What productive conflict can offer a workplace | Jess Kutch

Prevoditelj: Lea Družeić Recezent: Jelena Končar

I am a labor organizer,

Ja sam organizatorica rada.

and in 2013, I cofounded an organization called coworker.org

2013. suosnovala sam organizaciju Coworker.org

that uses technology to help people join with coworkers

koja koristi tehnologiju kako bi zbližila kolege

i organizirala poboljšanja na radnom mjestu.

and organize for improvements in the workplace.

Now, there are two kinds of reactions to what I do.

Postoje dvije vrste reakcija na moj posao.

Actually, no, there are three.

Zapravo, postoje tri.

The first is complete confusion about what organizing is.

Prva je potpuna zbunjenost o tome što je organiziranje.

When my doctor asked what I do and I told him,

Kada sam liječniku odgovorila na pitanje što radim,

he thought I meant organizing, like, Marie Kondo-style.

pomislio je da je riječ o organiziranju u stilu Marie Kondo.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

He was like, "Oh, that's so great, I could use some of that around here.

Rekao je: ''To je sjajno! Meni bi ovdje dobro došlo.

Želim dovesti kartone pacijenata u red.''

I would love to clean up our patient files."

And I had to explain to him that no, no, it's not that kind of organizing,

Morala sam mu objasniti da to nije takva vrsta organiziranja.

it's more like if you showed up to work tomorrow

To je više kao da sutra dođete na posao

and all the nurses in the office had gotten together

i sve sestre na odjelu ujedinile su se

kako bi zatražile povišicu.

to ask for an across-the-board raise.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

"Oh," he replied, and he got really quiet.

''Oh,'' odgovorio je i utihnuo.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Yeah, and that's the second kind of reaction:

To je druga vrsta reakcije:

the uncomfortable kind.

neugodna vrsta.

People usually withdraw from the conversation

Ljudi se obično povuku iz razgovora

and find someone else to talk to.

i pronađu drugog sugovornika.

Finally, there's the third reaction,

Konačno, tu je i treća reakcija,

the excited one,

uzbuđena reakcija poput:

the, "Oh my God, yes! We need this!"

''Moj Bože, da! Treba nam to!''

And someone always proceeds to tell me a story.

I netko mi uvijek krene pričati priču.

It's always a story about a job or a coworker or a friend

Priča je uvijek o kolegi ili prijatelju

who's enduring something awful at work.

koji trpi nešto grozno na poslu.

What I've noticed is that there is never a neutral response to what I do.

Ono što sam primjetila je da nitko nema neutralnu reakciju na moj posao.

You're either repelled by it,

Ideja ili vas odbija,

or you're struck with a lightning bolt of excitement.

ili vas pogađa poput munje uzbuđenja.

So why does my work stir up such strong reactions?

Zašto moj posao izaziva tako snažne reakcije?

My hunch is that it's about conflict.

Predosjećam da je uzrok tome konflikt.

If you have power in your workplace,

Ako imate moć na radnom mjestu,

maybe as a CEO or a senior leader of some kind,

možda kao direktor ili neka vrsta višeg voditelja,

you're going to feel uncomfortable with that power being challenged.

osjećat ćete se neugodno kada netko tu moć dovede u pitanje.

But if you lack power, or you know someone who lacks it and needs it,

Ako vam nedostaje moći ili znate nekoga kome nedostaje moć, a treba je,

you might grab me by the shoulders and shake me, you're so pumped.

mogli biste me zgrabiti za ramena i protresti od uzbuđenja.

But really, we can all benefit from understanding

Svima nam može koristiti znanje o tome

what conflict can offer in our workplaces.

što nam konflikt može ponuditi na radnom mjestu.

The power imbalance in our workplace is real,

Neravnoteža moći na radnom mjestu je stvarna,

and it's constantly changing.

stalno se mijenja.

Power moves between us, depending on our roles and status.

Moć se pomiče među nama, ovisno o našim ulogama i statusu.

Now, sometimes this can feel like office politics, right?

Ovo se ponekad može doimati poput politike u uredu,

Which is never fun.

a to nikad nije zabavno.

But when we contest for power thoughtfully

No kada se promišljeno borimo za moć

and together with our coworkers,

zajedno s kolegama,

možemo biti nevjerojatno produktivni.

it can be incredibly productive.

And it's that kind of productive conflict

To je vrsta produktivnog konflikta

that I want to talk to you all about today,

o kojoj vam danas želim govoriti,

the kind that can make some of us uncomfortable.

vrsta koja neke od nas dovodi u neugodnu situaciju.

Business leaders should embrace

Poslovođe bi trebali prihvatiti

when their workers conflict with policies and decisions,

protivljenje radnika pravilima i odlukama

both for what it teaches us

zbog onoga čemu nas to podučava

i onoga što govori o međusobnoj posvećenosti.

and for what it says about our commitment to each other.

So what do I mean by "productive conflict"?

Na što mislim kad kažem ''produktivan konflikt''?

Well, let me tell you a story.

Dajte da vam ispričam priču.

In 2016, a store employee for an outdoor retailer --

2016. zaposlenica u trgovini sportskom odjećom i opremom,

I'll call her "Alex" --

nazvat ću je Alex,

Alex approached her boss and asked for a raise.

pristupila je šefu i zatražila povišicu.

Now, she was told her pay was fairly standard for her position

On joj je rekao da je njezina plaća uobičajena za tu poziciju

and that her boss didn't even have the authority to give such a raise.

i da on ni nema ovlasti dati joj takvu povišicu.

And that was supposed to be the end of the conversation.

To je trebao biti kraj razgovora.

Unhappy with that answer,

Nezadovoljna odgovorom,

Alex went home, and she decided to create a campaign on coworker.org,

Alex je otišla kući i odlučila pokrenuti kampanju na coworker.org,

asking the corporate office to give raises to store employees.

tražeći od korporativnog ureda povišice za zaposlenike trgovine.

Within days, employees from around the country

U roku od par dana zaposlenici iz cijele zemlje

began joining Alex's effort and sharing their own stories

počeli su joj se priključivati i dijeliti svoje priče

about what they were earning --

o tome koliko zarađuju.

11, 12 dollars an hour --

11, 12 dolara na sat...

and how that wage was impacting their lives.

I kako ta plaća utječe na njihove živote.

Some even shared that they had quit recently

Neki su rekli i da su nedavno dali otkaz

to work for competitors who paid more.

kako bi radili isti posao kod konkurencije za veću plaću.

Poanta je u tome da mnogi od njih nisu htjeli dati otkaz.

But here's the thing: they also shared that they didn't want to quit,

they liked their job, they believed in the company's mission,

Sviđao im se njihov posao i vjerovali su u misiju tvrtke,

but for them, the pay issue was a growing problem in their work lives.

no plaća je predstavljala sve veći problem u njihovom poslovnom životu.

Well, after weeks of this groundswell of employee activism,

Nakon tjedana i tjedana napora zaposlenika,

the company decided to raise wages

tvrtka se odlučila za povišice

by five to 15 percent in cities across the country.

od 5 do 15 posto diljem zemlje.

And that's what I mean by productive conflict:

Na to mislim kad kažem "produktivan konflikt":

pushing up against the things that aren't working for us

otpor onome što ne ide u našu korist

when there exists no other path forward.

kada ne postoji drugi put naprijed.

The other thing I learned in doing this work

Kroz ovaj posao naučila sam

i da se ljudi uključuju u produktivan konflikt

is that people engage in productive conflict

onda kad im je stalo do posla i kolega.

when they care about their jobs and their coworkers.

Now, that surprised me at first.

Na početku me je to iznenadilo.

I expected the worst jobs, the worst workplaces,

Očekivala sam da će najgori poslovi, najgora radna mjesta

to have the most employee activism on our site,

izazvati najviše uključenosti zaposlenika na stranici,

but the opposite is often true.

no često je baš suprotno.

When we come together, we can accomplish great things.

Kada se ujedinimo, možemo postići sjajne stvari.

At one company,

Radnici jedne tvrtke

there are more than 50 campaigns by employees there

pokrenuli su više od 50 kampanja

on issues ranging from dress code changes to legitimate safety concerns.

zbog problema kao što su pravila odijevanja i briga o sigurnosti.

And get this:

Zamislite ovo:

that same company has the lowest voluntary turnover rate

Ta ista tvrtka ima najnižu stopu dobrovoljnog otkaza

of any major chain in its sector.

od svih velikih lanaca u tom sektoru.

And it also has one of the higher productivity rates as well.

Ima i jednu od najviših stopa produktivnosti.

Business leaders: you shouldn't fear conflict,

Poslovođe, ne biste se trebali bojati konflikta

and you shouldn't try to tamp down on it

niti mu umanjivati važnost

the minute it bubbles up in your workforce.

kada do njega dođe.

While it can introduce uncertainties that can be difficult to manage,

Iako može dovesti do nesigurnosti kojom je teško upravljati,

those uncertainties are trying to tell you something

te nesigurnosti pokušavaju vam reći nešto

about an underlying problem that needs your attention.

o skrivenom problemu koji traži pažnju.

And I think this is especially important right now,

Mislim da je ovo posebno važno sada

you know, as technology transforms nearly everyone's job

kada tehnologija mijenja gotovo svačiji posao,

and as the structures that contain our work

kada se strukture poslova mijenjaju

are changing at a pace not seen since the Industrial Revolution.

tempom neviđenim još od Industrijske revolucije.

We all need to be shaping and participating in the future of work.

Svi moramo sudjelovati i oblikovati budućnost rada.

We all need to be challenging and changing the parts of our work lives

Svi trebamo izazivati i mijenjati dijelove naših radnih života

that are broken.

koji ne valjaju.

So I hope the next time a coworker invites you

Idući put kad vas kolega pozove

maybe to join a sign-on letter to your boss,

da potpišete pismo namijenjeno šefu

or a group of employees asks for a meeting

ili skupina zaposlenika poželi raspraviti

to discuss their concerns about the new health care plan,

o novom planu zdravstvenog osiguranja,

I hope you'll consider it an opportunity

nadam se da ćete na to gledati kao na priliku

da izgradite bolje radno mjesto,

to build a better workplace,

a stronger business

snažniji posao

and an economy that works for all of us.

i ekonomiju koja nam svima odgovara.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)