Leave your problems at the door? The Human problem of Human Resources

It has been the mantra of workplace life for decades, likely centuries.  "Leave your problems at the door." It is the expectation that when you come into work you should leave your family, your personal life, and your personal feelings and problems "at the door."  Leave them behind so you can focus on the business at hand.  Seems reasonable, yes?

It's the unofficial and in many cases the official policy of many workplaces.  I find this edict to be quite an interesting one.  In my experience, workplaces that strictly enforce this philosophy, seem to be the same businesses that have a subtle and not so subtle way of infiltrating one's personal life on a regular basis; the occasional  dinner text message on your personal phone, the 6 a.m. phone call, the barrage of weekend emails, late night reports, and in some cases overnight shifts to meet tight deadlines.  These companies often have unspoken expectations that employees are to use their personal equipment, supplies, and materials to accomplish the business task at hand.  It's these companies that believe it is perfectly okay to impose on their employees personal time, resources, and personal life. But if a personal phone call is received or an email is answered, the employee is being unethical with the companies resources.

What should a good employee do?  Clock in, clock out and function like a robot until the end of the shift?  Should they offer the mantra to their boss the next time they are needed to work late- "Sorry, I have to leave my work problems at the door. My shift is over." Who would want an employee like that? What value does that bring?  Is it possible that a more enlightened view of the "work-life" balance debate is that the Human Resource department is managing exactly that-- HUMAN resources.  Humans have passion, fears, hopes, dreams, problems, victories, skills, talents, families, love, hate, despair, tragedy and success. Humans are whole.

I believe that if we learn to value humanity in its whole form in the workplace, businesses will thrive!  I have also worked in businesses that have valued my human experience.  They offered empathy in times of personal struggle, they supported in times of crises by offering assistance and support, be it in time away from the desk for a phone call, or in accommodating a flexible work schedule while traveling to John Hopkins while caring for an ill family member.  In turn, I had an unexplainable loyalty to that company.  Working countless nights, weekends, and holidays-uncompensated.  Never building resentment.  I also used the lessons that shaped me in my personal life, to shape the way I worked.

Because the reality is, that what makes a good employee is not what they do in their business day.  It is who they are as a human. It is who they are as a mother, father, and as a community member-as a PERSON.  It is who they are in their personal life, that make them a good employee at work.  It is time we have an enlightened view of the HUMAN resources in our workplace.