We have to look more closely at each other. Separating ourselves in terms of management and workers, especially in the warehouse, is an outdated and unproductive viewpoint.
This was brought home to me recently as I attended an industry event and listened to a manager talk about what motivates warehouse workers. And while the goal was to help companies attract and retain workers, I was quite taken aback with the perspective of the speaker. It was almost as if he was explaining how another group of human beings think and is motivated. And it struck me that it was an "us" (management) versus "them" (workers) mentality.
What concerned me was the fact that somehow "we" forgot that "we" once were them. All of us have worked at jobs that didn't pay as much as we earn now and that we didn't view as careers but as first jobs.
However, even viewing the situation by looking back on when we first started, I realized that perspective is incorrect as well. We are focusing on the job and not the individual.
The workforce of the future—which we label as Millennials, many of whom are already working today in our warehouses and manufacturing facilities—has an entirely different view of work than we did. And I think that's a good thing.
They are a technically-savvy, creative group that thrive on ideas, collaboration and achievement. Looking at them through that lens, we are lucky they are bringing their talents to us.
Instead of viewing a warehouse worker as unskilled or in need of training, why not consider the possibility that when they aren't at your place of work, they might be inventing an app to make their job better or maybe even the world better.
A case in point: A few years ago I was touring a factory and one of the workers in the production cell had created an elaborate reporting system. He did it outside of his job as he really enjoyed solving the issue that his cell was wrestling with. The company didn't know that he had this talent, but he brought it to his place of work and greatly improved productivity. To see the pride on his face as he explained to visitors how his system worked was priceless.
It's that experience that we need to offer workers in the warehouse or factory floor and in the logistics positions as well.
We have a long way to go to attract and retain Millennials since warehouse jobs as they currently exist aren't really conducive to entrepreneurial-type thinking. So the fact that young people's wish lists of dream jobs don't usually include warehouse positions should hardly be much of a surprise to us.
And for employees who are already in the warehouse workplace, only 23% say they are engaged in the work, with Millennials being the least-engaged generation of workers at 29%, according to a Gallup survey.
What if we viewed engagement not only as a function of working hours but as the overall characteristic of the person? What if companies saw warehouse work as a part-time endeavor that would allow employees to pursue other life goals? Amazon is already tapping into that sentiment. The company recently announced it would hire 30,000 part-time employees as well as 5,000 part-time customer service reps.
"There are lots of people who want or need a flexible job—whether they're a military spouse, a college student, or a parent—and we're happy to empower these talented people," said Tom Weiland, Amazon vice president for worldwide customer service, in a recent article in USA Today.
Amazon is smart to tap into the overall ambitions of its workforce. By viewing employees as a source of talent that goes beyond performing a particular job and instead as a source of fresh ideas, managers can offer this next generation of workers a place where they can channel their energy. The problems they solve, at work or otherwise, are the ones we are trying to solve.
It's not us versus them… they are us and we are them.
