Not only are some workers lazy but also there are a select few that are really strict with the union rules.  Because they are union they have a set job assignment and if anyone does their job it is breaching the contract and they get very upset.  If I simply touch a box many union workers will call me out on it and “write” me up.  They are called material handlers and the non-union workers are not supposed to handle any material in any way.  They feel like we are taking their job from them.  It can be very stressful if I need a box moved so I can read a label and I am not permitted to do so.  Some workers are very lenient with this rule and will let you do what you need to do but there are others that you have to watch out for.  So I learned my stereotype was not true for all of the employees but only a certain few.

The stereotype that often came to be the most untrue was that the union workers would be hard to work with and I would not be able to get anything done.  I soon found out that even in the hardest of circumstances I could effectively work with any union worker.  At first I thought the strict rule enforcers would be the hardest to work with because I would not be able to move any boxes while they were around.  But because of this they were very willing to move a box for me.  So I was able to move a box on my own around the less strict workers but then I also could have a boxed moved for me very easily around a stricter worker because they were very willing to move them for me.  So this stereotype that I came in with proved to be false, I just have to learn how to work with each individual differently.

The last time I felt that I was stereotyped was not when I worked for GE but rather when I worked for the Housing Office at Morehead State University.  I was a Resident Advisor and because of this my residents often stereotyped me as a strict rule enforcer before they got to know me.

I would try to get to know my residents and frequently walk down the hall and just check up on them and sometimes they acted as if they were intimidated by me and acted as if they were scared they would break some rule as I walked by.  This impacted my relationships with my residents pretty severely.  Often it would seem that some residents would hold back from getting to know me and sort of encase them selves and not do anything that could possibly anger me.  It seemed that these few residents just closed them self up to me.  I had to work hard to make them understand that I was not this power hungry RA that all I wanted to do was to write them up.

When someone is stereotyped there is almost always something that does prove to be true but most of the times things are inaccurate.  In my case these residents were inaccurate to assume I was a strict rule enforcer that my only goal was to write my residents up.  This was not true but what is true is that I will abide by the rules and I will do what I need to do to keep my residents safe and to let them have a good experience for their first year in the college life.

There are several lessons that everyone needs to learn before they try to manage anyone.  The most important one to me is to simply assume nothing.  I believe you need to walk into a workspace and have no preconceived assumptions about anyone and simply learn about each individual without any bias.  Often if you stereotype and walk into somewhere with many assumptions about what you are going to expect about the people, it could result in a self-fulfilling prophecy.  An example is, if you assume the workers are lazy and before you learn about their work ethic you start treating them as if they are lazy.  Often they might listen to you less and could result in them becoming lazy because they are not enjoying working for you.  The best thing to do is first learn about everyone individually and learn what you can from that rather than a stereotype of what you believe the norm is about any individual.