http://blog.oup.com/2007/02/managing_your_m4/ Academic insights for the thinking world. Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:01:09 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 http://blog.oup.com/2007/02/managing_your_m4/#comment-121046 Shane Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:18:13 +0000 http://216.110.190.15/2007/02/managing_your_mind_work_tips/#comment-121046 5. While at work, try to forget that you are a human being with needs and desires. Leave your autonomy at home. For many workers, the worst part of their daily toil is the conflict between the worker's humanity and the inhuman industrial system of which the worker is a part. The easiest way to overcome this is to stifle one's human impulses and to assimilate as completely as possible to whatever organization it is for which one works. Remember: You are an object, an instrument of another's will, not a subject with a will of one's own. Few things are more damaging to the work ethic than to forget these essentials. If you are a manager, make sure to keep employees in check by periodically reminding them of their role in ways subtle and overt. Should an employee show signs of initiative or will (i.e., insubordination), try gently reminding the employee that she is there to serve your needs, not to have needs of her own. If the insubordination persists, try threatening the employee with dismissal. Nothing quashes an uppity spirit like the fear of starvation, and nothing is more supportive of managerial prerogatives than workers properly cowed. As long as everyone knows his place and behaves accordingly, work will flow smoothly, capital will accumulate, and God & His angels will sing the praises of a world in working order. 5. While at work, try to forget that you are a human being with needs and desires. Leave your autonomy at home. For many workers, the worst part of their daily toil is the conflict between the worker’s humanity and the inhuman industrial system of which the worker is a part. The easiest way to overcome this is to stifle one’s human impulses and to assimilate as completely as possible to whatever organization it is for which one works. Remember: You are an object, an instrument of another’s will, not a subject with a will of one’s own. Few things are more damaging to the work ethic than to forget these essentials. If you are a manager, make sure to keep employees in check by periodically reminding them of their role in ways subtle and overt. Should an employee show signs of initiative or will (i.e., insubordination), try gently reminding the employee that she is there to serve your needs, not to have needs of her own. If the insubordination persists, try threatening the employee with dismissal. Nothing quashes an uppity spirit like the fear of starvation, and nothing is more supportive of managerial prerogatives than workers properly cowed. As long as everyone knows his place and behaves accordingly, work will flow smoothly, capital will accumulate, and God & His angels will sing the praises of a world in working order.

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