So here's my big question: what is it that is happening in organizations that is causing employees to be simmering pots of rage? It seems to me that the only reason this thing could have resonated so deeply with the populace, is that people are unable to speak their piece in peace in their work environments. More than that I think that people are being bullied and harassed in awful ways at work and consequently, they are longing for a hero, someone who says one day, "Enough with this crap! I'm done!", enter Mr. Slater with his Facebook fan page with one hundred thousand plus fans.
If I were an HR practitioner, I'd be looking at the events of the last couple of days and asking myself whether there was something bubbling under the surface at my organization as well. I'd be asking myself whether my company had any staff who, given the challenging economic times coupled with the stresses of family life, might be on the verge of an explosion of their own. I'd be asking the question and talking to other HR people in the organization to get a sense of whether anyone else felt this was something we needed to be acting on.
My feeling is that Jet Blue was lucky. Mr. Slater only cursed out a passenger and deployed a safety device unnecessarily. Other employees under the same pressures might express their distress in ways that could endanger lives. I'm just saying.
The wave of approval for Mr. Slater's actions is very telling. Is anyone listening to the story the response is telling us? I sure hope so.
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