Promotional art for The Invincible Iron Man vol. 5, #25 (second printing) (June 2010) by Salvador Larroca.
With the change in the nature of the economy “thinking” has become a much bigger issue. Rote, mindless work is now being taken over by robots and that will do nothing but increase. In this post I am not really talking about just the act of thinking. I am actually talking about the use of the power of an employee’s thoughts to power equipment. What if mind power is the employee skill of the future? Will you be prepared for the changes that might entail?
Thinking power
Imagine being able to sit down at your desk and without touching a thing or saying a word you can turn on your computer, open the document you finished yesterday and proceed to edit it just by reading and then thinking the edits you wanted to make? What about making that robot on the factory floor operate as you sit in a control room and think the tasks you want it to perform? Sounds like the stuff of science fiction or science fiction movies doesn’t it? Well it may not be as far in the future as you think.
Not quite Iron Man, yet
In Iron Man 3 Tony Stark talks to his “iron” suit. (An understatement if there ever was one.) He can will it to perform tasks. Unfortunately we are not that advanced yet, however, there has been work done that has shown that simple mechanisms can be controlled just by thinking. The example below shows how a toy helicopter can be controlled through a device on worn by the operator that transmits his thoughts to a computer and then to the helicopter. Watch this demonstration and then think about the implications of this technology for your organization. What kind of employee will you have to hire? What type of training will you have to provide? How will it change your job description and your compensation system? Does this create a world of individual performers or would this technology allow teamwork?
I can think of many industries this would have impact on. Indeed it might be hard to think of an industry that would not be affected by this potential technology. Give it some thought and let me know how you see this impacting you.
By the way, I am typing this on a Bluetooth keyboard for my iPad. I would love to have just “thought” this and not cramp my big fingers on this tiny keyboard.
Beer at work as taxable income?
One of the benefits often mentioned for companies considered “great places to work” is the free food and drinks made available to the employees. This even gets used as a recruitment incentive to convince an employee they want to work for you. Well I have some potentially bad news for you, that free food may soon be a taxable benefit.
Income tax on your sandwich
My friend Jon Hyman has reported that the free meals companies provide to their employees should actually be taxed if the meal is not provided for the convenience of the employer. The IRS does allow tax free meals in situations where the meal is provided on the company premise and is done for the benefit of the company and not the employee. Otherwise the value of that meal should be added to the taxable income of the employee. According to Martin J. McMahon, Jr., professor of tax law at the University of Florida a company cannot provide tax-free meals if workers commute from home and have the ability to bring their lunches with them.
No free beer
I have friends that work at two companies that are considered progressive places and both companies offer free beer and wine to employees. A nice benefit! But according to Professor McMahon the company should be reporting the value of that beer to the IRS as taxable income.
Of course the IRS sees this as a potential boon so they are looking at this closely. If it comes to pass it will certainly put a damper on the offers of employment made by those companies who offer food and drink benefits. I can see that offer letter now “Your salary will be $50,000 annually plus, based on our review of your Facebook page, we will estimate another $3000 annually for the beer you drink.”
Youth unemployment rises as the USDOL sends money to other countries.
I have great news! Apparently all child labor violations in the US have been solved. We have eliminated child labor violations in the our country so now the United States Department of Labor is fighting child labor violations in other countries.
US DOL International Division?
Did you know that the United States Department of Labor has an international division? Well they do and they like spending taxpayer money on non- US labor issues. Recent examples include:
- US Labor Department solicits applications for $7 million agreement to expand international knowledge base on child labor
- US Department of Labor announces $10 million grant solicitation to address child labor and working conditions in Dominican Republic
- US Labor Department to award one or more cooperative agreements to reduce child labor in Rwanda’s tea sector
One of the goals of the $10 million study is to ”… increase basic education opportunities for children, improve livelihoods for families and agricultural workers, expand employment programs that help youths transition out of hazardous work, and protect workers’ rights and children’s rights to education. The project also will build the government’s capacity to enforce labor laws; develop and pilot social compliance systems within agricultural companies; increase public awareness on child labor and other labor rights; share strategies and good practices; and engage in monitoring, data collection and research designed to guide future improvements under the project.” This would certainly be a noble goal IF IT WERE HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.
Youth Labor issues
Here in the US we have a good deal of youth unemployment. As summer approaches that situation is going to get worse. According to one news report “In the U.S. the unemployment rate for those aged 16 to 24 is 16.2%, more than double the April national rate of 7.5%.” While it is noble to worry about youth labor conditions on the tea plantations in Rwanda I think our millions of dollars would be better spent on solving the US youth employment situation.
But that is just my opinion.
To feel more powerful stand more powerful.
There is an ongoing struggle for respect in HR. We read about it, we hear about it, we talk about it amongst ourselves and we envy those that we perceive have it. We often wonder what we can do ourselves to get that respect. Here are two ways to enhance your power in HR and get that respect you would like to have.
Step One- Be competent
To be honest with you there is nothing secret about this step. We all know that if you are lousy at your job you are not going to get any respect. If you are unorganized and let things drop through the cracks no one will care what your strategic input it. So make sure you do what you do very well.
Beyond that however, is the list of the competencies that the modern and effective HR leader is supposed to have. Ulrich et al. in their book Global HR Competencies provide us with a list of competencies that include:
- Strategic positioner- This means understanding how the global business context impacts their own business and translating that information into implications for their own organization. You can do this even in a small company.
- Capability builder: You help create an effective and strong organization by defining and building upon what the company and employees are good at. You can work with managers to create meaning and purpose at work.
- Change champion: This is ensuring “a seamless integration of change processes that builds sustainable competitive advantage.” We all deal with change every day, large or small. HR’s role can be as simple as encouraging adaptation and not being the “naysayer” to ensuring that all the resources needed are available.
- HR innovator and integrator: This is summed up by saying “the appropriate HR practices, processes, structures, and procedures are aligned to create and sustain those capabilities.” To me this means no HR person should ever say “we have always done it this way.”
- Technology proponent: Technology has been around in HR for quite a while. But today the new technologies of digital social interaction are more prevalent. Some HR has been hesitant to adopt it. Additionally the management and retention of information is no longer just an IT issue. Knowledge retention is critical to an organizations success and HR should play a large role in this.
If you are a sole practitioner this may sound like a daunting list. But it doesn’t have to be if you work at a piece every day.
Step Two- Be aware of your body language
I have written about body language several times, most recently in Improve Your Ability to Get a Job in One Step. Most of us are aware of body language in terms of the signals we pick up from others we are dealing with. What many of us are not aware of are the signals we are giving off to others. As I said in the blog post “Your posture speaks volumes about how you feel about yourself. We all know that because we have an inherent built-in biological ability to recognize body postures signals. What we usually fall down on is the ability to recognize when we ourselves are sending the wrong signals about our confidence” Being aware of our own body language can change how we are perceived by others. Beyond that, however, is research that shows that our body language also has an effect on how we perceive ourselves.
Pay attention to how you sit or stand when you are with people from whom you feel you would like more respect. Do you have a closed stance? Do you sit with your legs crossed and arms folded? If you do you are probably being perceived as weak and you are also feeling that way. Researchers have shown, through measuring testosterone and cortisol, that subjects who adopt power stances change increase the level of testosterone and decrease the level of cortisol, which is tied to stress. As a result the subjects felt more confident and in control of the situation.
The power pose.
The researchers suggest that to change your attitude about how powerful you are feeling you change your stance and adopt power positions, as shown in the picture. They suggest you practice these, before a meeting, or even every morning. The change in your attitude will take place. You will be more confident and will instill more confidence. Many self-help gurus offer this advice and basically they say “fake it until you make it.” So the next time you are trying to gain respect and instill confidence in y our abilities, adopt the “super hero” pose before you have a meeting. You will be pleased with the results.
