April 30, 2024

Richardson Column in The Free Lance-Star

UMW College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson

UMW College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson

College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson’s column in The Free Lance-Star is entitled, “STATUS QUO OR NEED TO GO?”

YEARS ago, I was in a meeting with the heads of about 10 manufacturing organizations in my community. One of the few memories I have of that meeting was when one of the men shared his inability to get some of his employees to accept promotions. When he said that, others nodded their heads, but I didn’t understand. So I asked.

He said most of the people who worked on the assembly line in his plant, while sometimes bored with their work, were happy to leave the plant at the end of their shift and not have to worry about work until their next shift. They loved being able to go home in the late afternoon and coach their kids’ teams, ride bikes with the family or grill out without the chance of getting a call about something happening at work. They didn’t want to be responsible for returning to work to address a problem outside their shift. They were willing to forego the opportunity to increase their pay for the freedom to leave work behind every day. Read more.