I did an article several months ago about how factory workers should be treated. After that article, I received a lot of comments. 99% of the responses were positive. So, I thought I would stay in this basic area of employees and companies…And how the 2 get along, and feel about each other.

I have been self employed for 25 years now, and have truly enjoyed it. There have been tough times, but all I mostly remember are the good times. Part of my job as being the company owner is to make sure my employees are happy, well cared for, and paid well enough to have a good life. I am always interested in their lives, their families, if they are happy or not, and any ideas they have for our company. I understand that keeping my staff happy keeps me in business, and keeps all our families fed. Each of my employees is people I like. How do I know this? I was the one that hired them, and I obviously saw something in each one of them that made them interesting or special to me. I don’t hire average or below average people…. I want Rock Stars!

Because of my concern for all of my employees, I like to try and understand daily life in my company from not just my side of the management fence, but theirs as well. This is a feeling that I believe not enough humans have, called in Psychology terms….Empathy. It is something that I have always wanted to possess, and worried I did not have enough of. Why? Because a person without this trait in his personality is often labeled as a narcissisticpersonality. I have known many people in my life with this narcissistic personality, and they were horrible human beings. Miserable to be around. They think about ONLY themselves, their feelings, their wealth, their comfort, andso on….. Leaving everyone around them without, and suffering. Imagine having a boss over you that never considers your feelings. This can make your life a living hell.

One time I was in China and watching the news on my hotel TV…. I listened to a man I always loved…. Jack Ma. Mr. Ma is one of the richest men in the world, and is the founder of Alibaba.com, Taobao Marketplace, Tmail, eTao, AliExpress.com, and Alipay just to name a few. During the interview in English, he stated that he does not need all the money he has earned. He can only sleep in 1 bed, drive 1 car, and can only use so much money in his life. He feels that well over 90% of his wealth, truly belongs to the people of China, so he wants to give much of it back, in ways of intelligent charity. This kind, understanding and giving feeling he has is Empathy, not Narcissism. I believe he understands the struggle of most people’s lives, and cares. Here is another thought….. What would you rather be remembered as when you are gone?

As a company owner there are many feelings that are natural. “I want the company to grow, make more money,last forever, and be the pride of our city. I want good profits, and to see yearly growth. I want employees that do not steal, complain, or make problems. I have a busy schedule, and hope I am not bothered today with employee problems”.

As an employee…. They too have natural feelings like….. “I don’t want to come to work, work hard, and then be treated like Crap”! “I see the owner making tons of $$$$ and I don’t seem to be getting my fair share”. I give so much time from my life for this company…. And I don’t get enough raises. My pay does not keep up with the cost of living. Super strict rules about lunch schedule, breaks, coming to work late or leaving early if needed. My work conditions are not good…. Like I have mean bosses, difficult fellow employees, hot or cold buildings where I work all day, unhealthy chemicals around me, much too long hours”, and many more concerns or complaints.

We on both sides of the employment fence need to consider the others’ feelings in order to keep the relationship strong. It’s just like a marriage. If one side is unhappy, the relationship will break up, and we will be single again…. Wandering around in life looking for another relationship. The relationships will keep ending too early, and we will be clueless to the reasons why this keeps happening to us. We must be real about possible problems, and understanding each other. We must do our best to keep good people around us, and do all we can to keep everyone happy.

I read an article in another Industry magazine called Dealernews by a guy names Rick Fairless from a Texas Harley-Davidson dealership. His article was about his past employees, and how much he disliked all of them. It was titled “AMF to Ex-Employees”. AMF means Adios Mother Fuc$%#er. Adios is Spanish for goodbye. But after all the criticism on this article, Fairless states AMF to him means “Always My Friend”. I personally have never heard someone use AMF as Always My Friend. What do you think he meant by the AMF?

It was a 2 page rant of how he hated them all, and had no good feelings towards them. It mentioned how they all asked for too much money, stole from him, and were lazy. Once the article was online, and others could post comments, many, including myself had some serious criticism. He even had the unprofessional gal and attitude as to get on the post and respond with angry comments to those not on his side. Here is a link to his article…..http://www.dealernews.com/dealernews/article/amf-ex-employees?page=0,0 below were my comments to his article.

This is the first time I have read a column from Rick Fairless….. and I am shocked at his piss poor attitude.

He keeps talking about employees wanting more money, and that most of them are Dumb Asses, or think he is a Dumb Ass. His choice of words towards them, his feelings towards them and so on are horrible for retaining any good people.