Lessons from Amazon Layoffs: White Collar Goes Blue Collar

 Some of those analyzing which types of work function had been targeted in the latest round of Amazon layoffs came up with this:

" ... the further away you are from doing the actual work, the more at risk you are."

Amazon itself has labeled that new reality the "culture of ownership." 

That approach to work used to be called "rolling up your sleeves." That is, not overseeing operations but actually doing them. 

You might think of doing the work as, well, blue collar. Didn't we knowledge workers assume this: The majority of those on the assembly lines in production facilities - the blue collar workforce - aspired to get off the factory floor into management - that is, catapult into white collar? Push paper. Make decisions. Wear dress clothes to work. Have a shower in their office. Maybe not. Maybe we were projecting our own revulsion about doing real physical work. Keep it abstract. 

Currently, if we position what's going on at Amazon as a model of the overall labor market what's obvious is that managing is low in job security. Stay hands-on. Be willing to really get into it, as the saying goes, "getting your hands dirty."

That includes ditching the assertive that's-not-my-job. Instead, pitch in. Take on the tasks they throw at you.

One junior associate at a top law firm I coached balked that partners/senior associates would throw at them assignments which they were clueless how to approach. The mindset ranged from this is above my pay grade to I haven't been trained how to do this. After changing that mindset to jumping in and, yes, risking making mistakes, the resistance lifted. Their performance reviews improved.

Those of us in small businesses always knew that we had to own the whatever. You bet, it was very blue collar in accepting tasks that might even be beyond the scope of our expertise. We learned how to do those tasks on the fringes fast. We didn't have the luxury of, say, dentists who automatically referred you to some kind of specialist, not doing the treatment themselves.

In this changed labor market, aren't we all blue collar? That is, hands on? One over-50 too-long-unemployed MBA is ready to shift from white collar to purchasing a service business which they would have to actually run.  

Success is a mental game. Failure comes from being done in by the “committee” in your head.

Together, we liberate your thinking. Then we change your story. And, unleash success. Meanwhile, we focus on bringing in income. That puts you in a position of strength.

Intuitive Coaching. Special expertise with transitions, becoming a solopreneur and aging. Psychic/tarot readings, upon request. Complimentary consultation with Jane Genova (Text 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com). Yes, test out the chemistry. Zero risk.

Don’t give up before the miracle.

 



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