Introduction
When you consider that you know everything about the job you currently do. When it is believed that there is no longer something new to learn and that others are no longer needed. When expressions like: “you cannot come to teach me. I have been in this company for more than 10 years ”,“ what the new supervisor says is worth it, here things have always been this way ”,“ the company never recognizes you for something you do ”,“ for what matters ”, "Nobody moves me from here because they need me"; be careful: we are entering the comfort zone or in the worst case, our staff has fallen into it.
Abstract
When we consider that everything is known about the work that is currently performed. When it is believed that no longer exists something new to learn and no longer needs the others. When expressions like: »You can not come to teach me. I already have more than 10 years in this business »,» I don't care the new supervisor, here things have always been this way «,» the company never will recognize something to do »,» for that matter «,» nobody moves me away from here because they need me ». Beware: we are entering the comfort zone or in the worst case, our staff dropped into it.
Development
The comfort zone is defined by Guzmán, P (2013) as: “the place where you feel comfortable, without risk or danger of being bothered by some new circumstance that may arise, this is at a social, educational, etc. level. " In short: the comfort zone is a state of mind where you feel total comfort, both with current life, and in everything related to aspirations and needs.
And this is precisely where the question comes: How do you fall into the comfort zone?
Barón, R (1997) deals with Maslow's hierarchy of needs, starting with:
- Physiological needs (need for food, water, oxygen and rest, stay alive), Safety needs (feeling of being safe, preventing physical harm), Social needs (being accepted, being part of a group, feeling loved), Needs of recognition (stand out, be better, move up) and Self-actualization needs (achieve what has always been wanted).
The first mentioned (physiological and safety) are about basic needs. A person aspires to fill a vacancy in a company in order to satisfy the first two needs. Once we have hired you, you will be happy for the first few months, as you finally found a job that would allow you to eat, dress and pay the rent. However, time will pass and he will aspire to have colleagues with whom he can work at ease, with whom he can be the same and if this requirement is not met, if he is not accepted among his colleagues, it could lead him to look for a new job and start from the beginning.
In other cases, employees do not leave the company and are comfortable in the area of "social needs", because they believe that they have comrades willing to do anything. This can have double results: positive, where they become a team that works at ease and fulfills the assigned tasks, or negative, where they may associate to engage in dishonest and honest activities.
When the collaborators who remain in the company have already covered this stage, they want to climb one more and that is where they feel comfortable talking with their superiors, with their auditors, with their clients, until they believe that they must be bosses.
There are employees who actually know about the job and can seek promotions and recognition. When this individual fulfills this stage, in the best and most desirable of cases he will dedicate himself to what he has always dreamed of.
Why is it not always like this?
When we do not know who we are or where we are, it is not easy to know where we are going and how to do it. And that's where we have people in the company who keep complaining about everything they could do and didn't try or didn't achieve.
Sometimes our collaborators do not realize this, and decide to enter a kind of stupor where they only perform the work in a poor or normal way and these results are highlighted through customer complaints, audit results, comments from superiors. How can it be improved?
If you want to get our staff out of the comfort zone, the motivation tool is proposed. The leader needs to know all that workforce individually. Knowing it at work implies knowing what motivates them to get ahead, what inspires them and how to help them achieve the objectives of our company at the same time that we help them.
It is not possible to judge all of them in the same way, since each one has different needs. In our operational staff we can have a young man who studies and works to become a graduate, a single mother who seeks to get ahead because she has an 8-year-old daughter to support, we can have another collaborator who has a pregnant wife and who feels guilty when leaving her home alone since the doctor has recommended rest, there will be another who has conflicts with his wife due to an infertility problem and who through money tries to compensate for this situation or that employee who needs social security that The company offers him because he has a brother with hydrocephalus and he should not leave him unattended.
Each head is a world and for this reason a true leader cannot judge them equally. The best way to get them out of that state is to listen to them one by one and if it is in your power to help or channel it to the right person.
You can start with the following points:
- Recruit: the staff that most closely matches the profile of the vacancy. From here on. Train: active staff who are not sufficiently prepared, measure their performance, provide feedback and apply this to new staff from the first day they set foot in the company. Deliver: the necessary tools for performance of their labors Offer: competitive compensation. Fair wages and proportional to work, amount and physical and mental effort Provide: additional benefits to salary, such as memberships, employee discount cards, agreements with daycare centers, gyms, educational centers Recognize: achievements and important dates, ranging from birthdays, sporting events and reaching goals Be flexible: sometimes the boss is forced to ask for special support from his collaborators,as in special events or seasons of high influx of clients. This can be rewarded by supporting them with special leave or modification of schedules so that they can study Elaborate: life and career plans to retain the best talent Choose: sources of inspiration for the rest of the staff. This would be to recognize the best and congratulate them in public so that they motivate their colleagues. Carry out: Needs Detection studies and Work Climate measurement. In this way, it is possible to know the needs and limitations of the current workforce.to sources of inspiration for the rest of the staff. This would be to recognize the best and congratulate them in public so that they motivate their colleagues. Carry out: Needs Detection studies and Work Climate measurement. In this way, it is possible to know the needs and limitations of the current workforce.to sources of inspiration for the rest of the staff. This would be to recognize the best and congratulate them in public so that they motivate their colleagues. Carry out: Needs Detection studies and Work Climate measurement. In this way, it is possible to know the needs and limitations of the current workforce.
The application of these tips can be useful when you want to rescue the work team.
It could be the case that there are people who do not want to adapt to changes, in this case, it is recommended to give them the freedom to choose what they want.
The achievement of results and the fact that these jump to sight takes some time. The important thing is to be patient and objectively.
conclusion
Getting out of the comfort zone means harnessing people. Show them the objectives of the company without losing sight of the personal ones.
Withdrawing from the comfort zone has its advantages, such as: the search for personal satisfaction, learning and acquiring new experiences, growing, evolving.
To stay out of your comfort zone takes determination and preparation. We must learn from children who continually experience new situations, they do not mind falling and getting up, they want to know everything.
Bibliographic references
- Barón, R. (1997). Fundamentals of psychology. Mexico: Pearson Education, Díaz, MA (1982). The leader. Puebla, Mexico: Tell me editors. Marquez, L., Pita, L. (2014). Smile on Mondays: The 8 keys to be happier at work and in your life. Madrid, Spain: Editorial EDAF.
