EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK Stronger Employees, Stronger Bottom Line When looking at opportunities to improving the work environment, diversity and inclusion can have more of an impact than you may realize. W 8 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 Editorial Advisory Board Andrew Johnson General Manager Connect Transit Gary Thomas President/ Executive Director Dallas Area Rapid Transit Keith Jones, P.E. General Manager M-1 Rail Kristen Joyner Executive Director South West Transit Association Matthew Tucker Executive Director North County Transit District Patrick LeClerc President & Chief Executive Officer Canadian Urban Transit Association Paul Larousse Director National Transit Institute e’ve been hearing about the baby boomer retirement and labor shortage for a number of years and now it’s been having an increasing impact on transit operations. Th ere were a number of news stories from across the continent this past year, including from Ontario, California, Pennsylvania and Washington about agencies that had to make cuts in service because they didn’t have enough operators. I also visited a number of suppliers that said they are in a continuous state of hiring because they can’t fi nd the skilled workers. At the American Public Transportation Association’s Annual Meeting this year, the keynote address was by Dr. Steven L. Robbins and he off ered insight on strengthening your team and improving your bottom line. With a background in cognitive neuroscience, Robbins gave the pragmatic breakdown of how daily life aff ects the brain — for better, for worse. And while these words on a page can’t do justice to the emotional roller coaster he took everyone on during his presentation, there were many points that every business can benefi t from. He talked about how it feels when one’s an “insider” or an “outsider” and had people call out what it feels like when you’re the one on the outside, including lonely, isolated, anxious, angry, ineffi cient and distracted. He refl ected, for an athlete, how important is their mental state? If they were walking on the fi eld feeling those things, everyone would agree they wouldn’t be playing to the best of their ability. When your employees are walking through the door, how do they feel? Whether it’s day shift vs night shift, labor and management, race, facility location, whatever distinctions there may be, distractions impede effectiveness. Th ere was UCLA research of three people playing a computer game; everyone was included initially. Two of the subjects were told to stop interacting with the other subject, making him an outsider. Th e functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) of the brain showed two parts lit: the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and ventromedial pre-fontal cortex — the same two parts that light up when someone is in physical pain. Again, distractions impede eff ectiveness. Building inclusion into your workplace isn’t about being warm and fuzzy, or political correctness, it’s about building a workplace where people come ready to fully engage, focus on their work and utilize all of their mental resources on innovation and improvement. Do not underestimate the power of words to tear people down or to lift people up and be more mindful of the outsiders in your midst. Leah Harnack, Executive Editor Creating a workplace that encourages inclusiveness and teamwork helps your employees thrive.
MassTransit_December2016_January2017
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