A-Infos (en) UK, AFED, organise magazine: Against Workplace Heirarchies

Hierarchies crumble apart, especially when the organization functions as a 
pyramid in the traditional hierarchical sense-mandates come from the top. No one 
questions them, which causes a rise in "yes men" or people who go along with 
whatever their boss says. Given this, promoting a non-hierarchical model in our 
workplace may reduce employee friction with both themselves and the theoretically 
non-existent boss. Managers, for example, have a direct impact on the employee 
experience, and their influence is arguably the essential aspect of how workers 
view their jobs. ---- The labor industry is moving towards democratic 
organizations where laborers are valued and have rights in the workplace. 
Officevibe's statistics show that 75% of people who quit their job do so not 
because of money or a new job but because of their boss. According to Zenefits' 
2018 report, The State of Flexible New Arrangements, 73% of employees also said 
that having flexible work arrangements increased their work satisfaction, which 
relates to the harshness of the working times that are put in place by bosses 
originally.

In fact, in 2016, Harvard Business Review found that only 46% of employees have 
"a great deal of trust" in their bosses in the first place. And in a 2017 Gallup 
study, 23% of employees also describe their boss's performance as either "poor" 
or "very poor." CareerBuilder's job satisfaction statistics further accentuate 
the idea that employees who are disgruntled with their bosses think they don't 
make an effort to listen to employees or even attempt to address employee morale, 
with those being the leading pet peeves of critics. They were four times as 
likely to apply for other positions if they didn't like their boss.

In fact, in one 2017 study run by Stanford professor Lindred Greer, Drexel 
University's Daan Van Knippenberg, and The University of Amsterdam's Lisanne Van 
Bunderen, had two teams with different organization tactics to see how they 
reacted in a team environment. The Hierarchical groups that felt like they were 
competing against other teams performed far worse, while egalitarian and 
equitable teams performed better. The primary difference between the two teams 
was that one was hierarchal, with a strict guideline on who to listen to and who 
to order; members of these teams received positions: senior consultant, 
consultant, junior consultant, etc.; The other team lacked hierarchy and instead 
worked together as a group and achieved more success than the hierarchal group.

In hierarchical structures, managers and bosses offer little flexibility. They 
are unapproachable for the average worker, and it creates a culture that pushes 
employees to look elsewhere, where they will be valued. The main gimmick in 
hierarchical structures is that Employees' roles and authority levels are 
established and structured by power levels. These hierarchies might not seem too 
impactful, but they can be a killer when it comes to workplace rights and 
democracy. A power structure can stifle employees and lead them to struggle under 
the work of an often corrupt authority figure.

Hierarchies crumble apart, especially when the organization functions as a 
pyramid in the traditional hierarchical sense-mandates come from the top. No one 
questions them, which causes a rise in "yes men" or people who go along with 
whatever their boss says. Given this, promoting a non-hierarchical model in our 
workplace may reduce employee friction with both themselves and the theoretically 
non-existent boss. Managers, for example, have a direct impact on the employee 
experience, and their influence is arguably the essential aspect of how workers 
view their jobs.

The labor industry is moving towards democratic organizations where laborers are 
valued and have rights in the workplace. Officevibe's statistics show that 75% of 
people who quit their job do so not because of money or a new job but because of 
their boss. According to Zenefits' 2018 report, The State of Flexible New 
Arrangements, 73% of employees also said that having flexible work arrangements 
increased their work satisfaction, which relates to the harshness of the working 
times that are put in place by bosses originally.

In fact, in 2016, Harvard Business Review found that only 46% of employees have 
"a great deal of trust" in their bosses in the first place. And in a 2017 Gallup 
study, 23% of employees also describe their boss's performance as either "poor" 
or "very poor." CareerBuilder's job satisfaction statistics further accentuate 
the idea that employees who are disgruntled with their bosses think they don't 
make an effort to listen to employees or even attempt to address employee morale, 
with those being the leading pet peeves of critics. They were four times as 
likely to apply for other positions if they didn't like their boss.

In fact, in one 2017 study run by Stanford professor Lindred Greer, Drexel 
University's Daan Van Knippenberg, and The University of Amsterdam's Lisanne Van 
Bunderen, had two teams with different organization tactics to see how they 
reacted in a team environment. The Hierarchical groups that felt like they were 
competing against other teams performed far worse, while egalitarian and 
equitable teams performed better. The primary difference between the two teams 
was that one was hierarchal, with a strict guideline on who to listen to and who 
to order; members of these teams received positions: senior consultant, 
consultant, junior consultant, etc.; The other team lacked hierarchy and instead 
worked together as a group and achieved more success than the hierarchal group.

"The egalitarian teams were more focused on the group because they felt like 
‘we're in the same boat, we have a common fate,'" says van Bunderen. "They were 
able to work together, while the hierarchical team members felt a need to fend 
for themselves, likely at the expense of others." In many modern world markets, 
egalitarian tendencies support employee cooperation and improve performance, 
especially those in highly competitive markets. The research proves that often, 
people leave managers and the suffocating hierarchy that bosses, managers, and 
people in business have put on us, not the job.

Petition: http://chng.it/SP7WWrbH

(Note: While I understand petitions are inherently reformist, this is also for 
helping those unaware notice the everlasting oppression occurring in the 
workplace. It's also challenging to do more revolutionary aspects of abolishing 
hierarchy as an American teen wherein it's difficult even to go outside.)

Geno Aube

https://organisemagazine.org.uk/2021/04/02/against-workplace-heirarchies-cause/
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