"Removing Permission To Think" Has This Occurred With Your Job?

[Doing my best]

Yes, I have been through it. I was even promoted to supervisor of 4 staff, and still didn't get to think for them or myself.. Just got to cop the flak if they did something wrong.. It came under the admin/clerks banner, however my 'controllin' boss expected things to be done the same way by all staff (I am talking ticking vs putting a dash when cross referencing sheets, or even certain colour highlighters).. It was a joke. The amount of times I stood up and said that my staff are people, not robots, was unbelievable.

Mine was mainly cause I had a boss who was a control freak. Always wanted to check emails before sending.. And even now I no longer work for that company, I have lots of experience in my industry, and I still have to pull myself up from asking permission to do something that is a normal part of my day.. I know the industry well enough to know what rules to bend, but still didn't dare do it when it would have saved time and customer frustration.

[Phteven]

I would think that in a lot of jobs permission to think was never granted in the first place. There's not much call for thought in an assembly line.
We own our own business so we lack permission not to think and TBH there are days when being a drone would be a welcome change. I'm pretty sure DH would rather not be dealing with an angry client right now who has been ****ed off by one of our managers thinking something stupid.

[Bathsheba]

Olive:thanks for trying... I've also lost a post tonight... not sure why... i think I've forgotten the ropes a bit! LOL

DMB: Yes, DH also had a crazy woman control freak as his last boss as well. She bullied him something terrible but he was too polite to swear back at her. All he wanted to do was help his customers but he was told: "Don't worry about the F***ing customers, YOU worry about MY reputation because this is MY bank and MY town" And he was meant to do deals even if it wasn't in the customers best interests... can the couplé's 98yo mother guarantee the loan... give ém the money! Um, no, you don't do that! Sometimes it's not right to put people into that position... haven't you learnt anything from the GFC???

[Bathsheba]

I also worry how this affects women in labour in a hospital environment. Medical staff probably have to follow quite a strict protocol and ignore their personal thoughts on things... which is why I was told to "hurry up we need this birthing suite, we're really busy todäy" ie I was labouring too slowly according to their script.

[Cassius2]

yes. this is happening in universities as well.

For example, if supervising PhD students, staff no longer have the opportunity to properly mentor their students. They (the students) perform in front of a panel. This panel can be comprised of a minimum of 2 people, but I have seen and been subjected to a university requring 5 . basically this is to ensure that 'no crazy lefties' get hold of the students

Also, there is the policy where every meeting must be undertaken with the door open. Although it is guised as an anti-sexual harrasment measure, it is, in reality about control and social behaviour modelling. From what i have experienced and witnessed it has resulted in an acute drop in debate and discussion of ideas as all meetings are now open to public ears and eyes and every word is heard from all passer bys. not healthy when universities are, by nature, a place for thought generation.

[sloane]

definitely in a work sense - my field was marketing. i mistakenly thought this would give me the opportunity to be creative, think, create but ultimately the places i worked limited those things to the two or 3 people at the very top. it was disheartening & unexpected when working for a smaller company. i also worked in a similar role for a university, where i was treated similarly, but at least i expected it in a larger environment. you end up feeling like a machine whose contribution remains unvalued - i think it also breed apathy & makes you more & more reluctant to suggest new ideas the longer you're in the situation.

i also agree with this:

I also worry how this affects women in labour in a hospital environment. Medical staff probably have to follow quite a strict protocol and ignore their personal thoughts on things... which is why I was told to "hurry up we need this birthing suite, we're really busy todäy" ie I was labouring too slowly according to their script.

i had DS in a large public hospital. i had GD & PG induced hypertension (from 6 weeks that was well-controlled by meds & no strong traces of protein). at 38 weeks i was encouraged to be induced - regular scans/monitoring showed no issues & both GD & BP were under control. i held out till 40 weeks but then felt pressured to agree. i had had the shortest ante natal appts all the way through my PG - in & out in a couple of mins because i had no real issues. but i felt that because i met a few criteria on their checklist, they ignored my personal situation.

i'm also concerned to hear about teaching. my mum was a teacher & would be horrifed to think that teachers were no longer allowed some freedom in the classroom. i went to a playgroup victoria seminar last week about play. lots of emphasis was placed on allowing children to drive the play & not to provide them with outcomes (assist, but let them reach an end point themselves). there was a story in the booklet about a child at school not being allowed to draw their own picture but having to copy the picture drawn by the teacher & this killing free-thought & choice. i think by treating students as a group (although i understand a need to do this to a certain extent) you miss the opportunity to develop their indivdual strengths & talents. that is so sad.

oh - and one last thing - there's a billy connolly interview with andrew denton where he talks about everyone & everything becoming 'beige' & there being no personality these days. it does feel like that sometimes.

[Bathsheba]

Yes, I worry a bit too about "groupifying" children as a convenience measure in the classroom. And I know that story too that was in the booklet... about a little boy who learnt very well how to sit and wait for the teacher to tell him what to draw and how to draw it... and when he went to a different school where he was allowed to choose how to draw something he was completely lost because all the creativity had been crushed out of him as he learnt how to be a lovely compliant little boy. I know exactly what you mean too Maya! All very scary.

Maybe they will start to "groupify" women in labour in hospitals... all first timers this way... but wait! They already do! for my first pregnancy i was one of about 10 women who stood up and shuffled to the toilets when "all women who are waiting for urine tests please come this way". Delightful isn't it? All in the name of progress.