Cynicism and its Causes
Cynicism is described as a lack of faith in the intentions of others. Employees of most organizations believe that their administrators do not reflect their real motivations and are instead motivated by self-interest (Choi, 2011).
Increasing Skepticism
According to the literature, skepticism among workers is increasing rapidly in most organizations and is expected to continue in the future. As a result, it is important for business executives to consider the causes of workers' cynicism in order to devise strategies to avoid these skeptical reactions.
Two Key Ingredients to Cynicism
According to Choi (2011), there are two key ingredients to cynicism among workers – the experience of employees’ disappointment in their leaders and being deceived by others.
Impact of Job Losses
Over the past 20 years, there have been frustrations among American workers due to job losses as companies downsize and merge. For instance, in the 1980s, more than 20 million jobs were lost in the US as companies were merging and downsizing. Consequently, most employees have learned from such experiences and whenever corporate leaders present a "new" vision they must encounter cynicism from workers. The employees are always skeptical because of the fear of losing their jobs.
Leaders' Self-Interest
Another reason why leaders experience cynicism is that employees believe that their leaders are trying to use them for their own self-interests. This could happen because of greed and avarice amongst the management. As a result, there exists a perception amongst employees that the management cannot be trusted.
Preventing Cynicism and Embracing New Visions
To avoid cynicism on the part of the employees and ensure that new visions and missions are embraced, corporate leaders should provide effective responses to employee concerns when presenting a new vision. This should include widely communicating the reasons for introducing the new vision and the benefits that it will bring to employees. It is easy to convince people to be part of something when they know they will benefit from it. Finally, corporate leaders should manage more fairly and operate honestly and realistically.
Reference
Choi, M. (2011). Employees’ attitudes toward organizational change: A literature review. Human Resource Management, 50(4), 479-500.
