Corporate Constitution

 

The idea of writing this article initially felt like a burden but I realized that this was one opportunity I had to describe what  freedom at workplace meant to me and how could I let that go away!

An idea to create an organization culture with an important component called “EMPLOYEE FREEDOM”! Already in love with this idea and being an HR professional what more can I ask for J

 

F - Freedom

R – Rational

E- Equality

E- Empowerment

D – Democracy at Workplace

O - Opportunity

M – Modern

 

"When people have freedom at work, they strive and deliver their best. They become emotionally committed to the organization, as opposed to being merely rationally committed. Emotionally committed employees go the extra mile in any assignment/project, actively seek new challenges and remain engaged with the organization through good times and bad."

Freedom at workplace means different things to different people but what’s in it mean for me?

When India got its independence and the constitution was formed as Indians we got ourselves some fundamental rights so I am going to try and list down some fundamental rights that could be implemented at workplace to practice “EMPLOYEE FREEDOM”.

• Right to Innovate : The modern-day freedom at workplace means to make employees feel empowered, with a strong sense of ownership and contribution, a freedom to make mistakes and to have the power to innovate. Think out of the box and to do things differently. If you can do different things and the organization supports you it is a wonderful feeling. I wanted to change the outlook and format of our Newsletter drastically; the organization had full faith in me and gave me all freedom to experiment on new design and concepts. The end product was appreciated across. It all happened because of the freedom I enjoyed and the faith the organization had in me. This will help employees believe their work impacts the organization in a positive way.
• Right to Express : Right to express my views, likes and dislikes without the fear of the consequences is one of the most critical rights. The freedom to exercise this right is not to tell my boss that his business strategy is flawed but to help nurture a culture of imbibing ownership and to think at all times how we can contribute in small or big ways to the success of the organization as if it were our own.  Organization puts forth several initiatives for the benefit of the employees but some might not have the desired impact.  Having the freedom to talk to your seniors/ managers or key people about it and suggest some ideas/ solutions and if they are ready to accept it you feel more owned.Expressing yourself will make u feel empowered to make a difference.  Employers can encourage forums for two way communication such as Town Hall, All hands call, PULSE etc. which is a regular feature with engagements at Plug HR.

• Right to work flexible : Flexibility to do whatever is required and whenever, as long as the job gets done well in time. The freedom to suit my work hours to accommodate family as well as social life is indeed a priority. I need my space and freedom to have a healthy work-life balance. It helps me to be a sane individual, who can contribute creatively towards work and other organizational initiatives. In Plug HR/Client Places, we have flexible working hours and this helps me a lot in balancing work life. In case of discussions involving people from various locations, we depend largely on the Go to Meeting online communication platform or Sabse Bolo (Conference Call), which allows us the freedom to participate even from home, well after the normal office hours. I believe work is important, but life is more important.
• Right to contribute to change: Any change even at policy/process level that involves people always faces resistance. Getting employees buy in on changes that directly or indirectly impacts them is a critical way for any business to quickly adapt. We need to ensure that key influencers are always onboard for critical decisions as that they are well equipped to drive these at grass root levels. Creating a employee forum like” PULSE” helps in taking an opinion of employees through appointed  staff representatives and also reassuring the employee that their opinion matters.  Trust me, there is no better feeling than the fact that the company actually cares about my opinion. A sales guy does sales, a marketing guy markets and a backend support guy does exactly what the name suggests. With competence comes the company's resistance to change the successful profile to another function.

• Virtual freedom: Social approach has taken a new meaning with social networks and employees wanting to be "connected" at all times. Companies hesitate to give full freedom as gaming, social networking, etc. are perceived as serious work dampeners, but @PlugHR it is essential to be social and tech savvy as we collaborate through virtual networks and reap the several benefits it has to offer. You will see employees of Plug HR active on Twitter (Tweetathon) ,Facebook, LinkedIn , actually name the platform and you bet at least a few of us would have left our pug marks there. This will help employer takes advantage of being a “global” company through employee interactions.

"Freedom at the workplace is the independence employees need in order to be motivated and perform to the best of their abilities. Freedom encompasses flexibility on where an employee chooses to work from, the opportunity to voice their opinions freely and the freedom to exercise their creativity to achieve organizational goals. We are responsible for our organization and the culture we drive in it. Hence it is time we take the ownership and drive the culture we always wanted in our organizations. HR is the key and @ Plug HR we create awesome ventures!"

At the end of all this, I am going to leave you with a couple of questions

What does freedom at workplace mean to you?

Is your organization really giving you the freedom you deserve? Its time you really asked yourself this question.

 

Author

Pallavi Prabhu - Sr. Project Manager @plugHR