Mutual Aid: A Source of Well-being and Efficiency
18 March 2013
Read by 1979 persons
Mutual support at work... a sweet and gentle utopia...? A moral obligation where everyone loses...? A natural reality in many companies...? A thing of the past in many others...?
What if, in mutual aid, companies found both an answer to latent malaise and a tool for better competitiveness?
How to create, maintain and develop an organization that promotes mutual support behaviors?
Things to avoid
The most frequent mistake is to make big moralizing speeches that are not followed by concrete actions. In this area, only actions have influence.
Another mistake is to set up a mutual aid system that requires too much extra work and harms the success of everyone's missions. It is therefore advisable not to abuse meetings, exchanges and emails that do not appear directly useful for working better together.
Finally, it is essential that the mutual aid system is not one-way to avoid two dangers:
The first is to transform the person being helped into a dependent person who gets used to not taking responsibility anymore, losing their initiative and autonomy.
The second is to encourage injustice. If some people take advantage of helpful colleagues and give nothing in return, if it is always the same people who help, the mutual aid system will collapse... and for a long time.
Organizing concrete and useful mutual aid for all.
The objective is to create a general state of mind: mutual aid appears - for a majority - useful, easy and pleasant. It is part of the usual professional activities, such as quality, competitiveness, customer service, profitability... and will naturally be part of the professional evaluation.
First of all, it is necessary to pay attention to the real needs for mutual aid and to promote solidarity that appears truly essential to work more efficiently together: the person being helped finds that they are really being helped, making their work easier and responding well to their needs.
Establishing a mutual aid charter yields good results. Regular exchanges (adequate preparation and animation) are organized so that needs can be expressed and those who can meet them can offer their help. Gradually, a system of mutual aid is built that is an integral part of the organization of work.
Then, it is necessary to "know how to help": it is not enough to rely on simple goodwill, the person who helps must not only be competent, but also "pedagogical", they must know how to help (this is often the case with a computer problem!). Some practical advice is often useful.
It is essential to create a collective current: everyone then sees that the help they provide allows for better team functioning, better results, and even a better atmosphere. This creates the virtuous circle of mutual aid - which is no longer experienced as a binding obligation. Everyone becomes an example that influences others and gradually a majority is established, gradually bringing in the more reluctant minority.
Finally, everyone must benefit: not necessarily 100%, but at a sufficient rate. Everyone should be able to say that the balance between what they give and what they receive is favorable to them.
Here are some examples of possible actions... but there are many others that allow to build a mutual aid system that is both a source of well-being and a source of efficiency.
Dominique Chalvin.
Etre-bien-au-travail.fr
Posted online March 18, 2013.
What if, in mutual aid, companies found both an answer to latent malaise and a tool for better competitiveness?
How to create, maintain and develop an organization that promotes mutual support behaviors?
Things to avoid
The most frequent mistake is to make big moralizing speeches that are not followed by concrete actions. In this area, only actions have influence.
Another mistake is to set up a mutual aid system that requires too much extra work and harms the success of everyone's missions. It is therefore advisable not to abuse meetings, exchanges and emails that do not appear directly useful for working better together.
Finally, it is essential that the mutual aid system is not one-way to avoid two dangers:
The first is to transform the person being helped into a dependent person who gets used to not taking responsibility anymore, losing their initiative and autonomy.
The second is to encourage injustice. If some people take advantage of helpful colleagues and give nothing in return, if it is always the same people who help, the mutual aid system will collapse... and for a long time.
Organizing concrete and useful mutual aid for all.
The objective is to create a general state of mind: mutual aid appears - for a majority - useful, easy and pleasant. It is part of the usual professional activities, such as quality, competitiveness, customer service, profitability... and will naturally be part of the professional evaluation.
First of all, it is necessary to pay attention to the real needs for mutual aid and to promote solidarity that appears truly essential to work more efficiently together: the person being helped finds that they are really being helped, making their work easier and responding well to their needs.
Establishing a mutual aid charter yields good results. Regular exchanges (adequate preparation and animation) are organized so that needs can be expressed and those who can meet them can offer their help. Gradually, a system of mutual aid is built that is an integral part of the organization of work.
Then, it is necessary to "know how to help": it is not enough to rely on simple goodwill, the person who helps must not only be competent, but also "pedagogical", they must know how to help (this is often the case with a computer problem!). Some practical advice is often useful.
It is essential to create a collective current: everyone then sees that the help they provide allows for better team functioning, better results, and even a better atmosphere. This creates the virtuous circle of mutual aid - which is no longer experienced as a binding obligation. Everyone becomes an example that influences others and gradually a majority is established, gradually bringing in the more reluctant minority.
Finally, everyone must benefit: not necessarily 100%, but at a sufficient rate. Everyone should be able to say that the balance between what they give and what they receive is favorable to them.
Here are some examples of possible actions... but there are many others that allow to build a mutual aid system that is both a source of well-being and a source of efficiency.
Dominique Chalvin.
Etre-bien-au-travail.fr
Posted online March 18, 2013.
