Giving Is Receiving

             “You get more when you give” How do you feel when you hear someone say like this? Do you wonder how one can get when he/she gives? Won’t he/she lose what is given? If you stop relying too much on logical or natural way of thinking and let supernatural power show its magic, you can agree that this simple sentence contains certain truth that defies human rationality. Interestingly, when strategically applied in the context of organizational performance excellence, this you-get-more-when-you-give perspective magically radiates such a positive energy of productivity that showers the heart of an individual and, at the same time, nourishes the soil of the organization to flourish.

            Firstly, we humans are not robots or any other breed of artificial intelligence (AI). We have feelings, longings, and passions, all of which need positive stimulants to make them highly productive and profitable. One of the things that can stimulate an individual to bring out the best for the benefit of his/her organization is self-confidence. When a boss gives a chance to the staff members to try to do new things they are passionate about, he/she strategically allows self-confidence to take roots. The stronger the roots are, the better the fruit will be as they will not sway too easily before problems. People can, in fact, perform a lot better when they feel confident and when they know that they get the support from their boss. As a result, self-confidence founded within the heart of the staff members and built from the chance given by the boss will later turn around for the good of all involved. The staff members feel confident to produce more and the boss/organization gains more productive work from the initiatives of those confident individuals.

            Secondly, we live in a society of mass media and public recognition is one of the things that most of us, if not all, are increasingly concerned about. As a matter of fact, social rules, regulations, norms, or customs exist simply to make us conform and/or live up to the expectations of our respective societies. We have been raised up to think of others, and not only of ourselves. Hardly is a selfish person truly admired in the eye of the public. In one word, the more we get along well with other people, the easier we can live in the society. Since society plays an important role in our life and public recognition is one of the key success factors for an individual in this current age of interconnectedness and interdependence, an organization should, therefore, look for ways to make the employees feel accepted. Giving a trophy or a plague of honor to the winner of, taking University of Phayao as an example, website contest among schools and divisions is one way for a university to boost the morale of faculty and staff members, who will, with all the good sense of self-worth and self-gratification, keep working hard and produce more of what has wildly been recognized. Consequently, the university will gain a lot more productivity and loyalty from those highly spirited faculty and staff members.

            Lastly, money is instrumental to a good and sensible living in modern society. No matter who we are and whatever position we have at work, we all need salary to sustain life, to take care of our family, and/or to help those in need. Economically speaking, the cost of living around the globe is getting higher, even skyrocketing in some places, each passing year. The world is getting more and more complicated and, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is sad to see a lot of business organizations close down or lay off employees. Although a number of business organizations can survive the pandemic, many of them cut off their expenses in order to move on. Salary cut is one of the techniques many organizations have unwittingly used for the purpose. Superficially, such a cut is acceptable and reasonable when in times of financial trouble. In the long run, it can harm the employees and the organization alike. Those employees who have been affected by salary cut relatively lose a sense of loyalty, a sense of belonging, and thus commitment to work. They do not feel the love and care from the organization, and they are more likely to stop working hard, consequently. The organization, in the meantime, cannot go far without the hard work and devotion of the employees. Indeed, such a cut of salary literally cuts both ways. To avoid such destructive scenario, salary cut, I believe, should have no foothold in the mind of the boss or organization, no matter what. On the contrary, yearly increase of salary for the employees is highly encouraged for organizations that eye for productivity and sustainable growth.

            All in all, a chance to prove one’s worth and ability, a trophy to stimulate and sharpen one’s competitive edge, and a yearly increase of salary are at least the three things that an organization must take into account and readily translate them into an organizational culture if productivity and sustainability are the strategic goals. For some reason, these three suggestions might not make sense and/or against every normal circumstance at the time to apply them. However, we need miracles as much as we need, if not more, rationality to live on this planet earth where there are more of the unknowns than the knowns. And enthusiastic workforce is, by all means, those miracles that can make an organization thriving.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tipchan Wongchanta