Kristin van Ogtrop is the editor of Real Simple, a monthly lifestyle magazine for women.\u00a0 In a recent edition of Time magazine, she wrote an opinion piece entitled, \u201cThere\u2019s a difference between a boss and a friend, and that\u2019s as it should be.\u201d\u00a0 In it, she bemoans a lot of research done by the Gallup organization that indicates today\u2019s workers (millennials) want a more personal relationship with their managers than she is comfortable with.\u00a0 Apparently she is \u201cold school.\u201d\u00a0 That is, she seems to long for the good old days when bosses were bosses and employees were employees, and everybody understood why we call it \u201cwork.\u201d\u00a0 And she\u2019s hardly alone.\u00a0 Many of today\u2019s managers cut their teeth in business during times when workplace relationships were more constrained and less personal.\u00a0 If you\u2019re with Ms. Van Ogtrap on this but are willing to consider an alternative point of view, please continue reading below.<\/p>\n
\u201cChange with the world \u2013 or it will change without you.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~ Paul Shay<\/em><\/p>\n Change is all around us.\u00a0 There are changes in technology, changes in our markets, changes in government regulations, changes in our competitive positions, and yes, changes in the character and complexion of our workplaces.\u00a0 And as managers, it\u2019s our responsibility to deal with these changes.\u00a0 In fact, in one way of thinking, dealing with change is a manager\u2019s only<\/u><\/em> job.\u00a0 As noted keynote speaker Peter Schutz has frequently said, \u201cIf there is no change, there is no need to manage.\u201d<\/p>\n Ms. Van Ogtrop describes how Gallup\u2019s research shows that millennials want a \u201cholistic relationship\u201d with their managers whereby the boss takes an interest in them, not just as workers, but as complete human beings.\u00a0 Then she says, \u201cPlease Gallup, make it stop.\u00a0 I am trying so hard to evolve, but every time I hear something like this I want to get in a time machine and go back to the days when making millennials feel fulfilled was not my responsibility.\u00a0 Call me old-fashioned, but . . . . I thought we all went to work to . . . work.\u201d<\/p>\n We are all in competition for the best available talent.\u00a0 Once upon a time, that competition was largely about money . . . people would tend to go wherever they were offered the highest pay and best benefits package.\u00a0 Not that pay and benefits (what\u2019s left of them) aren\u2019t still important.\u00a0 They are.\u00a0 But now there are other dimensions to our competition for talent.\u00a0 Job seekers today want to know that the work they are considering is relevant . . . that it matters.\u00a0 They want to know that they\u2019ll be treated like a person, not a number.\u00a0 They want to know that their opinions will be heard and that they\u2019ll have a voice in matters that impact their work.\u00a0 And this is good news for small business.\u00a0 When the competition for talent is mostly about money, it\u2019s hard for small businesses to compete with Corporate America, but when the conversation turns to who provides the most satisfying, inclusive workplace environment, we\u2019re on a level playing field . . . in fact, on that playing field, small businesses might even have the advantage.<\/p>\n Think of this as a marketing problem, because that\u2019s what it really is.\u00a0 In traditional marketing, we\u2019re trying to figure out how to meet customer<\/u><\/em> needs better than the other guy.\u00a0 It\u2019s the same deal here except we\u2019re trying to figure out how to meet employee<\/u><\/em> needs better than the other guy.\u00a0 So we can cry, \u201cPlease Gallup, make it stop,\u201d but it won\u2019t stop.\u00a0 Millennials are making demands on the workplaces that are competing for their services, and they will go where those demands are being met.<\/p>\n I can hear the \u201cold school\u201d bosses now.\u00a0 They\u2019ll say, \u201cHey, we\u2019ve got jobs for people who want to work, but if they don\u2019t like the way we do things around here, let \u2018em go someplace else.\u201d<\/p>\n Unfortunately, they will, and those bosses will be left with the people nobody else wants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kristin van Ogtrop is the editor of Real Simple, a monthly lifestyle magazine for women.\u00a0 In a recent edition of Time magazine, she wrote an opinion piece entitled, \u201cThere\u2019s a difference between a boss and a friend, and that\u2019s as it should be.\u201d\u00a0 In it, she bemoans a lot of research done by the Gallup<\/p>\n