Chief executive officer: most coveted position in a company. With their authority, power and salary, CEO positions offer the highest level of prestige. There is a lot of advice out there about how to be a good supervisor, taking employees’ needs into consideration and ensuring workers are happy. But what about keeping CEOs happy?

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh is well-known for his excellent relationships with employees.

High positions like the CEO position can be isolating, since most organizations operate like a pyramid, with many subordinates at the bottom and fewer and fewer managers moving upwards in the workplace hierarchy. Being in such a high leadership position breeds loneliness. According a study cited in the Harvard Business Review, half of CEOs reported feelings of loneliness in their roles, and the majority of lonely CEOs believe these feelings have an impact on their performance. This has a clear negative effect on both the CEO and the organization, leading to a lack of motivation towards the job. In many positions of authority, leaders feel a similar distance from their employees.

After being promoted, it is difficult for supervisors to maintain close relationships with their subordinates, because it can result in favouritism or difficulty enforcing discipline. I had a discussion last week with a Residence Advisor who works in Walter Gage, and he told me about the difficulties of being an RA in a suite-style residence. In his position, he was both friends with his suitemates, but also had to enforce residence rules and discipline as their RA. He told me about the difficulty in separating his personal relationships from his job, and this can apply to many leaders in that they wish to be friends with the people that they are leading, but must also draw a line between the personal and the professional.

It is important to address this issue, since it can impact productivity and the work environment. How can leaders combat these feelings in order to perform as best they can at their jobs? One way to deal with loneliness is by having a pair or team of managers, rather than one person who oversees all. For example, when I worked at a law firm as a student intern, the firm was owned and managed by two lawyers. As partners, they could manage employees together and also look to one another for companionship. Another option is working in self-managed teams, so that all team members are on the same level and there are no hierarchal complications.

Companies need to address the emotions of CEOs, because emotion is inevitably a variable that has an impact on the work being done. By providing leaders with companionship, they will come into work with improved attitudes and a stronger work ethic.

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References:

Hedges, K. (2012, February 23). Do You Feel Lonely As A Leader? Study Says You’re Not Alone. Retrieved February 05, 2017, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/02/23/if-mark-zuckerberg-is-lonely-heres-my-solution/#1ae5055d26f4

Saporito, T. J. (2012, February 15). It’s Time to Acknowledge CEO Loneliness. Retrieved February 05, 2017, from https://hbr.org/2012/02/its-time-to-acknowledge-ceo-lo

Job applicants with “black-sounding” names are less likely to get callbacks than those with “white-sounding” names.

Most of us have never considered that our names can have a profound effect on our lives. A name is not an indicator of our skills, our experiences, or our worth to society. Yet, studies show that employers select their employees based on their names, rather than the qualifications they will bring to the job. One Latino man named Jose Zamora recognised this fact and decided to use it to his advantage. After searching for a job for months, Jose decided to drop the “s” in his name, applying instead as “Joe” Zamora. Suddenly, he began to receive a whirlwind of responses. After removing only one letter on his resume, employees were suddenly interested in hiring him. What was the difference?

Ethnicity. Even if hiring managers were not consciously discriminating against Latino names, Jose’s situation is an indication of a clearly unfair hiring process. And he is not alone. Studies show that applicants with “black-sounding” names receive 50% fewer callbacks than those with “white-sounding” names, regardless of each having equal experience and qualifications. Such discrimination has also been shown towards those with Latino names.

This is a problem not only for black and Latino people searching for jobs, but also for the employers. The inclination to hire Caucasian people is very dangerous, as that candidate may not necessarily be the best candidate for the position. Furthermore, a diverse group of employees is an asset because they will bring in new perspectives and ideas that can benefit organizations. Companies will also benefit by being able to more effectively communicate with different customer groups and understand diverse customer needs. Personally, I would feel much more comfortable as a client with a company having a diverse employee base, rather than being composed of primarily one racial group.

Given the benefits of hiring a diverse workforce, it is clear that organizations need to improve their hiring processes to give all applicants a fair opportunity. They could start by ensuring their hiring committees understand the value in diversity and are not racially prejudiced. Another possible solution would be to take out names and only allow hiring managers look at the job applications when deciding who to give a call back. This is clearly an issue to be grappled with by both employers and employees, but the first step is to create an awareness for the issue and to educate those who are in charge of hiring. In the future, I would hope to see fair racial representation in the workforce and diversity that encompasses all races, including black, Caucasian, Latino, Asian and First Nations.

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References:

Discrimination in the Job Market in the United States. (n.d.). Retrieved February 04, 2017, from https://www.povertyactionlab.org/evaluation/discrimination-job-market-united-states

Canada, Q. (2016, September 13). 5 Black Owned Start-Ups in Austin. Retrieved February 04, 2017, from http://runningfromemptyshoes.com/2016/09/13/5-black-owned-start-ups-in-austin/

Matthews, C. (2014, September 2). He Dropped One Letter In His Name While Applying For Jobs, And The Responses Rolled In. Retrieved February 04, 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/02/jose-joe-job-discrimination_n_5753880.html