ManagersWhat does society expect from a manager? The different conceptions of the achievement society and of the stablity society of the manager.
Managers are among the top role models of the achievement society. Everywhere and at every occasion they must demonstrate what they have achieved. Rushing from meeting to meeting in the company car at up to 250 km/h. When they race by with flashing lights on the motorway, everyone is supposed to feel a devout kind of jealousy about those who have made it, role models for us all. Managers' time is too valuable to waste on children. A clear decision has to be made between children and a career. Partly because managers with children of their own tend to develop intolerably sentimental attitudes to human resources. This clouds the rational mind like a drug when it comes to making important decisions like adapting employee numbers to the demands of shareholder values or closing and relocating unprofitable sites.
Managers' working hours and business trips mean that they require help through nannies and domestics to make it possible to have both children and a career. Having children of their own is an important experience for managers as it helps them better understand the worries of their workers, and helps them make humane decisions. |