Forever comes in threes, p.6
Forever Comes in Threes, page 6
Ming nodded. That made sense. “Okay. I believe you. You would have told me, and they’re apparently hoping to blindside me so I’ll get angry and agree to something I’ll regret later.” She held up her hand to stop Beth’s protest. She knew she had earned her reputation for having a rare but explosive temper. “I’m stopping off at the restroom. Tell them I’ll be there in five minutes.”
Beth glanced anxiously toward the conference room. “Okay. They’ll take that long to get settled with coffee and whatever pastries Lynda’s brought in.”
Ming checked the bathroom stalls to make sure she was alone before pulling her phone from her purse and dialing Imani, her friend and attorney.
“This must be important for you to call this early. I might still be entertaining company.”
“It is very important, and you never spend the entire worknight with your flavor of the month. Right now, you’re in your office, prepping to be in court at eight o’clock, just like I’m in my office, where, on a normal day, I’d be getting ready to see patients when we open.”
“You know me too well,” Imani said. “Wait. This isn’t a normal day? What’s up?”
“I don’t have details yet, or the time to explain what I do know. I just need you to get some people looking up answers for me that can be texted to me in the next hour.”
“Give me the questions.” This efficient, immediate response was one of many reasons Imani was a top lawyer in the state. Ming had no idea why she wasn’t practicing law in Los Angeles or San Francisco, instead of Fresno.
“What’s the current fair market value of the building my practice currently owns? And can you call my accountant and ask him to text me his latest estimation of the practice’s real-estate portfolio minus the building we work in? Finally, can someone email me what information I need to gather to estimate the worth of my individual practice?”
“None of this will be a problem. I’ll be in court all day, but I’ll put my number-one paralegal, Sarah, on this.”
“Thanks, pal. Hope I didn’t take too much of your time.”
“Not a problem. Today’s case is open and shut. We have ironclad proof this East Coast company has been burying toxic waste on its property here for years, contaminating nearby farms, water sources, and residents. They’ll be chum in the water for every lawyer shark in the state when I finish with them today.”
“Go get ’em, courtroom warrior. I’ll touch base with you later tonight about what’s going on with me.”
* * *
Timed for Success opened with the chorus of Kenny Chesney’s “Shiftwork,” which faded into the standard introduction—a male voice-over with a ticking clock in the background.
“You’re no longer spending two hours each day commuting to the office. You don’t have to drive the kids to school or wait in line for an hour to pick them up in the afternoon. Time spent on laundry has been reduced by half since you and the kids can wear the same sweatpants and T-shirts for two days without anyone noticing. Your grocer and drugstore deliver. So why are you losing the race against time now more than ever? New York Times best-selling author and efficiency expert Dr. Perry Chandler has the answers you need to take control of the overwhelming demands of career, workplace, and home. Click on our follow button to learn how you can be Timed for Success.”
“Good morning. I’m Perry Chandler. On our podcast today, I want to talk about determining your most productive time during the day and how to capitalize on it. This is a discussion, not a lecture, so you’re invited to join in through the podcast’s chat roll or call 1-8-8-8-S-A-V-T-I-M-E.
“Industries from restaurants to hospitals to automobile manufacturers work employees around the clock in three eight-hour shifts. Depending on the business, seniority normally wins you a spot on the day shift so you can be at home with your family on nights and weekends. Other companies rotate shifts so everyone gets a chance at the day shift every couple of months, and everybody does their turn on the less-desirable night shift. These practices, however, are not ideal for productivity. Any of you listeners want to tell us why?”
The online chat began to fill with responses. Perry read off the more interesting comments to those who might be listening to the podcast but not watching the website, and she interjected comments to remind followers she was still guiding the discussion.
“John from Missouri says, ‘I can tell you why. By the time I adjust to sleeping in the daytime, I rotate to day shift, then to second shift. I hate second shift the most because my family is asleep when I get home and headed out to school when I wake up. I like having some work time where I get to see my family, but I’m so grouchy from lack of sleep, they probably wish I was at work.’
“But Sam from Georgia says, ‘I know it’s hard to rotate shifts, but I work in one of those “seniority” situations and never get to see my kids except on my days off because I’m stuck on second shift. I respect that those guys have put in the years, but their kids are grown. My coworkers on the second shift all have young families. Little kids need a lot more attention and time from their parents, but we’re stuck at work while some daycare worker, spouse, or the kids’ grandparents raise them. My little girl is four years old, and I’m missing all the big moments in her life. I’d gladly give up sleep to be on a daytime or even third shift so I could spend more time with her.’
“John and Sam have introduced very good points, which could open an entirely different discussion on employees who are parents. But for this week’s podcasts, let’s keep to the theme. Finding your most productive time of day doesn’t mean you have to spend that time at work. Being productive in your personal life can help you find more enjoyment time with your family and, therefore, enable you to be more productive at work.”
But the listeners were like hounds following a scent.
“Also from the chat line, William from Detroit says, ‘The day shift is filled with old white guys who would keep working until they drop dead on the line, just to keep any of us Black guys from moving up.’
“Obviously, this has to be a concern, as companies are paying greater attention to the diversity of their ranks,” Perry commented.
“Rita from Illinois feels she’s in the same predicament. She says, ‘Same thing for women where I work. The day shift is the slowest of all because most of those guys are too old to still be on a production line. Every one of them has at least one artificial knee or hip. Most have several. They never meet quotas, but the union says they’ll sue for age discrimination if the company tries to force them into retirement or move them to second or third shift.’
“Rita makes a good point about how unions figure into a company’s attempt to become more productive and provide a better working environment for all employees.” Perry was not a fan of unions. She agreed with their purpose—to protect employee rights—but they had not evolved with the workforce and were still too white-male oriented.
Her Google chat screen flashed with a message from Julie. The phone board and chat roll are going crazy. I’ve pulled in Josh and Karen to help me screen. Sounds like you have several good starting points, but you need to move this ahead to talk about saving time at home, or you’re going to get bogged down in the work complaints.
She didn’t need Julie’s prompts like she had when she first started the podcast, but she replied. I’m going to let them talk for a bit. Could be good fodder for my next book.
“Since the two subjects seem to be intertwined, how can you schedule your life better to be a success at home and work? Are you a morning person? Or are you a night owl? Maybe you like the second shift, but your spouse wants you home at night, and you’re positive peace at home will make you more productive on the day shift. My advice to companies—and they pay a lot for it—is that they rely on empirical data rather than information from workers that may be tainted by the argument with their spouse that morning, a plea from a kid to skip a second shift to come to their ball game, or the possibility of missing a family pizza outing while the employee is at work. We’ll also talk this week about how to collect empirical data on your time spent outside work so you can also be successful in your personal life.”
Julie: Caller on line one.
“Caller One, you’re live on Timed for Success. Who am I speaking with?”
“Hi, Dr. Chandler. Just call me Jane. I don’t want to give my real name because I’m still employed by a company that hired you as a consultant during the year before the pandemic.”
Perry was pleased Julie had found this caller for her. “That’s fine. And, since we don’t have permission to talk about your employer, let’s be careful not to mention the company’s name or identify any employees. I’m interested, though, to know how your experience went.”
“Well, I was one of the employee representatives in the meetings to decide how the company would evaluate employees to determine when they were most productive. The company decided to consider two approaches. First, they had everyone fill out an in-depth survey, followed by a personal interview. But a lot of people felt the questions were too personal and invaded their privacy. The alternative was to compare detailed records of an employee’s output as they were rotated through all three shifts, allowing a week of adjustment between each shift change. Again, employees objected because they thought the bosses were trying to push them to work at unsafe and unhealthy speeds.”
“Didn’t your company explain that it was only trying to help each employee reach his or her full potential?” Perry asked.
“Since the company went public, management has been pushing to squeeze out more and more profits for the shareholders, usually at the employees’ expense. Our raises, benefits, and staffing have been reduced. So, we have a lot of mistrust between the executives who are making those decisions and the workers. The middle managers, like me, are just caught between.”
“So which method did the executives choose?” Perry asked.
“They decided to chart the production of workers as they rotate through different shifts. It took longer, and, truthfully, those results were also noted in workers’ files that could be used when an employee is considered for future personnel actions.”
“Like merit raises and promotions,” Perry suggested.
“More likely for layoffs or denying promotions,” Jane said. “That’s what the workers suspect, and I agree with them.”
The chat line was boiling over with comments.
Josh from Nevada: Companies don’t care about the workers anymore. They only care about lining the pockets of their rich friends who buy up their stock.
Martha from Texas: If they can’t find cheap enough labor in third-world countries to make their products, they’ll charge consumers more so their fat-cat executives don’t suffer like us low-paid workers do.
Tim from Michigan: The only things they put in your personnel file now are things they can use as ammunition to fire you when they want. It’s bullshit to say they might use that to give you a promotion or a raise. I’m a middle manager, too. I know what they do with that kind of info.
Boone from Georgia: I was one of the employees on the production line who were on the team that evaluated the results at my company after doing both interviews and the rotating shifts. We found most of the production-output evaluations matched what the employee said was his or her most productive time of day. Some had answered truthfully that their most productive time was not the shift they were currently assigned, but they requested that they not be changed because they had family responsibilities that prevented them from working their best shift.
Dr. Perry Chandler: Boone, can you call us at 1-8-8-8-S-A-V-T-I-M-E? I’d like to hear more about your experience.
Buck from Kansas: For every good company like Boone’s, there are a thousand more where decisions are dictated by the nature of their work or profit margins. That’s why we need unions to look out for the workers.
Sandra from Iowa: Union bosses remain corrupt and are still negotiating for the old white guys who elected them. Black and Hispanic workers—especially women of all colors—continue to be left behind because women have to stay home when the kids or the babysitter gets sick or their school switches to remote learning.
Betina from Indiana: You said it, Sandra. What have the unions done about demanding on-site childcare or a remote schoolroom so female employees can keep working? Women are also expected to take care of adult family members who need home care, and every time a woman misses a shift, she loses money and chances for promotion. We need to be talking about a way to balance work and personal responsibilities, not trying to increase our work production. Dr. Lee’s Finding Natural Balance podcast talks about that.
Matt from Oregon: Whoa. Not all men dump everything on their wives. It kills me to miss my daughter’s softball games, and I’d much rather eat dinner with my family instead out of a lunchbox in a grimy breakroom with my coworkers. I’d look for another job, but my wife has MS, and the health insurance where I work now is pretty good. Still, I don’t want to work my life away and miss all the good times with my family. I’m going to check out Dr. Lee’s podcast.
Julie messaged that she had Boone waiting on line two.
Thank God. Julie had been right. She needed to direct her audience’s attention away from that other podcast. And fast. “Let’s take our next caller. Hi, Boone. This is Perry Chandler, and you’re live on Timed for Success.”
“Hi, Dr. Chandler. It’s a pleasure to talk with you.”
“Just for the benefit of our listeners who might be driving and not reading our chat feed, I’ll read the comment Boone made on the chat line.” Perry read Boone’s comment for her listening audience. “It sounds like your company took the right approach. Once they did the research, how did they handle the results?”
“Well, a few guys were moved around, but most stayed where they were. My company has just one plant and is family-owned. The big boss knows the names of every employee, and most of the other bosses are members of that same family. They start as teenagers, working in every department when they’re not in school, so they learn to respect the skill of the workers. After they graduate college, they’re given supervisory jobs.”
“And how did the older, experienced workers feel about being supervised by young, fresh-out-of-college kids?”
“We knew the score when we signed on to work there. We were paid well to be machinists. The family made it clear to their boys they shouldn’t disrespect the workers. They kept up the paperwork from their section to the admin department—time sheets, maintenance records, orders filled. Stuff like that. They basically let us know when we needed to step up the pace on a big order or when we needed to shut down for full maintenance. Otherwise, they just let us work.”
The chat roll lit up with women commenting about “good old boy” work environments, but Perry ignored them. This podcast was supposed to be a positive discussion about being more productive.
“So, most workers were happy with the study and actions taken?”
“Sure.”
“Did production increase?”
“Not really. We were already producing at a high level.”
“Sounds like your company is very efficient.”
“We think so. The guys take pride in their work, and we have a bit of competition over who can complete the most of whatever we’re making each day.”
The chat comments were heating up with demands that their concerns be discussed, and the chatters were turning on each other.
Cathy from Virginia: This is bullshit. Dr. Lee’s podcast is much better.
Marlene from Detroit: Yeah. I think this Perry person isn’t really a woman. She talks like one of the suits in the executive suite, looking to get even more from overworked employees.
Mike from Boise: You women are whiners who blame men for everything.
Glenda from Fort Worth: Switch roles with your wife for one week, and we’ll see who’s complaining.
Tammy from Queens: I read somewhere that she’s a lesbo, so she might as well be a man.
Moderator: Please review the rules of our chat line. Bigoted comments will be removed from the chat and the writer banned for a minimum of thirty days for the first infraction.
Brooke from Atlanta: Check out Finding Natural Balance, Dr. Lee’s podcast. She gives good advice for women and men. She cares about people, not just profit.
Christ. Now they were taking potshots at her. Perry messaged Julie to freeze the chat for five minutes so she could regain control.
“Let’s address a few questions from the chat line now, Boone. How many of the workers at your plant are women?”
“All of the administration department—accounting, records, secretaries—are women, and the boss’s daughter heads the department.”
“Are any women on the production line?”
“Well, no.”
“Can you explain why?”
“Those are essential jobs. Women call in sick too much. They have a sick kid or female problems, or they take pregnancy leave. Admin work can always wait another day or be split up between other workers when someone’s out. You can’t fill orders if a bunch of machinists call in sick.”
“The men never stay home to take care of a sick kid or other family member?”
“No. Women are better at that sort of thing.”
“Does your company offer any type of child care?”
“No. We can’t have children running around a factory where machinists are working.”
“One more question from the chat line—are the machinists paid at a higher rate than the admin workers?”
“Well, yeah. They’re skilled workers. Any middle-school student can add and subtract numbers and file papers alphabetically. Plus, the machinists don’t cost the company nearly as much for health care and paid sick time.”
