It looks as though I'll be on a rather performative work assignment for the rest of the week - cold-calling businesses on behalf of our local wildlife sanctuary. If only more workplaces had lots of greenery and native birds nearby! Lunchbreaks would be much more effective. The business of ringing people you've never seen face to face, and dealing with a bunch of polite 'go away' responses, is really interesting. At first the 'no' answers are daunting, I find; you wonder if you're doing something wrong, it can even be draining. And then later on I guess the Zen aspect of going through your little sales patter comes to the fore. It's nice to get a 'yes' or a polite answer, but it becomes more about being in the call, perfecting your interactions, and basically finding satisfaction in the routine of it all. I don't mean to sound like I lack empathy for the cause in question; but I guess empathy alone isn't going to carry the day. Stepping back and making it a little less about Me is the way to go.
Today I made another sort of 'cold call' - the first step towards applying for an educational scholarship. Do you know much about the Soroptimists? They are actually kind of cool. I've always enjoyed flicking through issues of Her Business magazine and the like, as I love the idea not only of female leaders in business and the community, but of a network of those leaders. Like an Old Girls' Club but with the inclusiveness that, I think, could come from women's collective experience of not always having it so good. That last bit is where the Soroptimists' scholarship comes in. It's explicitly not for first-years straight out of school; the purpose of the scholarship is to help mature people who've hit a turning point in life. Upskilling is specifically intended to help them work at a higher level, or break out of those periods of low employment a lot of women can get into. Health troubles and grief got me into my present unemployment; education feels like a way out, or certainly like a powerful tool to help me get out there. And what do the Soroptimists see women doing with that nice new job and those new skills? Turning right back around and giving their communities a boost. Yeah I can dig that.
It's funny how as a leftie, I'm always sort of assessing myself when I work; watching for signs that I'm being inauthentic; Uh oh, am I turning into a privilege-loving worshipper of Mammon? (I'm totally grinning as I type this) but fundamentally I just don't think that feels positive enough. I don't think working on the outskirts of the PR industry was my thing, but can you imagine if everyone who worked in and around the media industry was right-wing? I feel the same way about my desire to get into HR and specifically, recruitment. I'd like to lobby for a more sustainable hiring culture, one that values some left-wing ideals but in a practical way.
For instance, let's look at how Managers get picked. The chain of succession is so broken in most businesses, you could draw a red line across the chain of command right between the technical people and the managers. The technical workforce is coming under pressure; wages are stagnating, job security just isn't there, and the trapdoor up and away into management is shut tight. Sure you can become a Line Manager, but what does that really mean? Doing your own job plus a ton of administration, often for no discernable pay rise and incurring the hatred of your former colleagues? Ick. And at every turn it's made clear to you that here's where you'll stay till you retire or expire.
Imagine if a blend of decent succession management and in-house training served to open the metaphorical trapdoor? Businesses could be run by people who, as in the traditional Family Firm model, started on the front line and worked their way through the ranks. It sounds a bit old-timey but the alternative -global hires- is not working out. I spent a couple of years watching the news for a job, and saw a lot of companies get in trouble, hire someone from overseas, and still be in trouble. Unless you're a truly globalised monster (in which case a bad CEO's a lot less of a problem than a bankrupt China) flashing your knickers and hoping to attract some white knight from overseas to Fix Everything will just not work. I do wish New Zealand would get over its presumption that anyone From Here must be a backwoods hick/anyone from Over There must be sex on a stick.
As for what will work in the long run? Well, I'm a leftie, and as a leftie I believe that a lot of economic values are skewed to start with, and could do with an overhaul. But I don't think anyone should stop doing the small bits of work in the absence of the Great Work, if you will. New Zealand's a bit young to have had any real capital-R Revolutions (though we've courted them at times perhaps!) but what we have had is a lot of Very Good Ideas.
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