Discipline in the Workplace

thinking, a photo by soulfish on Flickr.

Some people just don't care that much about rules.  We meet that kind of people everywhere we go.  It just so happens that a lot of them were probably herded here, where I work.  And it is my misfortune that they are sort of under me.  Phew! I kind of feel like a police officer sometimes, or a drill sergeant, or maybe a prison warden?

Supervising workers is much like taking care of children.  Well, sort of.  Sometimes though, it's the kind of "kids" that gives "parents" a considerable amount of head ache and heart palpitations coupled with spiking blood pressure. Challenging huh?  Well, it is! More so because we are not talking here about children but adults who are supposed to have the maturity level we can expect from adults.

It takes a considerable amount of patience to handle these people.  Sometimes, I am tempted to bring a ringmaster's whip hehehe.  I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to keep reminding people of the same things.  Once is okay, twice is already too much.  By the way, I told these people that I only count up to three.  The third time is already a disciplinary action as outlined in the company's handbook of rules and regulations.

For the record, that handbook is just a thin booklet, and most of the rules are fairly common sense things in my opinion.  The problem is, as they say, common sense is not really common, and discipline is something that a lot of people need to strive for.  I'm not excluding myself.  After all, discipline spans a lot of areas.  I guess on areas where I exercise personal discipline, I am entitled to enforce discipline there as well.  Call it the credibility aspect.  Consequently, if I am delinquent in some areas, I don't have any right to correct others there if they break the rules.

The handbook of rules and regulations has become my textbook in the past few weeks.  In fact, I have never been more acquainted with it since I was hired a few years ago.  It is my indispensable tool to enforce discipline on people who need to be "whipped."  They can call me what they want, but I'll do what my job requires.  But it is my sincere hope that somehow, I am embedding something positive in them, something like planting good seeds of discipline.  I also hope it bears fruit.  Otherwise, figuratively speaking, we separate the good plants from the weeds.  The weeds, we really need to throw away for burning.