Comments on: Employees as Hamsters: A “Wheely” Big Deal?

By: Results from the Cage Match

Results from the Cage Match — Sun, 18 May 2008 13:36:46 +0000

[...] Click here if you would like to read some of the very interesting comments and my personal thoughts on the label. [...]

By: David Zinger

David Zinger — Sat, 17 May 2008 17:28:26 +0000

Karl,
Thanks for entering the “cage” match. Seriously, I appreciate your perspective and love the focus – Work Happy Now
David

By: Karl Staib - Your Work Happiness Matters

Karl Staib - Your Work Happiness Matters — Sat, 17 May 2008 17:12:22 +0000

I find it a negative. It’s better to treat each employee as an individual instead of lumping them together. Yes, we all need to work as a team, but it sounds like a put down.

I wouldn’t want to be called a hamster and I don’t think any of my co-workers would either. Glad you are taking it all in and making an informed decision.

Karl of Work Happy Now

By: David Zinger

David Zinger — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:06:54 +0000

Chris,
Ah, the yes and no of calling employees hamsters I found this a very helpful exercise in respectful language and I think I have been guilty at times in leadershin in being cute but perhaps disrespectful.

Fraser,
Thanks for letting people know about the link to the report Fraser. In being respectful in the original article I never attached the term to Blessing White, it was not my intent to point fingers at anyone it was my intent to look at terms and opinions.
David

By: Fraser Marlow

Fraser Marlow — Thu, 15 May 2008 02:08:32 +0000

Hi David,

As always, many thanks for progressing the discussion – the blog, forum and resources you provide are fantastic.

Regarding the “Hamster” debate, I would encourage everybody to grab a copy of the free report from our website ( http://www.blessingwhite.com/research ) and read more about the research and the categories – I hope that even the folks who don’t like the choice of label will get something from the analysis, the model and the reccomendations we make.

Cheers,

Fraser

By: Chris Bailey

Chris Bailey — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:30:38 +0000

David, I started to head toward the ‘no’ camp but then I came back to what (I think) was the original intent behind the metaphor: spinning madly in the little wheel but really going nowhere. Still not the best since you’re referring to someone as a rodent (and I hated Who Moved My Cheese for that very same reason…as well as being didactic).

Glad you’re going with the ‘no’ approach. The more I think about it, the more I believe there’s a better way to engage employees and coach them in working smarter in building traction in their actions.

Thanks for the thought-provoking question!