A Lesson Learned From a Classic

Dabney Coleman passed away recently at the age of 92. He was one of those great actors who always seemed to be playing a jerk in the movies. He played those characters so well, it is hard to believe that he was actually the opposite of that in real life.

As an actor, he appeared in so many great classic TV shows. He was in The Naked City, Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare, The Outer Limits, Hazel, The Donna Reed Show, The Fugitive, That Girl, I Dream of Jeannie, The Mod Squad, Bonanza, Ironside, Kojak, Mannix, Cannon, Police Story, Mary Hartman Mary Hartman, Quincy ME, The Love Boat, Columbo, Different Strokes, Boardwalk Empire, Yellowstone, and so many more. He starred as the lead character in Buffalo Bill and The Slap Maxwell Story. His movies included Midway, North Dallas Forty, War Games, Tootsie, Dragnet, The Beverly Hillbillies, Modern Problems, and of course, 9 to 5.

I always liked him as an actor, and it is 9 to 5 which brings about the lesson learned. That lesson is something that I can relate to right now in my life. For those not familiar with 9 to 5, let me give you just a brief overview of the plot from IMDB:

“Three female employees of a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot find a way to turn the tables on him.:

Yeah, that’s pretty much what happens. Dabney plays the hard-ass, no nonsense boss, Franklin Hart. He is the stereotypical bad boss. He is exactly how he is described by IMDB. Long story short, working for him sucks. The workplace is a hell hole where the employees are basically slaves to his rules and statutes. The employees can’t even put pictures up at their desks!

I won’t give away too much of the plot, but the three ladies played by Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Jane Fonda wind up holding him against his will and run the company while he is “away.” During that time, the girls change things up a bit, well, a lot. They add flex shifts for workers, a daycare, plants and pictures can adorn desks, rehabilitation programs, and a whole lot more. Employee morale goes through the roof!

As for how the movie ends, you will have to watch for yourself, but here is the lesson and how it applies to me and my work life. We recently had a merger. As that merger continued to be finalized, there were a lot of unknowns. A few weeks ago, our director was let go along with many others. No one knew what was going to happen.

Shortly after an introductory e-mail, our interim manager was named manager, much to our delight. We all like her. She was one of us techs, so she knows all our concerns and the things we deal with on a daily basis. We then had a meeting via Zoom/Teams where all of us were told of the plans going forward. This was scary for us – we had no idea.

What happened during the meeting was nothing short of amazing. Ideas that had been thrown around years ago and shot down, were suddenly a possibility. Many concerns were addressed and tentative plans to correct them were presented. Over and over again we were given things that were being discussed for our workplace that would make things so much easier for all of us. The future looks bright!

I won’t lie to you, a couple years ago, I was on the job hunt. I had interviews, but nothing really panned the way I had hoped. Places I thought were the answer gave off bad vibes. People I met didn’t give me a good feeling, etc. So I stayed and did my job. (It is always easier to find a job while you still have one.) I was so unhappy about things. I was miserable. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could do it. My health was bad, my blood pressure was up, my sleep was nonexistent, and my home life was tense. Stress was an understatement.

When the interim manager took over, she presented me with an opportunity to go to second shift. I jumped at the opportunity. Almost immediately, my demeaner was better. I was happier. I saw more of my family. My stress level dropped – and so did my blood pressure. My doc was so impressed with my blood pressure that she wrote a note saying that for my health’s sake, I should not be allowed to work midnights.

Anyway, after that meeting, I got a sense that our new leaders really wanted to (1) help our lab grow, (2) help get us what we needed to be the best for our patients, and (3) make us employees happy. Just like in the movie 9 to 5, I see these things being implemented and the morale becoming better. I see good things to come. The leaders truly make me feel appreciated and I think that’s amazing.

When I was a boss in radio, I always said if you make your employees happy, they will follow your leadership. I hope that the vibe that I am feeling is right and we see happy employees and a great work environment.