GenXmanager: Leadership for the Generation X Manager

If you are a fan of The Office, you know that Jan was fired last season. This past Thursday, she attempted to sue Dunder Mifflin for wrongful termination. Michael, who has been dating Jan since the firing, was put in the precarious position of testifying during the proceedings. Would he side with Jan or Dunder Mifflin? I don’t have time to recount what happened but in the end, he chose his company.

Though he chose to side with Dunder Mifflin, Michael did make one interesting comment at the end of the episode. He said “You expect to be taken advantage* of by your company. You don’t expect to be taken advantage* of by your girlfriend.”

Ask yourself these two questions:

Do companies take advantage of their employees?
Do employees take advantage of the companies who employ them?
In some cases, the answer is yes. Call me overly optimistic, however, but I don’t think either party is out to use the other. I believe the employer/employee relationship is a symbiotic, ‘win-win’ partnership. Employees aren’t employed to simply get a paycheck. Employees want training, experience, challenge, and opportunity. Employers today want more than high volume output from their employees. Employers want employees who are productive, effective, creative, critical thinkers, and want to succeed.

I’m not saying that there are certain employees who will take advantage of their employers and some employers who will take advantage of their employees, but on average, I firmly believe that both parties understand and respect what each can contribute to the partnership.

* on the show, Michael Scott did not use the term ‘taken advantage of’. I just feel that posting what he did say would not be appropriate for this blog.