Frederick Douglass - The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

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The Narrative of the Lifeof Frederick Douglass.

Written by Himself.

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Frederick Douglass. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas.C

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About the author

Frederick Douglass (born:Frederick Augustus WashingtonBailey — c.1818 - February 20, 1895)was an American abolitionist, editor,orator, author, statesman and reformer.

Called “The Sage of Anacostia”and “The Lion of Anacostia,”Douglass was the most prominentAfrican-American of his time, andone of the most influential lecturersand authors in American history.

Frederick Douglass was born a slave in Talbot County, Marylandnear Tucaho creek. As a boy, Douglass lived twelve miles from hismother and never learned the identity of his father. His mother, whooften walked the twenty-four-mile round trip to visit him, died whenhe was nine years old. Douglass never knew anything about the identityof his father other than he was a white man, although some believe itwas his master, Captain Aaron Anthony. When Anthony died,Douglass was taken into the possession of Mrs. Lucretia Auld, thewife of Captain Thomas Auld; the young man was sent to Baltimoreto live with the Captain’s brother, Hugh Auld.

When Douglass was twelve, Hugh Auld’s wife, Sophia, broke thelaw by teaching him to read. Mr. Auld disapproved, saying that if aslave learns to read, he would become dissatisfied with his conditionand desire freedom; Douglass later referred to this as the firstabolitionist speech he had ever heard. Another turning point was whenhe purchased a copy of the book The Columbian Orator: Containing a

Variety of Original and Selected Pieces Together With Rules, Which AreCalculated to Improve Youth and Others, in the Ornamental and usefulart of eloquence by Caleb Bingham, A. M. (ISBN 0814713238).Douglass studied and memorized classic speeches by the Roman oratorCicero in order to find his own voice. It was the first book he everowned.

During this period, Douglas became attached to a deeply religiousman named Uncle Lawson, who became a spiritual father to Douglass;the young man took every opportunity to be with him. Lawson toldDouglass that it was possible for him to be delivered from bondageand he prayed to God that it would be so.

In 1834, Hugh Auld rented Douglass out to a farmer namedEdward Covey, a “slave breaker” of extraordinary cruelty. The 15-year-old Douglass was nearly broken psychologically but finally rebelledagainst the beatings and fought back. Covey lost out and never tried tobeat Douglass again. This incident was kept quiet as Covey wasashamed of his defeat.

In 1836, Hugh and Sophia Auld hired Douglass out to work as acaulker in a Baltimore, Maryland shipyard and allowed him to keep aportion of his wages. Though Douglass became a master caulker, whitesrefused to work alongside him.

In 1837, Douglass joined the East Baltimore Mental ImprovementSociety, a debating club of free blacks. Through the society, he met afree African-American housekeeper, Anna Murray. Anna Murray solda poster bed to buy sailor’s papers needed for Frederick Douglass’sescape. On September 3, 1838 he boarded a train in Maryland on hisway to freedom from slavery, dressed in a sailor’s uniform and carryingidentification papers provided by a free black seaman. Though he didnot match the physical description in the papers, the conductor gavethem only a casual glance. From Baltimore, Douglass made his way toWilmington, Delaware to Philadelphia to New York and finally to






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New Bedford, Massachusetts. This was by no means the most creativeescape of a slave; Henry Box Brown mailed himself from Virginia toPhiladelphia in a journey taking 26 hours.

Douglass continued reading. He joined various organizations inNew Bedford, including a black church. He subscribed to WilliamLloyd Garrison’s weekly journal, the Liberator. He attended Abolitionistmeetings. In 1841, he saw Garrison speak at the Bristol Anti-SlaverySociety’s annual meeting. Douglass was inspired by the Garrison, laterstating, “no face and form ever impressed me with such sentiments[the hatred of slavery] as did those of William Lloyd Garrison.”Garrison, likewise, was impressed with Douglass, and mentioned himin the Liberator. Several days later Douglass gave his first speech atthe Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society’s annual convention inNantucket Island. 23 years old at the time, Douglass later said that hislegs were shaking. He conquered his nervousness and gave an eloquentspeech about his life as a slave.

In 1843, Douglass participated in the American Anti-SlaverySociety’s Hundred Conventions project; a six month tour of meetinghalls throughout the east and middle west.

Douglass later became the publisher of a series of newspapers:“The North Star”, “Frederick Douglass Weekly”, “Frederick Douglass’Paper”, “Douglass’ Monthly” and the “New National Era”. The mottoof “The North Star” was “Right is of no sex—Truth is of no color—God is the Father of us all, and we are all Brethen”.

His work spanned the years prior to and during the Civil War. Heknew the radical abolitionist Captain John Brown but did not approveof Brown’s plan to start an armed slave revolt. Douglass believed thatthe Harper’s Ferry attack on federal property would enrage theAmerican public.

Douglass conferred with President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 onthe treatment of black soldiers, and with President Andrew Johnson

on the subject of black suffrage. His closest collaborators were thewhite abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips.

Douglass’ most well-known work is his autobiography Narrative ofthe Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, which was publishedin 1845. Critics frequently attacked the book as inauthentic, notbelieving that a black man could possibly have written so eloquent awork. It was an immediate bestseller and received overwhelminglypositive critical reviews. Within three years of publication, it had beenreprinted nine times with 11,000 copies circulating in the United Statesand translated into French and Dutch.

The book’s success had an unfortunate side effect when his friendsand mentors became afraid that the publicity would draw the attentionof his ex-owner, Hugh Auld, who could try to get his “property” back.They encouraged him to go on a tour in Ireland, as many other ex-slaves had done in the past. He set sail on the Cambria for Liverpoolon August 16, 1845, and arrived in Ireland when the Irish famine wasjust starting.

Douglass spent two years in the British Isles and gave severallectures, mainly in Protestant churches. He remarked that he was treatednot “as a color, but as a man.”

He met and befriended Irish nationalist Daniel O’Connell. WhenDouglass visited Scotland, the members of Free Church of Scotland,whom he had criticized for accepting money from US slave-owners,demonstrated against him with placards that read “Send back thenigger.”

Douglass was able safely to return to the U.S. only when twoEnglishwomen, Ellen and Anna Richardson, purchased his freedomfrom Hugh Auld, for $710.96 or £150. On December 5, 1846, at age28, Douglass was legally a free man.

Douglass had five children; two of them, Charles and Rossetta,helped produce his newspapers.






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The Civil WarIn 1851, Douglass merged North Star with Gerrit Smith’s Liberty

Party Paper to form Frederick Douglass’ Paper, which was publisheduntil 1860. Douglass came to agree with Smith that the United StatesConstitution is an antislavery document, reversing his earlier beliefthat it was proslavery, a view he had shared with William Lloyd Garrison.Garrison had publicly demonstrated his opinion of the Constitutionby burning copies of it. This shift in opinion, as well as some politicaldifferences, create a rift between Douglass and Garrison. Douglasfurther angered Garrison by saying that the Constitution should beused to fight slavery. With this, Douglass began to assert hisindependence in the antislavery movement. Garrison saw the NorthStar as competition with the National Anti-Slavery Standard and MariusRobinson’s Anti-slavery Bugle.

In March 1860, Annie, his youngest daughter, died in Rochester,New York while Douglass was still in England. Douglass returnedfrom England the following month, taking the route through Canadato avoid detection.

By the time of the Civil War, Douglass was the most famous blackman in the country, known for his oratories on the condition of theblack race, and other issues such as women’s rights.

After the Civil War, Douglass held a number of important politicalpositions. He served as President of the failed Reconstruction-eraFreedman’s Savings Bank, marshal of the District of Columbia, minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti, and chargéd’affaires for Santo Domingo. After two years he resigned hisambassadorship due to disagreements with U.S. government policy. In1872, he moved to Washington, D.C., after his house on South Avenuein Rochester, New York burned down — arson was suspected. Alsolost was a complete issue of The North Star.

In 1868, Douglass supported the presidential campaign of Ulysses

S. Grant. The Klan Act and Enforcement Act were signed into law byPresident Grant. Grant used their provisions vigorously, suspendinghabeas corpus in South Carolina and sending troops there and intoother states; under his leadership over 5,000 arrests were made andthe Ku Klux Klan was dealt a serious blow.

Grant’s vigor in disrupting the Klan made him unpopular amongmany whites, but Frederick Douglass praised him. An associate ofDouglass wrote of Grant that African-Americans “will ever cherish agrateful remembrance of his name, fame and great services.” The conflictwas not limited to the KKK. Racist groups like the Knights of theWhite Camellia and the White League also played a part.

In 1892 the Haitian government appointed Douglass as itscommissioner to the Chicago World Columbian Exposition. He spokefor Irish Home Rule and efforts of Charles Stewart Parnell and brieflyrevisited Ireland in 1886.

In 1877, Frederick Douglass purchased his final home inWashington D.C. on the banks of the Anacostia River. He named itCedar Hill. He expanded the house from 14 to 21 rooms including achina closet. One year later, Douglass expanded his property to 15acres with the purchase of adjoining lots.

After the disappointments of Reconstruction many AfricanAmericans called Exodusters moved to Kansas to form all-black towns.Douglass spoke out against the movement, urging blacks to stick it out.He was condemned and booed by black audiences.

Douglass’s wife Anna died in 1882, leaving him in a state ofdepression. His association with activist Ida B. Wells brought meaningback into his life. In 1884, he married Helen Pitts, a white feministfrom Honeoye, New York. Pitts was a graduate of Mount HolyokeSeminary, and daughter of Gideon Pitts, Jr., an abolitionist colleagueand friend of Douglass. While living in Washington, D.C. before hermarriage, she had worked on a radical feminist publication called theAlpha while living in Washington, D.C.






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Contents

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Preface.Chapter 1.Chapter 2.Chapter 3.Chapter 4.Chapter 5.Chapter 6.Chapter 7.Chapter 8.Chapter 9.Chapter 10.Chapter 11.Appendix.

Frederick and Helen Pitts Douglass faced a storm of controversyas a result of their marriage. She was a white woman who was nearly 20years younger than he. Both families recoiled; hers stopped speakingto her; his was bruised, as they felt his marriage was a repudiation oftheir mother. But individualist feminist Elizabeth Cady Stantoncongratulated the two.

The new couple traveled to England, France, Italy, Egypt andGreece from 1886 to 1887.

In later life, Douglass determined to find his birthday. He was bornin February of 1817 by his own calculations, but historians have founda record indicating his birth in February of 1818.

On February 20, 1895, he attended a meeting of the NationalCouncil of Women in Washington, D.C. During that meeting, he wasbrought to the platform and given a standing ovation by the audience.Shortly after he returned home, Frederick Douglass died of a massiveheart attack or stroke in his adopted hometown of Washington D.C.






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The Narrative ofthe Life ofFrederickDouglass. Preface.

In the month of August, 1841, I attended an anti-slaveryconvention in Nantucket, at which it was my happiness tobecome acquainted with FREDERICK DOUGLASS, thewriter of the following Narrative. He was a stranger to nearlyevery member of that body; but, having recently made hisescape from the southern prison-house of bondage, and feel-ing his curiosity excited to ascertain the principles and mea-sures of the abolitionists,—of whom he had heard a some-what vague description while he was a slave,—he was inducedto give his attendance, on the occasion alluded to, though atthat time a resident in New Bedford. Fortunate, most for-tunate occurrence!—fortunate for the millions of his manacledbrethren, yet panting for deliverance from their awful

An American SlaveWritten by Himself.

published at the Anti-Slavery Office,No. 25 Cornhill,

1845.

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thraldom!—fortunate for the cause of negro emancipation,and of universal liberty!—fortunate for the land of his birth,which he has already done so much to save and bless! —for-tunate for a large circle of friends and acquaintances, whosesympathy and affection he has strongly secured by the manysufferings he has endured, by his virtuous traits of character,by his ever-abiding remembrance of those who are in bonds,as being bound with them!—fortunate for the multitudes, invarious parts of our republic, whose minds he has enlightenedon the subject of slavery, and who have been melted to tearsby his pathos, or roused to virtuous indignation by his stir-ring eloquence against the enslavers of men!—fortunate forhimself, as it at once brought him into the field of publicusefulness, “gave the world assurance of a MAN,” quickenedthe slumbering energies of his soul, and consecrated him tothe great work of breaking the rod of the oppressor, and let-ting the oppressed go free! I shall never forget his firstspeech at the convention—the extraordinary emotion it ex-cited in my own mind—the powerful impression it createdupon a crowded auditory, completely taken by surprise—theapplause which followed from the beginning to the end ofhis felicitous remarks. I think I never hated slavery so in-tensely as at that moment; certainly, my perception of theenormous outrage which is inflicted by it, on the godlike na-ture of its victims, was rendered far more clear than ever. Therestood one, in physical proportion and stature commanding

and exact—in intellect richly endowed—in natural eloquencea prodigy—in soul manifestly “created but a little lower thanthe angels”—yet a slave, ay, a fugitive slave,—trembling forhis safety, hardly daring to believe that on the American soil,a single white person could be found who would befriendhim at all hazards, for the love of God and humanity! Ca-pable of high attainments as an intellectual and moral be-ing—needing nothing but a comparatively small amount ofcultivation to make him an ornament to society and a bless-ing to his race—by the law of the land, by the voice of thepeople, by the terms of the slave code, he was only a piece ofproperty, a beast of burden, a chattel personal, nevertheless!A beloved friend from New Bedford prevailed on Mr.DOUGLASS to address the convention: He came forwardto the platform with a hesitancy and embarrassment, neces-sarily the attendants of a sensitive mind in such a novel posi-tion. After apologizing for his ignorance, and reminding theaudience that slavery was a poor school for the human intel-lect and heart, he proceeded to narrate some of the facts in hisown history as a slave, and in the course of his speech gaveutterance to many noble thoughts and thrilling reflections.As soon as he had taken his seat, filled with hope and admira-tion, I rose, and declared that PATRICK HENRY, of revo-lutionary fame, never made a speech more eloquent in thecause of liberty, than the one we had just listened to from thelips of that hunted fugitive. So I believed at that time—such






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is my belief now. I reminded the audience of the peril whichsurrounded this selfemancipated young man at the North,—even in Massachusetts, on the soil of the Pilgrim Fathers,among the descendants of revolutionary sires; and I appealedto them, whether they would ever allow him to be carriedback into slavery,—law or no law, constitution or no consti-tution. The response was unanimous and in thunder-tones—”NO!” “Will you succor and protect him as a brother-man—a resident of the old Bay State?” “YES!” shouted the wholemass, with an energy so startling, that the ruthless tyrantssouth of Mason and Dixon’s line might almost have heard themighty burst of feeling, and recognized it as the pledge of aninvincible determination, on the part of those who gave it,never to betray him that wanders, but to hide the outcast, andfirmly to abide the consequences. It was at once deeplyimpressed upon my mind, that, if Mr. DOUGLASS couldbe persuaded to consecrate his time and talents to the promo-tion of the anti-slavery enterprise, a powerful impetus wouldbe given to it, and a stunning blow at the same time inflictedon northern prejudice against a colored complexion. I there-fore endeavored to instil hope and courage into his mind, inorder that he might dare to engage in a vocation so anomalousand responsible for a person in his situation; and I was sec-onded in this effort by warm-hearted friends, especially bythe late General Agent of the Massachusetts Anti-SlaverySociety, Mr. JOHN A. COLLINS, whose judgment in this

instance entirely coincided with my own. At first, he couldgive no encouragement; with unfeigned diffidence, he ex-pressed his conviction that he was not adequate to the perfor-mance of so great a task; the path marked out was wholly anuntrodden one; he was sincerely apprehensive that he shoulddo more harm than good. After much deliberation, however,he consented to make a trial; and ever since that period, hehas acted as a lecturing agent, under the auspices either of theAmerican or the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. In la-bors he has been most abundant; and his success in combat-ing prejudice, in gaining proselytes, in agitating the publicmind, has far surpassed the most sanguine expectations thatwere raised at the commencement of his brilliant career. Hehas borne himself with gentleness and meekness, yet with truemanliness of character. As a public speaker, he excels in pa-thos, wit, comparison, imitation, strength of reasoning, andfluency of language. There is in him that union of head andheart, which is indispensable to an enlightenment of the headsand a winning of the hearts of others. May his strength con-tinue to be equal to his day! May he continue to “grow ingrace, and in the knowledge of God,” that he may be increas-ingly serviceable in the cause of bleeding humanity, whetherat home or abroad! It is certainly a very remarkable fact, thatone of the most efficient advocates of the slave population,now before the public, is a fugitive slave, in the person ofFREDERICK DOUGLASS; and that the free colored popu-






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lation of the United States are as ably represented by one oftheir own number, in the person of CHARLES LENOXREMOND, whose eloquent appeals have extorted the high-est applause of multitudes on both sides of the Atlantic. Letthe calumniators of the colored race despise themselves fortheir baseness and illiberality of spirit, and henceforth ceaseto talk of the natural inferiority of those who require nothingbut time and opportunity to attain to the highest point ofhuman excellence. It may, perhaps, be fairly questioned,whether any other portion of the population of the earth couldhave endured the privations, sufferings and horrors of slavery,without having become more degraded in the scale of hu-manity than the slaves of African descent. Nothing has beenleft undone to cripple their intellects, darken their minds,debase their moral nature, obliterate all traces of their rela-tionship to mankind; and yet how wonderfully they have sus-tained the mighty load of a most frightful bondage, underwhich they have been groaning for centuries! To illustratethe effect of slavery on the white man,—to show that he hasno powers of endurance, in such a condition, superior to thoseof his black brother,—DANIEL O’CONNELL, the distin-guished advocate of universal emancipation, and the mighti-est champion of prostrate but not conquered Ireland, relatesthe following anecdote in a speech delivered by him in theConciliation Hall, Dublin, before the Loyal National RepealAssociation, March 31, 1845. “No matter,” said Mr.

O’CONNELL, “under what specious term it may disguiseitself, slavery is still hideous. ~It has a natural, an inevitabletendency to brutalize every noble faculty of man.~ An Ameri-can sailor, who was cast away on the shore of Africa, where hewas kept in slavery for three years, was, at the expiration ofthat period, found to be imbruted and stultified—he hadlost all reasoning power; and having forgotten his native lan-guage, could only utter some savage gibberish between Ara-bic and English, which nobody could understand, and whicheven he himself found difficulty in pronouncing. So muchfor the humanizing influence of THE DOMESTIC IN-STITUTION!” Admitting this to have been an extraordi-nary case of mental deterioration, it proves at least that thewhite slave can sink as low in the scale of humanity as theblack one.

Mr. DOUGLASS has very properly chosen to write hisown Narrative, in his own style, and according to the best ofhis ability, rather than to employ some one else. It is, there-fore, entirely his own production; and, considering how longand dark was the career he had to run as a slave,—how fewhave been his opportunities to improve his mind since he brokehis iron fetters,—it is, in my judgment, highly creditable tohis head and heart. He who can peruse it without a tearfuleye, a heaving breast, an afflicted spirit,— without being filledwith an unutterable abhorrence of slavery and all its abettors,and animated with a determination to seek the immediate






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overthrow of that execrable system,—without trembling forthe fate of this country in the hands of a righteous God, whois ever on the side of the oppressed, and whose arm is notshortened that it cannot save,—must have a flinty heart, andbe qualified to act the part of a trafficker “in slaves and thesouls of men.” I am confident that it is essentially true in allits statements; that nothing has been set down in malice, noth-ing exaggerated, nothing drawn from the imagination; that itcomes short of the reality, rather than overstates a single factin regard to SLAVERY AS IT IS. The experience ofFREDERICK DOUGLASS, as a slave, was not a peculiarone; his lot was not especially a hard one; his case may beregarded as a very fair specimen of the treatment of slaves inMaryland, in which State it is conceded that they are betterfed and less cruelly treated than in Georgia, Alabama, or Loui-siana. Many have suffered incomparably more, while very fewon the plantations have suffered less, than himself. Yet howdeplorable was his situation! what terrible chastisements wereinflicted upon his person! what still more shocking outrageswere perpetrated upon his mind! with all his noble powersand sublime aspirations, how like a brute was he treated, evenby those professing to have the same mind in them that wasin Christ Jesus! to what dreadful liabilities was he continuallysubjected! how destitute of friendly counsel and aid, even inhis greatest extremities! how heavy was the midnight of woewhich shrouded in blackness the last ray of hope, and filled

the future with terror and gloom! what longings after free-dom took possession of his breast, and how his misery aug-mented, in proportion as he grew reflective and intelligent,—thus demonstrating that a happy slave is an extinct man! howhe thought, reasoned, felt, under the lash of the driver, withthe chains upon his limbs! what perils he encountered in hisendeavors to escape from his horrible doom! and how signalhave been his deliverance and preservation in the midst of anation of pitiless enemies!

This Narrative contains many affecting incidents, manypassages of great eloquence and power; but I think the mostthrilling one of them all is the description DOUGLASS givesof his feelings, as he stood soliloquizing respecting his fate,and the chances of his one day being a freeman, on the banksof the Chesapeake Bay—viewing the receding vessels as theyflew with their white wings before the breeze, and apostro-phizing them as animated by the living spirit of freedom.Who can read that passage, and be insensible to its pathosand sublimity? Compressed into it is a whole Alexandrianlibrary of thought, feeling, and sentiment—all that can, allthat need be urged, in the form of expostulation, entreaty,rebuke, against that crime of crimes,—making man the prop-erty of his fellow-man! O, how accursed is that system, whichentombs the godlike mind of man, defaces the divine image,reduces those who by creation were crowned with glory andhonor to a level with four-footed beasts, and exalts the dealer






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in human flesh above all that is called God! Why should itsexistence be prolonged one hour? Is it not evil, only evil, andthat continually? What does its presence imply but the ab-sence of all fear of God, all regard for man, on the part of thepeople of the United States? Heaven speed its eternal over-throw! So profoundly ignorant of the nature of slavery aremany persons, that they are stubbornly incredulous wheneverthey read or listen to any recital of the cruelties which aredaily inflicted on its victims. They do not deny that the slavesare held as property; but that terrible fact seems to convey totheir minds no idea of injustice, exposure to outrage, or sav-age barbarity. Tell them of cruel scourgings, of mutilationsand brandings, of scenes of pollution and blood, of the ban-ishment of all light and knowledge, and they affect to begreatly indignant at such enormous exaggerations, such whole-sale misstatements, such abominable libels on the characterof the southern planters! As if all these direful outrages werenot the natural results of slavery! As if it were less cruel toreduce a human being to the condition of a thing, than togive him a severe flagellation, or to deprive him of necessaryfood and clothing! As if whips, chains, thumb-screws, paddles,bloodhounds, overseers, drivers, patrols, were not all indis-pensable to keep the slaves down, and to give protection totheir ruthless oppressors! As if, when the marriage institu-tion is abolished, concubinage, adultery, and incest, must notnecessarily abound; when all the rights of humanity are anni-

hilated, any barrier remains to protect the victim from thefury of the spoiler; when absolute power is assumed over lifeand liberty, it will not be wielded with destructive sway! Skep-tics of this character abound in society. In some few instances,their incredulity arises from a want of reflection; but, gener-ally, it indicates a hatred of the light, a desire to shield slaveryfrom the assaults of its foes, a contempt of the colored race,whether bond or free. Such will try to discredit the shockingtales of slaveholding cruelty which are recorded in this truth-ful Narrative; but they will labor in vain. Mr. DOUGLASShas frankly disclosed the place of his birth, the names of thosewho claimed ownership in his body and soul, and the namesalso of those who committed the crimes which he has allegedagainst them. His statements, therefore, may easily be dis-proved, if they are untrue.

In the course of his Narrative, he relates two instances ofmurderous cruelty,—in one of which a planter deliberatelyshot a slave belonging to a neighboring plantation, who hadunintentionally gotten within his lordly domain in quest offish; and in the other, an overseer blew out the brains of aslave who had fled to a stream of water to escape a bloodyscourging. Mr. DOUGLASS states that in neither of theseinstances was any thing done by way of legal arrest or judicialinvestigation. The Baltimore American, of March 17, 1845,relates a similar case of atrocity, perpetrated with similar im-punity—as follows:—”~Shooting a slave.~—We learn, upon






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the authority of a letter from Charles county, Maryland, re-ceived by a gentleman of this city, that a young man, namedMatthews, a nephew of General Matthews, and whose father,it is believed, holds an office at Washington, killed one of theslaves upon his father’s farm by shooting him. The letter statesthat young Matthews had been left in charge of the farm;that he gave an order to the servant, which was disobeyed,when he proceeded to the house, ~obtained a gun, and, re-turning, shot the servant.~ He immediately, the letter con-tinues, fled to his father’s residence, where he still remainsunmolested.”—Let it never be forgotten, that no slaveholderor overseer can be convicted of any outrage perpetrated on theperson of a slave, however diabolical it may be, on the testi-mony of colored witnesses, whether bond or free. By the slavecode, they are adjudged to be as incompetent to testify againsta white man, as though they were indeed a part of the brutecreation. Hence, there is no legal protection in fact, whateverthere may be in form, for the slave population; and any amountof cruelty may be inflicted on them with impunity. Is it pos-sible for the human mind to conceive of a more horrible stateof society?

The effect of a religious profession on the conduct ofsouthern masters is vividly described in the following Narra-tive, and shown to be any thing but salutary. In the nature ofthe case, it must be in the highest degree pernicious. Thetestimony of Mr. DOUGLASS, on this point, is sustained

by a cloud of witnesses, whose veracity is unimpeachable. “Aslaveholder’s profession of Christianity is a palpable impos-ture. He is a felon of the highest grade. He is a man-stealer. Itis of no importance what you put in the other scale.”

Reader! are you with the man-stealers in sympathy andpurpose, or on the side of their down-trodden victims? Ifwith the former, then are you the foe of God and man. Ifwith the latter, what are you prepared to do and dare in theirbehalf? Be faithful, be vigilant, be untiring in your efforts tobreak every yoke, and let the oppressed go free. Come whatmay —cost what it may—inscribe on the banner which youunfurl to the breeze, as your religious and political motto—”NO COMPROMISE WITH SLAVERY! NO UNIONWITH SLAVEHOLDERS!”

WM. LLOYD GARRISONBOSTON, ~May~ 1, 1845.

LETTER FROM WENDELL PHILLIPS, ESQ. BOSTON, APRIL 22, 1845.My Dear Friend:You remember the old fable of “The Man and the Lion,”

where the lion complained that he should not be so misrepre-sented “when the lions wrote history.”

I am glad the time has come when the “lions write his-tory.” We have been left long enough to gather the characterof slavery from the involuntary evidence of the masters. One






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might, indeed, rest sufficiently satisfied with what, it is evi-dent, must be, in general, the results of such a relation, with-out seeking farther to find whether they have followed inevery instance. Indeed, those who stare at the half-peck ofcorn a week, and love to count the lashes on the slave’s back,are seldom the “stuff ” out of which reformers and abolition-ists are to be made. I remember that, in 1838, many werewaiting for the results of the West India experiment, beforethey could come into our ranks. Those “results” have comelong ago; but, alas! few of that number have come with them,as converts. A man must be disposed to judge of emancipa-tion by other tests than whether it has increased the produceof sugar,—and to hate slavery for other reasons than becauseit starves men and whips women,—before he is ready to laythe first stone of his anti-slavery life.

I was glad to learn, in your story, how early the most ne-glected of God’s children waken to a sense of their rights, andof the injustice done them. Experience is a keen teacher; andlong before you had mastered your A B C, or knew where the“white sails” of the Chesapeake were bound, you began, I see,to gauge the wretchedness of the slave, not by his hunger andwant, not by his lashes and toil, but by the cruel and blight-ing death which gathers over his soul.

In connection with this, there is one circumstance whichmakes your recollections peculiarly valuable, and renders yourearly insight the more remarkable. You come from that part

of the country where we are told slavery appears with its fair-est features. Let us hear, then, what it is at its best estate—gaze on its bright side, if it has one; and then imaginationmay task her powers to add dark lines to the picture, as shetravels southward to that (for the colored man) Valley of theShadow of Death, where the Mississippi sweeps along.

Again, we have known you long, and can put the mostentire confidence in your truth, candor, and sincerity. Everyone who has heard you speak has felt, and, I am confident,every one who reads your book will feel, persuaded that yougive them a fair specimen of the whole truth. No one-sidedportrait, —no wholesale complaints,—but strict justice done,whenever individual kindliness has neutralized, for a moment,the deadly system with which it was strangely allied. You havebeen with us, too, some years, and can fairly compare thetwilight of rights, which your race enjoy at the North, withthat “noon of night” under which they labor south of Masonand Dixon’s line. Tell us whether, after all, the halffree col-ored man of Massachusetts is worse off than the pamperedslave of the rice swamps!

In reading your life, no one can say that we have unfairlypicked out some rare specimens of cruelty. We know that thebitter drops, which even you have drained from the cup, areno incidental aggravations, no individual ills, but such as mustmingle always and necessarily in the lot of every slave. Theyare the essential ingredients, not the occasional results, of the






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system.After all, I shall read your book with trembling for you.

Some years ago, when you were beginning to tell me your realname and birthplace, you may remember I stopped you, andpreferred to remain ignorant of all. With the exception of avague description, so I continued, till the other day, when youread me your memoirs. I hardly knew, at the time, whether tothank you or not for the sight of them, when I reflected thatit was still dangerous, in Massachusetts, for honest men totell their names! They say the fathers, in 1776, signed theDeclaration of Independence with the halter about their necks.You, too, publish your declaration of freedom with dangercompassing you around. In all the broad lands which theConstitution of the United States overshadows, there is nosingle spot,—however narrow or desolate,—where a fugitiveslave can plant himself and say, “I am safe.” The whole ar-mory of Northern Law has no shield for you. I am free to saythat, in your place, I should throw the MS. into the fire.

You, perhaps, may tell your story in safety, endeared asyou are to so many warm hearts by rare gifts, and a still rarerdevotion of them to the service of others. But it will be owingonly to your labors, and the fearless efforts of those who, tram-pling the laws and Constitution of the country under theirfeet, are determined that they will “hide the outcast,” andthat their hearths shall be, spite of the law, an asylum for theoppressed, if, some time or other, the humblest may stand in

our streets, and bear witness in safety against the cruelties ofwhich he has been the victim.

Yet it is sad to think, that these very throbbing hearts whichwelcome your story, and form your best safeguard in tellingit, are all beating contrary to the “statute in such case madeand provided.” Go on, my dear friend, till you, and thosewho, like you, have been saved, so as by fire, from the darkprisonhouse, shall stereotype these free, illegal pulses into stat-utes; and New England, cutting loose from a blood-stainedUnion, shall glory in being the house of refuge for the op-pressed,—till we no longer merely “~hide~ the outcast,” ormake a merit of standing idly by while he is hunted in ourmidst; but, consecrating anew the soil of the Pilgrims as anasylum for the oppressed, proclaim our WELCOME to theslave so loudly, that the tones shall reach every hut in theCarolinas, and make the broken-hearted bondman leap up atthe thought of old Massachusetts.

God speed the day!~Till then, and ever,~~Yours truly,~~WENDELL PHILLIPS~

FREDERICK DOUGLASS.Frederick Douglass was born in slavery as Frederick

Augustus Washington Bailey near Easton in Talbot County,Maryland. He was not sure of the exact year of his birth, but






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he knew that it was 1817 or 1818. As a young boy he wassent to Baltimore, to be a house servant, where he learned toread and write, with the assistance of his master’s wife. In1838 he escaped from slavery and went to New York City,where he married Anna Murray, a free colored woman whomhe had met in Baltimore. Soon thereafter he changed his nameto Frederick Douglass. In 1841 he addressed a convention ofthe Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in Nantucket and sogreatly impressed the group that they immediately employedhim as an agent. He was such an impressive orator that nu-merous persons doubted if he had ever been a slave, so hewrote NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICKDOUGLASS. During the Civil War he assisted in the re-cruiting of colored men for the 54th and 55th MassachusettsRegiments and consistently argued for the emancipation ofslaves. After the war he was active in securing and protectingthe rights of the freemen. In his later years, at different times,he was secretary of the Santo Domingo Commission, marshalland recorder of deeds of the District of Columbia, and UnitedStates Minister to Haiti. His other autobiographical worksare MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM and LIFEAND TIMES OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS, publishedin 1855 and 1881 respectively. He died in 1895.

Chapter 1.

I was born in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough, and abouttwelve miles from Easton, in Talbot county, Maryland. I haveno accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any au-thentic record containing it. By far the larger part of the slavesknow as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it isthe wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep theirslaves thus ignorant. I do not remember to have ever met aslave who could tell of his birthday. They seldom come nearerto it than planting-time, harvesttime, cherry-time, spring-time, or fall-time. A want of information concerning my ownwas a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood.The white children could tell their ages. I could not tell whyI ought to be deprived of the same privilege. I was not al-lowed to make any inquiries of my master concerning it. He






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deemed all such inquiries on the part of a slave improper andimpertinent, and evidence of a restless spirit. The nearest esti-mate I can give makes me now between twenty-seven andtwentyeight years of age. I come to this, from hearing mymaster say, some time during 1835, I was about seventeenyears old.

My mother was named Harriet Bailey. She was the daugh-ter of Isaac and Betsey Bailey, both colored, and quite dark.My mother was of a darker complexion than either my grand-mother or grandfather.

My father was a white man. He was admitted to be suchby all I ever heard speak of my parentage. The opinion wasalso whispered that my master was my father; but of the cor-rectness of this opinion, I know nothing; the means of know-ing was withheld from me. My mother and I were separatedwhen I was but an infant—before I knew her as my mother.It is a common custom, in the part of Maryland from whichI ran away, to part children from their mothers at a very earlyage. Frequently, before the child has reached its twelfth month,its mother is taken from it, and hired out on some farm aconsiderable distance off, and the child is placed under thecare of an old woman, too old for field labor. For what thisseparation is done, I do not know, unless it be to hinder thedevelopment of the child’s affection toward its mother, and toblunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for thechild. This is the inevitable result.

I never saw my mother, to know her as such, more thanfour or five times in my life; and each of these times was veryshort in duration, and at night. She was hired by a Mr. Stewart,who lived about twelve miles from my home. She made herjourneys to see me in the night, travelling the whole distanceon foot, after the performance of her day’s work. She was afield hand, and a whipping is the penalty of not being in thefield at sunrise, unless a slave has special permission from hisor her master to the contrary—a permission which they sel-dom get, and one that gives to him that gives it the proudname of being a kind master. I do not recollect of ever seeingmy mother by the light of day. She was with me in the night.She would lie down with me, and get me to sleep, but longbefore I waked she was gone. Very little communication evertook place between us. Death soon ended what little we couldhave while she lived, and with it her hardships and suffering.She died when I was about seven years old, on one of mymaster’s farms, near Lee’s Mill. I was not allowed to be presentduring her illness, at her death, or burial. She was gone longbefore I knew any thing about it. Never having enjoyed, toany considerable extent, her soothing presence, her tender andwatchful care, I received the tidings of her death with muchthe same emotions I should have probably felt at the death ofa stranger.

Called thus suddenly away, she left me without the slightestintimation of who my father was. The whisper that my mas-






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ter was my father, may or may not be true; and, true or false,it is of but little consequence to my purpose whilst the factremains, in all its glaring odiousness, that slaveholders haveordained, and by law established, that the children of slavewomen shall in all cases follow the condition of their moth-ers; and this is done too obviously to administer to their ownlusts, and make a gratification of their wicked desires profit-able as well as pleasurable; for by this cunning arrangement,the slaveholder, in cases not a few, sustains to his slaves thedouble relation of master and father.

I know of such cases; and it is worthy of remark that suchslaves invariably suffer greater hardships, and have more tocontend with, than others. They are, in the first place, a con-stant offence to their mistress. She is ever disposed to findfault with them; they can seldom do any thing to please her;she is never better pleased than when she sees them under thelash, especially when she suspects her husband of showing tohis mulatto children favors which he withholds from his blackslaves. The master is frequently compelled to sell this class ofhis slaves, out of deference to the feelings of his white wife;and, cruel as the deed may strike any one to be, for a man tosell his own children to human flesh-mongers, it is often thedictate of humanity for him to do so; for, unless he does this,he must not only whip them himself, but must stand by andsee one white son tie up his brother, of but few shades darkercomplexion than himself, and ply the gory lash to his naked

back; and if he lisp one word of disapproval, it is set down tohis parental partiality, and only makes a bad matter worse,both for himself and the slave whom he would protect anddefend.

Every year brings with it multitudes of this class of slaves.It was doubtless in consequence of a knowledge of this fact,that one great statesman of the south predicted the downfallof slavery by the inevitable laws of population. Whether thisprophecy is ever fulfilled or not, it is nevertheless plain that avery different-looking class of people are springing up at thesouth, and are now held in slavery, from those originallybrought to this country from Africa; and if their increase dono other good, it will do away the force of the argument, thatGod cursed Ham, and therefore American slavery is right. Ifthe lineal descendants of Ham are alone to be scripturallyenslaved, it is certain that slavery at the south must soon be-come unscriptural; for thousands are ushered into the world,annually, who, like myself, owe their existence to white fa-thers, and those fathers most frequently their own masters.

I have had two masters. My first master’s name was An-thony. I do not remember his first name. He was generallycalled Captain Anthony—a title which, I presume, he ac-quired by sailing a craft on the Chesapeake Bay. He was notconsidered a rich slaveholder. He owned two or three farms,and about thirty slaves. His farms and slaves were under thecare of an overseer. The overseer’s name was Plummer. Mr.






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Plummer was a miserable drunkard, a profane swearer, and asavage monster. He always went armed with a cowskin and aheavy cudgel. I have known him to cut and slash the women’sheads so horribly, that even master would be enraged at hiscruelty, and would threaten to whip him if he did not mindhimself. Master, however, was not a humane slaveholder. Itrequired extraordinary barbarity on the part of an overseer toaffect him. He was a cruel man, hardened by a long life ofslaveholding. He would at times seem to take great pleasurein whipping a slave. I have often been awakened at the dawnof day by the most heart-rending shrieks of an own aunt ofmine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip upon hernaked back till she was literally covered with blood. No words,no tears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move hisiron heart from its bloody purpose. The louder she screamed,the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, therehe whipped longest. He would whip her to make her scream,and whip her to make her hush; and not until overcome byfatigue, would he cease to swing the blood-clotted cowskin. Iremember the first time I ever witnessed this horrible exhibi-tion. I was quite a child, but I well remember it. I never shallforget it whilst I remember any thing. It was the first of along series of such outrages, of which I was doomed to be awitness and a participant. It struck me with awful force. Itwas the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery,through which I was about to pass. It was a most terrible

spectacle. I wish I could commit to paper the feelings withwhich I beheld it.

This occurrence took place very soon after I went to livewith my old master, and under the following circumstances.Aunt Hester went out one night,— where or for what I donot know,—and happened to be absent when my master de-sired her presence. He had ordered her not to go out evenings,and warned her that she must never let him catch her in com-pany with a young man, who was paying attention to herbelonging to Colonel Lloyd. The young man’s name was NedRoberts, generally called Lloyd’s Ned. Why master was socareful of her, may be safely left to conjecture. She was awoman of noble form, and of graceful proportions, havingvery few equals, and fewer superiors, in personal appearance,among the colored or white women of our neighborhood.

Aunt Hester had not only disobeyed his orders in goingout, but had been found in company with Lloyd’s Ned; whichcircumstance, I found, from what he said while whipping her,was the chief offence. Had he been a man of pure moralshimself, he might have been thought interested in protectingthe innocence of my aunt; but those who knew him will notsuspect him of any such virtue. Before he commenced whip-ping Aunt Hester, he took her into the kitchen, and strippedher from neck to waist, leaving her neck, shoulders, and back,entirely naked. He then told her to cross her hands, callingher at the same time a d——d b—h. After crossing her hands,






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he tied them with a strong rope, and led her to a stool undera large hook in the joist, put in for the purpose. He made herget upon the stool, and tied her hands to the hook. She nowstood fair for his infernal purpose. Her arms were stretchedup at their full length, so that she stood upon the ends of hertoes. He then said to her, “Now, you d——d b—h, I’ll learnyou how to disobey my orders!” and after rolling up his sleeves,he commenced to lay on the heavy cowskin, and soon thewarm, red blood (amid heart-rending shrieks from her, andhorrid oaths from him) came dripping to the floor. I was soterrified and horror-stricken at the sight, that I hid myself ina closet, and dared not venture out till long after the bloodytransaction was over. I expected it would be my turn next. Itwas all new to me. I had never seen any thing like it before. Ihad always lived with my grandmother on the outskirts of theplantation, where she was put to raise the children of theyounger women. I had therefore been, until now, out of theway of the bloody scenes that often occurred on the planta-tion.

Chapter 2.

My master’s family consisted of two sons, Andrew andRichard; one daughter, Lucretia, and her husband, CaptainThomas Auld. They lived in one house, upon the home plan-tation of Colonel Edward Lloyd. My master was ColonelLloyd’s clerk and superintendent. He was what might be calledthe overseer of the overseers. I spent two years of childhoodon this plantation in my old master’s family. It was here thatI witnessed the bloody transaction recorded in the first chap-ter; and as I received my first impressions of slavery on thisplantation, I will give some description of it, and of slavery asit there existed. The plantation is about twelve miles north ofEaston, in Talbot county, and is situated on the border ofMiles River. The principal products raised upon it were to-bacco, corn, and wheat. These were raised in great abundance;






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so that, with the products of this and the other farms belong-ing to him, he was able to keep in almost constant employ-ment a large sloop, in carrying them to market at Baltimore.This sloop was named Sally Lloyd, in honor of one of thecolonel’s daughters. My master’s son-in-law, Captain Auld,was master of the vessel; she was otherwise manned by thecolonel’s own slaves. Their names were Peter, Isaac, Rich, andJake. These were esteemed very highly by the other slaves,and looked upon as the privileged ones of the plantation; forit was no small affair, in the eyes of the slaves, to be allowed tosee Baltimore.

Colonel Lloyd kept from three to four hundred slaves onhis home plantation, and owned a large number more on theneighboring farms belonging to him. The names of the farmsnearest to the home plantation were Wye Town and NewDesign. “Wye Town” was under the overseership of a mannamed Noah Willis. New Design was under the overseershipof a Mr. Townsend. The overseers of these, and all the rest ofthe farms, numbering over twenty, received advice and direc-tion from the managers of the home plantation. This was thegreat business place. It was the seat of government for thewhole twenty farms. All disputes among the overseers weresettled here. If a slave was convicted of any high misdemeanor,became unmanageable, or evinced a determination to run away,he was brought immediately here, severely whipped, put onboard the sloop, carried to Baltimore, and sold to Austin

Woolfolk, or some other slave-trader, as a warning to the slavesremaining.

Here, too, the slaves of all the other farms received theirmonthly allowance of food, and their yearly clothing. Themen and women slaves received, as their monthly allowanceof food, eight pounds of pork, or its equivalent in fish, andone bushel of corn meal. Their yearly clothing consisted oftwo coarse linen shirts, one pair of linen trousers, like theshirts, one jacket, one pair of trousers for winter, made of coarsenegro cloth, one pair of stockings, and one pair of shoes; thewhole of which could not have cost more than seven dollars.The allowance of the slave children was given to their moth-ers, or the old women having the care of them. The childrenunable to work in the field had neither shoes, stockings, jack-ets, nor trousers, given to them; their clothing consisted oftwo coarse linen shirts per year. When these failed them, theywent naked until the next allowance-day. Children from sevento ten years old, of both sexes, almost naked, might be seen atall seasons of the year.

There were no beds given the slaves, unless one coarse blan-ket be considered such, and none but the men and womenhad these. This, however, is not considered a very great priva-tion. They find less difficulty from the want of beds, thanfrom the want of time to sleep; for when their day’s work inthe field is done, the most of them having their washing,mending, and cooking to do, and having few or none of the






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ordinary facilities for doing either of these, very many of theirsleeping hours are consumed in preparing for the field thecoming day; and when this is done, old and young, male andfemale, married and single, drop down side by side, on onecommon bed,—the cold, damp floor,—each covering himselfor herself with their miserable blankets; and here they sleeptill they are summoned to the field by the driver’s horn. Atthe sound of this, all must rise, and be off to the field. Theremust be no halting; every one must be at his or her post; andwoe betides them who hear not this morning summons to thefield; for if they are not awakened by the sense of hearing,they are by the sense of feeling: no age nor sex finds any favor.Mr. Severe, the overseer, used to stand by the door of thequarter, armed with a large hickory stick and heavy cowskin,ready to whip any one who was so unfortunate as not to hear,or, from any other cause, was prevented from being ready tostart for the field at the sound of the horn.

Mr. Severe was rightly named: he was a cruel man. I haveseen him whip a woman, causing the blood to run half anhour at the time; and this, too, in the midst of her cryingchildren, pleading for their mother’s release. He seemed totake pleasure in manifesting his fiendish barbarity. Added tohis cruelty, he was a profane swearer. It was enough to chillthe blood and stiffen the hair of an ordinary man to hear himtalk. Scarce a sentence escaped him but that was commencedor concluded by some horrid oath. The field was the place to

witness his cruelty and profanity. His presence made it boththe field of blood and of blasphemy. From the rising till thegoing down of the sun, he was cursing, raving, cutting, andslashing among the slaves of the field, in the most frightfulmanner. His career was short. He died very soon after I wentto Colonel Lloyd’s; and he died as he lived, uttering, with hisdying groans, bitter curses and horrid oaths. His death wasregarded by the slaves as the result of a merciful providence.

Mr. Severe’s place was filled by a Mr. Hopkins. He was avery different man. He was less cruel, less profane, and madeless noise, than Mr. Severe. His course was characterized byno extraordinary demonstrations of cruelty. He whipped, butseemed to take no pleasure in it. He was called by the slaves agood overseer.

The home plantation of Colonel Lloyd wore the appear-ance of a country village. All the mechanical operations for allthe farms were performed here. The shoemaking and mend-ing, the blacksmithing, cartwrighting, coopering, weaving, andgrain-grinding, were all performed by the slaves on the homeplantation. The whole place wore a business-like aspect veryunlike the neighboring farms. The number of houses, too,conspired to give it advantage over the neighboring farms. Itwas called by the slaves the ~Great House Farm.~ Few privi-leges were esteemed higher, by the slaves of the out-farms,than that of being selected to do errands at the Great HouseFarm. It was associated in their minds with greatness. A rep-






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resentative could not be prouder of his election to a seat inthe American Congress, than a slave on one of the out-farmswould be of his election to do errands at the Great HouseFarm. They regarded it as evidence of great confidence re-posed in them by their overseers; and it was on this account,as well as a constant desire to be out of the field from underthe driver’s lash, that they esteemed it a high privilege, oneworth careful living for. He was called the smartest and mosttrusty fellow, who had this honor conferred upon him themost frequently. The competitors for this office sought asdiligently to please their overseers, as the office-seekers in thepolitical parties seek to please and deceive the people. Thesame traits of character might be seen in Colonel Lloyd’s slaves,as are seen in the slaves of the political parties.

The slaves selected to go to the Great House Farm, for themonthly allowance for themselves and their fellow-slaves, werepeculiarly enthusiastic. While on their way, they would makethe dense old woods, for miles around, reverberate with theirwild songs, revealing at once the highest joy and the deepestsadness. They would compose and sing as they went along,consulting neither time nor tune. The thought that came up,came out—if not in the word, in the sound;—and as fre-quently in the one as in the other. They would sometimessing the most pathetic sentiment in the most rapturous tone,and the most rapturous sentiment in the most pathetic tone.Into all of their songs they would manage to weave some-

thing of the Great House Farm. Especially would they dothis, when leaving home. They would then sing most exult-ingly the following words:—

“I am going away to the Great House Farm! O, yea! O, yea! O!”This they would sing, as a chorus, to words which to many

would seem unmeaning jargon, but which, nevertheless, werefull of meaning to themselves. I have sometimes thought thatthe mere hearing of those songs would do more to impresssome minds with the horrible character of slavery, than thereading of whole volumes of philosophy on the subject coulddo.

I did not, when a slave, understand the deep meaning ofthose rude and apparently incoherent songs. I was myselfwithin the circle; so that I neither saw nor heard as thosewithout might see and hear. They told a tale of woe whichwas then altogether beyond my feeble comprehension; theywere tones loud, long, and deep; they breathed the prayer andcomplaint of souls boiling over with the bitterest anguish.Every tone was a testimony against slavery, and a prayer toGod for deliverance from chains. The hearing of those wildnotes always depressed my spirit, and filled me with ineffablesadness. I have frequently found myself in tears while hearingthem. The mere recurrence to those songs, even now, afflictsme; and while I am writing these lines, an expression of feel-ing has already found its way down my cheek. To those songs






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I trace my first glimmering conception of the dehumanizingcharacter of slavery. I can never get rid of that conception.Those songs still follow me, to deepen my hatred of slavery,and quicken my sympathies for my brethren in bonds. If anyone wishes to be impressed with the soul-killing effects ofslavery, let him go to Colonel Lloyd’s plantation, and, on al-lowance-day, place himself in the deep pine woods, and therelet him, in silence, analyze the sounds that shall pass throughthe chambers of his soul,—and if he is not thus impressed, itwill only be because “there is no flesh in his obdurate heart.”

I have often been utterly astonished, since I came to thenorth, to find persons who could speak of the singing, amongslaves, as evidence of their contentment and happiness. It isimpossible to conceive of a greater mistake. Slaves sing mostwhen they are most unhappy. The songs of the slave representthe sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as anaching heart is relieved by its tears. At least, such is my expe-rience. I have often sung to drown my sorrow, but seldom toexpress my happiness. Crying for joy, and singing for joy,were alike uncommon to me while in the jaws of slavery. Thesinging of a man cast away upon a desolate island might be asappropriately considered as evidence of contentment and hap-piness, as the singing of a slave; the songs of the one and ofthe other are prompted by the same emotion.

Chapter 3.

Colonel Lloyd kept a large and finely cultivated garden,which afforded almost constant employment for four men,besides the chief gardener, (Mr. M’Durmond.) This gardenwas probably the greatest attraction of the place. During thesummer months, people came from far and near—from Bal-timore, Easton, and Annapolis—to see it. It abounded in fruitsof almost every description, from the hardy apple of the northto the delicate orange of the south. This garden was not theleast source of trouble on the plantation. Its excellent fruitwas quite a temptation to the hungry swarms of boys, as wellas the older slaves, belonging to the colonel, few of whom hadthe virtue or the vice to resist it. Scarcely a day passed, duringthe summer, but that some slave had to take the lash for steal-ing fruit. The colonel had to resort to all kinds of stratagems






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to keep his slaves out of the garden. The last and most suc-cessful one was that of tarring his fence all around; after which,if a slave was caught with any tar upon his person, it wasdeemed sufficient proof that he had either been into the gar-den, or had tried to get in. In either case, he was severelywhipped by the chief gardener. This plan worked well; theslaves became as fearful of tar as of the lash. They seemed torealize the impossibility of touching TAR without being de-filed.

The colonel also kept a splendid riding equipage. His stableand carriage-house presented the appearance of some of ourlarge city livery establishments. His horses were of the finestform and noblest blood. His carriage-house contained threesplendid coaches, three or four gigs, besides dearborns andbarouches of the most fashionable style.

This establishment was under the care of two slaves—oldBarney and young Barney—father and son. To attend to thisestablishment was their sole work. But it was by no means aneasy employment; for in nothing was Colonel Lloyd moreparticular than in the management of his horses. The slight-est inattention to these was unpardonable, and was visitedupon those, under whose care they were placed, with the se-verest punishment; no excuse could shield them, if the colo-nel only suspected any want of attention to his horses—a sup-position which he frequently indulged, and one which, ofcourse, made the office of old and young Barney a very trying

one. They never knew when they were safe from punishment.They were frequently whipped when least deserving, and es-caped whipping when most deserving it. Every thing dependedupon the looks of the horses, and the state of Colonel Lloyd’sown mind when his horses were brought to him for use. If ahorse did not move fast enough, or hold his head high enough,it was owing to some fault of his keepers. It was painful tostand near the stable-door, and hear the various complaintsagainst the keepers when a horse was taken out for use. “Thishorse has not had proper attention. He has not been suffi-ciently rubbed and curried, or he has not been properly fed;his food was too wet or too dry; he got it too soon or too late;he was too hot or too cold; he had too much hay, and notenough of grain; or he had too much grain, and not enoughof hay; instead of old Barney’s attending to the horse, he hadvery improperly left it to his son.” To all these complaints, nomatter how unjust, the slave must answer never a word. Colo-nel Lloyd could not brook any contradiction from a slave.When he spoke, a slave must stand, listen, and tremble; andsuch was literally the case. I have seen Colonel Lloyd makeold Barney, a man between fifty and sixty years of age, un-cover his bald head, kneel down upon the cold, damp ground,and receive upon his naked and toil-worn shoulders more thanthirty lashes at the time. Colonel Lloyd had three sons—Ed-ward, Murray, and Daniel,—and three sons-in-law, Mr.Winder, Mr. Nicholson, and Mr. Lowndes. All of these lived






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at the Great House Farm, and enjoyed the luxury of whip-ping the servants when they pleased, from old Barney downto William Wilkes, the coach-driver. I have seen Winder makeone of the house-servants stand off from him a suitable dis-tance to be touched with the end of his whip, and at everystroke raise great ridges upon his back.

To describe the wealth of Colonel Lloyd would be almostequal to describing the riches of Job. He kept from ten tofifteen house-servants. He was said to own a thousand slaves,and I think this estimate quite within the truth. Colonel Lloydowned so many that he did not know them when he sawthem; nor did all the slaves of the out-farms know him. It isreported of him, that, while riding along the road one day, hemet a colored man, and addressed him in the usual manner ofspeaking to colored people on the public highways of the south:“Well, boy, whom do you belong to?” “To Colonel Lloyd,”replied the slave. “Well, does the colonel treat you well?” “No,sir,” was the ready reply. “What, does he work you too hard?”“Yes, sir.” “Well, don’t he give you enough to eat?” “Yes, sir,he gives me enough, such as it is.”

The colonel, after ascertaining where the slave belonged,rode on; the man also went on about his business, not dream-ing that he had been conversing with his master. He thought,said, and heard nothing more of the matter, until two or threeweeks afterwards. The poor man was then informed by hisoverseer that, for having found fault with his master, he was

now to be sold to a Georgia trader. He was immediatelychained and handcuffed; and thus, without a moment’s warn-ing, he was snatched away, and forever sundered, from hisfamily and friends, by a hand more unrelenting than death.This is the penalty of telling the truth, of telling the simpletruth, in answer to a series of plain questions.

It is partly in consequence of such facts, that slaves, wheninquired of as to their condition and the character of theirmasters, almost universally say they are contented, and thattheir masters are kind. The slaveholders have been known tosend in spies among their slaves, to ascertain their views andfeelings in regard to their condition. The frequency of thishas had the effect to establish among the slaves the maxim,that a still tongue makes a wise head. They suppress the truthrather than take the consequences of telling it, and in so do-ing prove themselves a part of the human family. If they haveany thing to say of their masters, it is generally in their mas-ters’ favor, especially when speaking to an untried man. I havebeen frequently asked, when a slave, if I had a kind master,and do not remember ever to have given a negative answer;nor did I, in pursuing this course, consider myself as utteringwhat was absolutely false; for I always measured the kindnessof my master by the standard of kindness set up amongslaveholders around us. Moreover, slaves are like other people,and imbibe prejudices quite common to others. They thinktheir own better than that of others. Many, under the influ-






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ence of this prejudice, think their own masters are better thanthe masters of other slaves; and this, too, in some cases, whenthe very reverse is true. Indeed, it is not uncommon for slaveseven to fall out and quarrel among themselves about the rela-tive goodness of their masters, each contending for the supe-rior goodness of his own over that of the others. At the verysame time, they mutually execrate their masters when viewedseparately. It was so on our plantation. When Colonel Lloyd’sslaves met the slaves of Jacob Jepson, they seldom parted with-out a quarrel about their masters; Colonel Lloyd’s slaves con-tending that he was the richest, and Mr. Jepson’s slaves thathe was the smartest, and most of a man. Colonel Lloyd’s slaveswould boast his ability to buy and sell Jacob Jepson. Mr.Jepson’s slaves would boast his ability to whip Colonel Lloyd.These quarrels would almost always end in a fight betweenthe parties, and those that whipped were supposed to havegained the point at issue. They seemed to think that the great-ness of their masters was transferable to themselves. It wasconsidered as being bad enough to be a slave; but to be a poorman’s slave was deemed a disgrace indeed!

Chapter 4.

Mr. Hopkins remained but a short time in the office ofoverseer. Why his career was so short, I do not know, butsuppose he lacked the necessary severity to suit Colonel Lloyd.Mr. Hopkins was succeeded by Mr. Austin Gore, a man pos-sessing, in an eminent degree, all those traits of character in-dispensable to what is called a first-rate overseer. Mr. Gorehad served Colonel Lloyd, in the capacity of overseer, uponone of the out-farms, and had shown himself worthy of thehigh station of overseer upon the home or Great House Farm.

Mr. Gore was proud, ambitious, and persevering. He wasartful, cruel, and obdurate. He was just the man for such aplace, and it was just the place for such a man. It affordedscope for the full exercise of all his powers, and he seemed tobe perfectly at home in it. He was one of those who could






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torture the slightest look, word, or gesture, on the part of theslave, into impudence, and would treat it accordingly. Theremust be no answering back to him; no explanation was al-lowed a slave, showing himself to have been wrongfully ac-cused. Mr. Gore acted fully up to the maxim laid down byslaveholders,— “It is better that a dozen slaves should sufferunder the lash, than that the overseer should be convicted, inthe presence of the slaves, of having been at fault.” No matterhow innocent a slave might be—it availed him nothing, whenaccused by Mr. Gore of any misdemeanor. To be accused wasto be convicted, and to be convicted was to be punished; theone always following the other with immutable certainty. Toescape punishment was to escape accusation; and few slaveshad the fortune to do either, under the overseership of Mr.Gore. He was just proud enough to demand the most debas-ing homage of the slave, and quite servile enough to crouch,himself, at the feet of the master. He was ambitious enoughto be contented with nothing short of the highest rank ofoverseers, and persevering enough to reach the height of hisambition. He was cruel enough to inflict the severest punish-ment, artful enough to descend to the lowest trickery, andobdurate enough to be insensible to the voice of a reprovingconscience. He was, of all the overseers, the most dreaded bythe slaves. His presence was painful; his eye flashed confu-sion; and seldom was his sharp, shrill voice heard, withoutproducing horror and trembling in their ranks.

Mr. Gore was a grave man, and, though a young man, heindulged in no jokes, said no funny words, seldom smiled.His words were in perfect keeping with his looks, and hislooks were in perfect keeping with his words. Overseers willsometimes indulge in a witty word, even with the slaves; notso with Mr. Gore. He spoke but to command, and commandedbut to be obeyed; he dealt sparingly with his words, and boun-tifully with his whip, never using the former where the latterwould answer as well. When he whipped, he seemed to do sofrom a sense of duty, and feared no consequences. He didnothing reluctantly, no matter how disagreeable; always at hispost, never inconsistent. He never promised but to fulfil. Hewas, in a word, a man of the most inflexible firmness andstone-like coolness.

His savage barbarity was equalled only by the consum-mate coolness with which he committed the grossest and mostsavage deeds upon the slaves under his charge. Mr. Gore onceundertook to whip one of Colonel Lloyd’s slaves, by the nameof Demby. He had given Demby but few stripes, when, to getrid of the scourging, he ran and plunged himself into a creek,and stood there at the depth of his shoulders, refusing tocome out. Mr. Gore told him that he would give him threecalls, and that, if he did not come out at the third call, hewould shoot him. The first call was given. Demby made noresponse, but stood his ground. The second and third callswere given with the same result. Mr. Gore then, without con-






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sultation or deliberation with any one, not even giving Dembyan additional call, raised his musket to his face, taking deadlyaim at his standing victim, and in an instant poor Demby wasno more. His mangled body sank out of sight, and blood andbrains marked the water where he had stood.

A thrill of horror flashed through every soul upon theplantation, excepting Mr. Gore. He alone seemed cool andcollected. He was asked by Colonel Lloyd and my old master,why he resorted to this extraordinary expedient. His replywas, (as well as I can remember,) that Demby had becomeunmanageable. He was setting a dangerous example to theother slaves,—one which, if suffered to pass without somesuch demonstration on his part, would finally lead to the to-tal subversion of all rule and order upon the plantation. Heargued that if one slave refused to be corrected, and escapedwith his life, the other slaves would soon copy the example;the result of which would be, the freedom of the slaves, andthe enslavement of the whites. Mr. Gore’s defence was satis-factory. He was continued in his station as overseer upon thehome plantation. His fame as an overseer went abroad. Hishorrid crime was not even submitted to judicial investigation.It was committed in the presence of slaves, and they of coursecould neither institute a suit, nor testify against him; andthus the guilty perpetrator of one of the bloodiest and mostfoul murders goes unwhipped of justice, and uncensured bythe community in which he lives. Mr. Gore lived in St.

Michael’s, Talbot county, Maryland, when I left there; and ifhe is still alive, he very probably lives there now; and if so, heis now, as he was then, as highly esteemed and as much re-spected as though his guilty soul had not been stained withhis brother’s blood.

I speak advisedly when I say this,—that killing a slave, orany colored person, in Talbot county, Maryland, is not treatedas a crime, either by the courts or the community. Mr. Tho-mas Lanman, of St. Michael’s, killed two slaves, one of whomhe killed with a hatchet, by knocking his brains out. He usedto boast of the commission of the awful and bloody deed. Ihave heard him do so laughingly, saying, among other things,that he was the only benefactor of his country in the com-pany, and that when others would do as much as he had done,we should be relieved of “the d——d niggers.”

The wife of Mr. Giles Hicks, living but a short distancefrom where I used to live, murdered my wife’s cousin, a younggirl between fifteen and sixteen years of age, mangling herperson in the most horrible manner, breaking her nose andbreastbone with a stick, so that the poor girl expired in a fewhours afterward. She was immediately buried, but had notbeen in her untimely grave but a few hours before she wastaken up and examined by the coroner, who decided that shehad come to her death by severe beating. The offence for whichthis girl was thus murdered was this:—She had been set thatnight to mind Mrs. Hicks’s baby, and during the night she






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fell asleep, and the baby cried. She, having lost her rest forseveral nights previous, did not hear the crying. They wereboth in the room with Mrs. Hicks. Mrs. Hicks, finding thegirl slow to move, jumped from her bed, seized an oak stick ofwood by the fireplace, and with it broke the girl’s nose andbreastbone, and thus ended her life. I will not say that thismost horrid murder produced no sensation in the commu-nity. It did produce sensation, but not enough to bring themurderess to punishment. There was a warrant issued for herarrest, but it was never served. Thus she escaped not onlypunishment, but even the pain of being arraigned before acourt for her horrid crime.

Whilst I am detailing bloody deeds which took place dur-ing my stay on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation, I will briefly nar-rate another, which occurred about the same time as the mur-der of Demby by Mr. Gore.

Colonel Lloyd’s slaves were in the habit of spending a partof their nights and Sundays in fishing for oysters, and in thisway made up the deficiency of their scanty allowance. An oldman belonging to Colonel Lloyd, while thus engaged, hap-pened to get beyond the limits of Colonel Lloyd’s, and on thepremises of Mr. Beal Bondly. At this trespass, Mr. Bondlytook offence, and with his musket came down to the shore,and blew its deadly contents into the poor old man.

Mr. Bondly came over to see Colonel Lloyd the next day,whether to pay him for his property, or to justify himself in

what he had done, I know not. At any rate, this whole fiend-ish transaction was soon hushed up. There was very little saidabout it at all, and nothing done. It was a common saying,even among little white boys, that it was worth a halfcent tokill a “nigger,” and a half-cent to bury one.






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Chapter 5.

As to my own treatment while I lived on Colonel Lloyd’splantation, it was very similar to that of the other slave chil-dren. I was not old enough to work in the field, and therebeing little else than field work to do, I had a great deal ofleisure time. The most I had to do was to drive up the cows atevening, keep the fowls out of the garden, keep the front yardclean, and run of errands for my old master’s daughter, Mrs.Lucretia Auld. The most of my leisure time I spent in help-ing Master Daniel Lloyd in finding his birds, after he hadshot them. My connection with Master Daniel was of someadvantage to me. He became quite attached to me, and was asort of protector of me. He would not allow the older boys toimpose upon me, and would divide his cakes with me.

I was seldom whipped by my old master, and suffered

little from any thing else than hunger and cold. I sufferedmuch from hunger, but much more from cold. In hottestsummer and coldest winter, I was kept almost naked—no shoes,no stockings, no jacket, no trousers, nothing on but a coarsetow linen shirt, reaching only to my knees. I had no bed. Imust have perished with cold, but that, the coldest nights, Iused to steal a bag which was used for carrying corn to themill. I would crawl into this bag, and there sleep on the cold,damp, clay floor, with my head in and feet out. My feet havebeen so cracked with the frost, that the pen with which I amwriting might be laid in the gashes.

We were not regularly allowanced. Our food was coarsecorn meal boiled. This was called MUSH. It was put into alarge wooden tray or trough, and set down upon the ground.The children were then called, like so many pigs, and like somany pigs they would come and devour the mush; some withoystershells, others with pieces of shingle, some with nakedhands, and none with spoons. He that ate fastest got most; hethat was strongest secured the best place; and few left thetrough satisfied.

I was probably between seven and eight years old when Ileft Colonel Lloyd’s plantation. I left it with joy. I shall neverforget the ecstasy with which I received the intelligence thatmy old master (Anthony) had determined to let me go toBaltimore, to live with Mr. Hugh Auld, brother to my oldmaster’s son-in-law, Captain Thomas Auld. I received this






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information about three days before my departure. They werethree of the happiest days I ever enjoyed. I spent the mostpart of all these three days in the creek, washing off the plan-tation scurf, and preparing myself for my departure.

The pride of appearance which this would indicate wasnot my own. I spent the time in washing, not so much be-cause I wished to, but because Mrs. Lucretia had told me Imust get all the dead skin off my feet and knees before Icould go to Baltimore; for the people in Baltimore were verycleanly, and would laugh at me if I looked dirty. Besides, shewas going to give me a pair of trousers, which I should notput on unless I got all the dirt off me. The thought of owninga pair of trousers was great indeed! It was almost a sufficientmotive, not only to make me take off what would be called bypigdrovers the mange, but the skin itself. I went at it in goodearnest, working for the first time with the hope of reward.

The ties that ordinarily bind children to their homes wereall suspended in my case. I found no severe trial in my depar-ture. My home was charmless; it was not home to me; onparting from it, I could not feel that I was leaving any thingwhich I could have enjoyed by staying. My mother was dead,my grandmother lived far off, so that I seldom saw her. I hadtwo sisters and one brother, that lived in the same house withme; but the early separation of us from our mother had wellnigh blotted the fact of our relationship from our memories.I looked for home elsewhere, and was confident of finding

none which I should relish less than the one which I wasleaving. If, however, I found in my new home hardship, hun-ger, whipping, and nakedness, I had the consolation that Ishould not have escaped any one of them by staying. Havingalready had more than a taste of them in the house of my oldmaster, and having endured them there, I very naturally in-ferred my ability to endure them elsewhere, and especially atBaltimore; for I had something of the feeling about Balti-more that is expressed in the proverb, that “being hanged inEngland is preferable to dying a natural death in Ireland.” Ihad the strongest desire to see Baltimore. Cousin Tom, thoughnot fluent in speech, had inspired me with that desire by hiseloquent description of the place. I could never point out anything at the Great House, no matter how beautiful or power-ful, but that he had seen something at Baltimore far exceed-ing, both in beauty and strength, the object which I pointedout to him. Even the Great House itself, with all its pictures,was far inferior to many buildings in Baltimore. So strongwas my desire, that I thought a gratification of it would fullycompensate for whatever loss of comforts I should sustain bythe exchange. I left without a regret, and with the highesthopes of future happiness.

We sailed out of Miles River for Baltimore on a Saturdaymorning. I remember only the day of the week, for at thattime I had no knowledge of the days of the month, nor themonths of the year. On setting sail, I walked aft, and gave to






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Colonel Lloyd’s plantation what I hoped would be the lastlook. I then placed myself in the bows of the sloop, and therespent the remainder of the day in looking ahead, interestingmyself in what was in the distance rather than in things nearby or behind.

In the afternoon of that day, we reached Annapolis, thecapital of the State. We stopped but a few moments, so that Ihad no time to go on shore. It was the first large town that Ihad ever seen, and though it would look small compared withsome of our New England factory villages, I thought it awonderful place for its size—more imposing even than theGreat House Farm!

We arrived at Baltimore early on Sunday morning, land-ing at Smith’s Wharf, not far from Bowley’s Wharf. We hadon board the sloop a large flock of sheep; and after aiding indriving them to the slaughterhouse of Mr. Curtis on LoudenSlater’s Hill, I was conducted by Rich, one of the hands be-longing on board of the sloop, to my new home in AllicianaStreet, near Mr. Gardner’s ship-yard, on Fells Point.

Mr. and Mrs. Auld were both at home, and met me at thedoor with their little son Thomas, to take care of whom I hadbeen given. And here I saw what I had never seen before; itwas a white face beaming with the most kindly emotions; itwas the face of my new mistress, Sophia Auld. I wish I coulddescribe the rapture that flashed through my soul as I beheldit. It was a new and strange sight to me, brightening up my

pathway with the light of happiness. Little Thomas was told,there was his Freddy, —and I was told to take care of littleThomas; and thus I entered upon the duties of my new homewith the most cheering prospect ahead.

I look upon my departure from Colonel Lloyd’s planta-tion as one of the most interesting events of my life. It ispossible, and even quite probable, that but for the mere cir-cumstance of being removed from that plantation to Balti-more, I should have to-day, instead of being here seated bymy own table, in the enjoyment of freedom and the happi-ness of home, writing this Narrative, been confined in thegalling chains of slavery. Going to live at Baltimore laid thefoundation, and opened the gateway, to all my subsequentprosperity. I have ever regarded it as the first plain manifesta-tion of that kind providence which has ever since attendedme, and marked my life with so many favors. I regarded theselection of myself as being somewhat remarkable. There werea number of slave children that might have been sent fromthe plantation to Baltimore. There were those younger, thoseolder, and those of the same age. I was chosen from amongthem all, and was the first, last, and only choice.

I may be deemed superstitious, and even egotistical, inregarding this event as a special interposition of divine Provi-dence in my favor. But I should be false to the earliest senti-ments of my soul, if I suppressed the opinion. I prefer to betrue to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of






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others, rather than to be false, and incur my own abhorrence.From my earliest recollection, I date the entertainment of adeep conviction that slavery would not always be able to holdme within its foul embrace; and in the darkest hours of mycareer in slavery, this living word of faith and spirit of hopedeparted not from me, but remained like ministering angelsto cheer me through the gloom. This good spirit was fromGod, and to him I offer thanksgiving and praise.

Chapter 6.

My new mistress proved to be all she appeared when Ifirst met her at the door,—a woman of the kindest heart andfinest feelings. She had never had a slave under her controlpreviously to myself, and prior to her marriage she had beendependent upon her own industry for a living. She was bytrade a weaver; and by constant application to her business,she had been in a good degree preserved from the blightingand dehumanizing effects of slavery. I was utterly astonishedat her goodness. I scarcely knew how to behave towards her.She was entirely unlike any other white woman I had everseen. I could not approach her as I was accustomed to ap-proach other white ladies. My early instruction was all out ofplace. The crouching servility, usually so acceptable a qualityin a slave, did not answer when manifested toward her. Her






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favor was not gained by it; she seemed to be disturbed by it.She did not deem it impudent or unmannerly for a slave tolook her in the face. The meanest slave was put fully at ease inher presence, and none left without feeling better for havingseen her. Her face was made of heavenly smiles, and her voiceof tranquil music.

But, alas! this kind heart had but a short time to remainsuch. The fatal poison of irresponsible power was already inher hands, and soon commenced its infernal work. That cheerfuleye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage;that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harshand horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that ofa demon.

Very soon after I went to live with Mr. and Mrs. Auld,she very kindly commenced to teach me the A, B, C. After Ihad learned this, she assisted me in learning to spell words ofthree or four letters. Just at this point of my progress, Mr.Auld found out what was going on, and at once forbade Mrs.Auld to instruct me further, telling her, among other things,that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read.To use his own words, further, he said, “If you give a nigger aninch, he will take an ell. A nigger should know nothing but toobey his master—to do as he is told to do. Learning would~spoil~ the best nigger in the world. Now,” said he, “if youteach that nigger (speaking of myself ) how to read, therewould be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a

slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of novalue to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good,but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontentedand unhappy.” These words sank deep into my heart, stirredup sentiments within that lay slumbering, and called intoexistence an entirely new train of thought. It was a new andspecial revelation, explaining dark and mysterious things, withwhich my youthful understanding had struggled, but struggledin vain. I now understood what had been to me a most per-plexing difficulty—to wit, the white man’s power to enslavethe black man. It was a grand achievement, and I prized ithighly. From that moment, I understood the pathway fromslavery to freedom. It was just what I wanted, and I got it ata time when I the least expected it. Whilst I was saddened bythe thought of losing the aid of my kind mistress, I was glad-dened by the invaluable instruction which, by the merest ac-cident, I had gained from my master. Though conscious ofthe difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out withhigh hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, tolearn how to read. The very decided manner with which hespoke, and strove to impress his wife with the evil consequencesof giving me instruction, served to convince me that he wasdeeply sensible of the truths he was uttering. It gave me thebest assurance that I might rely with the utmost confidenceon the results which, he said, would flow from teaching me toread. What he most dreaded, that I most desired. What he






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most loved, that I most hated. That which to him was a greatevil, to be carefully shunned, was to me a great good, to bediligently sought; and the argument which he so warmlyurged, against my learning to read, only served to inspire mewith a desire and determination to learn. In learning to read,I owe almost as much to the bitter opposition of my master,as to the kindly aid of my mistress. I acknowledge the benefitof both.

I had resided but a short time in Baltimore before I ob-served a marked difference, in the treatment of slaves, fromthat which I had witnessed in the country. A city slave isalmost a freeman, compared with a slave on the plantation.He is much better fed and clothed, and enjoys privileges alto-gether unknown to the slave on the plantation. There is avestige of decency, a sense of shame, that does much to curband check those outbreaks of atrocious cruelty so commonlyenacted upon the plantation. He is a desperate slaveholder,who will shock the humanity of his non-slaveholding neigh-bors with the cries of his lacerated slave. Few are willing toincur the odium attaching to the reputation of being a cruelmaster; and above all things, they would not be known as notgiving a slave enough to eat. Every city slaveholder is anxiousto have it known of him, that he feeds his slaves well; and it isdue to them to say, that most of them do give their slavesenough to eat. There are, however, some painful exceptions tothis rule. Directly opposite to us, on Philpot Street, lived Mr.

Thomas Hamilton. He owned two slaves. Their names wereHenrietta and Mary. Henrietta was about twenty-two yearsof age, Mary was about fourteen; and of all the mangled andemaciated creatures I ever looked upon, these two were themost so. His heart must be harder than stone, that could lookupon these unmoved. The head, neck, and shoulders of Marywere literally cut to pieces. I have frequently felt her head,and found it nearly covered with festering sores, caused bythe lash of her cruel mistress. I do not know that her masterever whipped her, but I have been an eye-witness to the cru-elty of Mrs. Hamilton. I used to be in Mr. Hamilton’s housenearly every day. Mrs. Hamilton used to sit in a large chair inthe middle of the room, with a heavy cowskin always by herside, and scarce an hour passed during the day but was markedby the blood of one of these slaves. The girls seldom passedher without her saying, “Move faster, you ~black gip!~” at thesame time giving them a blow with the cowskin over the heador shoulders, often drawing the blood. She would then say,“Take that, you ~black gip!~” continuing, “If you don’t movefaster, I’ll move you!” Added to the cruel lashings to whichthese slaves were subjected, they were kept nearly half-starved.They seldom knew what it was to eat a full meal. I have seenMary contending with the pigs for the offal thrown into thestreet. So much was Mary kicked and cut to pieces, that shewas oftener called “~pecked~” than by her name.






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Chapter 7.

I lived in Master Hugh’s family about seven years. Dur-ing this time, I succeeded in learning to read and write. Inaccomplishing this, I was compelled to resort to various strata-gems. I had no regular teacher. My mistress, who had kindlycommenced to instruct me, had, in compliance with the ad-vice and direction of her husband, not only ceased to instruct,but had set her face against my being instructed by any oneelse. It is due, however, to my mistress to say of her, that shedid not adopt this course of treatment immediately. She atfirst lacked the depravity indispensable to shutting me up inmental darkness. It was at least necessary for her to have sometraining in the exercise of irresponsible power, to make herequal to the task of treating me as though I were a brute.

My mistress was, as I have said, a kind and tenderhearted

woman; and in the simplicity of her soul she commenced,when I first went to live with her, to treat me as she supposedone human being ought to treat another. In entering uponthe duties of a slaveholder, she did not seem to perceive that Isustained to her the relation of a mere chattel, and that forher to treat me as a human being was not only wrong, butdangerously so. Slavery proved as injurious to her as it did tome. When I went there, she was a pious, warm, and tender-hearted woman. There was no sorrow or suffering for whichshe had not a tear. She had bread for the hungry, clothes forthe naked, and comfort for every mourner that came withinher reach. Slavery soon proved its ability to divest her of theseheavenly qualities. Under its influence, the tender heart be-came stone, and the lamblike disposition gave way to one oftiger-like fierceness. The first step in her downward coursewas in her ceasing to instruct me. She now commenced topractise her husband’s precepts. She finally became even moreviolent in her opposition than her husband himself. She wasnot satisfied with simply doing as well as he had commanded;she seemed anxious to do better. Nothing seemed to make hermore angry than to see me with a newspaper. She seemed tothink that here lay the danger. I have had her rush at me witha face made all up of fury, and snatch from me a newspaper,in a manner that fully revealed her apprehension. She was anapt woman; and a little experience soon demonstrated, to hersatisfaction, that education and slavery were incompatible with






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each other.From this time I was most narrowly watched. If I was in a

separate room any considerable length of time, I was sure tobe suspected of having a book, and was at once called to givean account of myself. All this, however, was too late. The firststep had been taken. Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet,had given me the ~inch,~ and no precaution could preventme from taking the ~ell.~

The plan which I adopted, and the one by which I wasmost successful, was that of making friends of all the littlewhite boys whom I met in the street. As many of these as Icould, I converted into teachers. With their kindly aid, ob-tained at different times and in different places, I finally suc-ceeded in learning to read. When I was sent of errands, Ialways took my book with me, and by going one part of myerrand quickly, I found time to get a lesson before my return.I used also to carry bread with me, enough of which was al-ways in the house, and to which I was always welcome; for Iwas much better off in this regard than many of the poorwhite children in our neighborhood. This bread I used tobestow upon the hungry little urchins, who, in return, wouldgive me that more valuable bread of knowledge. I am stronglytempted to give the names of two or three of those little boys,as a testimonial of the gratitude and affection I bear them;but prudence forbids;—not that it would injure me, but itmight embarrass them; for it is almost an unpardonable of-

fence to teach slaves to read in this Christian country. It isenough to say of the dear little fellows, that they lived onPhilpot Street, very near Durgin and Bailey’s ship-yard. Iused to talk this matter of slavery over with them. I wouldsometimes say to them, I wished I could be as free as theywould be when they got to be men. “You will be free as soonas you are twenty-one, ~but I am a slave for life!~ Have notI as good a right to be free as you have?” These words used totrouble them; they would express for me the liveliest sympa-thy, and console me with the hope that something would oc-cur by which I might be free.

I was now about twelve years old, and the thought of be-ing ~a slave for life~ began to bear heavily upon my heart.Just about this time, I got hold of a book entitled “TheColumbian Orator.” Every opportunity I got, I used to readthis book. Among much of other interesting matter, I foundin it a dialogue between a master and his slave. The slave wasrepresented as having run away from his master three times.The dialogue represented the conversation which took placebetween them, when the slave was retaken the third time. Inthis dialogue, the whole argument in behalf of slavery wasbrought forward by the master, all of which was disposed ofby the slave. The slave was made to say some very smart aswell as impressive things in reply to his master— things whichhad the desired though unexpected effect; for the conversa-tion resulted in the voluntary emancipation of the slave on






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the part of the master.In the same book, I met with one of Sheridan’s mighty

speeches on and in behalf of Catholic emancipation. Thesewere choice documents to me. I read them over and over againwith unabated interest. They gave tongue to interestingthoughts of my own soul, which had frequently flashedthrough my mind, and died away for want of utterance. Themoral which I gained from the dialogue was the power oftruth over the conscience of even a slaveholder. What I gotfrom Sheridan was a bold denunciation of slavery, and a pow-erful vindication of human rights. The reading of these docu-ments enabled me to utter my thoughts, and to meet thearguments brought forward to sustain slavery; but while theyrelieved me of one difficulty, they brought on another evenmore painful than the one of which I was relieved. The moreI read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. Icould regard them in no other light than a band of successfulrobbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, andstolen us from our homes, and in a strange land reduced us toslavery. I loathed them as being the meanest as well as themost wicked of men. As I read and contemplated the subject,behold! that very discontentment which Master Hugh hadpredicted would follow my learning to read had already come,to torment and sting my soul to unutterable anguish. As Iwrithed under it, I would at times feel that learning to readhad been a curse rather than a blessing. It had given me a view

of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It opened myeyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to getout. In moments of agony, I envied my fellow-slaves for theirstupidity. I have often wished myself a beast. I preferred thecondition of the meanest reptile to my own. Any thing, nomatter what, to get rid of thinking! It was this everlastingthinking of my condition that tormented me. There was nogetting rid of it. It was pressed upon me by every object withinsight or hearing, animate or inanimate. The silver trump offreedom had roused my soul to eternal wakefulness. Freedomnow appeared, to disappear no more forever. It was heard inevery sound, and seen in every thing. It was ever present totorment me with a sense of my wretched condition. I sawnothing without seeing it, I heard nothing without hearingit, and felt nothing without feeling it. It looked from everystar, it smiled in every calm, breathed in every wind, and movedin every storm.

I often found myself regretting my own existence, andwishing myself dead; and but for the hope of being free, Ihave no doubt but that I should have killed myself, or donesomething for which I should have been killed. While in thisstate of mind, I was eager to hear any one speak of slavery. Iwas a ready listener. Every little while, I could hear some-thing about the abolitionists. It was some time before I foundwhat the word meant. It was always used in such connectionsas to make it an interesting word to me. If a slave ran away






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and succeeded in getting clear, or if a slave killed his master,set fire to a barn, or did any thing very wrong in the mind ofa slaveholder, it was spoken of as the fruit of ~abolition.~Hearing the word in this connection very often, I set aboutlearning what it meant. The dictionary afforded me little orno help. I found it was “the act of abolishing;” but then I didnot know what was to be abolished. Here I was perplexed. Idid not dare to ask any one about its meaning, for I was satis-fied that it was something they wanted me to know very littleabout. After a patient waiting, I got one of our city papers,containing an account of the number of petitions from thenorth, praying for the abolition of slavery in the District ofColumbia, and of the slave trade between the States. Fromthis time I understood the words ~abolition~ and ~aboli-tionist,~ and always drew near when that word was spoken,expecting to hear something of importance to myself and fel-low-slaves. The light broke in upon me by degrees. I wentone day down on the wharf of Mr. Waters; and seeing twoIrishmen unloading a scow of stone, I went, unasked, andhelped them. When we had finished, one of them came tome and asked me if I were a slave. I told him I was. He asked,“Are ye a slave for life?” I told him that I was. The goodIrishman seemed to be deeply affected by the statement. Hesaid to the other that it was a pity so fine a little fellow asmyself should be a slave for life. He said it was a shame tohold me. They both advised me to run away to the north;

that I should find friends there, and that I should be free. Ipretended not to be interested in what they said, and treatedthem as if I did not understand them; for I feared they mightbe treacherous. White men have been known to encourageslaves to escape, and then, to get the reward, catch them andreturn them to their masters. I was afraid that these seem-ingly good men might use me so; but I nevertheless remem-bered their advice, and from that time I resolved to run away.I looked forward to a time at which it would be safe for me toescape. I was too young to think of doing so immediately;besides, I wished to learn how to write, as I might have occa-sion to write my own pass. I consoled myself with the hopethat I should one day find a good chance. Meanwhile, I wouldlearn to write.

The idea as to how I might learn to write was suggested tome by being in Durgin and Bailey’s ship-yard, and frequentlyseeing the ship carpenters, after hewing, and getting a pieceof timber ready for use, write on the timber the name of thatpart of the ship for which it was intended. When a piece oftimber was intended for the larboard side, it would be markedthus—”L.” When a piece was for the starboard side, it wouldbe marked thus—”S.” A piece for the larboard side forward,would be marked thus—”L. F.” When a piece was for star-board side forward, it would be marked thus—”S. F.” Forlarboard aft, it would be marked thus—”L. A.” For starboardaft, it would be marked thus—”S. A.” I soon learned the






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names of these letters, and for what they were intended whenplaced upon a piece of timber in the ship-yard. I immedi-ately commenced copying them, and in a short time was ableto make the four letters named. After that, when I met withany boy who I knew could write, I would tell him I couldwrite as well as he. The next word would be, “I don’t believeyou. Let me see you try it.” I would then make the letterswhich I had been so fortunate as to learn, and ask him to beatthat. In this way I got a good many lessons in writing, whichit is quite possible I should never have gotten in any otherway. During this time, my copy-book was the board fence,brick wall, and pavement; my pen and ink was a lump ofchalk. With these, I learned mainly how to write. I then com-menced and continued copying the Italics in Webster’s SpellingBook, until I could make them all without looking on thebook. By this time, my little Master Thomas had gone toschool, and learned how to write, and had written over a num-ber of copy-books. These had been brought home, and shownto some of our near neighbors, and then laid aside. My mis-tress used to go to class meeting at the Wilk Street meeting-house every Monday afternoon, and leave me to take care ofthe house. When left thus, I used to spend the time in writ-ing in the spaces left in Master Thomas’s copy-book, copyingwhat he had written. I continued to do this until I couldwrite a hand very similar to that of Master Thomas. Thus,after a long, tedious effort for years, I finally succeeded inlearning how to write.

Chapter 8.

In a very short time after I went to live at Baltimore, myold master’s youngest son Richard died; and in about threeyears and six months after his death, my old master, CaptainAnthony, died, leavonly his son, Andrew, and daughter,Lucretia, to share his estate. He died while on a visit to see hisdaughter at Hillsborough. Cut off thus unexpectedly, he leftno will as to the disposal of his property. It was thereforenecessary to have a valuation of the property, that it might beequally divided between Mrs. Lucretia and Master Andrew.I was immediately sent for, to be valued with the other prop-erty. Here again my feelings rose up in detestation of slavery.I had now a new conception of my degraded condition. Priorto this, I had become, if not insensible to my lot, at least






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partly so. I left Baltimore with a young heart overborne withsadness, and a soul full of apprehension. I took passage withCaptain Rowe, in the schooner Wild Cat, and, after a sail ofabout twenty-four hours, I found myself near the place ofmy birth. I had now been absent from it almost, if not quite,five years. I, however, remembered the place very well. I wasonly about five years old when I left it, to go and live with myold master on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation; so that I was nowbetween ten and eleven years old.

We were all ranked together at the valuation. Men andwomen, old and young, married and single, were ranked withhorses, sheep, and swine. There were horses and men, cattleand women, pigs and children, all holding the same rank inthe scale of being, and were all subjected to the same narrowexamination. Silvery-headed age and sprightly youth, maidsand matrons, had to undergo the same indelicate inspection.At this moment, I saw more clearly than ever the brutalizingeffects of slavery upon both slave and slaveholder.

After the valuation, then came the division. I have no lan-guage to express the high excitement and deep anxiety whichwere felt among us poor slaves during this time. Our fate forlife was now to be decided. we had no more voice in thatdecision than the brutes among whom we were ranked. Asingle word from the white men was enough—against all ourwishes, prayers, and entreaties—to sunder forever the dearestfriends, dearest kindred, and strongest ties known to human

beings. In addition to the pain of separation, there was thehorrid dread of falling into the hands of Master Andrew. Hewas known to us all as being a most cruel wretch,—a com-mon drunkard, who had, by his reckless mismanagement andprofligate dissipation, already wasted a large portion of hisfather’s property. We all felt that we might as well be sold atonce to the Georgia traders, as to pass into his hands; for weknew that that would be our inevitable condition,—a condi-tion held by us all in the utmost horror and dread.

I suffered more anxiety than most of my fellowslaves. Ihad known what it was to be kindly treated; they had knownnothing of the kind. They had seen little or nothing of theworld. They were in very deed men and women of sorrow,and acquainted with grief. Their backs had been made famil-iar with the bloody lash, so that they had become callous;mine was yet tender; for while at Baltimore I got few whip-pings, and few slaves could boast of a kinder master and mis-tress than myself; and the thought of passing out of theirhands into those of Master Andrew— a man who, but a fewdays before, to give me a sample of his bloody disposition,took my little brother by the throat, threw him on the ground,and with the heel of his boot stamped upon his head till theblood gushed from his nose and ears—was well calculated tomake me anxious as to my fate. After he had committed thissavage outrage upon my brother, he turned to me, and saidthat was the way he meant to serve me one of these days,—






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meaning, I suppose, when I came into his possession.Thanks to a kind Providence, I fell to the portion of Mrs.

Lucretia, and was sent immediately back to Baltimore, to liveagain in the family of Master Hugh. Their joy at my returnequalled their sorrow at my departure. It was a glad day tome. I had escaped a worse than lion’s jaws. I was absent fromBaltimore, for the purpose of valuation and division, just aboutone month, and it seemed to have been six.

Very soon after my return to Baltimore, my mistress,Lucretia, died, leaving her husband and one child, Amanda;and in a very short time after her death, Master Andrew died.Now all the property of my old master, slaves included, was inthe hands of strangers,—strangers who had had nothing todo with accumulating it. Not a slave was left free. All re-mained slaves, from the youngest to the oldest. If any onething in my experience, more than another, served to deepenmy conviction of the infernal character of slavery, and to fillme with unutterable loathing of slaveholders, it was their baseingratitude to my poor old grandmother. She had served myold master faithfully from youth to old age. She had been thesource of all his wealth; she had peopled his plantation withslaves; she had become a great grandmother in his service. Shehad rocked him in infancy, attended him in childhood, servedhim through life, and at his death wiped from his icy browthe cold death-sweat, and closed his eyes forever. She was nev-ertheless left a slave—a slave for life—a slave in the hands of

strangers; and in their hands she saw her children, her grand-children, and her great-grandchildren, divided, like so manysheep, without being gratified with the small privilege of asingle word, as to their or her own destiny. And, to cap theclimax of their base ingratitude and fiendish barbarity, mygrandmother, who was now very old, having outlived my oldmaster and all his children, having seen the beginning andend of all of them, and her present owners finding she was ofbut little value, her frame already racked with the pains of oldage, and complete helplessness fast stealing over her once ac-tive limbs, they took her to the woods, built her a little hut,put up a little mud-chimney, and then made her welcome tothe privilege of supporting herself there in perfect loneliness;thus virtually turning her out to die! If my poor old grand-mother now lives, she lives to suffer in utter loneliness; shelives to remember and mourn over the loss of children, theloss of grandchildren, and the loss of greatgrandchildren. Theyare, in the language of the slave’s poet, Whittier,—

“Gone, gone, sold and goneTo the rice swamp dank and lone,Where the slave-whip ceaseless swings,Where the noisome insect stings,Where the fever-demon strewsPoison with the falling dews,Where the sickly sunbeams glareThrough the hot and misty air:—






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Gone, gone, sold and goneTo the rice swamp dank and lone,From Virginia hills and waters—Woe is me, my stolen daughters!”

The hearth is desolate. The children, the unconscious chil-dren, who once sang and danced in her presence, are gone.She gropes her way, in the darkness of age, for a drink ofwater. Instead of the voices of her children, she hears by daythe moans of the dove, and by night the screams of the hid-eous owl. All is gloom. The grave is at the door. And now,when weighed down by the pains and aches of old age, whenthe head inclines to the feet, when the beginning and endingof human existence meet, and helpless infancy and painfulold age combine together—at this time, this most needfultime, the time for the exercise of that tenderness and affec-tion which children only can exercise towards a declining par-ent—my poor old grandmother, the devoted mother of twelvechildren, is left all alone, in yonder little hut, before a fewdim embers. She stands— she sits—she staggers—she falls—she groans—she dies —and there are none of her children orgrandchildren present, to wipe from her wrinkled brow thecold sweat of death, or to place beneath the sod her fallenremains. Will not a righteous God visit for these things?

In about two years after the death of Mrs. Lucretia, Mas-ter Thomas married his second wife. Her name was Rowena

Hamilton. She was the eldest daughter of Mr. WilliamHamilton. Master now lived in St. Michael’s. Not long afterhis marriage, a misunderstanding took place between himselfand Master Hugh; and as a means of punishing his brother,he took me from him to live with himself at St. Michael’s.Here I underwent another most painful separation. It, how-ever, was not so severe as the one I dreaded at the division ofproperty; for, during this interval, a great change had takenplace in Master Hugh and his once kind and affectionatewife. The influence of brandy upon him, and of slavery uponher, had effected a disastrous change in the characters of both;so that, as far as they were concerned, I thought I had little tolose by the change. But it was not to them that I was at-tached. It was to those little Baltimore boys that I felt thestrongest attachment. I had received many good lessons fromthem, and was still receiving them, and the thought of leavingthem was painful indeed. I was leaving, too, without the hopeof ever being allowed to return. Master Thomas had said hewould never let me return again. The barrier betwixt himselfand brother he considered impassable.

I then had to regret that I did not at least make the at-tempt to carry out my resolution to run away; for the chancesof success are tenfold greater from the city than from thecountry.

I sailed from Baltimore for St. Michael’s in the sloopAmanda, Captain Edward Dodson. On my passage, I paid






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particular attention to the direction which the steamboatstook to go to Philadelphia. I found, instead of going down,on reaching North Point they went up the bay, in a north-easterly direction. I deemed this knowledge of the utmostimportance. My determination to run away was again revived.I resolved to wait only so long as the offering of a favorableopportunity. When that came, I was determined to be off.

Chapter 9.

I have now reached a period of my life when I can givedates. I left Baltimore, and went to live with Master ThomasAuld, at St. Michael’s, in March, 1832. It was now more thanseven years since I lived with him in the family of my oldmaster, on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation. We of course were nowalmost entire strangers to each other. He was to me a newmaster, and I to him a new slave. I was ignorant of his temperand disposition; he was equally so of mine. A very short time,however, brought us into full acquaintance with each other. Iwas made acquainted with his wife not less than with him-self. They were well matched, being equally mean and cruel. Iwas now, for the first time during a space of more than sevenyears, made to feel the painful gnawings of hunger—a some-thing which I had not experienced before since I left Colonel






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Lloyd’s plantation. It went hard enough with me then, whenI could look back to no period at which I had enjoyed a suf-ficiency. It was tenfold harder after living in Master Hugh’sfamily, where I had always had enough to eat, and of thatwhich was good. I have said Master Thomas was a mean man.He was so. Not to give a slave enough to eat, is regarded as themost aggravated development of meanness even amongslaveholders. The rule is, no matter how coarse the food, onlylet there be enough of it. This is the theory; and in the part ofMaryland from which I came, it is the general practice,—though there are many exceptions. Master Thomas gave usenough of neither coarse nor fine food. There were four slavesof us in the kitchen—my sister Eliza, my aunt Priscilla, Henny,and myself; and we were allowed less than a half of a bushelof corn-meal per week, and very little else, either in the shapeof meat or vegetables. It was not enough for us to subsistupon. We were therefore reduced to the wretched necessityof living at the expense of our neighbors. This we did bybegging and stealing, whichever came handy in the time ofneed, the one being considered as legitimate as the other. Agreat many times have we poor creatures been nearly perish-ing with hunger, when food in abundance lay mouldering inthe safe and smoke-house, and our pious mistress was awareof the fact; and yet that mistress and her husband would kneelevery morning, and pray that God would bless them in bas-ket and store!

Bad as all slaveholders are, we seldom meet one destituteof every element of character commanding respect. My mas-ter was one of this rare sort. I do not know of one single nobleact ever performed by him. The leading trait in his characterwas meanness; and if there were any other element in his na-ture, it was made subject to this. He was mean; and, like mostother mean men, he lacked the ability to conceal his mean-ness. Captain Auld was not born a slaveholder. He had been apoor man, master only of a Bay craft. He came into posses-sion of all his slaves by marriage; and of all men, adoptedslaveholders are the worst. He was cruel, but cowardly. Hecommanded without firmness. In the enforcement of his rules,he was at times rigid, and at times lax. At times, he spoke tohis slaves with the firmness of Napoleon and the fury of ademon; at other times, he might well be mistaken for an in-quirer who had lost his way. He did nothing of himself. Hemight have passed for a lion, but for his ears. In all thingsnoble which he attempted, his own meanness shone most con-spicuous. His airs, words, and actions, were the airs, words,and actions of born slaveholders, and, being assumed, wereawkward enough. He was not even a good imitator. He pos-sessed all the disposition to deceive, but wanted the power.Having no resources within himself, he was compelled to bethe copyist of many, and being such, he was forever the victimof inconsistency; and of consequence he was an object of con-tempt, and was held as such even by his slaves. The luxury of






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having slaves of his own to wait upon him was something newand unprepared for. He was a slaveholder without the abilityto hold slaves. He found himself incapable of managing hisslaves either by force, fear, or fraud. We seldom called him“master;” we generally called him “Captain Auld,” and werehardly disposed to title him at all. I doubt not that our con-duct had much to do with making him appear awkward, andof consequence fretful. Our want of reverence for him musthave perplexed him greatly. He wished to have us call himmaster, but lacked the firmness necessary to command us todo so. His wife used to insist upon our calling him so, but tono purpose. In August, 1832, my master attended a Meth-odist camp-meeting held in the Bay-side, Talbot county, andthere experienced religion. I indulged a faint hope that hisconversion would lead him to emancipate his slaves, and that,if he did not do this, it would, at any rate, make him morekind and humane. I was disappointed in both these respects.It neither made him to be humane to his slaves, nor to eman-cipate them. If it had any effect on his character, it made himmore cruel and hateful in all his ways; for I believe him tohave been a much worse man after his conversion than before.Prior to his conversion, he relied upon his own depravity toshield and sustain him in his savage barbarity; but after hisconversion, he found religious sanction and support for hisslaveholding cruelty. He made the greatest pretensions to pi-ety. His house was the house of prayer. He prayed morning,

noon, and night. He very soon distinguished himself amonghis brethren, and was soon made a class-leader and exhorter.His activity in revivals was great, and he proved himself aninstrument in the hands of the church in converting manysouls. His house was the preachers’ home. They used to takegreat pleasure in coming there to put up; for while he starvedus, he stuffed them. We have had three or four preachers thereat a time. The names of those who used to come most fre-quently while I lived there, were Mr. Storks, Mr. Ewery, Mr.Humphry, and Mr. Hickey. I have also seen Mr. GeorgeCookman at our house. We slaves loved Mr. Cookman. Webelieved him to be a good man. We thought him instrumen-tal in getting Mr. Samuel Harrison, a very rich slaveholder, toemancipate his slaves; and by some means got the impressionthat he was laboring to effect the emancipation of all theslaves. When he was at our house, we were sure to be called into prayers. When the others were there, we were sometimescalled in and sometimes not. Mr. Cookman took more noticeof us than either of the other ministers. He could not comeamong us without betraying his sympathy for us, and, stupidas we were, we had the sagacity to see it.

While I lived with my master in St. Michael’s, there was awhite young man, a Mr. Wilson, who proposed to keep aSabbath school for the instruction of such slaves as might bedisposed to learn to read the New Testament. We met butthree times, when Mr. West and Mr. Fairbanks, both class-






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leaders, with many others, came upon us with sticks and othermissiles, drove us off, and forbade us to meet again. Thusended our little Sabbath school in the pious town of St.Michael’s.

I have said my master found religious sanction for his cru-elty. As an example, I will state one of many facts going toprove the charge. I have seen him tie up a lame young woman,and whip her with a heavy cowskin upon her naked shoul-ders, causing the warm red blood to drip; and, in justificationof the bloody deed, he would quote this passage of Scrip-ture—”He that knoweth his master’s will, and doeth it not,shall be beaten with many stripes.”

Master would keep this lacerated young woman tied upin this horrid situation four or five hours at a time. I haveknown him to tie her up early in the morning, and whip herbefore breakfast; leave her, go to his store, return at dinner,and whip her again, cutting her in the places already maderaw with his cruel lash. The secret of master’s cruelty toward“Henny” is found in the fact of her being almost helpless.When quite a child, she fell into the fire, and burned herselfhorribly. Her hands were so burnt that she never got the useof them. She could do very little but bear heavy burdens. Shewas to master a bill of expense; and as he was a mean man, shewas a constant offence to him. He seemed desirous of gettingthe poor girl out of existence. He gave her away once to hissister; but, being a poor gift, she was not disposed to keep her.

Finally, my benevolent master, to use his own words, “set heradrift to take care of herself.” Here was a recently-convertedman, holding on upon the mother, and at the same time turn-ing out her helpless child, to starve and die! Master Thomaswas one of the many pious slaveholders who hold slaves forthe very charitable purpose of taking care of them.

My master and myself had quite a number of differences.He found me unsuitable to his purpose. My city life, he said,had had a very pernicious effect upon me. It had almost ru-ined me for every good purpose, and fitted me for every thingwhich was bad. One of my greatest faults was that of lettinghis horse run away, and go down to his father-inlaw’s farm,which was about five miles from St. Michael’s. I would thenhave to go after it. My reason for this kind of carelessness, orcarefulness, was, that I could always get something to eat whenI went there. Master William Hamilton, my master’s father-in-law, always gave his slaves enough to eat. I never left therehungry, no matter how great the need of my speedy return.Master Thomas at length said he would stand it no longer. Ihad lived with him nine months, during which time he hadgiven me a number of severe whippings, all to no good pur-pose. He resolved to put me out, as he said, to be broken; and,for this purpose, he let me for one year to a man named Ed-ward Covey. Mr. Covey was a poor man, a farm-renter. Herented the place upon which he lived, as also the hands withwhich he tilled it. Mr. Covey had acquired a very high repu-






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tation for breaking young slaves, and this reputation was ofimmense value to him. It enabled him to get his farm tilledwith much less expense to himself than he could have had itdone without such a reputation. Some slaveholders thoughtit not much loss to allow Mr. Covey to have their slaves oneyear, for the sake of the training to which they were subjected,without any other compensation. He could hire young helpwith great ease, in consequence of this reputation. Added tothe natural good qualities of Mr. Covey, he was a professor ofreligion—a pious soul—a member and a class-leader in theMethodist church. All of this added weight to his reputationas a “nigger-breaker.” I was aware of all the facts, having beenmade acquainted with them by a young man who had livedthere. I nevertheless made the change gladly; for I was sure ofgetting enough to eat, which is not the smallest considerationto a hungry man.

Chapter 10.

I had left Master Thomas’s house, and went to live withMr. Covey, on the 1st of January, 1833. I was now, for thefirst time in my life, a field hand. In my new employment, Ifound myself even more awkward than a country boy ap-peared to be in a large city. I had been at my new home butone week before Mr. Covey gave me a very severe whipping,cutting my back, causing the blood to run, and raising ridgeson my flesh as large as my little finger. The details of thisaffair are as follows: Mr. Covey sent me, very early in themorning of one of our coldest days in the month of January,to the woods, to get a load of wood. He gave me a team ofunbroken oxen. He told me which was the in-hand ox, andwhich the off-hand one. He then tied the end of a large ropearound the horns of the in-hand ox, and gave me the other






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end of it, and told me, if the oxen started to run, that I musthold on upon the rope. I had never driven oxen before, and ofcourse I was very awkward. I, however, succeeded in gettingto the edge of the woods with little difficulty; but I had got avery few rods into the woods, when the oxen took fright, andstarted full tilt, carrying the cart against trees, and over stumps,in the most frightful manner. I expected every moment thatmy brains would be dashed out against the trees. After run-ning thus for a considerable distance, they finally upset thecart, dashing it with great force against a tree, and threw them-selves into a dense thicket. How I escaped death, I do notknow. There I was, entirely alone, in a thick wood, in a placenew to me. My cart was upset and shattered, my oxen wereentangled among the young trees, and there was none to helpme. After a long spell of effort, I succeeded in getting my cartrighted, my oxen disentangled, and again yoked to the cart. Inow proceeded with my team to the place where I had, theday before, been chopping wood, and loaded my cart prettyheavily, thinking in this way to tame my oxen. I then pro-ceeded on my way home. I had now consumed one half of theday. I got out of the woods safely, and now felt out of danger.I stopped my oxen to open the woods gate; and just as I didso, before I could get hold of my ox-rope, the oxen againstarted, rushed through the gate, catching it between the wheeland the body of the cart, tearing it to pieces, and comingwithin a few inches of crushing me against the gate-post. Thus

twice, in one short day, I escaped death by the merest chance.On my return, I told Mr. Covey what had happened, andhow it happened. He ordered me to return to the woods againimmediately. I did so, and he followed on after me. Just as Igot into the woods, he came up and told me to stop my cart,and that he would teach me how to trifle away my time, andbreak gates. He then went to a large gum-tree, and with hisaxe cut three large switches, and, after trimming them upneatly with his pocketknife, he ordered me to take off myclothes. I made him no answer, but stood with my clothes on.He repeated his order. I still made him no answer, nor did Imove to strip myself. Upon this he rushed at me with thefierceness of a tiger, tore off my clothes, and lashed me till hehad worn out his switches, cutting me so savagely as to leavethe marks visible for a long time after. This whipping was thefirst of a number just like it, and for similar offences.

I lived with Mr. Covey one year. During the first sixmonths, of that year, scarce a week passed without his whip-ping me. I was seldom free from a sore back. My awkward-ness was almost always his excuse for whipping me. We wereworked fully up to the point of endurance. Long before daywe were up, our horses fed, and by the first approach of daywe were off to the field with our hoes and ploughing teams.Mr. Covey gave us enough to eat, but scarce time to eat it. Wewere often less than five minutes taking our meals. We wereoften in the field from the first approach of day till its last






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lingering ray had left us; and at saving-fodder time, midnightoften caught us in the field binding blades.

Covey would be out with us. The way he used to stand it,was this. He would spend the most of his afternoons in bed.He would then come out fresh in the evening, ready to urgeus on with his words, example, and frequently with the whip.Mr. Covey was one of the few slaveholders who could and didwork with his hands. He was a hard-working man. He knewby himself just what a man or a boy could do. There was nodeceiving him. His work went on in his absence almost aswell as in his presence; and he had the faculty of making usfeel that he was ever present with us. This he did by surpris-ing us. He seldom approached the spot where we were at workopenly, if he could do it secretly. He always aimed at takingus by surprise. Such was his cunning, that we used to callhim, among ourselves, “the snake.” When we were at work inthe cornfield, he would sometimes crawl on his hands andknees to avoid detection, and all at once he would rise nearlyin our midst, and scream out, “Ha, ha! Come, come! Dashon, dash on!” This being his mode of attack, it was never safeto stop a single minute. His comings were like a thief in thenight. He appeared to us as being ever at hand. He was underevery tree, behind every stump, in every bush, and at everywindow, on the plantation. He would sometimes mount hishorse, as if bound to St. Michael’s, a distance of seven miles,and in half an hour afterwards you would see him coiled up

in the corner of the wood-fence, watching every motion ofthe slaves. He would, for this purpose, leave his horse tied upin the woods. Again, he would sometimes walk up to us, andgive us orders as though he was upon the point of starting ona long journey, turn his back upon us, and make as though hewas going to the house to get ready; and, before he would gethalf way thither, he would turn short and crawl into a fence-corner, or behind some tree, and there watch us till the goingdown of the sun.

Mr. Covey’s FORTE consisted in his power to deceive.His life was devoted to planning and perpetrating the gross-est deceptions. Every thing he possessed in the shape of learn-ing or religion, he made conform to his disposition to deceive.He seemed to think himself equal to deceiving the Almighty.He would make a short prayer in the morning, and a longprayer at night; and, strange as it may seem, few men wouldat times appear more devotional than he. The exercises of hisfamily devotions were always commenced with singing; and,as he was a very poor singer himself, the duty of raising thehymn generally came upon me. He would read his hymn, andnod at me to commence. I would at times do so; at others, Iwould not. My non-compliance would almost always pro-duce much confusion. To show himself independent of me,he would start and stagger through with his hymn in themost discordant manner. In this state of mind, he prayed withmore than ordinary spirit. Poor man! such was his disposi-






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tion, and success at deceiving, I do verily believe that he some-times deceived himself into the solemn belief, that he was asincere worshipper of the most high God; and this, too, at atime when he may be said to have been guilty of compellinghis woman slave to commit the sin of adultery. The facts inthe case are these: Mr. Covey was a poor man; he was justcommencing in life; he was only able to buy one slave; and,shocking as is the fact, he bought her, as he said, for ABREEDER. This woman was named Caroline. Mr. Coveybought her from Mr. Thomas Lowe, about six miles from St.Michael’s. She was a large, able-bodied woman, about twentyyears old. She had already given birth to one child, whichproved her to be just what he wanted. After buying her, hehired a married man of Mr. Samuel Harrison, to live withhim one year; and him he used to fasten up with her everynight! The result was, that, at the end of the year, the miser-able woman gave birth to twins. At this result Mr. Coveyseemed to be highly pleased, both with the man and thewretched woman. Such was his joy, and that of his wife, thatnothing they could do for Caroline during her confinementwas too good, or too hard, to be done. The children were re-garded as being quite an addition to his wealth.

If at any one time of my life more than another, I wasmade to drink the bitterest dregs of slavery, that time wasduring the first six months of my stay with Mr. Covey. Wewere worked in all weathers. It was never too hot or too cold;

it could never rain, blow, hail, or snow, too hard for us to workin the field. Work, work, work, was scarcely more the order ofthe day than of the night. The longest days were too short forhim, and the shortest nights too long for him. I was some-what unmanageable when I first went there, but a few monthsof this discipline tamed me. Mr. Covey succeeded in breakingme. I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elastic-ity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition toread departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eyedied; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and beholda man transformed into a brute!

Sunday was my only leisure time. I spent this in a sort ofbeast-like stupor, between sleep and wake, under some largetree. At times I would rise up, a flash of energetic freedomwould dart through my soul, accompanied with a faint beamof hope, that flickered for a moment, and then vanished. Isank down again, mourning over my wretched condition. Iwas sometimes prompted to take my life, and that of Covey,but was prevented by a combination of hope and fear. Mysufferings on this plantation seem now like a dream ratherthan a stern reality.

Our house stood within a few rods of the Chesapeake Bay,whose broad bosom was ever white with sails from every quar-ter of the habitable globe. Those beautiful vessels, robed inpurest white, so delightful to the eye of freemen, were to meso many shrouded ghosts, to terrify and torment me with






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thoughts of my wretched condition. I have often, in the deepstillness of a summer’s Sabbath, stood all alone upon the loftybanks of that noble bay, and traced, with saddened heart andtearful eye, the countless number of sails moving off to themighty ocean. The sight of these always affected me power-fully. My thoughts would compel utterance; and there, withno audience but the Almighty, I would pour out my soul’scomplaint, in my rude way, with an apostrophe to the movingmultitude of ships:—

“You are loosed from your moorings, and are free; I amfast in my chains, and am a slave! You move merrily beforethe gentle gale, and I sadly before the bloody whip! You arefreedom’s swift-winged angels, that fly round the world; I amconfined in bands of iron! O that I were free! O, that I wereon one of your gallant decks, and under your protecting wing!Alas! betwixt me and you, the turbid waters roll. Go on, goon. O that I could also go! Could I but swim! If I could fly!O, why was I born a man, of whom to make a brute! The gladship is gone; she hides in the dim distance. I am left in thehottest hell of unending slavery. O God, save me! God, de-liver me! Let me be free! Is there any God? Why am I aslave? I will run away. I will not stand it. Get caught, or getclear, I’ll try it. I had as well die with ague as the fever. I haveonly one life to lose. I had as well be killed running as diestanding. Only think of it; one hundred miles straight north,and I am free! Try it? Yes! God helping me, I will. It cannot

be that I shall live and die a slave. I will take to the water. Thisvery bay shall yet bear me into freedom. The steamboats steeredin a north-east course from North Point. I will do the same;and when I get to the head of the bay, I will turn my canoeadrift, and walk straight through Delaware into Pennsylvania.When I get there, I shall not be required to have a pass; I cantravel without being disturbed. Let but the first opportunityoffer, and, come what will, I am off. Meanwhile, I will try tobear up under the yoke. I am not the only slave in the world.Why should I fret? I can bear as much as any of them. Be-sides, I am but a boy, and all boys are bound to some one. Itmay be that my misery in slavery will only increase my hap-piness when I get free. There is a better day coming.”

Thus I used to think, and thus I used to speak to myself;goaded almost to madness at one moment, and at the nextreconciling myself to my wretched lot.

I have already intimated that my condition was muchworse, during the first six months of my stay at Mr. Covey’s,than in the last six. The circumstances leading to the changein Mr. Covey’s course toward me form an epoch in my humblehistory. You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shallsee how a slave was made a man. On one of the hottest days ofthe month of August, 1833, Bill Smith, William Hughes, aslave named Eli, and myself, were engaged in fanning wheat.Hughes was clearing the fanned wheat from before the fan.Eli was turning, Smith was feeding, and I was carrying wheat






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to the fan. The work was simple, requiring strength ratherthan intellect; yet, to one entirely unused to such work, itcame very hard. About three o’clock of that day, I broke down;my strength failed me; I was seized with a violent aching ofthe head, attended with extreme dizziness; I trembled in ev-ery limb. Finding what was coming, I nerved myself up, feel-ing it would never do to stop work. I stood as long as I couldstagger to the hopper with grain. When I could stand nolonger, I fell, and felt as if held down by an immense weight.The fan of course stopped; every one had his own work to do;and no one could do the work of the other, and have his owngo on at the same time.

Mr. Covey was at the house, about one hundred yards fromthe treading-yard where we were fanning. On hearing the fanstop, he left immediately, and came to the spot where we were.He hastily inquired what the matter was. Bill answered that Iwas sick, and there was no one to bring wheat to the fan. I hadby this time crawled away under the side of the post and rail-fence by which the yard was enclosed, hoping to find reliefby getting out of the sun. He then asked where I was. He wastold by one of the hands. He came to the spot, and, afterlooking at me awhile, asked me what was the matter. I toldhim as well as I could, for I scarce had strength to speak. Hethen gave me a savage kick in the side, and told me to get up.I tried to do so, but fell back in the attempt. He gave meanother kick, and again told me to rise. I again tried, and

succeeded in gaining my feet; but, stooping to get the tubwith which I was feeding the fan, I again staggered and fell.While down in this situation, Mr. Covey took up the hickoryslat with which Hughes had been striking off the half-bushelmeasure, and with it gave me a heavy blow upon the head,making a large wound, and the blood ran freely; and with thisagain told me to get up. I made no effort to comply, havingnow made up my mind to let him do his worst. In a shorttime after receiving this blow, my head grew better. Mr. Coveyhad now left me to my fate. At this moment I resolved, forthe first time, to go to my master, enter a complaint, and askhis protection. In order to do this, I must that afternoon walkseven miles; and this, under the circumstances, was truly asevere undertaking. I was exceedingly feeble; made so as muchby the kicks and blows which I received, as by the severe fit ofsickness to which I had been subjected. I, however, watchedmy chance, while Covey was looking in an opposite direction,and started for St. Michael’s. I succeeded in getting a consid-erable distance on my way to the woods, when Covey discov-ered me, and called after me to come back, threatening whathe would do if I did not come. I disregarded both his callsand his threats, and made my way to the woods as fast as myfeeble state would allow; and thinking I might be overhauledby him if I kept the road, I walked through the woods, keep-ing far enough from the road to avoid detection, and nearenough to prevent losing my way. I had not gone far before






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my little strength again failed me. I could go no farther. I felldown, and lay for a considerable time. The blood was yetoozing from the wound on my head. For a time I thought Ishould bleed to death; and think now that I should have doneso, but that the blood so matted my hair as to stop the wound.After lying there about three quarters of an hour, I nervedmyself up again, and started on my way, through bogs andbriers, barefooted and bareheaded, tearing my feet sometimesat nearly every step; and after a journey of about seven miles,occupying some five hours to perform it, I arrived at master’sstore. I then presented an appearance enough to affect anybut a heart of iron. From the crown of my head to my feet, Iwas covered with blood. My hair was all clotted with dustand blood; my shirt was stiff with blood. I suppose I lookedlike a man who had escaped a den of wild beasts, and barelyescaped them. In this state I appeared before my master, hum-bly entreating him to interpose his authority for my protec-tion. I told him all the circumstances as well as I could, and itseemed, as I spoke, at times to affect him. He would thenwalk the floor, and seek to justify Covey by saying he ex-pected I deserved it. He asked me what I wanted. I told him,to let me get a new home; that as sure as I lived with Mr.Covey again, I should live with but to die with him; thatCovey would surely kill me; he was in a fair way for it. MasterThomas ridiculed the idea that there was any danger of Mr.Covey’s killing me, and said that he knew Mr. Covey; that he

was a good man, and that he could not think of taking mefrom him; that, should he do so, he would lose the wholeyear’s wages; that I belonged to Mr. Covey for one year, andthat I must go back to him, come what might; and that Imust not trouble him with any more stories, or that he wouldhimself GET HOLD OF ME. After threatening me thus,he gave me a very large dose of salts, telling me that I mightremain in St. Michael’s that night, (it being quite late,) butthat I must be off back to Mr. Covey’s early in the morning;and that if I did not, he would ~get hold of me,~ whichmeant that he would whip me. I remained all night, and,according to his orders, I started off to Covey’s in the morn-ing, (Saturday morning,) wearied in body and broken in spirit.I got no supper that night, or breakfast that morning. I reachedCovey’s about nine o’clock; and just as I was getting over thefence that divided Mrs. Kemp’s fields from ours, out ran Coveywith his cowskin, to give me another whipping. Before hecould reach me, I succeeded in getting to the cornfield; andas the corn was very high, it afforded me the means of hiding.He seemed very angry, and searched for me a long time. Mybehavior was altogether unaccountable. He finally gave upthe chase, thinking, I suppose, that I must come home forsomething to eat; he would give himself no further trouble inlooking for me. I spent that day mostly in the woods, havingthe alternative before me,—to go home and be whipped todeath, or stay in the woods and be starved to death. That






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night, I fell in with Sandy Jenkins, a slave with whom I wassomewhat acquainted. Sandy had a free wife who lived aboutfour miles from Mr. Covey’s; and it being Saturday, he wason his way to see her. I told him my circumstances, and hevery kindly invited me to go home with him. I went homewith him, and talked this whole matter over, and got his ad-vice as to what course it was best for me to pursue. I foundSandy an old adviser. He told me, with great solemnity, Imust go back to Covey; but that before I went, I must gowith him into another part of the woods, where there was acertain ~root,~ which, if I would take some of it with me,carrying it ~always on my right side,~ would render it im-possible for Mr. Covey, or any other white man, to whip me.He said he had carried it for years; and since he had done so,he had never received a blow, and never expected to while hecarried it. I at first rejected the idea, that the simple carryingof a root in my pocket would have any such effect as he hadsaid, and was not disposed to take it; but Sandy impressedthe necessity with much earnestness, telling me it could dono harm, if it did no good. To please him, I at length took theroot, and, according to his direction, carried it upon my rightside. This was Sunday morning. I immediately started forhome; and upon entering the yard gate, out came Mr. Coveyon his way to meeting. He spoke to me very kindly, bade medrive the pigs from a lot near by, and passed on towards thechurch. Now, this singular conduct of Mr. Covey really made

me begin to think that there was something in the ROOTwhich Sandy had given me; and had it been on any other daythan Sunday, I could have attributed the conduct to no othercause than the influence of that root; and as it was, I was halfinclined to think the ~root~ to be something more than I atfirst had taken it to be. All went well till Monday morning.On this morning, the virtue of the ROOT was fully tested.Long before daylight, I was called to go and rub, curry, andfeed, the horses. I obeyed, and was glad to obey. But whilstthus engaged, whilst in the act of throwing down some bladesfrom the loft, Mr. Covey entered the stable with a long rope;and just as I was half out of the loft, he caught hold of mylegs, and was about tying me. As soon as I found what he wasup to, I gave a sudden spring, and as I did so, he holding tomy legs, I was brought sprawling on the stable floor. Mr. Coveyseemed now to think he had me, and could do what he pleased;but at this moment— from whence came the spirit I don’tknow—I resolved to fight; and, suiting my action to the reso-lution, I seized Covey hard by the throat; and as I did so, Irose. He held on to me, and I to him. My resistance was soentirely unexpected that Covey seemed taken all aback. Hetrembled like a leaf. This gave me assurance, and I held himuneasy, causing the blood to run where I touched him withthe ends of my fingers. Mr. Covey soon called out to Hughesfor help. Hughes came, and, while Covey held me, attemptedto tie my right hand. While he was in the act of doing so, I






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watched my chance, and gave him a heavy kick close underthe ribs. This kick fairly sickened Hughes, so that he left mein the hands of Mr. Covey. This kick had the effect of notonly weakening Hughes, but Covey also. When he sawHughes bending over with pain, his courage quailed. He askedme if I meant to persist in my resistance. I told him I did,come what might; that he had used me like a brute for sixmonths, and that I was determined to be used so no longer.With that, he strove to drag me to a stick that was lying justout of the stable door. He meant to knock me down. But justas he was leaning over to get the stick, I seized him with bothhands by his collar, and brought him by a sudden snatch tothe ground. By this time, Bill came. Covey called upon himfor assistance. Bill wanted to know what he could do. Coveysaid, “Take hold of him, take hold of him!” Bill said his mas-ter hired him out to work, and not to help to whip me; so heleft Covey and myself to fight our own battle out. We were atit for nearly two hours. Covey at length let me go, puffingand blowing at a great rate, saying that if I had not resisted,he would not have whipped me half so much. The truth was,that he had not whipped me at all. I considered him as get-ting entirely the worst end of the bargain; for he had drawnno blood from me, but I had from him. The whole six monthsafterwards, that I spent with Mr. Covey, he never laid theweight of his finger upon me in anger. He would occasionallysay, he didn’t want to get hold of me again. “No,” thought I,

“you need not; for you will come off worse than you did be-fore.”

This battle with Mr. Covey was the turningpoint in mycareer as a slave. It rekindled the few expiring embers of free-dom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood. Itrecalled the departed self-confidence, and inspired me againwith a determination to be free. The gratification afforded bythe triumph was a full compensation for whatever else mightfollow, even death itself. He only can understand the deepsatisfaction which I experienced, who has himself repelled byforce the bloody arm of slavery. I felt as I never felt before. Itwas a glorious resurrection, from the tomb of slavery, to theheaven of freedom. My long-crushed spirit rose, cowardicedeparted, bold defiance took its place; and I now resolvedthat, however long I might remain a slave in form, the dayhad passed forever when I could be a slave in fact. I did nothesitate to let it be known of me, that the white man whoexpected to succeed in whipping, must also succeed in killingme.

From this time I was never again what might be calledfairly whipped, though I remained a slave four years after-wards. I had several fights, but was never whipped.

It was for a long time a matter of surprise to me why Mr.Covey did not immediately have me taken by the constableto the whipping-post, and there regularly whipped for thecrime of raising my hand against a white man in defence of






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myself. And the only explanation I can now think of does notentirely satisfy me; but such as it is, I will give it. Mr. Coveyenjoyed the most unbounded reputation for being a first-rateoverseer and negro-breaker. It was of considerable importanceto him. That reputation was at stake; and had he sent me—aboy about sixteen years old—to the public whipping-post,his reputation would have been lost; so, to save his reputation,he suffered me to go unpunished.

My term of actual service to Mr. Edward Covey ended onChristmas day, 1833. The days between Christmas and NewYear’s day are allowed as holidays; and, accordingly, we werenot required to perform any labor, more than to feed and takecare of the stock. This time we regarded as our own, by thegrace of our masters; and we therefore used or abused it nearlyas we pleased. Those of us who had families at a distance,were generally allowed to spend the whole six days in theirsociety. This time, however, was spent in various ways. Thestaid, sober, thinking and industrious ones of our numberwould employ themselves in making corn-brooms, mats, horse-collars, and baskets; and another class of us would spend thetime in hunting opossums, hares, and coons. But by far thelarger part engaged in such sports and merriments as playingball, wrestling, running foot-races, fiddling, dancing, anddrinking whisky; and this latter mode of spending the timewas by far the most agreeable to the feelings of our masters. Aslave who would work during the holidays was considered by

our masters as scarcely deserving them. He was regarded asone who rejected the favor of his master. It was deemed adisgrace not to get drunk at Christmas; and he was regardedas lazy indeed, who had not provided himself with the neces-sary means, during the year, to get whisky enough to last himthrough Christmas.

From what I know of the effect of these holidays upon theslave, I believe them to be among the most effective means inthe hands of the slaveholder in keeping down the spirit ofinsurrection. Were the slaveholders at once to abandon thispractice, I have not the slightest doubt it would lead to animmediate insurrection among the slaves. These holidays serveas conductors, or safety-valves, to carry off the rebellious spiritof enslaved humanity. But for these, the slave would be forcedup to the wildest desperation; and woe betide the slaveholder,the day he ventures to remove or hinder the operation of thoseconductors! I warn him that, in such an event, a spirit will goforth in their midst, more to be dreaded than the most ap-palling earthquake.

The holidays are part and parcel of the gross fraud, wrong,and inhumanity of slavery. They are professedly a custom es-tablished by the benevolence of the slaveholders; but I un-dertake to say, it is the result of selfishness, and one of thegrossest frauds committed upon the down-trodden slave. Theydo not give the slaves this time because they would not like tohave their work during its continuance, but because they know






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it would be unsafe to deprive them of it. This will be seen bythe fact, that the slaveholders like to have their slaves spendthose days just in such a manner as to make them as glad oftheir ending as of their beginning. Their object seems to be,to disgust their slaves with freedom, by plunging them intothe lowest depths of dissipation. For instance, the slaveholdersnot only like to see the slave drink of his own accord, but willadopt various plans to make him drunk. One plan is, to makebets on their slaves, as to who can drink the most whiskywithout getting drunk; and in this way they succeed in get-ting whole multitudes to drink to excess. Thus, when the slaveasks for virtuous freedom, the cunning slaveholder, knowinghis ignorance, cheats him with a dose of vicious dissipation,artfully labelled with the name of liberty. The most of usused to drink it down, and the result was just what might besupposed; many of us were led to think that there was little tochoose between liberty and slavery. We felt, and very prop-erly too, that we had almost as well be slaves to man as to rum.So, when the holidays ended, we staggered up from the filthof our wallowing, took a long breath, and marched to thefield,—feeling, upon the whole, rather glad to go, from whatour master had deceived us into a belief was freedom, back tothe arms of slavery.

I have said that this mode of treatment is a part of thewhole system of fraud and inhumanity of slavery. It is so. Themode here adopted to disgust the slave with freedom, by al-

lowing him to see only the abuse of it, is carried out in otherthings. For instance, a slave loves molasses; he steals some. Hismaster, in many cases, goes off to town, and buys a large quan-tity; he returns, takes his whip, and commands the slave to eatthe molasses, until the poor fellow is made sick at the verymention of it. The same mode is sometimes adopted to makethe slaves refrain from asking for more food than their regularallowance. A slave runs through his allowance, and applies formore. His master is enraged at him; but, not willing to sendhim off without food, gives him more than is necessary, andcompels him to eat it within a given time. Then, if he com-plains that he cannot eat it, he is said to be satisfied neitherfull nor fasting, and is whipped for being hard to please! Ihave an abundance of such illustrations of the same principle,drawn from my own observation, but think the cases I havecited sufficient. The practice is a very common one.

On the first of January, 1834, I left Mr. Covey, and wentto live with Mr. William Freeland, who lived about three milesfrom St. Michael’s. I soon found Mr. Freeland a very differ-ent man from Mr. Covey. Though not rich, he was what wouldbe called an educated southern gentleman. Mr. Covey, as Ihave shown, was a well-trained negro-breaker and slave-driver.The former (slaveholder though he was) seemed to possesssome regard for honor, some reverence for justice, and somerespect for humanity. The latter seemed totally insensible toall such sentiments. Mr. Freeland had many of the faults pe-






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culiar to slaveholders, such as being very passionate and fret-ful; but I must do him the justice to say, that he was exceed-ingly free from those degrading vices to which Mr. Covey wasconstantly addicted. The one was open and frank, and wealways knew where to find him. The other was a most artfuldeceiver, and could be understood only by such as were skil-ful enough to detect his cunningly-devised frauds. Anotheradvantage I gained in my new master was, he made no pre-tensions to, or profession of, religion; and this, in my opinion,was truly a great advantage. I assert most unhesitatingly, thatthe religion of the south is a mere covering for the most hor-rid crimes,—a justifier of the most appalling barbarity,—asanctifier of the most hateful frauds,—and a dark shelter un-der, which the darkest, foulest, grossest, and most infernaldeeds of slaveholders find the strongest protection. Were I tobe again reduced to the chains of slavery, next to that enslave-ment, I should regard being the slave of a religious master thegreatest calamity that could befall me. For of all slaveholderswith whom I have ever met, religious slaveholders are the worst.I have ever found them the meanest and basest, the most crueland cowardly, of all others. It was my unhappy lot not only tobelong to a religious slaveholder, but to live in a communityof such religionists. Very near Mr. Freeland lived the Rev.Daniel Weeden, and in the same neighborhood lived the Rev.Rigby Hopkins. These were members and ministers in theReformed Methodist Church. Mr. Weeden owned, among

others, a woman slave, whose name I have forgotten. Thiswoman’s back, for weeks, was kept literally raw, made so bythe lash of this merciless, ~religious~ wretch. He used to hirehands. His maxim was, Behave well or behave ill, it is theduty of a master occasionally to whip a slave, to remind himof his master’s authority. Such was his theory, and such hispractice.

Mr. Hopkins was even worse than Mr. Weeden. His chiefboast was his ability to manage slaves. The peculiar feature ofhis government was that of whipping slaves in advance of de-serving it. He always managed to have one or more of hisslaves to whip every Monday morning. He did this to alarmtheir fears, and strike terror into those who escaped. His planwas to whip for the smallest offences, to prevent the commis-sion of large ones. Mr. Hopkins could always find some ex-cuse for whipping a slave. It would astonish one, unaccus-tomed to a slaveholding life, to see with what wonderful easea slaveholder can find things, of which to make occasion towhip a slave. A mere look, word, or motion,—a mistake, acci-dent, or want of power,—are all matters for which a slave maybe whipped at any time. Does a slave look dissatisfied? It issaid, he has the devil in him, and it must be whipped out.Does he speak loudly when spoken to by his master? Thenhe is getting high-minded, and should be taken down a but-ton-hole lower. Does he forget to pull off his hat at the ap-proach of a white person? Then he is wanting in reverence,






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and should be whipped for it. Does he ever venture to vindi-cate his conduct, when censured for it? Then he is guilty ofimpudence,—one of the greatest crimes of which a slave canbe guilty. Does he ever venture to suggest a different mode ofdoing things from that pointed out by his master? He isindeed presumptuous, and getting above himself; and noth-ing less than a flogging will do for him. Does he, while plough-ing, break a plough,—or, while hoeing, break a hoe? It isowing to his carelessness, and for it a slave must always bewhipped. Mr. Hopkins could always find something of thissort to justify the use of the lash, and he seldom failed toembrace such opportunities. There was not a man in the wholecounty, with whom the slaves who had the getting their ownhome, would not prefer to live, rather than with this Rev. Mr.Hopkins. And yet there was not a man any where round, whomade higher professions of religion, or was more active inrevivals,—more attentive to the class, love-feast, prayer andpreaching meetings, or more devotional in his family,— thatprayed earlier, later, louder, and longer,—than this same rev-erend slave-driver, Rigby Hopkins.

But to return to Mr. Freeland, and to my experience whilein his employment. He, like Mr. Covey, gave us enough toeat; but, unlike Mr. Covey, he also gave us sufficient time totake our meals. He worked us hard, but always between sun-rise and sunset. He required a good deal of work to be done,but gave us good tools with which to work. His farm was

large, but he employed hands enough to work it, and withease, compared with many of his neighbors. My treatment,while in his employment, was heavenly, compared with whatI experienced at the hands of Mr. Edward Covey.

Mr. Freeland was himself the owner of but two slaves. Theirnames were Henry Harris and John Harris. The rest of hishands he hired. These consisted of myself, Sandy Jenkins,*and Handy Caldwell. Henry and John were quite intelligent,and in a very little while after I went there, I succeeded increating in them a strong desire to learn how to read. Thisdesire soon sprang up in the others also. They very soon mus-tered up some old spelling-books, and nothing would do butthat I must keep a Sabbath school. I agreed to do so, andaccordingly devoted my Sundays to teaching these my lovedfellow-slaves how to read. Neither of them knew his letterswhen I went there. Some of the slaves of the neighboringfarms found what was going on, and also availed themselvesof this little opportunity to learn to read. It was understood,among all who came, that there must be as little display aboutit as possible. It was necessary to keep our religious masters atSt. Michael’s unacquainted with the fact, that, instead ofspending the Sabbath in wrestling, boxing, and drinkingwhisky, we were trying to learn how to read the will of God;for they had much

*This is the same man who gave me the roots to preventmy being whipped by Mr. Covey. He was “a clever soul.” We






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used frequently to talk about the fight with Covey, and asoften as we did so, he would claim my success as the result ofthe roots which he gave me. This superstition is very commonamong the more ignorant slaves. A slave seldom dies but thathis death is attributed to trickery. rather see us engaged inthose degrading sports, than to see us behaving like intellec-tual, moral, and accountable beings. My blood boils as I thinkof the bloody manner in which Messrs. Wright Fairbanksand Garrison West, both class-leaders, in connection withmany others, rushed in upon us with sticks and stones, andbroke up our virtuous little Sabbath school, at St. Michael’s—all calling themselves Christians! humble followers of the LordJesus Christ! But I am again digressing.

I held my Sabbath school at the house of a free coloredman, whose name I deem it imprudent to mention; for shouldit be known, it might embarrass him greatly, though the crimeof holding the school was committed ten years ago. I had atone time over forty scholars, and those of the right sort, ar-dently desiring to learn. They were of all ages, though mostlymen and women. I look back to those Sundays with an amountof pleasure not to be expressed. They were great days to mysoul. The work of instructing my dear fellow-slaves was thesweetest engagement with which I was ever blessed. We lovedeach other, and to leave them at the close of the Sabbath wasa severe cross indeed. When I think that these precious soulsare to-day shut up in the prison-house of slavery, my feelings

overcome me, and I am almost ready to ask, “Does a righteousGod govern the universe? and for what does he hold the thun-ders in his right hand, if not to smite the oppressor, and de-liver the spoiled out of the hand of the spoiler?” These dearsouls came not to Sabbath school because it was popular todo so, nor did I teach them because it was reputable to bethus engaged. Every moment they spent in that school, theywere liable to be taken up, and given thirtynine lashes. Theycame because they wished to learn. Their minds had beenstarved by their cruel masters. They had been shut up inmental darkness. I taught them, because it was the delight ofmy soul to be doing something that looked like bettering thecondition of my race. I kept up my school nearly the wholeyear I lived with Mr. Freeland; and, beside my Sabbath school,I devoted three evenings in the week, during the winter, toteaching the slaves at home. And I have the happiness to know,that several of those who came to Sabbath school learned howto read; and that one, at least, is now free through my agency.

The year passed off smoothly. It seemed only about halfas long as the year which preceded it. I went through it with-out receiving a single blow. I will give Mr. Freeland the creditof being the best master I ever had, ~till I became my ownmaster.~ For the ease with which I passed the year, I was,however, somewhat indebted to the society of my fellow-slaves.They were noble souls; they not only possessed loving hearts,but brave ones. We were linked and interlinked with each






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other. I loved them with a love stronger than any thing I haveexperienced since. It is sometimes said that we slaves do notlove and confide in each other. In answer to this assertion, Ican say, I never loved any or confided in any people morethan my fellowslaves, and especially those with whom I livedat Mr. Freeland’s. I believe we would have died for each other.We never undertook to do any thing, of any importance, with-out a mutual consultation. We never moved separately. Wewere one; and as much so by our tempers and dispositions, asby the mutual hardships to which we were necessarily sub-jected by our condition as slaves.

At the close of the year 1834, Mr. Freeland again hiredme of my master, for the year 1835. But, by this time, I be-gan to want to live ~upon free land~ as well as ~with freeland;~and I was no longer content, therefore, to live with him or anyother slaveholder. I began, with the commencement of theyear, to prepare myself for a final struggle, which should de-cide my fate one way or the other. My tendency was upward.I was fast approaching manhood, and year after year hadpassed, and I was still a slave. These thoughts roused me—Imust do something. I therefore resolved that 1835 shouldnot pass without witnessing an attempt, on my part, to securemy liberty. But I was not willing to cherish this determina-tion alone. My fellow-slaves were dear to me. I was anxious tohave them participate with me in this, my life-giving deter-mination. I therefore, though with great prudence, commenced

early to ascertain their views and feelings in regard to theircondition, and to imbue their minds with thoughts of free-dom. I bent myself to devising ways and means for our es-cape, and meanwhile strove, on all fitting occasions, to im-press them with the gross fraud and inhumanity of slavery. Iwent first to Henry, next to John, then to the others. I found,in them all, warm hearts and noble spirits. They were ready tohear, and ready to act when a feasible plan should be pro-posed. This was what I wanted. I talked to them of our wantof manhood, if we submitted to our enslavement without atleast one noble effort to be free. We met often, and consultedfrequently, and told our hopes and fears, recounted the diffi-culties, real and imagined, which we should be called on tomeet. At times we were almost disposed to give up, and try tocontent ourselves with our wretched lot; at others, we werefirm and unbending in our determination to go. Wheneverwe suggested any plan, there was shrinking—the odds werefearful. Our path was beset with the greatest obstacles; and ifwe succeeded in gaining the end of it, our right to be free wasyet questionable—we were yet liable to be returned to bond-age. We could see no spot, this side of the ocean, where wecould be free. We knew nothing about Canada. Our knowl-edge of the north did not extend farther than New York; andto go there, and be forever harassed with the frightful liabilityof being returned to slavery—with the certainty of beingtreated tenfold worse than before—the thought was truly a






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horrible one, and one which it was not easy to overcome. Thecase sometimes stood thus: At every gate through which wewere to pass, we saw a watchman —at every ferry a guard—on every bridge a sentinel— and in every wood a patrol. Wewere hemmed in upon every side. Here were the difficulties,real or imagined—the good to be sought, and the evil to beshunned. On the one hand, there stood slavery, a stern reality,glaring frightfully upon us,—its robes already crimsoned withthe blood of millions, and even now feasting itself greedilyupon our own flesh. On the other hand, away back in the dimdistance, under the flickering light of the north star, behindsome craggy hill or snow-covered mountain, stood a doubtfulfreedom—half frozen—beckoning us to come and share itshospitality. This in itself was sometimes enough to stagger us;but when we permitted ourselves to survey the road, we werefrequently appalled. Upon either side we saw grim death, as-suming the most horrid shapes. Now it was starvation, caus-ing us to eat our own flesh;—now we were contending withthe waves, and were drowned; —now we were overtaken, andtorn to pieces by the fangs of the terrible bloodhound. Wewere stung by scorpions, chased by wild beasts, bitten bysnakes, and finally, after having nearly reached the desiredspot,—after swimming rivers, encountering wild beasts, sleep-ing in the woods, suffering hunger and nakedness,—we wereovertaken by our pursuers, and, in our resistance, we wereshot dead upon the spot! I say, this picture sometimes ap-

palled us, and made us“rather bear those ills we had,Than fly to others, that we knew not of.”In coming to a fixed determination to run away, we did

more than Patrick Henry, when he resolved upon liberty ordeath. With us it was a doubtful liberty at most, and almostcertain death if we failed. For my part, I should prefer deathto hopeless bondage.

Sandy, one of our number, gave up the notion, but stillencouraged us. Our company then consisted of Henry Har-ris, John Harris, Henry Bailey, Charles Roberts, and myself.Henry Bailey was my uncle, and belonged to my master.Charles married my aunt: he belonged to my master’s father-in-law, Mr. William Hamilton.

The plan we finally concluded upon was, to get a largecanoe belonging to Mr. Hamilton, and upon the Saturdaynight previous to Easter holidays, paddle directly up theChesapeake Bay. On our arrival at the head of the bay, a dis-tance of seventy or eighty miles from where we lived, it wasour purpose to turn our canoe adrift, and follow the guidanceof the north star till we got beyond the limits of Maryland.Our reason for taking the water route was, that we were lessliable to be suspected as runaways; we hoped to be regardedas fishermen; whereas, if we should take the land route, weshould be subjected to interruptions of almost every kind.Any one having a white face, and being so disposed, could






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stop us, and subject us to examination.The week before our intended start, I wrote several pro-

tections, one for each of us. As well as I can remember, theywere in the following words, to wit:—

“This is to certify that I, the undersigned, have given thebearer, my servant, full liberty to go to Baltimore, and spendthe Easter holidays. Written with mine own hand, &c., 1835.

“WILLIAM HAMILTON, “Near St. Michael’s, in Talbot county, Maryland.”We were not going to Baltimore; but, in going up the bay,

we went toward Baltimore, and these protections were onlyintended to protect us while on the bay.

As the time drew near for our departure, our anxiety be-came more and more intense. It was truly a matter of life anddeath with us. The strength of our determination was aboutto be fully tested. At this time, I was very active in explainingevery difficulty, removing every doubt, dispelling every fear,and inspiring all with the firmness indispensable to success inour undertaking; assuring them that half was gained the in-stant we made the move; we had talked long enough; we werenow ready to move; if not now, we never should be; and if wedid not intend to move now, we had as well fold our arms, sitdown, and acknowledge ourselves fit only to be slaves. This,none of us were prepared to acknowledge. Every man stoodfirm; and at our last meeting, we pledged ourselves afresh, inthe most solemn manner, that, at the time appointed, we would

certainly start in pursuit of freedom. This was in the middleof the week, at the end of which we were to be off. We went,as usual, to our several fields of labor, but with bosoms highlyagitated with thoughts of our truly hazardous undertaking.We tried to conceal our feelings as much as possible; and Ithink we succeeded very well.

After a painful waiting, the Saturday morning, whose nightwas to witness our departure, came. I hailed it with joy, bringwhat of sadness it might. Friday night was a sleepless one forme. I probably felt more anxious than the rest, because I was,by common consent, at the head of the whole affair. The re-sponsibility of success or failure lay heavily upon me. Theglory of the one, and the confusion of the other, were alikemine. The first two hours of that morning were such as Inever experienced before, and hope never to again. Early inthe morning, we went, as usual, to the field. We were spread-ing manure; and all at once, while thus engaged, I was over-whelmed with an indescribable feeling, in the fulness of whichI turned to Sandy, who was near by, and said, “We are be-trayed!” “Well,” said he, “that thought has this moment struckme.” We said no more. I was never more certain of any thing.

The horn was blown as usual, and we went up from thefield to the house for breakfast. I went for the form, morethan for want of any thing to eat that morning. Just as I gotto the house, in looking out at the lane gate, I saw four whitemen, with two colored men. The white men were on horse-






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back, and the colored ones were walking behind, as if tied. Iwatched them a few moments till they got up to our lanegate. Here they halted, and tied the colored men to the gate-post. I was not yet certain as to what the matter was. In a fewmoments, in rode Mr. Hamilton, with a speed betokeninggreat excitement. He came to the door, and inquired if Mas-ter William was in. He was told he was at the barn. Mr.Hamilton, without dismounting, rode up to the barn withextraordinary speed. In a few moments, he and Mr. Freelandreturned to the house. By this time, the three constables rodeup, and in great haste dismounted, tied their horses, and metMaster William and Mr. Hamilton returning from the barn;and after talking awhile, they all walked up to the kitchendoor. There was no one in the kitchen but myself and John.Henry and Sandy were up at the barn. Mr. Freeland put hishead in at the door, and called me by name, saying, there weresome gentlemen at the door who wished to see me. I steppedto the door, and inquired what they wanted. They at onceseized me, and, without giving me any satisfaction, tied me—lashing my hands closely together. I insisted upon knowingwhat the matter was. They at length said, that they had learnedI had been in a “scrape,” and that I was to be examined beforemy master; and if their information proved false, I should notbe hurt.

In a few moments, they succeeded in tying John. Theythen turned to Henry, who had by this time returned, and

commanded him to cross his hands. “I won’t!” said Henry, ina firm tone, indicating his readiness to meet the consequencesof his refusal. “Won’t you?” said Tom Graham, the constable.“No, I won’t!” said Henry, in a still stronger tone. With this,two of the constables pulled out their shining pistols, andswore, by their Creator, that they would make him cross hishands or kill him. Each cocked his pistol, and, with fingers onthe trigger, walked up to Henry, saying, at the same time, ifhe did not cross his hands, they would blow his damned heartout. “Shoot me, shoot me!” said Henry; “you can’t kill me butonce. Shoot, shoot,—and be damned! ~I won’t be tied!~”This he said in a tone of loud defiance; and at the same time,with a motion as quick as lightning, he with one single strokedashed the pistols from the hand of each constable. As he didthis, all hands fell upon him, and, after beating him sometime, they finally overpowered him, and got him tied.

During the scuffle, I managed, I know not how, to get mypass out, and, without being discovered, put it into the fire.We were all now tied; and just as we were to leave for Eastonjail, Betsy Freeland, mother of William Freeland, came to thedoor with her hands full of biscuits, and divided them be-tween Henry and John. She then delivered herself of a speech,to the following effect:—addressing herself to me, she said,“~You devil! You yellow devil!~ it was you that put it into theheads of Henry and John to run away. But for you, you long-legged mulatto devil! Henry nor John would never have






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thought of such a thing.” I made no reply, and was immedi-ately hurried off towards St. Michael’s. Just a moment previ-ous to the scuffle with Henry, Mr. Hamilton suggested thepropriety of making a search for the protections which he hadunderstood Frederick had written for himself and the rest.But, just at the moment he was about carrying his proposalinto effect, his aid was needed in helping to tie Henry; andthe excitement attending the scuffle caused them either toforget, or to deem it unsafe, under the circumstances, to search.So we were not yet convicted of the intention to run away.

When we got about half way to St. Michael’s, while theconstables having us in charge were looking ahead, Henryinquired of me what he should do with his pass. I told him toeat it with his biscuit, and own nothing; and we passed theword around, “~Own nothing;~” and “~Own nothing!~” saidwe all. Our confidence in each other was unshaken. We wereresolved to succeed or fail together, after the calamity hadbefallen us as much as before. We were now prepared for anything. We were to be dragged that morning fifteen miles be-hind horses, and then to be placed in the Easton jail. Whenwe reached St. Michael’s, we underwent a sort of examina-tion. We all denied that we ever intended to run away. Wedid this more to bring out the evidence against us, than fromany hope of getting clear of being sold; for, as I have said, wewere ready for that. The fact was, we cared but little where wewent, so we went together. Our greatest concern was about

separation. We dreaded that more than any thing this side ofdeath. We found the evidence against us to be the testimonyof one person; our master would not tell who it was; but wecame to a unanimous decision among ourselves as to who theirinformant was. We were sent off to the jail at Easton. Whenwe got there, we were delivered up to the sheriff, Mr. JosephGraham, and by him placed in jail. Henry, John, and myself,were placed in one room together—Charles, and Henry Bailey,in another. Their object in separating us was to hinder con-cert.

We had been in jail scarcely twenty minutes, when a swarmof slave traders, and agents for slave traders, flocked into jailto look at us, and to ascertain if we were for sale. Such a set ofbeings I never saw before! I felt myself surrounded by somany fiends from perdition. A band of pirates never lookedmore like their father, the devil. They laughed and grinnedover us, saying, “Ah, my boys! we have got you, haven’t we?”And after taunting us in various ways, they one by one wentinto an examination of us, with intent to ascertain our value.They would impudently ask us if we would not like to havethem for our masters. We would make them no answer, andleave them to find out as best they could. Then they wouldcurse and swear at us, telling us that they could take the devilout of us in a very little while, if we were only in their hands.

While in jail, we found ourselves in much more comfort-able quarters than we expected when we went there. We did






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not get much to eat, nor that which was very good; but wehad a good clean room, from the windows of which we couldsee what was going on in the street, which was very muchbetter than though we had been placed in one of the dark,damp cells. Upon the whole, we got along very well, so far asthe jail and its keeper were concerned. Immediately after theholidays were over, contrary to all our expectations, Mr.Hamilton and Mr. Freeland came up to Easton, and tookCharles, the two Henrys, and John, out of jail, and carriedthem home, leaving me alone. I regarded this separation as afinal one. It caused me more pain than any thing else in thewhole transaction. I was ready for any thing rather than sepa-ration. I supposed that they had consulted together, and haddecided that, as I was the whole cause of the intention of theothers to run away, it was hard to make the innocent sufferwith the guilty; and that they had, therefore, concluded totake the others home, and sell me, as a warning to the othersthat remained. It is due to the noble Henry to say, he seemedalmost as reluctant at leaving the prison as at leaving home tocome to the prison. But we knew we should, in all probabil-ity, be separated, if we were sold; and since he was in theirhands, he concluded to go peaceably home.

I was now left to my fate. I was all alone, and within thewalls of a stone prison. But a few days before, and I was fullof hope. I expected to have been safe in a land of freedom;but now I was covered with gloom, sunk down to the utmost

despair. I thought the possibility of freedom was gone. I waskept in this way about one week, at the end of which, CaptainAuld, my master, to my surprise and utter astonishment, cameup, and took me out, with the intention of sending me, witha gentleman of his acquaintance, into Alabama. But, fromsome cause or other, he did not send me to Alabama, butconcluded to send me back to Baltimore, to live again withhis brother Hugh, and to learn a trade.

Thus, after an absence of three years and one month, Iwas once more permitted to return to my old home at Balti-more. My master sent me away, because there existed againstme a very great prejudice in the community, and he feared Imight be killed.

In a few weeks after I went to Baltimore, Master Hughhired me to Mr. William Gardner, an extensive ship-builder,on Fell’s Point. I was put there to learn how to calk. It, how-ever, proved a very unfavorable place for the accomplishmentof this object. Mr. Gardner was engaged that spring in build-ing two large man-of-war brigs, professedly for the Mexicangovernment. The vessels were to be launched in the July ofthat year, and in failure thereof, Mr. Gardner was to lose aconsiderable sum; so that when I entered, all was hurry. Therewas no time to learn any thing. Every man had to do thatwhich he knew how to do. In entering the shipyard, my or-ders from Mr. Gardner were, to do whatever the carpenterscommanded me to do. This was placing me at the beck and






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call of about seventy-five men. I was to regard all these asmasters. Their word was to be my law. My situation was amost trying one. At times I needed a dozen pair of hands. Iwas called a dozen ways in the space of a single minute. Threeor four voices would strike my ear at the same moment. Itwas—”Fred., come help me to cant this timber here.”—”Fred.,come carry this timber yonder.”—”Fred., bring that rollerhere.”— “Fred., go get a fresh can of water.”—”Fred., comehelp saw off the end of this timber.”—”Fred., go quick, andget the crowbar.”—”Fred., hold on the end of this fall.”—”Fred., go to the blacksmith’s shop, and get a new punch.”—”Hurra, Fred.! run and bring me a cold chisel.”—”I say, Fred.,bear a hand, and get up a fire as quick as lightning under thatsteam-box.”—”Halloo, nigger! come, turn this grindstone.”—”Come, come! move, move! and BOWSE this timber for-ward.”—”I say, darky, blast your eyes, why don’t you heat upsome pitch?”—”Halloo! halloo! halloo!” (Three voices at thesame time.) “Come here!—Go there!—Hold on where youare! Damn you, if you move, I’ll knock your brains out!”

This was my school for eight months; and I might haveremained there longer, but for a most horrid fight I had withfour of the white apprentices, in which my left eye was nearlyknocked out, and I was horribly mangled in other respects.The facts in the case were these: Until a very little while afterI went there, white and black ship-carpenters worked side byside, and no one seemed to see any impropriety in it. All

hands seemed to be very well satisfied. Many of the blackcarpenters were freemen. Things seemed to be going on verywell. All at once, the white carpenters knocked off, and saidthey would not work with free colored workmen. Their rea-son for this, as alleged, was, that if free colored carpenterswere encouraged, they would soon take the trade into theirown hands, and poor white men would be thrown out ofemployment. They therefore felt called upon at once to put astop to it. And, taking advantage of Mr. Gardner’s necessities,they broke off, swearing they would work no longer, unless hewould discharge his black carpenters. Now, though this didnot extend to me in form, it did reach me in fact. My fellow-apprentices very soon began to feel it degrading to them towork with me. They began to put on airs, and talk about the“niggers” taking the country, saying we all ought to be killed;and, being encouraged by the journeymen, they commencedmaking my condition as hard as they could, by hectoring mearound, and sometimes striking me. I, of course, kept the vowI made after the fight with Mr. Covey, and struck back again,regardless of consequences; and while I kept them from com-bining, I succeeded very well; for I could whip the whole ofthem, taking them separately. They, however, at length com-bined, and came upon me, armed with sticks, stones, and heavyhandspikes. One came in front with a half brick. There wasone at each side of me, and one behind me. While I wasattending to those in front, and on either side, the one behind






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ran up with the handspike, and struck me a heavy blow uponthe head. It stunned me. I fell, and with this they all ranupon me, and fell to beating me with their fists. I let them layon for a while, gathering strength. In an instant, I gave a sud-den surge, and rose to my hands and knees. Just as I did that,one of their number gave me, with his heavy boot, a powerfulkick in the left eye. My eyeball seemed to have burst. Whenthey saw my eye closed, and badly swollen, they left me. Withthis I seized the handspike, and for a time pursued them. Buthere the carpenters interfered, and I thought I might as wellgive it up. It was impossible to stand my hand against somany. All this took place in sight of not less than fifty whiteship-carpenters, and not one interposed a friendly word; butsome cried, “Kill the damned nigger! Kill him! kill him! Hestruck a white person.” I found my only chance for life was inflight. I succeeded in getting away without an additional blow,and barely so; for to strike a white man is death by Lynchlaw,—and that was the law in Mr. Gardner’s ship-yard; nor isthere much of any other out of Mr. Gardner’s ship-yard.

I went directly home, and told the story of my wrongs toMaster Hugh; and I am happy to say of him, irreligious as hewas, his conduct was heavenly, compared with that of hisbrother Thomas under similar circumstances. He listened at-tentively to my narration of the circumstances leading to thesavage outrage, and gave many proofs of his strong indigna-tion at it. The heart of my once overkind mistress was again

melted into pity. My puffed-out eye and blood-covered facemoved her to tears. She took a chair by me, washed the bloodfrom my face, and, with a mother’s tenderness, bound up myhead, covering the wounded eye with a lean piece of freshbeef. It was almost compensation for my suffering to witness,once more, a manifestation of kindness from this, my onceaffectionate old mistress. Master Hugh was very much en-raged. He gave expression to his feelings by pouring out cursesupon the heads of those who did the deed. As soon as I got alittle the better of my bruises, he took me with him to Es-quire Watson’s, on Bond Street, to see what could be doneabout the matter. Mr. Watson inquired who saw the assaultcommitted. Master Hugh told him it was done in Mr.Gardner’s ship-yard at midday, where there were a large com-pany of men at work. “As to that,” he said, “the deed wasdone, and there was no question as to who did it.” His answerwas, he could do nothing in the case, unless some white manwould come forward and testify. He could issue no warranton my word. If I had been killed in the presence of a thou-sand colored people, their testimony combined would havebeen insufficient to have arrested one of the murderers. Mas-ter Hugh, for once, was compelled to say this state of thingswas too bad. Of course, it was impossible to get any whiteman to volunteer his testimony in my behalf, and against thewhite young men. Even those who may have sympathizedwith me were not prepared to do this. It required a degree of






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courage unknown to them to do so; for just at that time, theslightest manifestation of humanity toward a colored personwas denounced as abolitionism, and that name subjected itsbearer to frightful liabilities. The watchwords of the bloody-minded in that region, and in those days, were, “Damn theabolitionists!” and “Damn the niggers!” There was nothingdone, and probably nothing would have been done if I hadbeen killed. Such was, and such remains, the state of things inthe Christian city of Baltimore.

Master Hugh, finding he could get no redress, refused tolet me go back again to Mr. Gardner. He kept me himself,and his wife dressed my wound till I was again restored tohealth. He then took me into the ship-yard of which he wasforeman, in the employment of Mr. Walter Price. There Iwas immediately set to calking, and very soon learned the artof using my mallet and irons. In the course of one year fromthe time I left Mr. Gardner’s, I was able to command thehighest wages given to the most experienced calkers. I wasnow of some importance to my master. I was bringing himfrom six to seven dollars per week. I sometimes brought himnine dollars per week: my wages were a dollar and a half a day.After learning how to calk, I sought my own employment,made my own contracts, and collected the money which Iearned. My pathway became much more smooth than before;my condition was now much more comfortable. When I couldget no calking to do, I did nothing. During these leisure times,

those old notions about freedom would steal over me again.When in Mr. Gardner’s employment, I was kept in such aperpetual whirl of excitement, I could think of nothing,scarcely, but my life; and in thinking of my life, I almostforgot my liberty. I have observed this in my experience ofslavery,—that whenever my condition was improved, insteadof its increasing my contentment, it only increased my desireto be free, and set me to thinking of plans to gain my free-dom. I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is neces-sary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken hismoral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilatethe power of reason. He must be able to detect no inconsis-tencies in slavery; he must be made to feel that slavery isright; and he can be brought to that only when he ceases tobe a man.

I was now getting, as I have said, one dollar and fifty centsper day. I contracted for it; I earned it; it was paid to me; itwas rightfully my own; yet, upon each returning Saturdaynight, I was compelled to deliver every cent of that money toMaster Hugh. And why? Not because he earned it,—notbecause he had any hand in earning it,—not because I owedit to him,—nor because he possessed the slightest shadow ofa right to it; but solely because he had the power to compelme to give it up. The right of the grim-visaged pirate uponthe high seas is exactly the same.






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Chapter 11.

I now come to that part of my life during which I planned,and finally succeeded in making, my escape from slavery. Butbefore narrating any of the peculiar circumstances, I deem itproper to make known my intention not to state all the factsconnected with the transaction. My reasons for pursuing thiscourse may be understood from the following: First, were I togive a minute statement of all the facts, it is not only possible,but quite probable, that others would thereby be involved inthe most embarrassing difficulties. Secondly, such a statementwould most undoubtedly induce greater vigilance on the partof slaveholders than has existed heretofore among them; whichwould, of course, be the means of guarding a door wherebysome dear brother bondman might escape his galling chains.I deeply regret the necessity that impels me to suppress any

thing of importance connected with my experience in slavery.It would afford me great pleasure indeed, as well as materiallyadd to the interest of my narrative, were I at liberty to gratifya curiosity, which I know exists in the minds of many, by anaccurate statement of all the facts pertaining to my most for-tunate escape. But I must deprive myself of this pleasure, andthe curious of the gratification which such a statement wouldafford. I would allow myself to suffer under the greatest im-putations which evil-minded men might suggest, rather thanexculpate myself, and thereby run the hazard of closing theslightest avenue by which a brother slave might clear himselfof the chains and fetters of slavery.

I have never approved of the very public manner in whichsome of our western friends have conducted what they callthe ~underground railroad,~ but which I think, by their opendeclarations, has been made most emphatically the~upperground railroad.~ I honor those good men and womenfor their noble daring, and applaud them for willingly sub-jecting themselves to bloody persecution, by openly avowingtheir participation in the escape of slaves. I, however, can seevery little good resulting from such a course, either to them-selves or the slaves escaping; while, upon the other hand, I seeand feel assured that those open declarations are a positiveevil to the slaves remaining, who are seeking to escape. Theydo nothing towards enlightening the slave, whilst they domuch towards enlightening the master. They stimulate him






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to greater watchfulness, and enhance his power to capture hisslave. We owe something to the slave south of the line as wellas to those north of it; and in aiding the latter on their way tofreedom, we should be careful to do nothing which would belikely to hinder the former from escaping from slavery. I wouldkeep the merciless slaveholder profoundly ignorant of themeans of flight adopted by the slave. I would leave him toimagine himself surrounded by myriads of invisible tormen-tors, ever ready to snatch from his infernal grasp his trem-bling prey. Let him be left to feel his way in the dark; letdarkness commensurate with his crime hover over him; andlet him feel that at every step he takes, in pursuit of the flyingbondman, he is running the frightful risk of having his hotbrains dashed out by an invisible agency. Let us render thetyrant no aid; let us not hold the light by which he can tracethe footprints of our flying brother. But enough of this. I willnow proceed to the statement of those facts, connected withmy escape, for which I am alone responsible, and for whichno one can be made to suffer but myself.

In the early part of the year 1838, I became quite restless.I could see no reason why I should, at the end of each week,pour the reward of my toil into the purse of my master. WhenI carried to him my weekly wages, he would, after countingthe money, look me in the face with a robber-like fierceness,and ask, “Is this all?” He was satisfied with nothing less thanthe last cent. He would, however, when I made him six dol-

lars, sometimes give me six cents, to encourage me. It had theopposite effect. I regarded it as a sort of admission of myright to the whole. The fact that he gave me any part of mywages was proof, to my mind, that he believed me entitled tothe whole of them. I always felt worse for having received anything; for I feared that the giving me a few cents would easehis conscience, and make him feel himself to be a pretty hon-orable sort of robber. My discontent grew upon me. I wasever on the look-out for means of escape; and, finding nodirect means, I determined to try to hire my time, with a viewof getting money with which to make my escape. In the springof 1838, when Master Thomas came to Baltimore to pur-chase his spring goods, I got an opportunity, and applied tohim to allow me to hire my time. He unhesitatingly refusedmy request, and told me this was another stratagem by whichto escape. He told me I could go nowhere but that he couldget me; and that, in the event of my running away, he shouldspare no pains in his efforts to catch me. He exhorted me tocontent myself, and be obedient. He told me, if I would behappy, I must lay out no plans for the future. He said, if Ibehaved myself properly, he would take care of me. Indeed,he advised me to complete thoughtlessness of the future, andtaught me to depend solely upon him for happiness. Heseemed to see fully the pressing necessity of setting aside myintellectual nature, in order to contentment in slavery. But inspite of him, and even in spite of myself, I continued to think,






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and to think about the injustice of my enslavement, and themeans of escape.

About two months after this, I applied to Master Hughfor the privilege of hiring my time. He was not acquaintedwith the fact that I had applied to Master Thomas, and hadbeen refused. He too, at first, seemed disposed to refuse; but,after some reflection, he granted me the privilege, and pro-posed the following terms: I was to be allowed all my time,make all contracts with those for whom I worked, and findmy own employment; and, in return for this liberty, I was topay him three dollars at the end of each week; find myself incalking tools, and in board and clothing. My board was twodollars and a half per week. This, with the wear and tear ofclothing and calking tools, made my regular expenses aboutsix dollars per week. This amount I was compelled to makeup, or relinquish the privilege of hiring my time. Rain orshine, work or no work, at the end of each week the moneymust be forthcoming, or I must give up my privilege. Thisarrangement, it will be perceived, was decidedly in my master’sfavor. It relieved him of all need of looking after me. Hismoney was sure. He received all the benefits of slaveholdingwithout its evils; while I endured all the evils of a slave, andsuffered all the care and anxiety of a freeman. I found it ahard bargain. But, hard as it was, I thought it better than theold mode of getting along. It was a step towards freedom tobe allowed to bear the responsibilities of a freeman, and I was

determined to hold on upon it. I bent myself to the work ofmaking money. I was ready to work at night as well as day,and by the most untiring perseverance and industry, I madeenough to meet my expenses, and lay up a little money everyweek. I went on thus from May till August. Master Hughthen refused to allow me to hire my time longer. The groundfor his refusal was a failure on my part, one Saturday night, topay him for my week’s time. This failure was occasioned bymy attending a camp meeting about ten miles from Balti-more. During the week, I had entered into an engagementwith a number of young friends to start from Baltimore tothe camp ground early Saturday evening; and being detainedby my employer, I was unable to get down to Master Hugh’swithout disappointing the company. I knew that Master Hughwas in no special need of the money that night. I thereforedecided to go to camp meeting, and upon my return pay himthe three dollars. I staid at the camp meeting one day longerthan I intended when I left. But as soon as I returned, Icalled upon him to pay him what he considered his due. Ifound him very angry; he could scarce restrain his wrath. Hesaid he had a great mind to give me a severe whipping. Hewished to know how I dared go out of the city without askinghis permission. I told him I hired my time and while I paidhim the price which he asked for it, I did not know that I wasbound to ask him when and where I should go. This replytroubled him; and, after reflecting a few moments, he turned






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to me, and said I should hire my time no longer; that the nextthing he should know of, I would be running away. Upon thesame plea, he told me to bring my tools and clothing homeforthwith. I did so; but instead of seeking work, as I had beenaccustomed to do previously to hiring my time, I spent thewhole week without the performance of a single stroke of work.I did this in retaliation. Saturday night, he called upon me asusual for my week’s wages. I told him I had no wages; I haddone no work that week. Here we were upon the point ofcoming to blows. He raved, and swore his determination toget hold of me. I did not allow myself a single word; but wasresolved, if he laid the weight of his hand upon me, it shouldbe blow for blow. He did not strike me, but told me that hewould find me in constant employment in future. I thoughtthe matter over during the next day, Sunday, and finally re-solved upon the third day of September, as the day upon whichI would make a second attempt to secure my freedom. I nowhad three weeks during which to prepare for my journey. Earlyon Monday morning, before Master Hugh had time to makeany engagement for me, I went out and got employment ofMr. Butler, at his ship-yard near the drawbridge, upon whatis called the City Block, thus making it unnecessary for himto seek employment for me. At the end of the week, I broughthim between eight and nine dollars. He seemed very wellpleased, and asked why I did not do the same the week be-fore. He little knew what my plans were. My object in work-

ing steadily was to remove any suspicion he might entertainof my intent to run away; and in this I succeeded admirably.I suppose he thought I was never better satisfied with mycondition than at the very time during which I was planningmy escape. The second week passed, and again I carried himmy full wages; and so well pleased was he, that he gave metwentyfive cents, (quite a large sum for a slaveholder to give aslave,) and bade me to make a good use of it. I told him Iwould.

Things went on without very smoothly indeed, but withinthere was trouble. It is impossible for me to describe my feel-ings as the time of my contemplated start drew near. I had anumber of warmhearted friends in Baltimore,—friends thatI loved almost as I did my life,—and the thought of beingseparated from them forever was painful beyond expression.It is my opinion that thousands would escape from slavery,who now remain, but for the strong cords of affection thatbind them to their friends. The thought of leaving my friendswas decidedly the most painful thought with which I had tocontend. The love of them was my tender point, and shookmy decision more than all things else. Besides the pain ofseparation, the dread and apprehension of a failure exceededwhat I had experienced at my first attempt. The appallingdefeat I then sustained returned to torment me. I felt assuredthat, if I failed in this attempt, my case would be a hopelessone—it would seal my fate as a slave forever. I could not hope






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to get off with any thing less than the severest punishment,and being placed beyond the means of escape. It required novery vivid imagination to depict the most frightful scenesthrough which I should have to pass, in case I failed. Thewretchedness of slavery, and the blessedness of freedom, wereperpetually before me. It was life and death with me. But Iremained firm, and, according to my resolution, on the thirdday of September, 1838, I left my chains, and succeeded inreaching New York without the slightest interruption of anykind. How I did so,—what means I adopted,—what direc-tion I travelled, and by what mode of conveyance,—I mustleave unexplained, for the reasons before mentioned.

I have been frequently asked how I felt when I foundmyself in a free State. I have never been able to answer thequestion with any satisfaction to myself. It was a moment ofthe highest excitement I ever experienced. I suppose I felt asone may imagine the unarmed mariner to feel when he isrescued by a friendly man-of-war from the pursuit of a pi-rate. In writing to a dear friend, immediately after my arrivalat New York, I said I felt like one who had escaped a den ofhungry lions. This state of mind, however, very soon sub-sided; and I was again seized with a feeling of great insecurityand loneliness. I was yet liable to be taken back, and sub-jected to all the tortures of slavery. This in itself was enoughto damp the ardor of my enthusiasm. But the loneliness over-came me. There I was in the midst of thousands, and yet a

perfect stranger; without home and without friends, in themidst of thousands of my own brethren—children of a com-mon Father, and yet I dared not to unfold to any one of themmy sad condition. I was afraid to speak to any one for fear ofspeaking to the wrong one, and thereby falling into the handsof money-loving kidnappers, whose business it was to lie inwait for the panting fugitive, as the ferocious beasts of theforest lie in wait for their prey. The motto which I adoptedwhen I started from slavery was this—”Trust no man!” I sawin every white man an enemy, and in almost every coloredman cause for distrust. It was a most painful situation; and,to understand it, one must needs experience it, or imaginehimself in similar circumstances. Let him be a fugitive slavein a strange land—a land given up to be the huntinggroundfor slaveholders—whose inhabitants are legalized kidnappers—where he is every moment subjected to the terrible liability ofbeing seized upon by his fellowmen, as the hideous crocodileseizes upon his prey!—I say, let him place himself in my situ-ation—without home or friends—without money or credit—wanting shelter, and no one to give it— wanting bread, andno money to buy it,—and at the same time let him feel thathe is pursued by merciless men-hunters, and in total darknessas to what to do, where to go, or where to stay,—perfectlyhelpless both as to the means of defence and means of es-cape,—in the midst of plenty, yet suffering the terrible gnaw-ings of hunger,—in the midst of houses, yet having no home,—






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among fellow-men, yet feeling as if in the midst of wild beasts,whose greediness to swallow up the trembling and half-fam-ished fugitive is only equalled by that with which the mon-sters of the deep swallow up the helpless fish upon whichthey subsist,—I say, let him be placed in this most tryingsituation,—the situation in which I was placed, —then, andnot till then, will he fully appreciate the hardships of, andknow how to sympathize with, the toil-worn and whip-scarredfugitive slave.

Thank Heaven, I remained but a short time in this dis-tressed situation. I was relieved from it by the humane handof Mr. DAVID RUGGLES, whose vigilance, kindness, andperseverance, I shall never forget. I am glad of an opportunityto express, as far as words can, the love and gratitude I bearhim. Mr. Ruggles is now afflicted with blindness, and is him-self in need of the same kind offices which he was once soforward in the performance of toward others. I had been inNew York but a few days, when Mr. Ruggles sought me out,and very kindly took me to his boarding-house at the cornerof Church and Lespenard Streets. Mr. Ruggles was then verydeeply engaged in the memorable ~Darg~ case, as well as at-tending to a number of other fugitive slaves, devising waysand means for their successful escape; and, though watchedand hemmed in on almost every side, he seemed to be morethan a match for his enemies.

Very soon after I went to Mr. Ruggles, he wished to know

of me where I wanted to go; as he deemed it unsafe for me toremain in New York. I told him I was a calker, and should liketo go where I could get work. I thought of going to Canada;but he decided against it, and in favor of my going to NewBedford, thinking I should be able to get work there at mytrade. At this time, Anna,* my intended wife, came on; for Iwrote to her immediately after my arrival at New York, (not-withstanding my homeless, houseless, and helpless condition,)informing her of my successful flight, and wishing her tocome on forthwith. In a few days after her arrival, Mr. Rugglescalled in the Rev. J. W. C. Pennington, who, in the presenceof Mr. Ruggles, Mrs. Michaels, and two or three others, per-formed the marriage ceremony, and gave us a certificate, ofwhich the following is an exact copy:—

“This may certify, that I joined together in holy matri-mony Frederick Johnson+ and Anna Murray, as man and wife,in the presence of Mr. David Ruggles and Mrs. Michaels.

“JAMES W. C. PENNINGTON“NEW YORK, SEPT. 15, 1838”Upon receiving this certificate, and a five-dollar bill from

Mr. Ruggles, I shouldered one part of our baggage, and Annatook up the other, and we set out forthwith to take passage onboard of the steamboat John W. Richmond for Newport, onour way to New Bedford. Mr. Ruggles gave me a letter to aMr. Shaw in Newport, and told me, in case my money didnot serve me to New Bedford, to stop in Newport and obtain






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further assistance; but upon our arrival at Newport, we wereso anxious to get to a place of safety, that, notwithstanding welacked the necessary money to pay our fare, we decided totake seats in the stage, and promise to pay when we got toNew Bedford. We were encouraged to do this by two excel-lent gentlemen, residents of New Bedford, whose names Iafterward ascertained to be Joseph Ricketson and William C.Taber. They seemed at once to understand our circumstances,and gave us such assurance of their friendliness as put us fullyat ease in their presence. It was good indeed to meet withsuch friends, at such a time. Upon reaching New Bedford, wewere directed to the house of Mr. Nathan Johnson, by whomwe were kindly received, and hospitably provided for. BothMr. and Mrs. Johnson took a deep and lively interest in ourwelfare. They proved themselves quite worthy of the name ofabolitionists. When the stage-driver found us unable to payour fare, he held on upon our baggage as security for the debt.I had but to mention the fact to Mr. Johnson, and he forth-with advanced the money.

We now began to feel a degree of safety, and to prepareourselves for the duties and responsibilities of a life of free-dom. On the morning after our arrival at New Bedford, whileat the breakfast-table, the question arose as to what name Ishould be called by. The name given me by my mother was,“Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey.” I, however, haddispensed with the two middle names long before I left Mary-

land so that I was generally known by the name of “FrederickBailey.” I started from Baltimore bearing the name of“Stanley.” When I got to New York, I again changed myname to “Frederick Johnson,” and thought that would be thelast change. But when I got to New Bedford, I found it nec-essary again to change my name. The reason of this necessitywas, that there were so many Johnsons in New Bedford, itwas already quite difficult to distinguish between them. Igave Mr. Johnson the privilege of choosing me a name, buttold him he must not take from me the name of “Frederick.”I must hold on to that, to preserve a sense of my identity. Mr.Johnson had just been reading the “Lady of the Lake,” and atonce suggested that my name be “Douglass.” From that timeuntil now I have been called “Frederick Douglass;” and as Iam more widely known by that name than by either of theothers, I shall continue to use it as my own.

I was quite disappointed at the general appearance of thingsin New Bedford. The impression which I had received re-specting the character and condition of the people of the north,I found to be singularly erroneous. I had very strangely sup-posed, while in slavery, that few of the comforts, and scarcelyany of the luxuries, of life were enjoyed at the north, com-pared with what were enjoyed by the slaveholders of the south.I probably came to this conclusion from the fact that north-ern people owned no slaves. I supposed that they were aboutupon a level with the non-slaveholding population of the






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south. I knew ~they~ were exceedingly poor, and I had beenaccustomed to regard their poverty as the necessary conse-quence of their being non-slaveholders. I had somehow im-bibed the opinion that, in the absence of slaves, there couldbe no wealth, and very little refinement. And upon comingto the north, I expected to meet with a rough, hard-handed,and uncultivated population, living in the most Spartanlikesimplicity, knowing nothing of the ease, luxury, pomp, andgrandeur of southern slaveholders. Such being my conjectures,any one acquainted with the appearance of New Bedford mayvery readily infer how palpably I must have seen my mistake.

In the afternoon of the day when I reached New Bedford,I visited the wharves, to take a view of the shipping. Here Ifound myself surrounded with the strongest proofs of wealth.Lying at the wharves, and riding in the stream, I saw manyships of the finest model, in the best order, and of the largestsize. Upon the right and left, I was walled in by granite ware-houses of the widest dimensions, stowed to their utmost ca-pacity with the necessaries and comforts of life. Added tothis, almost every body seemed to be at work, but noiselesslyso, compared with what I had been accustomed to in Balti-more. There were no loud songs heard from those engaged inloading and unloading ships. I heard no deep oaths or horridcurses on the laborer. I saw no whipping of men; but all seemedto go smoothly on. Every man appeared to understand hiswork, and went at it with a sober, yet cheerful earnestness,

which betokened the deep interest which he felt in what hewas doing, as well as a sense of his own dignity as a man. Tome this looked exceedingly strange. From the wharves Istrolled around and over the town, gazing with wonder andadmiration at the splendid churches, beautiful dwellings, andfinely-cultivated gardens; evincing an amount of wealth, com-fort, taste, and refinement, such as I had never seen in anypart of slaveholding Maryland.

Every thing looked clean, new, and beautiful. I saw few orno dilapidated houses, with povertystricken inmates; no half-naked children and barefooted women, such as I had beenaccustomed to see in Hillsborough, Easton, St. Michael’s, andBaltimore. The people looked more able, stronger, healthier,and happier, than those of Maryland. I was for once madeglad by a view of extreme wealth, without being saddened byseeing extreme poverty. But the most astonishing as well asthe most interesting thing to me was the condition of thecolored people, a great many of whom, like myself, had es-caped thither as a refuge from the hunters of men. I foundmany, who had not been seven years out of their chains, livingin finer houses, and evidently enjoying more of the comfortsof life, than the average of slaveholders in Maryland. I willventure to assert, that my friend Mr. Nathan Johnson (of whomI can say with a grateful heart, “I was hungry, and he gave memeat; I was thirsty, and he gave me drink; I was a stranger,and he took me in”) lived in a neater house; dined at a better






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table; took, paid for, and read, more newspapers; better un-derstood the moral, religious, and political character of thenation,—than nine tenths of the slaveholders in Talbot countyMaryland. Yet Mr. Johnson was a working man. His handswere hardened by toil, and not his alone, but those also ofMrs. Johnson. I found the colored people much more spir-ited than I had supposed they would be. I found among thema determination to protect each other from the blood-thirstykidnapper, at all hazards. Soon after my arrival, I was told of acircumstance which illustrated their spirit. A colored manand a fugitive slave were on unfriendly terms. The former washeard to threaten the latter with informing his master of hiswhereabouts. Straightway a meeting was called among thecolored people, under the stereotyped notice, “Business of im-portance!” The betrayer was invited to attend. The peoplecame at the appointed hour, and organized the meeting byappointing a very religious old gentleman as president, who, Ibelieve, made a prayer, after which he addressed the meetingas follows: “~Friends, we have got him here, and I would rec-ommend that you young men just take him outside the door,and kill him!~” With this, a number of them bolted at him;but they were intercepted by some more timid than them-selves, and the betrayer escaped their vengeance, and has notbeen seen in New Bedford since. I believe there have been nomore such threats, and should there be hereafter, I doubt notthat death would be the consequence.

I found employment, the third day after my arrival, instowing a sloop with a load of oil. It was new, dirty, and hardwork for me; but I went at it with a glad heart and a willinghand. I was now my own master. It was a happy moment, therapture of which can be understood only by those who havebeen slaves. It was the first work, the reward of which was tobe entirely my own. There was no Master Hugh standingready, the moment I earned the money, to rob me of it. Iworked that day with a pleasure I had never before experi-enced. I was at work for myself and newly-married wife. Itwas to me the starting-point of a new existence. When I gotthrough with that job, I went in pursuit of a job of calking;but such was the strength of prejudice against color, amongthe white calkers, that they refused to work with me, and ofcourse I could get no employment.** Finding my trade of noimmediate benefit, I threw off my calking habiliments, andprepared myself to do any kind of work I could get to do. Mr.Johnson kindly let me have his wood-horse and saw, and Ivery soon found myself a plenty of work. There was no worktoo hard—none too dirty. I was ready to saw wood, shovelcoal, carry wood, sweep the chimney, or roll oil casks,—all ofwhich I did for nearly three years in New Bedford, before Ibecame known to the anti-slavery world.

In about four months after I went to New Bedford, therecame a young man to me, and inquired if I did not wish totake the “Liberator.” I told him I did; but, just having made






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my escape from slavery, I remarked that I was unable to payfor it then. I, however, finally became a subscriber to it. Thepaper came, and I read it from week to week with such feel-ings as it would be quite idle for me to attempt to describe.The paper became my meat and my drink. My soul was setall on fire. Its sympathy for my brethren in bonds—its scath-ing denunciations of slaveholders—its faithful exposures ofslavery—and its powerful attacks upon the upholders of theinstitution—sent a thrill of joy through my soul, such as Ihad never felt before!

I had not long been a reader of the “Liberator,” before Igot a pretty correct idea of the principles, measures and spiritof the anti-slavery reform. I took right hold of the cause. Icould do but little; but what I could, I did with a joyfulheart, and never felt happier than when in an anti-slaverymeeting. I seldom had much to say at the meetings, becausewhat I wanted to say was said so much better by others. But,while attending an anti-slavery convention at Nantucket, onthe 11th of August, 1841, I felt strongly moved to speak, andwas at the same time much urged to do so by Mr. William C.Coffin, a gentleman who had heard me speak in the coloredpeople’s meeting at New Bedford. It was a severe cross, and Itook it up reluctantly. The truth was, I felt myself a slave, andthe idea of speaking to white people weighed me down. Ispoke but a few moments, when I felt a degree of freedom,and said what I desired with considerable ease. From that

time until now, I have been engaged in pleading the cause ofmy brethren—with what success, and with what devotion, Ileave those acquainted with my labors to decide.

*She was free.+I had changed my name from Frederick BAILEY to that

of JOHNSON. ** I am told that colored persons can now get employ-

ment at calking in New Bedford—a result of anti-slavery ef-fort.






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Appendix.

I find, since reading over the foregoing Narrative, that Ihave, in several instances, spoken in such a tone and manner,respecting religion, as may possibly lead those unacquaintedwith my religious views to suppose me an opponent of allreligion. To remove the liability of such misapprehension, Ideem it proper to append the following brief explanation.What I have said respecting and against religion, I meanstrictly to apply to the ~slaveholding religion~ of this land,and with no possible reference to Christianity proper; for,between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity ofChrist, I recognize the widest possible difference—so wide,that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessityto reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked. To be thefriend of the one, is of necessity to be the enemy of the other.

I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ:I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping,cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of thisland. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one,for calling the religion of this land Christianity. I look uponit as the climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, andthe grossest of all libels. Never was there a clearer case of “steal-ing the livery of the court of heaven to serve the devil in.” Iam filled with unutterable loathing when I contemplate thereligious pomp and show, together with the horrible incon-sistencies, which every where surround me. We have men-stealers for ministers, womenwhippers for missionaries, andcradle-plunderers for church members. The man who wieldsthe bloodclotted cowskin during the week fills the pulpit onSunday, and claims to be a minister of the meek and lowlyJesus. The man who robs me of my earnings at the end ofeach week meets me as a class-leader on Sunday morning, toshow me the way of life, and the path of salvation. He whosells my sister, for purposes of prostitution, stands forth as thepious advocate of purity. He who proclaims it a religious dutyto read the Bible denies me the right of learning to read thename of the God who made me. He who is the religious ad-vocate of marriage robs whole millions of its sacred influence,and leaves them to the ravages of wholesale pollution. Thewarm defender of the sacredness of the family relation is thesame that scatters whole families,—sundering husbands and






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wives, parents and children, sisters and brothers,—leaving thehut vacant, and the hearth desolate. We see the thief preach-ing against theft, and the adulterer against adultery. We havemen sold to build churches, women sold to support the gos-pel, and babes sold to purchase Bibles for the POOR HEA-THEN! ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD AND THEGOOD OF SOULS! The slave auctioneer’s bell and thechurch-going bell chime in with each other, and the bittercries of the heart-broken slave are drowned in the religiousshouts of his pious master. Revivals of religion and revivals inthe slave-trade go hand in hand together. The slave prisonand the church stand near each other. The clanking of fettersand the rattling of chains in the prison, and the pious psalmand solemn prayer in the church, may be heard at the sametime. The dealers in the bodies and souls of men erect theirstand in the presence of the pulpit, and they mutually helpeach other. The dealer gives his blood-stained gold to supportthe pulpit, and the pulpit, in return, covers his infernal busi-ness with the garb of Christianity. Here we have religion androbbery the allies of each other —devils dressed in angels’robes, and hell presenting the semblance of paradise.

“Just God! and these are they,Who minister at thine altar, God of right!Men who their hands, with prayer and blessing, layOn Israel’s ark of light.

“What! preach, and kidnap men?Give thanks, and rob thy own afflicted poor?Talk of thy glorious liberty, and thenBolt hard the captive’s door?“What! servants of thy ownMerciful Son, who came to seek and saveThe homeless and the outcast, fettering downThe tasked and plundered slave!“Pilate and Herod friends!Chief priests and rulers, as of old, combine!Just God and holy! is that church which lends Strength to the spoiler thine?”

The Christianity of America is a Christianity, of whosevotaries it may be as truly said, as it was of the ancient scribesand Pharisees, “They bind heavy burdens, and grievous to beborne, and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselveswill not move them with one of their fingers. All their worksthey do for to be seen of men.—They love the uppermostrooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, . . . . . .and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.—But woe unto you,scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdomof heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neithersuffer ye them that are entering to go in. Ye devour widows’houses, and for a pretence make long prayers; therefore yeshall receive the greater damnation. Ye compass sea and land






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to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make himtwofold more the child of hell than yourselves.—Woe untoyou, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint,and anise, and cumin, and have omitted the weightier mattersof the law, judgment, mercy, and faith; these ought ye to havedone, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides!which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you,scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the out-side of the cup and of the platter; but within, they are full ofextortion and excess.— Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which in-deed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of deadmen’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardlyappear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypoc-risy and iniquity.”

Dark and terrible as is this picture, I hold it to be strictlytrue of the overwhelming mass of professed Christians inAmerica. They strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Couldany thing be more true of our churches? They would beshocked at the proposition of fellowshipping a SHEEP-stealer;and at the same time they hug to their communion aMANstealer, and brand me with being an infidel, if I findfault with them for it. They attend with Pharisaical strictnessto the outward forms of religion, and at the same time neglectthe weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith.They are always ready to sacrifice, but seldom to show mercy.

They are they who are represented as professing to love Godwhom they have not seen, whilst they hate their brother whomthey have seen. They love the heathen on the other side of theglobe. They can pray for him, pay money to have the Bibleput into his hand, and missionaries to instruct him; whilethey despise and totally neglect the heathen at their own doors.

Such is, very briefly, my view of the religion of this land;and to avoid any misunderstanding, growing out of the use ofgeneral terms, I mean by the religion of this land, that whichis revealed in the words, deeds, and actions, of those bodies,north and south, calling themselves Christian churches, andyet in union with slaveholders. It is against religion, as pre-sented by these bodies, that I have felt it my duty to testify.

I conclude these remarks by copying the following por-trait of the religion of the south, (which is, by communionand fellowship, the religion of the north,) which I soberlyaffirm is “true to the life,” and without caricature or the slight-est exaggeration. It is said to have been drawn, several yearsbefore the present anti-slavery agitation began, by a northernMethodist preacher, who, while residing at the south, had anopportunity to see slaveholding morals, manners, and piety,with his own eyes. “Shall I not visit for these things? saith theLord. Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?”






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A Parody.“Come, saints and sinners, hear me tellHow pious priests whip Jack and Nell,And women buy and children sell,And preach all sinners down to hell,And sing of heavenly union.“They’ll bleat and baa, dona like goats,Gorge down black sheep, and strain at motes,Array their backs in fine black coats,Then seize their negroes by their throats,And choke, for heavenly union.“They’ll church you if you sip a dram,And damn you if you steal a lamb;Yet rob old Tony, Doll, and Sam,Of human rights, and bread and ham; Kidnapper’s heavenly union.“They’ll loudly talk of Christ’s reward,And bind his image with a cord,And scold, and swing the lash abhorred,And sell their brother in the LordTo handcuffed heavenly union.“They’ll read and sing a sacred song,And make a prayer both loud and long,And teach the right and do the wrong,Hailing the brother, sister throng,With words of heavenly union.

“We wonder how such saints can sing,Or praise the Lord upon the wing,Who roar, and scold, and whip, and sting,And to their slaves and mammon cling,In guilty conscience union.“They’ll raise tobacco, corn, and rye,And drive, and thieve, and cheat, and lie,And lay up treasures in the sky,By making switch and cowskin fly,In hope of heavenly union.“They’ll crack old Tony on the skull,And preach and roar like Bashan bull,Or braying ass, of mischief full,Then seize old Jacob by the wool,And pull for heavenly union.“A roaring, ranting, sleek man-thief,Who lived on mutton, veal, and beef,Yet never would afford reliefTo needy, sable sons of grief,Was big with heavenly union.“‘Love not the world,’ the preacher said,And winked his eye, and shook his head;He seized on Tom, and Dick, and Ned,Cut short their meat, and clothes, and bread,Yet still loved heavenly union.“Another preacher whining spoke






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Of One whose heart for sinners broke:He tied old Nanny to an oak,And drew the blood at every stroke,And prayed for heavenly union.“Two others oped their iron jaws,And waved their children-stealing paws;There sat their children in gewgaws;By stinting negroes’ backs and maws,They kept up heavenly union.“All good from Jack another takes,And entertains their flirts and rakes,Who dress as sleek as glossy snakes,And cram their mouths with sweetened cakes; And this goes down for union.”

Sincerely and earnestly hoping that this little book maydo something toward throwing light on the American slavesystem, and hastening the glad day of deliverance to the mil-lions of my brethren in bonds—faithfully relying upon thepower of truth, love, and justice, for success in my humbleefforts —and solemnly pledging my self anew to the sacredcause,—I subscribe myself,

FREDERICK DOUGLASS LYNN,Mass., April~ 28, 1845.

THE END






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PAGE 166

30 REASONS

EMPLOYEES HATE

THEIR MANAGERS

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30 REASONS

EMPLOYEES HATE

THEIR MANAGERS

What Your People May Be Thinking and

What You Can Do About It

Bruce L. Katcherwith

Adam Snyder

American Management AssociationNew York • Atlanta • Brussels • Chicago • Mexico City • San Francisco

Shanghai • Tokyo • Toronto • Washington, D.C.

PAGE iii................. 16245$ $$FM 01-08-07 15:18:40 PS

Special discounts on bulk quantities of AMACOM books areavailable to corporations, professional associations, and otherorganizations. For details, contact Special Sales Department,AMACOM, a division of American Management Association,1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.Tel: 212-903-8316. Fax: 212-903-8083.E-mail: [email protected]: www.amacombooks.org/go/specialsalesTo view all AMACOM titles go to: www.amacombooks.org

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritativeinformation in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with theunderstanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal,accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expertassistance is required, the services of a competent professional personshould be sought.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Katcher, Bruce Leslie30 reasons employees hate their managers : what your people may be thinking and

what you can do about it / Bruce L. Katcher with Adam Snyder.p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN-10: 0-8144-0915-6ISBN-13: 978-0-8144-0915-21. Supervision of employees. 2. Industrial relations. 3. Personnel management.

4. Interpersonal relations. I. Snyder, Adam. II. Title. III. Title: Thirty reasonsemployees hate their managers.

HF5549.12.K38 2007658.3�02—dc22 2006028980

� 2007 Bruce L. Katcher.All rights reserved.Printed in the United States of America.

This publication may not be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted in whole or in part,in any form or by any means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,without the prior written permission of AMACOM,a division of American Management Association,1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

Printing number

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Dedicated to the memory of my father, Milton (Mickey) Katcher. Hisincredibly strong work ethic and Job-like perseverance in the face ofadversity in his personal and work-life has been a continuing sourceof inspiration to me.

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PAGE 166

Contents

Foreword by Bob Gatti ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1

PART I Employees Are Treated Like Children 5

1. We feel like slaves. 7

2. I know how to do my job. Why can’t they just let me do it? 17

3. I am afraid to speak up. 23

4. Nobody appreciates my hard work. 29

5. There are different rules for different people. 35

PART II. Employees Aren’t Respected 41

6. Management doesn’t listen to us. 43

7. Management doesn’t respect us. 51

8. So who’s in charge anyway? 57

9. I don’t trust the information I receive from management. 61

10. My boss is a terrible manager. 67

PART III. Employees Aren’t ReceivingWhat They Really Need 73

11. I’ve lost confidence in management. 75

12. We’re understaffed. 79

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viii C o n t e n t s

13. They don’t tell me what I need to know to do my work. 85

14. We need more training. 89

15. The quality of our products and services is terrible. 95

16. I receive poor service from other departments. 101

17. There’s too much red tape here. 107

18. Why don’t they get rid of all of the deadwood around here? 113

19. There are too many damn meetings. 119

PART IV. Employees Feel Unappreciated 125

20. I’m not paid fairly. 127

21. It’s just not right that we all receive the same pay. 133

22. My performance reviews are useless. 139

23. There’s no link between my pay and job performance. 145

24. The cost of my benefits is eating up my paycheck. 153

25. It’s impossible to get promoted here. 159

PART V. W-O-R-K Should Be More Than aFour-Letter Word 165

26 I hate coming in to work. It’s become just a job forme now. 167

27. There’s no job security here. 173

28. I’ve got no time for myself or my family. 177

29. I feel trapped. I wish I could go out on my own. 183

30. My company isn’t committed to me, so why should I becommitted to it? 189

Summary: What You Can Do 195

Epilogue: A Lesson from the Future 197

Recommended Readings 199

Index 203

About the Authors 207

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Foreword

It is business’s dirty little secret. Put simply, the work environmentfor today’s employees, no matter the industry or location, has dete-

riorated badly in recent years. At the same time America’s workers arebeing placed under tremendous pressure to produce more in less timeand with fewer resources, the traditional benefits of full-time employ-ment are being eroded.

To a great extent, the problem is an outgrowth of management’sabdication of their longstanding responsibility to provide leadership.By the mid-1990s, we started to hear the phrase that ‘‘we’re all self-employed,’’ signifying that we no longer were all in this together, butrather it was every man and woman for themselves. This concept wasstrongly embraced by corporate leadership . . . much more than it wasby their employees. The result was a significant shattering of the bondbetween management and employee.

Just as the ‘‘we’re all self-employed’’ phase began to lose steam,industry was confronted with the economic downturn at the turn ofthe century. In response, managers put even more pressure on theiremployees to produce more—faster and at less cost. Already-strainedrelationships between management and employees intensified.

In a perfect world, or in a perfect economy, dissatisfied employeeswould find employment elsewhere. Competition for the best workerswould improve conditions for everyone. In fact, however, in a negativeenvironment, employees often lose their confidence. They don’t feelcomfortable leaving their nest no matter how bad the situation. As aresult, their performance continues to spiral downward, becoming afinancial drag to their place of employment.

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x F o r e w o r d

Is there any hope then? Most definitely there is. In the first place,despite the overall rather bleak environment for most workers, thereare some companies that have combined impressive financial resultswith a policy of fully engaging their employees. These companies un-derstand that most employees want to be successful and want to playa key role in the growth of their place of employment. In return forthis strong commitment, they ask to share in the rewards of theircompany’s financial success, and to be understood. They want man-agement to recognize and respect their concerns, and not to considertheir needs as a lack of dedication to their work.

Managers within these stellar companies also understand that theyhave a lot at stake in their relationship with their employees. Mostinsightful corporate leaders recognize that one thing that separates asuccessful organization from one that is not is its ability to attract,develop, motivate, organize, and retain top-notch employees. Obvi-ously these conditions do not exist in an environment in which em-ployees hate their managers.

Bruce Katcher has put together a management tool kit that quitesimply could transform a negative situation within the workplace toone of great promise. Employees should also take heed. There are anumber of practical suggestions in the following pages that can openthe door to constructive improvements in the management-employeerelationship, leading to improved business results.

Bob GattiPresident, Gatti & Associates

Specializing in the Search and Placement ofHuman Resource Professionals

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Acknowledgments

Iwould first like to thank my clients for partnering with me to helpmake their organizations more productive and satisfying places to

work. Together we strive to find the appropriate balance between busi-ness realities and treating employees humanely.

Thank you to my wife Trinka and my children Ben and Melanie,who have always been tremendously supportive of my work.

Thank you to my sister, Andrea Brudnicki, whose trying work his-tory has provided me with an endless supply of examples of the mis-takes made by management.

Thank you to my colleagues at the Society of Professional Consul-tants, who have given me strength, friendship, and intellectual sup-port.

Finally, thank you to my brother-in-law and good friend, AdamSnyder, for helping me put my ideas into a coherent and readableform.

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PAGE 166

30 REASONS

EMPLOYEES HATE

THEIR MANAGERS

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PAGE 166

Introduction

Employees hate management. Hate is a strong word, but in thiscase it’s appropriate. Employees hate management because they

feel they’re treated with disrespect. They don’t trust what managementtells them. They feel underpaid and that their income is beingsqueezed because they are forced to shoulder more and more of thecost of their retirement and health benefits. They also believe theirjobs have a negative impact on their quality of life. Most feel powerlessto do anything about these concerns, which only increases their frus-tration. They’re fearful of losing their jobs and believe that even if theywere to find new employment, they would only encounter the sameproblems.

How do I know all this? I know it because since 1993 my companyhas been studying how employees view their work and what organiza-tions can do to improve the workplace. Clients use our services whenthey want to gain an objective, quantitative understanding of whattheir employees are thinking. Employees are often leery of tellingmanagement how they really feel. At Discovery Surveys, we serve asan objective conduit of these thoughts and feelings. During a typicalemployee survey program, I meet with senior management to learnabout their business and gain an understanding of what they reallyneed to know from their employees. I also have the opportunity tomeet face-to-face with employees to learn what’s really on their mindsand what they want management to know. These different perspec-tives help shape my understanding of the climate of the organization.

The Discovery Surveys, Inc.’s Normative Database, which is thesource of the statistics in this book, represents the views of more than

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2 I n t r o d u c t i o n

50,000 employees from sixty-five organizations. They are about evenlysplit between manufacturing and service organizations, and range insize from 150 to 5,000 employees. Most are U.S. companies, but manyhave employees elsewhere. Several are based overseas.

Worker unhappiness is a problem for employees, to be sure. Itobviously affects their quality of life. But it’s also a serious problemfor an organization’s bottom line. Although few employees will actu-ally come out and tell management they’re unhappy, many insteaddemonstrate passive-aggressive behaviors in ways that are harmful tothe organization. It may take the form of keeping good suggestions tothemselves or intentionally doing the least amount of work possible.Others may insidiously turn their coworkers against their organiza-tion, or feel no remorse in taking advantage of it in other ways. Thepoint is that when employees refuse to fully commit to the goals ofyour organization, productivity declines, customer satisfaction suffers,and profits are almost always adversely affected.

Does management care? Are they listening to the cries of employ-ees? In most cases the answer is ‘‘no,’’ and that’s self-defeating.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. The purpose of this book is tohelp managers and human resource professionals understand whytheir employees are unhappy and what they can do to make their work-place a more friendly and productive environment. Managers poreover tons of data to manage their business. They read daily financialreports about sales, expenses, and assets. But in a competitive environ-ment in which employee productivity is a crucial asset, a quantitativereport on the psychological health of employees is an equally impor-tant tool.

Each of the five parts of this book addresses a specific issue thatour research shows is of particular concern to employees. For exam-ple, Part I describes how employees complain that they are not giventhe freedom they need to perform their work and feel that they aretreated like children. It then discusses how managers can treat em-ployees more like adults.

In many organizations, managers don’t respect the work of em-

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3I n t r o d u c t i o n

ployees, and employees don’t respect the decisions made by managers.Part II discusses how to break this vicious cycle.

Many employees also do not feel managers provide them withenough qualified staff, training, or direction to properly perform theirwork. They also believe their organization is operating inefficiently.Part III discusses how to provide employees with what they really needto do their work, and how to avoid excessive red tape, lack of commu-nication between departments, and poorly run meetings.

Many employees feel unappreciated by their managers, and thatthey have little chance of receiving the pay increases and promotionsthey feel they deserve. Part IV discusses what managers can do toaddress these concerns.

And finally, Part V discusses how managers can help employeesavoid feeling distant and uncommitted to their organization, viewingtheir work as ‘‘just a job,’’ with no commitment to or from the organi-zation.

Within these parameters, each of the thirty chapters describes aspecific problem, and explains some of the psychological theories thatprovide insight into why employees feel like slaves, and why manyemployers feel like masters. Each chapter also outlines specific stepsmanagement can take to make the work environment a more produc-tive and satisfying place for both employees and management.

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PAGE 166

P a r t I

Employees Are TreatedLike Children

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PAGE 166

áForty-six percent of all employees believe management treats them with disrespect.

We feel like slaves.

Itelephoned my sister one morning at her office. She was working inthe credit and collections department of a small medical equipment

rental firm. We had been speaking for less than a minute when shetold me that she had better hang up. She had just received an e-mailmessage from her supervisor sarcastically asking her if she was onbreak. The next day she found out that her boss was actually readingher private e-mails and listening to her private telephone conversa-tions. Needless to say, she was outraged. But what could she do? Thecompany had a legal right to spy on her and she desperately neededthe job. She felt like a slave.

Employment is a form of slavery. This is a provocative analogy andmay be offensive to some, but it is key to understanding why employ-ees are often unhappy.

Merriam Webster defines a slave as, ‘‘a person who has lost controlof himself or herself and is dominated by something or someoneelse.’’1 This is precisely what happens in the workplace. Many employ-ees, shackled to their jobs with little freedom to control their day-to-day work or career, feel like slaves.

Employees are ‘‘dominated’’ because their employer controls whatthey do, when they do it, and where they do it. In return for pay and

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8 E m p l o y e e s A r e T r e a t e d L i k e C h i l d r e n

benefits, employees must conform to set work hours, dress codes, andwork rules. They must dutifully follow management’s orders andmaintain good relationships with their supervisors and coworkers.Many have very little say in how they perform their work. In short,they are like slaves because their employer controls their time, theirspace, and their actions.

Like masters of slaves, management often doesn’t listen to em-ployee suggestions or value their opinions. Indeed, they often don’teven communicate directly with their employees. They communicateinstead through middle managers or supervisors. Like slaves, employ-ees are subject to the whims of management. Promises made by man-agement are often broken with little explanation or remorse. It is notuncommon for employees to experience layoffs, salary reductions, in-creases in what they must pay toward their benefits, and the loss oftheir hard-earned pension benefits. It is also not uncommon for thesenior managers (the ‘‘masters’’) to at the same time take home largesalaries for themselves.

The Problem for EmployersEmployees who are treated like slaves begin to feel and act like slaves.They live in a state of perpetual anxiety about not pleasing manage-ment and losing their jobs. Our research shows that 43 percent of allemployees feel insecure about their jobs. These anxious employeestypically lose self-confidence and are not the best performers. Theybecome reluctant to express their useful opinions or to develop innova-tive approaches to their work.

Technically, of course, unlike slaves, employees are voluntaryworkers and are legally free to leave whenever they please. In practice,however, for many this is not the case. They may feel trapped. Theydon’t want to leave their work friends or the ‘‘security’’ of their jobs.They are intimidated by the prospect of finding other employment.They silently resent management for their predicament.

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9W e f e e l l i k e s l a v e s .

The Psychology of It AllIn the summer of 1971, Stanford University social psychologist PhilipZimbardo and his colleagues conducted a simulation of prison life inorder to investigate the psychological effects of becoming both a pris-oner and a prison guard.2 Twenty-four male college students who hadanswered a newspaper ad to earn $15 a day to participate in a two-weekstudy were randomly assigned to be either guards or prisoners. Amock prison was set up on campus in the basement of the psychologydepartment.

Guards were given minimal instructions except to keep order.They were free to make up their own rules. Almost immediately theguards attempted to exert their authority by demeaning and dehuman-izing the prisoners. Prisoners were stripped naked for delousing andwere given uniforms and numbers. Their heads were shaved and theywere placed in ankle locks in their cells. The prisoners, while at firstcompliant, grew angry and eventually tried to exert their independenceby attempting a rebellion. When the rebellion was squashed, the pris-oners grew weary and very upset and the guards grew even more abu-sive. Although individuals were randomly assigned to be eitherprisoners or guards, they each began to exhibit all the stereotypicalbehaviors of their real counterparts. Zimbardo reported that, ‘‘In onlya few days, our guards became sadistic and our prisoners became de-pressed and showed signs of extreme stress.’’

This study is one of many to show that the behaviors of individualsare, to a large extent, dictated by the roles they are asked to assumerather than anything about themselves such as their skills or personali-ties. This same phenomenon occurs in the workplace. Managementand employees are placed in roles with certain responsibilities andduties. These roles influence and feed off each other. For example,when management treats employees autocratically and disrespectfully,employees act subservient and resentful. Likewise, when employeesacquiesce to management’s will and direction, management becomes

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even more assertive. No matter how it starts, the cycle of master andslave behaviors continues and is difficult to reverse.

The perpetual state of anxiety experienced by many employees isdue to what psychologists call a loss of the ‘‘perception of control.’’Studies have shown that the perceived control over one’s destiny hasmore of an influence on anxiety than does the actual control. Employ-ees feel like slaves because they lose the belief that they have controlof their work lives. They become compliant and reluctant to exert theirindependence because they believe they have no choices. This makesthem unhappy and anxious.

According to professor David Gershaw of Arizona Western Col-lege, psychologists reported that post-traumatic anxiety in aircrewsduring World War II was highest among the bomber crews, lessamong bomber pilots, and least among fighter pilots. Ironically,fighter pilots had the highest casualty rate among the three groups,even though they had the most control of their environment. Thus itwas the perceived control and not the actual control that determinedtheir level of anxiety.3

Many of my colleagues are independent consultants expressly be-cause they want control over their working lives. A great many of themleft corporate positions to start home-based businesses. Most have toldme that once they experienced the freedom and control that came withoperating outside of the corporate environment, it became almost im-possible for them to even consider going back to this anxiety-riddenlife. They relish the freedom of deciding what work they are going toperform, and where and when they are going to do it.

Ω

Solutions

Becoming a benevolent master is not enough. Unshackling em-ployees requires breaking the cycle of management control andemployee acquiescence by respecting employees and giving them

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more control. Here are a few suggestions for how to emancipateemployees by breaking the cycle of the master-employee relation-ship:

1. Respect employee privacy.Masters feel they have every right to invade the privacy of slaves.Management should never, under any conditions, spy on employ-ees. Legal or not, reading personal e-mails and listening in onpersonal telephone calls is a terrible invasion of privacy. You musthave a clear business rationale for monitoring communications ofan employee and you must do so openly. If you don’t trust youremployees, document their performance issues and take appro-priate actions. But don’t treat them as if they are your possessionsand assume you can infringe on their privacy whenever you like.

2. Treat employees as valued business partners.Masters have a dim view of the capabilities of slaves. Managementshould go out of its way to respect the advice and counsel theyreceive from employees. Many times managers who hired me tohelp them better understand how employees feel about workingfor the organization have confided to me, ‘‘I have told senior man-agement many times about the problems here, but if you, an out-side consultant, tell them, they might believe it.’’ It is common inorganizations for senior management to not respect the middlemanagers they hired to advise them.

3. Be honest with employees.Masters feel it is within their rights to lie to slaves. It is not withinthe rights of managers to lie to their employees.

A 500-employee research organization with a long history ofgrowth and prosperity had run into some financial difficulties. TheBoard of Directors put a new management team in place, andshortly thereafter the new president implemented a 10-percent lay-

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off. He then met with employees in small groups to explain why itwas necessary and to promise there would be no further layoffsfor the foreseeable future. The very next week four more employ-ees were laid off. The president said it was a restructuring and nota layoff, but the employees didn’t buy it. His credibility wascrushed and the morale of the organization took a tailspin that willtake many years, and perhaps a new president, to reverse.

Honesty is always the best policy when communicating to em-ployees. Of course, there will be times when managers cannotshare certain information, but lying is never justified.

4. Encourage employee independence.Masters tell slaves that this is just the way it is, like it or not. Slavesremain silent for fear of losing their lives. Employees may not likewhat management tells them to do, but they don’t complain orquestion out of fear of losing their jobs.

To break the perceived bonds of slavery, encourage employeesto be proactive and assertive. Support rather than reject out ofhand employee demands for better work tools, more informationabout the direction of the organization, and increased decision-making authority.

5. Provide more opportunities for employees to control their workhours.Slaves have no control of their work hours. Many employees don’teither.

I have consistently found that many of the happiest employeesare those who work part-time. Why is this? They typically makeless money, receive few if any benefits, are less involved in organi-zational decision-making, and are less connected to the people inthe office. They are happier because they perceive more controlover their own time. Even though they abide by the normal work-

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ing hours on the days they are scheduled to work, they do not feellike slaves to the clock. Instead, they feel they have control overwhen they work. They therefore feel more independent (and lessslave-like) than those who work full-time.

Some jobs, of course, require someone to be at their desk full-time. A customer service representative has to be near the tele-phone during all the organization’s normal working hours. How-ever, ask yourself if it would be more beneficial for you to haveone employee at the station half the week and another, equallycompetent person at that station for the other half. Offer employ-ees who convert to part-time work the opportunity to maintaintheir health benefits.

If you hire more part-time workers, you will have a happierand more productive workforce. Besides, when given the opportu-nity, many salaried employees can complete a full weeks’ worth ofwork in less than a week. Let them do it. After all, are you payingfor the work to be completed, or for hours logged on the timeclock?

6. Provide more opportunities for employees to control their workspace.Slaves, like employees, have little say about where they work. Manyorganizations have discovered that employees can be just as effec-tive, if not more so, working from their homes rather than report-ing to the office. Employees who report to the office waste valuabletime and energy commuting and chatting by the coffee pot. Mostbusiness today is transacted by telephone and e-mail anyway. Em-ployees can do this just as easily from their homes.

Employees who work primarily out of their homes are moresatisfied with their work life than those who work in an office.Although these home-working employees are less involved in or-

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ganizational decision making and less connected to their col-leagues in the office, they feel they have more control. They don’thave to be sitting at their desks or beside the phone projecting acompliant image to their boss. They are in control of their ‘‘space.’’

7. Support professional development.Masters do not allow their slaves to escape, but employers should.Support employees in their efforts to develop professionally andperhaps leave the organization for a better opportunity. If employ-ees believe their current job is just one temporary stop in theirchosen career, they will feel more in control of their work life.Managers should actually encourage their employees to keep aneye out for their next job by always maintaining an up-to-date re-sume, attending professional networking groups, maintaining re-lationships with former coworkers, and keeping in touch withsearch firms. It’s also a good idea to provide career counseling andprofessional development opportunities.

Such support for employees is not merely altruistic. It will fur-ther the goals of the organization by keeping a cadre of highlymotivated, accomplished, and upwardly mobile employees who re-fuse to become complacent slaves. It will also be attractive to po-tential new employees to know that the organization supportsemployee growth and development.

ConclusionOrganizations do not own employees like masters own slaves. Thevicious cycle—management treating employees disrespectfully andemployees acquiescing, feeling unhappy, resentful, and powerless—can be stopped. It is in the self-interest of employers to provide theiremployees with as much freedom as possible and to support theirdesire for more control of how, when, and where they perform theirwork.

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Notes1. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary: m-w.com.

2. P. G. Zimbardo and G. White, Stanford Prison Experiment Slide-Tape Show (Stanford University, 1972): prisonexp.org.

3. David Gershaw, Jiskha Homework Help: jiskha.com/social_studies/psychology/.

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PAGE 166

àForty percent of employees say they don’t have the decision-making

authority they need to do their jobs well, and 63 percent believe that decisions intheir company are usually not made at the appropriate level.

I know how to do my job.Why can’t they just let me do it?

Rick is a competent and experienced human resources profes-sional who has been with the organization many years. His boss

is a micromanager. She is very controlling, constantly second-guesseshis decisions, and wants the final say on everything. Rick feels like aprisoner whose voice goes unheard by the senior executives of hiscompany because his boss allows him only very minimal contact withthem.

Needless to say, coming to work each day is very difficult for Rick.He hates his boss. His creativity and enthusiasm for his work are lowand he feels that he is never going to be able to realize his full poten-tial. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and walks through the orga-nization moping with a sour look on his face. His job performancehas been in a downward spiral for several years. He has become argu-mentative and an emotional drain on his colleagues. He knows this,but feels powerless to do anything about it. He has discussed the issuemany times with his boss and even his boss’s boss, but to no avail. Hefeels trapped. He has been looking for another job, but hasn’t beenable to find a comparable position elsewhere.

Rick wishes his boss would just leave him alone and let him make

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decisions as he sees fit. He is perfectly willing to suffer the conse-quences if those decisions prove to be unwise.

The Problem for EmployersA culture in which employees are micromanaged and not givendecision-making authority leads to an unhappy, unproductive, para-lyzed workforce that lacks self-motivation and is unable to take pru-dent business risks or develop innovative ideas.

Employees are selected to work in organizations because they pos-sess certain skills and knowledge. It is wasteful if your organizationdoes not allow them to use their skills and knowledge to their fullpotential. If the activities of individuals are artificially constrained, theoverall performance of the organization will suffer. It is manage-ment’s responsibility to provide a supportive environment in whichemployees are empowered to contribute to their fullest.

The Psychology of It AllThere are a number of reasons why organizations fail to provide em-ployees with the decision-making authority they need.

1. Top-Down Mirroring. The CEO or president micromanages di-rect staff. The staff then unconsciously adopts the same managementstyle with their direct reports. According to my dissertation adviser,Kenwyn Smith, the practice can spread or mirror itself throughout theorganization and becomes an immutable part of the culture.1

2. Too Many Chiefs, Not Enough Indians. Some organizations havean overabundance of middle managers. To justify their existence,these managers mistakenly feel they need to make all the decisions fortheir employees.

3. Externally-Imposed Paranoia. Highly regulated organizations,such as food manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and nuclearpower generation plants, frequently suffer from micromanagement.

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19I k n o w h o w t o d o m y j o b .

Employees are given very little latitude to deviate from standard operat-ing procedures. The unfortunate result is that some of these employ-ees learn to avoid thinking for themselves even when such thinking iscritically important, such as during emergencies.

4. Fear. In today’s difficult economy managers live in perpetualfear that their department better produce or else. This fear drives themto micromanage rather than trust their employees to make the appro-priate decisions.

5. Inability to Surrender Control. You’ve heard the expression, ‘‘Ifyou want anything done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.’’ Many par-ents have a difficult time asking their children to clean their rooms,do the laundry, or even take out the garbage. Instead, they take theeasy way out and just do it themselves. Many managers act the sameway.

6. Inability to Delegate. Many managers are willing to delegate,but don’t know how. Delegation requires the ability to break up largetasks into smaller chunks, establish priorities, create timetables, anddecide which of those pieces you need to perform yourself and whichcan be just as easily done by one of your direct reports. You will needto learn to monitor rather than micromanage the activities of yoursubordinates.

7. Lack of Direction. Managers often receive little guidance fromtheir bosses about the importance of delegating. They need to be toldto work on high value activities and not to waste their time doing workthat can be done by others.

8. Poor Hiring Decisions. Many organizations do not make it apriority to select employees who are capable of thinking on their own.The organization is then compelled to micromanage them.

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Ω

Solutions1. Make certain the senior executives delegate.If senior managers don’t delegate, it is unlikely that their directreports will either. Senior managers need to set the appropriateexample. Others will then likely follow suit.

2. Provide delegation training for managers.Delegating, letting go, and trusting employees are all skills thatcan be taught. There are many training programs, books, andtapes that teach managers how to delegate. Require managers toread some of them or attend a few programs.

3. Share best practices.Good role models can be very effective. Ask those managers whoare doing a good job of delegating to share their ‘‘best practices’’with other managers in the organization.

4. Ask managers to put themselves in their employees’ shoes.It is very easy for managers to lose perspective about what deci-sions their employees really need to make. Ask yourself what deci-sions you would make if you were performing that particular job.

5. Rate supervisors on how well they delegate.Some companies track how well supervisors delegate. Each yearemployees are asked the extent to which they agree with the follow-ing statement, ‘‘I have the decision-making authority I need todo my job well.’’ Those supervisors whose employees do not feelempowered are required to develop action plans for how they candeliver more decision-making authority to their employees. Someare also required to attend training sessions on the topic.

6. Ask employees what decision-making authority they reallyneed.Use focus groups and individual interviews to learn from employ-ees what decision-making authority they feel they need to do their

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21I k n o w h o w t o d o m y j o b .

jobs well. Then communicate this information to their supervi-sors. Better yet, require supervisors to meet with employees indi-vidually to discuss this issue.

7. Encourage employees to push back.Just as teenagers need to scratch and claw to earn independencefrom their parents, employees need to push back on bosses. Theyneed to make it clear what decision-making authority they needand reassure their bosses that they will use their authority prop-erly. It is your responsibility to make certain the people who workfor you push back to gain more control of their work.

8. Train employees how to exercise more decision-making au-thority.Some employees will jump at the opportunity to make moredecisions. However, many others will need to be coaxed and en-couraged. They may have become complacent due to the microma-naging of their boss. Training will be needed to change attitudesand help them feel more comfortable taking over the reins.

ConclusionEmployees are not happy when they aren’t free to make their owndecisions. They hate management for not trusting them and not re-specting their abilities. Managers should be taught and encouraged todelegate so that employees have the decision-making authority theyneed for a healthy organization. Employees should communicate whatauthority they really need and push back.

Note1. K. K. Smith, ‘‘A Critical Paradox for Community Psychologists:

The Phenomenon of Mirroring,’’ delivered at the Australian Psy-chological Society Conference, Melbourne, Victoria, 1975.

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PAGE 166

âFifty-two percent of employees do not feel free to voice their opinions openly.

I am afraid to speak up.

During a pep talk to the troops, a brave U.S. soldier serving in Iraqdared to ask Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld a challeng-

ing question. He asked why U.S. soldiers needed to scavenge throughlandfills to find armor to protect their vehicles. Speaking up in this waywas shocking and received a great deal of international press attention.Soldiers are usually too intimidated to challenge their leaders.

The same holds true in many organizations. According to our Dis-covery Surveys Normative Database, only 48 percent of working em-ployees feel free to voice their opinions. They feel it is safer to justkeep their mouths shut. This is one more reason employees hate theirmanagers.

At a local hospital I interviewed an X-ray technician, the seniorperson on the day shift who was held in high esteem by management.He told me that he and his manager repeatedly did not see eye to eyeon certain work-related issues. He said that time after time the man-ager didn’t even open himself up to the idea that he might have a goodsuggestion. From that point forward, he made up his mind hewouldn’t speak up at all in his department. ‘‘If I have a suggestion,’’he told me, ‘‘I just keep it to myself. It’s just a job for me now. I put

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in my eight hours, pick up my paycheck, and then enjoy my time athome.’’ Management had lost the insights of a valuable employee.

This problem, pervasive in many organizations, also affects super-visory employees. I met one day with a group of forty middle levelmanagers in a financial services company to discuss the results oftheir employee opinion survey. After sharing with them the surveyfinding that employees did not feel free to openly express their views,I asked the group, ‘‘Why do you think employees are too afraid tospeak up?’’ There was no reply.

The Problem for EmployersIt’s a sad commentary that more than half of all employees are tooscared to openly express their views at work. A lack of openness hasnegative consequences for both employers and employees. When em-ployees don’t feel free to speak up:

• Good ideas don’t surface.

• Important problems go undetected.

• Vital information is not shared with others in the organizationwho need to know.

• Groups make faulty decisions because individuals are afraid todisagree.

• Valuable time is wasted at unproductive meetings.

• Relationships between managers and employees deteriorate.

• Motivation declines because employees view their work as nolonger worth their full commitment.

The Psychology of It AllEmployees don’t speak up for a variety of reasons, including:

• Weak Communication Skills. Many employees do not possessthe verbal skills to accurately express their views. They feel it is safer

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25I a m a f r a i d t o s p e a k u p .

to keep their mouth shut than to speak in a way that might reflectbadly upon them.

• Poor Emotional Intelligence. The ability to express one’s feelingsin a tactful and appropriate manner in the work setting is beyond theskills of many employees.

• Fear of Retribution. Many organizations foster a climate of‘‘shooting the messenger’’ when bad news is expressed by an em-ployee. Ever notice the deafening silence when a senior manager com-pletes a presentation and asks a group of employees if there are anyquestions? One common reason this occurs is that in the past employ-ees have witnessed others being ignored, belittled, or embarrassedwhen they spoke up.

• Job Insecurity. In today’s layoff-happy environment, employeesfeel it is best to ‘‘keep their mouths shut’’ whenever possible.

• Lack of Management Responsiveness. When they voiced theiropinions in the past, no one listened, so why should they risk doingso again?

• Uncaring Organizational Climate. Many feel like a mere cog ina big, unfeeling machine, with very little chance of being heard.

Ω

Solutions

1. Foster a spirit of openness.Managers must consciously try to ask for opinions and then listencarefully. Listen more than you speak. Doing so will increase theprobability that your direct reports will be open to new ideas. Also,continually thank employees for their suggestions. When appro-priate, tell employees that their suggestions were heard and ap-preciated.

2. Catch people in the act and use positive reinforcement.When employees make comments, suggestions, or criticisms, goout of your way to acknowledge the remarks. Sincerely thank

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them, being careful not to be patronizing. This will not only in-crease the probability that they will speak up again, it will alsopromote a spirit of openness that will spread to others.

3. Improve your listening skills.Listening is a critically important management skill that can helpimprove employees’ willingness to speak up. Some of the key prin-ciples are:

• Use unconditional positive regard. Don’t automatically dis-count suggestions from your employees. Try not to rush tojudgment. View every employee with a positive outlook.

• Dummy up. Use the technique made famous by the actorPeter Falk in the role of the seemingly bumbling, but actu-ally cagy detective, Lieutenant Columbo. If you don’t under-stand or need more clarification, continually ask questionsand tell employees you ‘‘don’t understand’’ or ‘‘are con-fused.’’

• Avoid threatening questions. For example, questions like‘‘Who told you to do it that way?’’ and ‘‘Who is responsible?’’will restrict the type of responses you receive.

• Be an active listener. Be psychologically engaged when listen-ing to employees. Techniques like maintaining eye contact,nodding your head at the appropriate times, and sayingthings like ‘‘I see’’ and ‘‘uh-huh’’ in response to their wordscan go a long way toward assuring employees that you arelistening and value what they have to say.

• Ask open-ended questions. Questions like ‘‘How do you feelabout this?’’ or ‘‘Could you please tell me more about that?’’will elicit more than one-word answers.

• Use restatements. Simply repeating or paraphrasing what anemployee has just said will typically encourage the personto continue speaking.

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27I a m a f r a i d t o s p e a k u p .

4. Get in the habit of making self-disclosures.It can be contagious when senior managers display opennessthemselves. For example, a CEO could stand up in front of em-ployees and say something like, ‘‘As you know, we recently madea decision to acquire another company but I had many doubts,such as. . . . What are your doubts?’’

ConclusionThe fact that less than half of all employees feel free to voice theiropinions in their organizations has a negative consequence for bothemployees and their organizations. When employees are reluctant tocontribute their ideas or to question management, organizations can-not realize their full potential. Fostering a spirit of openness and im-proving your own listening skills will take a consistent effort by seniormanagers and supervisors, but the benefits to the organization will besubstantial.

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PAGE 166

äForty-three percent of employees say their good work goes unrecognized.

Nobody appreciates my hard work.

Many of the employees at a small rural hospital in New Englandhave more than twenty-five years of service. While most em-

ployees enjoy their work and the collegiality they have with their fellowemployees, many of the nurses complain that the hospital does notadequately recognize their many years of service. They believe theyshouldn’t have to work weekends, should receive more vacation time,and should be paid significantly more than newly hired nurses.

At another organization, a small, family-owned manufacturingcompany, long-service employees are also concerned about their lackof recognition. As the organization has grown, employees who havebeen on the job for more than thirty years have begun to feel morelike just paid help rather than part of the family. They wish their con-tributions would be better recognized by the owners and by their su-pervisors.

The Problem for EmployersMany employees are unhappy because they believe management doesnot respect their good work. They crave encouragement and positivefeedback but feel their supervisors fail to praise them when they:

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• Make good decisions.

• Take prudent business risks.

• Make important contributions during meetings.

• Come up with innovative ideas.

One of the signs of a healthy organization is a climate of positivereinforcement and recognition. Supervisors in these organizations canbe frequently heard saying to their employees:

• ‘‘Good point.’’

• ‘‘I’m glad you brought that up.’’

• ‘‘I really appreciate that.’’

• ‘‘Good job.’’

• ‘‘Well done.’’

• ‘‘Thank you.’’

Here are six reasons why many managers fail to provide recogni-tion to employees:

1. They take their employees for granted.

2. They view employees as expenses rather than investments andvital assets.

3. They don’t realize how important praise and recognition reallyare to employees.

4. They lack an appropriate level of emotional intelligence. Forthem, thanking employees is awkward and just not part oftheir normal repertoire of interpersonal behavior.

5. They don’t know how to tactfully thank or recognize employ-ees in a way that will be perceived as genuine rather than pa-tronizing.

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31N o b o d y a p p r e c i a t e s m y h a r d w o r k .

6. They have never received recognition from their own supervi-sors.

The Psychology of It AllOne of the most well-documented principles of psychology is that posi-tive reinforcement increases the probability that a behavior will reoc-cur in the future.1 Likewise, without positive feedback, desirableemployee behaviors may not occur again. Worse, employees will be-come unhappy, unmotivated, and unproductive.

It is also well documented that positive reinforcement is muchmore effective than punishment for shaping behavior. Annual bo-nuses often do not have the desired reinforcing effect because employ-ees often view these bonuses as entitlements, not as personalrecognition for their good work. Sincere, heartfelt praise clearly articu-lated and provided at the right time is a much more powerful motiva-ting force. Nevertheless, few supervisors take advantage of theseprinciples when managing their employees. It is much more commonfor them to criticize, scold, berate, belittle, or ignore them.

Ω

Solutions

1. Use individual-based recognition instead of group recogni-tion.Every year most employers provide group recognition to their em-ployees in the form of lavish holiday parties, gift turkeys, or cashbonuses. Everyone receives the politically correct equal amount ofrecognition for loyalty and good performance. But as well inten-tioned as this might be, individuals often perceive this type of rec-ognition as meaningless. What they want instead is personalrecognition for their own individual contributions.

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2. Accompany individual bonuses with an appropriate personalmessage.Organizations that merely mail bonus checks to their employeesare missing out on an excellent opportunity to sincerely communi-cate their appreciation. The check should be accompanied by apersonal visit from a supervisor or senior manager in which per-sonal thanks is provided. If this is not possible, at a minimumattach a personal note of thanks to the bonus check, along withspecific details about their performance.

3. Provide immediate rather than after-the-fact recognition.Research has shown that positive reinforcement is most effectivewhen it immediately follows the desired behavior.2 Although it iscustomary to provide employees with recognition at certain timesof the year—such as during the annual performance review, at theend of the year, or at an employee’s anniversary date—it is betterto catch people in the act of doing good things and provide themwith on-the-spot recognition. That makes it much clearer to theemployee exactly why she is being lauded.

4. Train supervisors how to provide positive feedback.Many supervisors would benefit greatly from learning the simpleprinciples of positive feedback. For example, in addition to provid-ing the feedback as soon as possible after the behavior, positivefeedback should be of the proper magnitude to match the behav-ior. Public acknowledgement after an employee makes a goodpoint would be more appropriate than providing a spot cashbonus, for example.

Behaviorists have also demonstrated that variable reinforce-ment is more effective than continuous reinforcement. For exam-ple, praising employees periodically on an irregular basis is moreeffective than praising them every time they do something well.

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33N o b o d y a p p r e c i a t e s m y h a r d w o r k .

5. Make positive feedback part of the performance review process.It has become a truism that ‘‘what gets measured gets done.’’ Eval-uate supervisors on how well they provide positive feedback totheir staff. Make this part of their annual performance review.

6. Provide feedback about feedback.One way to increase the amount of positive reinforcement thatoccurs in an organization is to reinforce the reinforcer. In otherwords, senior management should periodically reinforce supervi-sors when they provide positive feedback to their direct reports.

7. Senior management must serve as role models.Positive reinforcement needs to start at the top. Senior manage-ment can set the tone by appropriately praising and recognizingtheir direct reports. Doing so on a consistent basis will eventuallyspread the process throughout the organization.

ConclusionEmployees are unhappy that they are not receiving the appropriaterecognition for their work. They hate that management doesn’t fullyappreciate them. Many supervisors fail to understand that just a littlepositive feedback can be a very powerful management tool for increas-ing productivity. The dividends to the organization can be sizeable.

Notes1. W. F. Whyte, ‘‘Skinnerian Theory in Organizations,’’ Psychology

Today, April 1972, pp. 67–68.

2. B. M. Bass and J. A. Vaughan, Training in Industry: The Manage-ment of Learning (Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 1966).

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PAGE 166

ãFifty-three percent of all employees believe their organization is

applying personnel policies and procedures unfairly.

There are different rulesfor different people.

Iwas consulting to a large New England-based insurance companyto help them improve the morale and productivity of their work-

force. During a series of focus groups employees in the customer ser-vice department told me they were very upset that they had beenrequired to come to work in the snow and were not allowed to be late.It had been a very snowy winter and commuting to work had been amajor challenge. They said that those in other departments were al-lowed to arrive later and even to work from home. They didn’t believethis was fair.

In another example, a small public relations firm in Boston em-ploys many bright, young employees straight out of college. They areconstantly working under deadlines to complete press releases andother client projects. Many complained that they had to work well intothe night, while some of the older workers were allowed to leavepromptly at 5:00 p.m. every day to pick up their children at day-carecenters. They didn’t think it was fair that they had to work late justbecause they didn’t have children. ‘‘We have personal lives too,’’ theysaid.

Employees come to the workplace with the assumption that all

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employees will be treated equally. They resent the fact that certainpeople or groups receive what they perceive to be preferential treat-ment. Typical complaints include:

• Smokers get to take smoking breaks but nonsmokers don’t.

• Some departments can choose to take vacation whenever theywant, while others are restricted to specific weeks.

• Only in some departments can employees arrive to work late,leave early, and come and go as they please.

• Some employees don’t pull their own weight here, but we allget the same pay.

• The salespeople get to take long lunches, but we have to beback at our desks promptly at 1:00 p.m.

• Management treats the doctors here like gods, but we—whodo most of the work—are treated like second-class citizens.

• The good workers like me end up doing the most work be-cause management knows I will get it done and do it well.

The Problem for EmployersWhen employees feel that personnel policies and procedures are notadministered fairly they lose respect for management, build up resent-ment toward their fellow coworkers, and lose motivation to do theirwork.

Employees often confuse unequal treatment with a lack of fair-ness. They believe that all employees should be treated exactly thesame regardless of their position, job responsibilities, or personalneeds. But these complaints expose a common fallacy. Employeesshould always be treated fairly, of course. There should be no person-nel decisions made on the basis of gender, age, national background,race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. But that doesn’t meanevery employee should be treated exactly the same.

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37T h e r e a r e d i f f e r e n t r u l e s f o r d i f f e r e n t p e o p l e .

It is perfectly appropriate, for example, for superior performers toreceive special benefits, increased pay, and more flexibility. It alsomakes sense for there to be different work rules for workers with dif-ferent job responsibilities. Some jobs require precise start and stoptimes whereas others do not. Receptionists, for example, need to be inthe front lobby during normal working hours, while sales personneloften must attend networking meetings during the evenings andweekends.

Do you have the same rules for your seven-year-old daughter andyour seventeen-year-old son? Of course not. They are different, havedifferent needs, different responsibilities, and different capabilities.They are treated fairly but not equally.

The Psychology of It AllIt is important to employees that they feel respected for their hardwork and good job performance. When they see others receiving spe-cial benefits and privileges, the unequal treatment makes them bitterand unhappy.

According to the ‘‘Equity Theory,’’ developed by John StaceyAdams, employees seek balance with others in the organization be-tween what they put into their job (e.g., effort, ability, commitment,and time) and what they get out of it (e.g., pay, recognition, advance-ment opportunities, and enjoyment).1 Employees become frustratedwhen they feel that their ratio of inputs to outcomes is larger than theratio of others. For example, if an employee feels she is performingvery well on the job (i.e., high input) and is receiving the same pay(i.e., outcome) as someone with lower input (i.e., poor performance),she will become frustrated. Similarly, if an employee feels that man-agement is providing more favor to others, the ratios will be unequaland he will become frustrated.

Equity theory further predicts that this frustration will lead peopleto try to reduce the inequity in one of five ways:

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1. Reduce one’s own inputs. Employees may reduce their owninput by lowering the quality of their job performance.

2. Increase one’s own outcomes. If the organization were to providethe employee with more pay, this would help to reduce the inequity.This, however, is not within the control of the frustrated individual.Another possibility is for the employee to change his perception of hisown pay. For example, he could think about how he is paid more thanhis friends working in other organizations.

3. Increase other people’s inputs. The frustrated employee couldchange his perception of the inputs of the poor performers. For exam-ple, he could tell himself, ‘‘Although my coworker isn’t performing aswell, she has worked very hard over the years and deserves to coast alittle now.’’ Or he could think, ‘‘There are many other intangibles thatmy coworker brings to the table, such as strong loyalty to the organiza-tion, serving on committees, or helping others do their job well.’’

4. Reduce other people’s outcomes. The frustrated employee couldtry his best to reduce the pay of the coworker or even get that personfired by complaining about the situation to other employees, the su-pervisor, and senior management.

5. Leave the field. If none of the above solutions reduce the em-ployee’s frustration, he may decide to leave the situation.

Ω

Solutions

1. Promote flexibility rather than rigid rules.Many organizations make the mistake of becoming overly rule ori-ented. They produce personnel and procedure manuals as thick astelephone books and expect this will help ensure fairness. Butrules are always subject to interpretation, and thick rulebooks canactually make it more rather than less difficult for supervisors. Ihave found that organizations that simply entrust supervisors to

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39T h e r e a r e d i f f e r e n t r u l e s f o r d i f f e r e n t p e o p l e .

follow broad ethical guidelines to make day-to-day decisions aboutpolicies receive the fewest number of complaints about fairness.

Employees want to be treated as unique, mature individuals.They want to know that special exceptions will be made to accom-modate their particular circumstances.

2. Communicate a philosophy of flexibility.Make it clear to employees that everyone will be treated fairly, butnot exactly the same. Communicate that you reserve the right totreat employees as individuals and to make exceptions to the rules.

3. Avoid the union mentality.Unions work hard to negotiate contracts that contain detailed rulesabout how much workers must be paid. Their goal is to take paydecisions out of the hands of management. Most contracts stipu-late that pay will be based on tenure, not job performance. How-ever, I have found that in most unionized environments, unionworkers are very concerned because the most senior employeesseem to work the least and earn the most. Ironically, this is whatis specified in the union contract they pay their union to negotiatefor them. You may be pleasantly surprised at the reaction of unionrepresentatives if you broached the subject of introducing pay forperformance in addition to pay for years of service.

ConclusionEmployees hate management for what they perceive as a lack of fair-ness, but this is because they confuse fairness with unequal treatment.All employees should be treated fairly but not exactly the same. Care-fully explain to your employees that organizations are meritocracies,not socialistic states. They should know that good performers will betreated differently from poor performers, that those with higher levelsof responsibility will be treated differently from those with less respon-

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sibility, and that those who have special needs will be treated differ-ently from those who do not. No apologies are necessary.

Note1. J. S. Adams, ‘‘Toward an Understanding of Inequity,’’ Journal of

Abnormal Psychology 67 (1963): 422–436.

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P a r t I I

Employees Aren’t Respected

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PAGE 166

åSixty-six percent of all employees say management doesn’t listen to them,

and 67 percent say management fails to act on employee suggestions.

Management doesn’t listen to us.

One day a concerned husband visited his doctor. He said, ‘‘Doc,I’m really worried. My wife appears to be going deaf. She never

hears me and I don’t know what to do.’’ ‘‘Here is what I want you todo,’’ said the doctor. ‘‘Go home and stand about fifteen feet away fromher and say something. If she doesn’t hear you, walk about five feetcloser and try again. Keep doing this until she hears you. This willhelp us determine the severity of her hearing loss.’’

The man went home and peered into the entrance to the kitchen.He saw his wife chopping vegetables near the sink. He called out toher, ‘‘Honey, what’s for dinner?’’ There was no reply. He then tookthree large steps closer and repeated, ‘‘Honey, what’s for dinner?’’Again, there was no reply. Now he started to get really worried. Hewalked up right behind her and said a third time, ‘‘Honey, what’s fordinner?’’ She turned to him and said angrily, ‘‘For the third time, we’rehaving stir-fried vegetables.’’

The problem was not that she couldn’t hear. It was that he wasn’thearing her. This is a common problem in organizations. Manage-ment often complains that employees aren’t listening, but it’s reallymanagement who isn’t listening to employees.

Several years ago, I was consulting to a large East Coast media

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44 E m p l o y e e s A r e n ’ t R e s p e c t e d

company. My job was to survey employees in a printing company ithad recently purchased. The results were very negative. Employeeswere especially dissatisfied with the still-in-charge former owner andhis second-in-command son.

In a series of feedback sessions I shared the survey results withgroups of forty to fifty employees at a time. The son sat in on thesessions. His job was to talk to employees after my presentation to tellthem how the company planned to respond to their concerns.

One of the major findings was that employees felt that senior man-agement did not listen to their suggestions. The son got up and an-nounced, ‘‘If any of you at any time have any suggestions or anythingyou would like to say to me or my father, you can just STICK IT INTHE BOX.’’

He then pointed to the locked unused suggestion box hanging onthe wall. What message do you think that sent to employees? He wasclearly saying, ‘‘We’re really not interested in what you have to say.’’No wonder when he asked if there were any comments or questions,no one raised their hand.

The Problem for EmployersEmployees are not happy when they know management isn’t listeningto them. Their motivation and commitment to the goals of the organi-zation are sure to deteriorate if they feel management doesn’t careabout what they have to say.

Open communication of ideas and suggestions from employees tosenior management is critical to the healthy functioning of any organi-zation. Senior management needs to know what is happening in thetrenches, how customers feel about the organization’s products andservices, how productivity and quality can be improved, and how costscan be reduced. One of the major lessons of the total quality improve-ment movement has been that employees who actually perform thework usually have very good suggestions for improvements. Ignoringtheir ideas is a sure prescription for inefficiency and reduced profit-ability.

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45M a n a g e m e n t d o e s n ’ t l i s t e n t o u s .

How can employees trust the judgment of senior managementwhen their good suggestions are ignored? Without this trust, theirmotivation and commitment to the organization declines. Ignoringtheir suggestions is a slap in the face. In time, employees reciprocateby showing a lack of respect to management and the goals of the orga-nization.

I have often heard employees say, ‘‘I know they are throwingmoney down the drain, but there’s no way I would tell managementhow to improve things. They would only ignore me.’’ Organizationswith this type of climate are destined to fail.

The Psychology of It AllEmployees sometimes wonder how all those close-minded SOBsended up in the boardroom. Is there some character or personalitytrait common to senior managers that make them ignore rank and fileemployees? There are at least four reasons why senior managers ig-nore employee input.

1. Relationships Among Groups Within an OrganizationalHierarchy

The first reason why employees ignore employee input can be ex-plained by something Kenwyn Smith describes as ‘‘the intergroup per-spective.’’ In any hierarchical system, the uppers (i.e., those in seniormanagement) see the world differently from those in the middle ofthe organization (i.e., mid-level managers and supervisors), who inturn see things differently from those at the bottom (i.e., hourlyworkers). External factors such as the demand for the organization’sproducts and services and the attitudes of stockholders shape the per-spective of the uppers. By the necessities of their job, uppers typicallyspend very little time interacting with the lowers. They rely on themiddles to manage the work of the lowers and to tell them what thelowers are saying. Uppers are thus often out of touch with the perspec-tive of the lowers.1

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When we don’t interact with people who have perspectives differ-ent from our own, we typically don’t trust them. Senior managers,therefore, distrust the abilities and knowledge of the lowers. Theythink that since the lowers see the world differently, they ‘‘just don’tget it.’’ Likewise, lowers frequently say, ‘‘Management just doesn’thave a clue about what’s really happening in this organization.’’

If you were to promote a lower-level manager to a senior manage-ment position, that person would soon develop the same disrespect ofthe views of lowers. It’s the position in the hierarchy, not the personal-ity that plays a large role in shaping the trust senior managers havefor employees. Remember how the Zimbardo prison study demon-strated that behaviors are determined, in part, by roles.

2. The Role of Self-Fulfilling Prophesies

In 1968, psychologist Robert Rosenthal conducted an experiment witha third-grade class in California. He gave the students an IQ test andtold the teachers that the test had identified students who were ‘‘latebloomers’’ who would eventually show a spurt in their IQ. In reality,Rosenthal randomly selected the 20 percent of the pupils he toldteachers were the late bloomers.2

After one year the students were given the IQ test again. Lo andbehold, those who had been falsely labeled as late bloomers actuallyearned significantly higher IQ scores than the other students. Rosen-thal’s conclusion was that the teachers had both consciously andunconsciously treated the late bloomers differently, which created aself-fulfilling prophecy.

The same thing happens in reverse in the workplace. Managerswho distrust the ability and knowledge of employees communicatethis feeling to them—sometimes subtly, other times actively. Whentheir input and counsel aren’t taken seriously, employees feel thattheir opinions don’t count and don’t share them. Since managers con-sequently receive little good advice from them, their unwillingness toseriously consider employee input grows.

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3. The Faulty Assumption of Finite Power

A third reason why management doesn’t listen to employees has to dowith their view of power. Managers often mistakenly believe that thereis a finite amount of power in an organization, and that it is their jobto amass as much of it as possible. They also believe that knowledgeand authority are the elements of power. As a result, they do not listento employees because that would be surrendering their own power.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The more managementlistens to the perspectives of employees, the more powerful the entireorganization and each member of the organization will be.

4. The Telephone Game

The final reason management doesn’t listen to employees is that com-munications often become distorted. This is similar to the game oftelephone we all played when we were children. The first person whis-pers a message to the second, who then whispers it to a third. At theend of the line, the message bears little resemblance to its originalform or meaning.

In organizations, the ‘‘middles,’’ such as supervisors and depart-ment heads, are sandwiched between senior management and the ma-jority of the workers. Part of their job is to pass information back andforth between the two other groups. Paradoxically, they are the oneswho often hinder this flow of communication.

Ω

Solutions

1. Circumvent the hierarchy.It is very easy for good suggestions to get lost in the hierarchy.Employees become frustrated when their supervisors (i.e., themiddles) do not pass along their suggestions to senior manage-ment. Senior management should avoid the bureaucracy by con-ducting face-to-face meetings with employees. Meetings such as‘‘bagels-with-the-president’’ and ‘‘brown-bag-lunches with the

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CEO’’ can offer rich opportunities for senior mangers to discoveruseful ideas directly from employees.

2. Get rid of the ‘‘suggestion box.’’There is no better way to stifle openness than to tell employeesto use a suggestion box rather than to voice their views openly.Employees should be given the opportunity to voice their sugges-tions in person to senior management.

3. Set realistic expectations.Employees are usually disappointed when their suggestions arenot used, but in some cases they are off base or unrealistic. Man-agement needs to make it clear that not every suggestion can beimplemented, but that all suggestions are welcome. Employeeswith good suggestions will be satisfied that only the good sugges-tions are used.

4. Proactively promote the proliferation of suggestions.Management should make it clear to employees that providingsuggestions is an expected part of everyone’s job.

5. Close the loop.It is important for management to communicate to employeeswhen their suggestions are being implemented. Public recogni-tion or cash awards for good suggestions can be their own self-fulfilling prophecy. Such recognition, combined with the overallsense that employee suggestions are not being ignored, will in-crease the probability employees will continue to make useful sug-gestions.

ConclusionManagement often doesn’t listen to employees and employees are nothappy about it. Perfect communication between management and em-

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ployees may not be realistic, but regularly speaking with employeesdirectly can go a long way toward creating a culture of mutual respectin which good ideas flow freely. Management needs only to ask em-ployees for their suggestions and be open to implementing the goodones.

Notes1. K. K. Smith, ‘‘An Intergroup Perspective on Individual Behavior.’’

In J. R. Hackman, E. E. Lawler, and L. W. Porter (eds.), Perspectiveson Behavior in Organizations (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1977), pp.359–372.

2. R. Rosenthal and L. Jacobson, Pygmalion in the Classroom: TeacherExpectation and Pupils’ Intellectual Development (New York: Rine-hart and Winston, 1968).

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PAGE 166

çForty-six percent of employees believe their organizations

do not treat employees with personal respect.

Management doesn’t respect us.

Amajor international manufacturer of construction products askedme to help it develop an employee survey. The vice president of

Human Resources asked if it would be possible to organize the surveyinto the same four stakeholder categories listed in the four-color glossybooklet describing the company’s new vision. It was an impressive,well-organized piece, with separate pages listing how the companyprovided value to the community, shareholders, customers, and em-ployees.

As a precaution, we decided to conduct a pre-test of the surveyinstrument to make certain employees understood how to answer eachof the items and that we were asking the right questions. We invited adozen employees to the session. They represented a cross-section ofthe employee population, including supervisors, hourly employees,and members of each of the major departments.

I distributed the survey and asked them to complete it. After abouttwenty minutes I asked, ‘‘So, what do you think?’’ Their responsesshocked me. Each of them said, ‘‘If this survey came to my desk, Iwouldn’t complete it.’’ When I asked them to explain, they told me,‘‘This is the company’s way of pushing their new vision on us ratherthan really caring about what we think about working here.’’

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In short, those employees felt they were not respected. Needlessto say, we redesigned the survey into categories that assessed the viewsof employees on the issues that most concerned them, not accordingto the categories of the new vision.

My sister used to work in the back office of a large health-careorganization. Along with about twenty-five other college-educated em-ployees, she was responsible for processing medical claims. Here arethree memos she and her coworkers received from management.These are verbatim transcripts of the memos, including the capitaliza-tion:

‘‘Just a reminder to take care of all personal matters before youpunch in. This includes personal hygiene, morning beverages orfood, or any other personal task that is not directly work related.You should not be attending to any of these matters once you havepunched in to start your work day.’’

‘‘I RESPECTFULLY ASK THAT EACH OF YOU PAY ATTENTIONTO YOUR WORK, AND IF YOU SHOULD HEAR SOMEONEELSE’S PERSONAL BUSINESS, THAT YOU IGNORE WHATYOU HAVE HEARD.’’

‘‘DRESS CODE: THE DRESS CODE IS FOR EVERYONE TO FOL-LOW . . . IF YOU ARE UNSURE WHETHER OR NOT YOUROUTFIT MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS, IT PROBABLYDOESN’T . . . WE ARE BUSINESS CASUAL . . . IF EVEN ONEPERSON CANNOT FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES, THEN EVERY-ONE WILL DRESS BUSINESS.’’

The Problem for EmployersMemos like these are insulting, degrading, and disrespectful. If man-agement wants employees to act as adults, they need to treat themlike adults. Management cannot expect to receive respect from theiremployees if that respect is not reciprocated.

My work takes me into many different types of organizations. Even

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53M a n a g e m e n t d o e s n ’ t r e s p e c t u s .

on an initial visit, I can typically tell whether an organization respectsits employees. Here are some of the things that indicate a disrespectfulwork environment:

• Special parking places are reserved for senior executives of thecompany but not for ‘‘the employee of the month,’’ handi-capped employees, or visitors.

• Managers don’t introduce their support staff or colleagues tovisitors.

• Visitors are kept waiting for long periods of time in the recep-tion area.

• The receptionist makes no attempt to make visitors feel com-fortable.

• The simple words ‘‘please’’ and ‘‘thank you’’ are rarely used.

The Psychology of It AllWhy does management treat employees disrespectfully? There are atleast four reasons.

1. Different Perspectives. As previously discussed, senior manage-ment’s perspective atop the organization differs from those within theorganization. Uppers are generally inclined to have a dim view of theskills and knowledge of employees and don’t respect them.

2. Mirroring. Remember, ‘‘mirroring’’ is the phenomenon inwhich relationships at the upper levels of an organization spread tolower levels. ‘‘It all starts at the top’’ is a truism, not a cliche. Forexample, if parents demonstrate violent behavior in front of their chil-dren, the children will undoubtedly express these same behaviors toothers. Similarly, if senior managers don’t respect their direct reports,these second-level managers will demonstrate a similar level of disre-spect to their direct reports, and so on. The practice of disrespect

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spreads, or mirrors itself, throughout the organization and becomespart of its culture.

But, you may ask, how does this disrespect begin in the first place?One reason is that uppers often experience disrespect in their externalenvironment. Perhaps their suppliers, stockbrokers, or customers dis-respect them. This then starts the process of mirroring within theorganization.

3. Insecurity. A third reason for disrespect of employees is insecu-rity. Managers and supervisors who are not confident in their ownskills and abilities often develop a lack of respect toward the views oftheir direct reports.

4. Failure to Value Employees. Another underlying cause of disre-spect is viewing all employees as expenses rather than income-producing assets. Senior managers in healthy organizations know thatthe engine driving their business is their employees. They treat themas investments that must be respected. They focus on the fact thateach employee represents $100,000 to $300,000 of revenue, ratherthan the expense of their salary and benefits.

Ω

Solutions

1. Respect employee privacy.Discuss personal and sensitive issues in private. Also, as noted inChapter 1, don’t spy on employees. A 2005 survey by the AmericanManagement Association of 526 U.S. companies found that 55percent use some type of software to monitor their employees’incoming and outgoing e-mail.1 Be the exception. Take the highroad and respect the privacy of your employees.

2. Get to know your employees as people.In healthy organizations, supervisors, managers, and even thesenior-most executives know the names of the majority of their

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55M a n a g e m e n t d o e s n ’ t r e s p e c t u s .

employees. They also know a little about their families and majorinterests. Employees are more than just human machines.

3. Communicate with employees individually.Don’t send blanket e-mails that threaten or chastise all employees.Even in organizations where a high level of teamwork is impor-tant, employees must be managed individually.

4. Apply discipline to individuals, not teams.If there is a problem with an employee’s conduct, dress, or use ofcompany time, talk to that person individually. If necessary, usethe organization’s performance management and discipline proc-esses, but be above board in communicating your concerns andactions to the employee.

5. Recognize that employees have lives outside of work.There is no excuse for blatantly abusing company time, but is re-ceiving a periodic call from a family member really so terrible?Is checking in with a childcare provider cheating your employer?Certainly it is not.

6. Treat employees as adults.Eating a two-hour full-course meal during work hours is probablyinappropriate, but is sipping coffee or soda at your desk a violationof company time? Probably not.

7. Remember the Golden Rule.Management should give employees the same level of respect anddignity that they would want to be shown themselves.

ConclusionThere is no excuse for management treating employees disrespect-fully, but it happens all the time—and employees hate it. Employees

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should be treated as individuals and as valuable assets of the organiza-tion. Get to know employees personally, communicate with them indi-vidually, apply discipline to individuals not teams, recognize thatemployees have lives outside of work, and treat them as adults. Inshort, treat employees with respect and they will reciprocate that feel-ing toward management and the organization’s goals.

Note1. 2005 Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey: ‘‘Many

Companies Monitoring, Recording, Videotaping—and Firing—Employees.’’ Study cosponsored by the American ManagementAssociation and the ePolicy Institute. Reported May 18, 2005:amanet.org/press/amanews/ems05.htm.

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éForty-eight percent of employees believe management makes poor decisions.

So who’s in charge anyway?

It was the biggest decision of his career and the biggest decision byhis organization in more than a decade—and he blew it.Grady Little, manager of the 2003 Boston Red Sox, was at the

helm during the seventh and deciding game of the American LeagueChampionship Series against their nemesis for more than 80 years,‘‘the Evil Empire’’: the New York Yankees. Pedro Martinez, former CyYoung award winner and the Sox’s best pitcher, was on the mound.

The Sox were leading 5 to 2 in the eighth inning. The fans back inNew England were cautiously optimistic that this might finally be theyear to overcome the famed ‘‘curse of the Bambino.’’ Pedro hadpitched brilliantly up to this point, but his pitch count was over themagical number 100 and Grady rarely kept him in after that. Besides,the Red Sox bullpen had been performing very well in the postseason.

In the eighth inning Pedro allowed two hits, and with one outGrady came to the mound and asked his tired-armed superstarwhether he wanted to stay in the game. The brave battler Martinezsaid, ‘‘Keep me in.’’ As he usually did when his superstar spoke, Gradycomplied.

Little was barely back to his seat in the dugout when Pedro gaveup a run-scoring hit, making the score 5 to 3. Still Grady remained

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seated. The rest is history. The fourth hit of the inning tied the game,and the Sox later lost in the bottom of the 11th inning on a crushingBucky Dent-like home run by weak-hitting Aaron Boone. Red Sox Na-tion was devastated—yet again.

Why did Grady Little allow his pitcher to make this decision? Un-fortunately, he relied too heavily on the input of his subordinate ratherthan on his own instincts or his business advisors—a big mistake.

The Problem for EmployersManagers in organizations need to know when to gather informationfrom employees and when to make the hard decisions themselveseven if it means disregarding employees. It is management’s job togather all the information, weigh this information, and then make thefinal decision with the best interests of the organization in mind.

When managers abdicate their decision-making responsibilities,employees lose trust in them. A lack of trust leads to lowered commit-ment to the organization and decreased morale.

The Psychology of It AllPart of the ‘‘psychological contract’’ employees implicitly accept whenthey join an organization is that in return for compensation and beingtreated fairly, they will follow the decisions made by their supervisors.

Most employees have strong opinions about what decisions shouldbe made. They want to have input, but they would rather have manage-ment actually make the crucial decisions. They are willing to play asubservient role if management will step up to the plate and make thetough decisions. They are usually willing to follow along to implementthose decisions.

When management makes the wrong decisions or fails to makedecisions in a timely manner, they are violating the psychological con-tract.

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59S o w h o ’ s i n c h a r g e a n y w a y ?

Ω

Solutions

1. Understand that the goals of the organization and the goalsof your employees are not always the same.Pedro wanted to show the world that he could continue to mowdown the Yankee hitters. He wanted to silence his critics after hisearlier loss in the series. He probably also wanted to make surethat his income would stay astronomically high during his upcom-ing salary negotiations. These, of course, were not the goals ofGrady Little, who simply wanted to get five more outs and win thegame. The primary input used to make this decision came fromthe wrong person.

2. Know where to draw the line.Workers should certainly make many day-to-day decisions, butmanagement should make other, more strategic decisions, alone.In Grady Little’s case, the decision should have been made by himalone—without even consulting the worker. Did he really expectPedro to say, ‘‘Yes, please take me out?’’

3. Consult with senior advisors.The decision was Grady Little’s to make, but he needed to gathermore input from the other coaches on the team and his catcher,Jason Varitek. Little let his emotions and the emotions of his su-perstar determine the decision. This is not a wise businessstrategy.

ConclusionManagement needs to make the hard decisions even when those deci-sions fly in the face of the wishes of their valued employees. Theyneed to consult with employees and supervisors before making theirdecision, but employees will be happier if they know management willnot hesitate to make the important tough decisions themselves.

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PAGE 166

èForty-five percent of employees don’t trust the information they

receive from their senior management.

I don’t trust the information Ireceive from management.

Iwas consulting to a privately-held East Coast environmental engi-neering firm, that employed a work force of approximately 350 in

ten locations in the United States and several overseas. Trust in man-agement was at an all-time low.

In response to declining revenues, the company was in the midstof a great deal of change. During the previous year they had downsizedby more than 25 percent and hired a new operations manager to helpthe company better focus on the bottom line. They were planning onsplitting the company into a small administrative services group anda larger operations group. The owner was also considering selling thecompany.

Employees felt senior management knew much more about thefuture of the company than they were telling, and employee moralehad become a major problem. The rumor mill was running rampantas employees feared the company would be sold and there would bemore layoffs. They no longer trusted management to be honest withthem.

The truth was that senior management had no idea what wasgoing to happen next. They were also in the dark, and had not evendeveloped contingency plans in the event revenue continued to de-

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cline. They did not want to alarm anyone with possible ‘‘what-if ’’ sce-narios, so they passed very little information about the situation alongto employees. They didn’t even admit that they too were uncertainabout the future.

In another instance I conducted an employee survey for a union-ized manufacturing organization with plants in Atlanta, New Jersey,and Western Massachusetts. Prior to developing the survey, I visitedeach plant to speak with the local managers and employees. At one ofthe plants, management and the employees were in constant conflict.Neither group trusted the other. This situation had been deterioratingfor many years, but management felt powerless to do anything aboutit. No matter what they said to employees, employees did not believethem, so management stopped trusting employees. No one even re-membered how the vicious cycle first got started. One manager con-fided, ‘‘It has gotten so bad and lasted for so long that the only way toend this terrible situation is for us to fire every employee, move theplant to a different part of the country, and hire all new employees andmanagers.’’

The Problem for EmployersI have sat in on many presentations in which senior managementattempts to honestly present important information about the per-formance of the company to employees. It is not uncommon to seemany employees sitting with their arms folded expressing their deepskepticism with their body language. How can management expectemployees to align themselves with the goals of the organization whenemployees don’t trust the information they receive about these goals?When employees don’t trust the information they receive from man-agement, employee productivity and commitment to the organizationdeclines.

The Psychology of It AllSenior managers tend to lose sight of the fact that they have a verydifferent perspective about the organization than do rank-and-file em-

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63I don’t trust the information I receive from management .

ployees. They have access to more information about the performanceof the organization, the market, and the economy. But they often ig-nore their important responsibility to communicate this informationto employees.

Senior managers believe that if there is nothing important to re-port to employees, they need not communicate anything. Employees,however, are thirsty for information. When they don’t receive it, theybelieve it is being intentionally withheld from them.

Senior managers assume that when they meet with middle man-agers, the important information shared at the meeting will be passedalong. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. It is not uncommonfor middle managers to leave a briefing of senior management andreport nothing to their direct reports. They assume that employeesdon’t really need to know the information, or they intentionally with-hold it from employees. They may believe that information is powerand that telling employees all they know would diminish their author-ity. But middle managers have the responsibility for passing alonginformation to their employees.

Employees also may have unrealistic expectations about what in-formation senior management should provide them. If they haven’theard something specific from management, they often assume theworst and mistakenly assume that management doesn’t respect themenough to be honest with them.

Ω

Solutions

1. Bypass the middlemen.Middle managers in most organizations frequently say, ‘‘Seniormanagers and employees would understand each other much bet-ter if they would only communicate directly.’’ As previously dis-cussed, ironically, it is these ‘‘middles’’ that get in the way of thatcommunication. In passing on information, people often inten-tionally or unintentionally filter, embellish, or put their own spinon the message.

In small organizations, senior managers can:

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• Hold regular all-employee meetings

• Conduct informal breakfast or lunch meetings with em-ployees

• Meet face-to-face with individual employees when walkingthrough the halls

In large organizations, senior management can:

• Prepare videotaped messages

• Send e-mails or memos directly to employees

• Use the services of communication professionals to helpchoose the appropriate media, message, and moment

2. Differentiate between ‘‘nice-to-know’’ and ‘‘need-to-know.’’It is important that senior managers establish criteria for whattype of information should be communicated directly to employ-ees and what should not. For example, information should becommunicated directly to all employees if it:

• Affects the work they perform

• Has a personal impact upon their future within the organi-zation

• Affects them financially

3. Communicate ‘‘don’t-knows’’ as well as ‘‘do-knows.’’Above all else, employees want honesty. It is important that man-agement communicate what they don’t know and what they doknow. For example, they should be honest with employees whenthey are uncertain about:

• How the economy will influence the organization

• The possible need for layoffs

• Future plans for the direction of the organization

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65I don’t trust the information I receive from management .

4. Overcommunicate.You can never communicate important information too fre-quently. Management should communicate important messagesto employees more than once.

5. Use multiple communication channels.Employees have different preferences for how they receive infor-mation. Some like to read it in the company newsletter, some inan e-mail, and others at a presentation by senior managers. Toeffectively reach everyone, multiple methods should be used.

ConclusionKept in the dark, employees become unhappy. They hate managementfor not being open and honest with them. To maintain mutual trust,managers need to be sensitive to the need for employees to really knowwhat is happening with the organization. You can keep employees wellinformed by circumventing the hierarchy, communicating directlyusing multiple channels, and communicating what you know andwhat you don’t know about what is important to their work and totheir future.

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PAGE 166

áÜFifty-three percent of employees say their boss

doesn’t positively movtivate them.

My boss is a terrible manager.

It was the fifth year of my graduate studies and finding a good dis-sertation topic had become a major challenge. My criterion was

something I called the ‘‘so-what-test.’’ I needed to be able to find aresearch topic that I felt passionate about because I believed it wasimportant and worthwhile. But finding a topic that passed this testwas proving to be difficult.

One day, one of my faculty advisors at the University of Marylandsuggested that while I was in limbo with my dissertation I volunteerto help him with a new research project. The task was to find out whyemployee turnover was so high in the physical plant department of theUniversity. I agreed to interview people who were planning to leave.

My very first interview made a long-lasting impression on me. Anemployee who had been on the job just six months told me, ‘‘I’ve neverhad a more miserable six months in my life.’’ Suddenly, I had found atopic that passed my ‘‘so-what-test.’’

It turned out that this employee, a man in his late forties, had beena carpenter for twenty-three years prior to joining the University. Aback injury had forced him to seek his current position, a desk job inwhich he processed maintenance work order requests. After having

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been self-employed for many years, this was his first foray into a full-time job within an organization.

The man cited an inability to get along with his supervisor as themajor reason for his wanting to leave. He told me she was a microma-nager who had very little respect for his breadth of experience. He feltunappreciated. She was also a poor communicator who spoke withhim only when she had a criticism.

For my thesis I interviewed fifty recently departed employees.1

Many explained to me that one of the major reasons they left was thedifficulty they were having with their supervisors.

The Problem for EmployersMost employees experience a bad boss at least once in their career.Many actually feel they’ve never had a good boss. Insensitivity, failureto communicate, and a lack of fairness are the hallmarks of poor su-pervision.

Why is it that good supervisors are hard to find? Here are sixreasons:

1. Difficulty of Supervision. Handling the complex issues of moti-vating employees and solving job- and people-related problems is dif-ficult. Few are capable of handling all these responsibilities well.

2. The Peter Principle. Organizations often promote those who aregood at selling and making their numbers rather than those who havedemonstrated good leadership and people skills.

3. Poor Hiring Practices. In this age of specialization, employersrarely focus on hiring people with good potential for supervising oth-ers. Instead, they are inclined to look only at the technical skills ofapplicants. Characteristics such as the ability to motivate others and tosolve complex people problems, as well as emotional intelligence, arerarely considered during the hiring process.

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69M y b o s s i s a t e r r i b l e m a n a g e r .

4. Lack of Recognition for Good Supervision. Pay increases and pro-motions for supervisors are rarely based on how well they actuallysupervise others.

5. Lack of Training. Most organizations do a poor job of providingthe appropriate training for their supervisors. Training is viewed as aneedless expense rather than an important investment.

6. Lack of Good Role Models. Excellent senior-level managers whoare able to mentor other managers and supervisors are the exceptionrather than the rule. Instead, it is often the blind leading the blind.

The Psychology of It AllFew employees can maintain their motivation and good spirits whenworking for someone with poor supervisory skills. The day-to-day real-ity of employees is defined to a large extent by their direct supervisor.Employees need to feel that they are respected, appreciated, andtreated fairly.

There have been many theories developed over the years regardingthe relationship between supervisory behaviors and employee satisfac-tion, motivation, and performance. Early theories assumed that goodsupervisors possess a number of universal traits that they are eitherborn with or have learned. For example, good supervisors utilize excel-lent task management skills such as planning and organizing, andthey have outstanding people skills such as charisma and emotionalintelligence. The key for organizations is to find supervisors who al-ready have these skills, or who have potential and can be trained.

More recent behavioral theories of supervision suggest that thereare two basic styles of leadership: the task-oriented style, and the peo-ple-centered style. Task-oriented supervisors increase employee motiva-tion by making it clear to employees how they can achieve valuedrewards. People-centered supervisors increase employee motivation andsatisfaction by creating a supportive environment. Both strategies canbe effective.

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The research of noted business theorist Robert House shows thatsupervisors are effective when they provide employees with the beliefthat if they work hard they will achieve goals, and that achieving thosegoals will allow them to obtain the rewards they value.2

At about the same time, Edwin Locke of the University of Mary-land theorized that supervisors affect employee satisfaction by influ-encing the degree to which employees are able to attain their jobvalues.3 These include task values such as interesting and enjoyablework assignments, and non-task values such as raises, promotions,time off, and better equipment and working conditions. A good super-visor must be able to identify the values of his employees and thenprovide the opportunity for them to attain those values.

Ω

SolutionsGood bosses possess the traits, styles, or skills that enable themto effectively provide employees with a structured and supportiveenvironment that enables them to attain the rewards and valuesthey desire. Here are seven basic principles for becoming a betterboss.

1. Treat employees with respect and dignity.

2. Involve employees in decisions.

3. Empower employees.

4. Clearly communicate assignments.

5. Listen, listen, listen.

6. Recognize that your job includes solving ‘‘people problems.’’

7. Provide personal recognition.

ConclusionMany employees are unhappy with their bosses, but being a good bossis difficult. It takes thoughtful action and a commitment to continually

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71M y b o s s i s a t e r r i b l e m a n a g e r .

try new approaches to learn what is most effective for you and youremployees. If you supervise others, become a student of the craft.Don’t become known as ‘‘that terrible boss I had at my last job.’’

Notes1. B. L. Katcher, The Psychological Experience of Leaving a Job, unpub-

lished doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland, College Park,1983.

2. R. J. House, ‘‘A Path Goal Theory of Leader Effectiveness,’’ Admin-istrative Science Quarterly 16, 3 (September 1971): 321–338.

3. E. A. Locke, ‘‘The Supervisor as ‘Motivator’: His Influence on Em-ployee Performance and Satisfaction.’’ In R. A. Steers and L. W.Porter (Eds.), Motivation and Work Behavior (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975), pp. 360–372.

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P a r t I I I

Employees Aren’t ReceivingWhat They Really Need

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ááFifty-six percent of employees believe their organization is not well managed.

I’ve lost confidence in management.

Often management is the last to know that they have lost the con-fidence of their employees. My first consulting contract after

going out on my own in 1993 was a 70-store retail clothing store chaincatering to women in need of high-end, large-size clothing. The presi-dent of the organization told me that the purpose of the survey was tohelp him make the organization a better place to work.

About two weeks into the program I received a call from a venturecapital firm based in San Francisco. ‘‘You don’t know me, but I am thehead of the board of directors of your new client,’’ said the caller. ‘‘Weasked the president to have the survey conducted, so you are actuallyconducting it for us, not for him. Once you have completed your analy-sis, send the results of the survey to me directly.’’ He then added, ‘‘Oh,and by the way, don’t tell the president we have spoken.’’

Since the president had hired me, I sent the report separately toboth the president and the head of the board. About a week later Ireceived a call from the venture capital firm telling me that theywanted me to present the results of the survey at an emergency meet-ing of the board. A few minutes before the meeting, the head of theboard came into the room to tell me, ‘‘I just want you to know that thismorning we accepted the president’s resignation.’’

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76 E m p l o y e e s A r e n ’ t R e c e i v i n g W h a t T h e y R e a l l y N e e d

I probably should have expected this, but I was shocked. My ser-vices had clearly been used to show the board that the workforce hadlost confidence in the president. In most organizations, the fact thatemployees have little or no confidence in senior management is anaccepted fact of life. In this case, it led to the president’s dismissal.

The Problem for EmployersOur nation has been suffering for many years from an erosion of con-fidence in our business institutions. The fact that more than half ofall employees believe their organization is not well managed is notsurprising, given the following facts:

• Huge numbers of employees have lost their jobs due to layoffs.

• There has been a rash of sobering news about managementimproprieties at previously well-respected companies, such asMCI WorldCom, Enron, and Tyco.

• Large numbers of employees have seen their once-valuablestock options become worthless.

• Pension programs in many organizations have failed.

Employees with little confidence in management develop a cynicalview of their employment situation. Although they may take pride intheir work and enjoy their relationships with coworkers, they are un-able to maintain enthusiasm and faithfulness to the organization.

The Psychology of It AllEmployees agree to surrender their time and energy in exchange forpay, benefits, and management providing a comfortable working envi-ronment and a viable business. When employees believe that manage-ment is not making good decisions for the company, they feel that theunwritten psychological contract with their employer has been vio-

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77I ’ v e l o s t c o n f i d e n c e i n m a n a g e m e n t .

lated. They therefore reconsider their own willingness to commit theirtime and energy to the organization.

Ω

Solutions1. Produce results.Most importantly, employees want to know that someone is doinga good job of minding the store. Just like stockholders, they wantto see tangible results, an honest accounting of the organization’sfinancial condition, and well-conceived plans for the future.

2. Share the wealth.Employees can be quite accepting of hefty senior managementsalaries if they feel that they too are sharing in the success andgrowth of the organization. When business is good, it is time toinstitute profit-sharing programs and enhance raises and bonuses.

3. Recognize that you are accountable to employees.In many organizations, senior managers have forgotten that theyare accountable to employees as well as to stockholders and cus-tomers.

4. Be honest with your employees.Employees can live with slumps in the business. They can also livewith a year without bonuses or raises. What they cannot andshould not tolerate is management’s insincerity and dishonesty.Communicate successes and failures.

ConclusionIt is important to employees to be able to maintain confidence in man-agement’s ability to successfully lead the organization. Employees re-sent management when it doesn’t live up to their end of the bargain.They will have more confidence in the decisions made by manage-ment if you openly communicate with them and treat them as truebusiness partners.

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PAGE 166

áàFifty-eight percent of employees say their department is shorthanded.

We’re understaffed.

Alarge insurance company in New England surveyed the employ-ees of a smaller company they had recently acquired in Maryland.

This 200-person acquisition had a long, proud history of serving itslocal market. Most of their employees had been with the company formany years.

The survey found that employees believed their hard work wasresponsible for the growth the company had experienced during theprevious few years. They also were concerned they were understaffed.However, based on available staffing level studies in the industry, theywere actually overstaffed. These employees had grown accustomed toa relatively light workload but still felt overworked. Management’s di-lemma was how to address employee concerns without increasingtheir payroll costs.

The Problem for EmployersOur research shows that the majority of employees believe there arenot enough qualified employees to handle the work in their depart-ment. Here are some reasons why employees feel overworked:

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The Staff Is Slow to Adapt to Changing Technology

For this company in Maryland, employees were slow to adjust to thenew technology their new parent had introduced. They had been usingoutdated manual procedures and lacked the computer savvy to quicklyadapt to the new systems. As a result, they felt understaffed. Whatwas really needed was not more staff, but better training or differentemployees who were more suited to using new technology.

Change or Die

Organizations must continuously adapt to the changing needs of theircustomers in order to survive. For example, a Web-based Internet com-merce company helped small businesses establish shopping carts ontheir websites. Its business model required that the process of acquir-ing new customers and servicing them should be 95 percent auto-mated. But the customer satisfaction survey we conducted for themrevealed that customers wanted more personal attention, not more on-screen documentation or Web pages containing answers to frequentlyasked questions.

The desires of their customers forced their well-compensated salesstaff to perform double-duty as customer service agents. Because theonly way they could attract and retain new merchants was by providingtime-consuming handholding, their sales staff spent more and moretime servicing customers and less time finding new ones. In short,they didn’t have the right staffing for their new business model.

Demand Often Changes Faster Than SupplyAn office manager of a large, busy medical group practice is responsi-ble for five office workers who handle medical records and the paper-work required by the insurance companies.

One day the senior partner told her they would be adding a newphysician to the practice. She also learned that one of their largerHMOs was changing their procedures so she would now be requiredto complete additional paperwork for each patient. She knew she

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would need more staff, but to hire and train them would take months.Her existing staff was already overtaxed.

Staff Cuts Go Too Far

Declining revenue forced one company to impose a 10 percent layoff.To be fair, they decided to implement an across-the-board layoff strat-egy. Each department was required to reduce their staff count by one.Not surprisingly, an employee survey of ‘‘the survivors’’ found thatthis strategy created a particular workload problem in the smallestdepartments because they lost a greater percentage of their employees.

Required Skills Change

One financial service company has many dedicated, tenured employ-ees. To improve efficiency, it gradually upgraded their internal sys-tems. Many functions previously performed by hand were now fullyautomated. Our employee survey found that as a result, the technicalstaff felt overworked and the old-timers felt underutilized. What theynow needed were fewer do-it-by-hand employees and more program-mers and computer-savvy workers. The company’s required skills hadchanged.

The Psychology of It AllEmployees gradually reach a comfort level with the amount of workthey are expected to perform for the compensation they receive. Eitherreducing the compensation or asking employees to perform morework for the same compensation can disrupt this delicate balance.According to equity theory, when this happens, employees becomeunhappy and want to restore the balance by either reducing their work-load or receiving more pay.

There are no rules regarding the amount of work one should per-form for a certain level of pay. While market forces determine paylevels, employees develop an unconscious perception about the appro-

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priate amount of effort they should expend. It is as if they have aninternal scale that weighs the amount of work they perform versus thecompensation they receive. Employers must be aware that employeesare sensitive to changes in this balance.

Ω

SolutionsIt is unlikely that the flow of work will remain at a constant levelthroughout the year or from year to year. Yet this is what employ-ees expect. Here are a few suggestions for handling this problem:

1. Set realistic expectations.Make it clear to employees when they are hired, and then periodi-cally afterwards, that their workload will depend upon the needsof the business and its customers. Tell them they should expect tobe busier during certain times of the year than others.

2. Ask employees about the workload.Employees are often the best source of preliminary informationabout the need for more or better-qualified staff. Simply ask themtheir opinions through confidential interviews and employee sur-veys. Realize, of course, that their desire for more staff may bemore self-serving than reflective of a real need.

3. Conduct periodic staffing audits.Staffing levels don’t necessarily match the needs of a changingcompany. A systematic audit of the volume of work to be per-formed and the needed skills can identify any mismatches. Anobjective outsider should be used to conduct this analysis.

4. Retrain staff.Many organizations talk about retraining staff, but few actually doit. Once an audit identifies shortages in skills, retraining of exist-ing staff can often fill the gap.

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5. Use relief employees.When I was a camper during the summers, counselors took oneday off per week. The day our counselor was off, a relief counselortook his place. Organizations should maintain a cadre of reliefworkers that can cover when employees are out due to sickness orvacation. These relief workers can also help out when additionalstaff is needed to handle occasional increases in workload in cer-tain departments.

ConclusionEmployees resent management when they feel overworked or under-staffed. Real or imagined, employee concerns about their workload areoften unavoidable. But there are measures that employers can take tobetter manage these concerns. Avoiding the problem is not one ofthem. Set realistic expectations about workload, conduct periodicstaffing audits, be open to retraining staff, use relief workers, and askemployees how they feel about their workload. Most importantly,make certain that understaffing is not adversely affecting customersatisfaction.

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PAGE 166

áâForty-seven percent of all employees say they don’t receive the

information they need to do their job well.

They don’t tell me what I need toknow to do my work.

Apharmaceutical firm, a division of a Fortune 100 chemical com-pany, took its orders directly from its parent. The researchers at

the pharmaceutical firm were working on several experimental drugs.Their job was to conduct animal drug testing and work their waythrough all the many FDA procedures for gaining approvals.

Each experiment required months of painstaking preparation, fol-lowed by additional months of rigorous research. The problem wasthat the parent company kept changing their minds about what drugsthey wanted them to test and how they wanted the tests to be con-ducted. This left the researchers extremely frustrated. They wereconstantly stopping, starting, and restarting their experiments. Ouremployee survey revealed that more than two-thirds felt they weren’treceiving the information they needed to do their jobs well.

In another situation, a large gas utility, which had grown steadilythrough the years and had offices throughout New England, had prob-lems with their internal information systems. They were outdated andnot built for the utility’s large size. The field repairmen would receiveservice orders several days late that were often incomplete or just plainwrong. Employees were constantly frustrated by the organization’spoor information flow. For example, the marketing department sent

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out a huge mailing to millions of customers about new service offer-ings only to learn too late that the services were not yet ready. In fact,an employee survey revealed that 70 percent felt they weren’t receivingthe information they needed to do their job well.

The Problem for EmployersWhen employees feel that they are not receiving the information theyneed to do their job well, they become frustrated and the quality of theorganization’s products and services suffers. Below are some of thekey employee questions that frequently go unanswered:

• To Management: What organizational and marketplace changesare taking place that will affect our jobs? What are the priorities?

• To Supervisors: What exactly do you want me to do? What is mybudget? When do you need the work to be completed? How well am Idoing? What should I be doing differently?

• To Coworkers: When will the work I need from you be com-pleted? What are your expectations of me?

• To Customers: How satisfied are you with the products and ser-vices we provide? What would you like us to do differently?

The Psychology of It AllThere are a number of reasons why this information is not forth-coming:

1. Unnecessary Secrecy. Management often mistakenly assumesthat by withholding information they will be able to retain power andinfluence over employees.

2. Ineffective Supervision. Although communication is the mostcritically important supervisory skill, many supervisors enter the ranks

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of management because of their technical expertise, not their peopleskills.

3. Communication Not Built into the Workflow System. Organiza-tions typically do a better job of planning the flow of materials andproducts than they do planning the flow of information. Critical infor-mation often slips through the cracks.

4. Lack of a Cooperative Spirit. Without a strong spirit of coopera-tion, employees are more apt to withhold rather than share importantinformation.

5. Information Simply Not Available. Employees often mistakenlyassume that information is available but that it is being intentionallywithheld from them.

Ω

Solutions

1. Conduct an information-needs analysis.A systematic analysis should be conducted for each job in the orga-nization that identifies what information is needed, when, andfrom whom. The results of this analysis then must be fully inte-grated into the organization’s daily procedures.

2. Squelch secrecy.Encourage openness. Without a good ethical, privacy, or legal ra-tionale, secrecy within organizations is counterproductive andshould be eliminated.

3. Provide customer satisfaction information.Customer satisfaction surveys should be conducted on an ongoingbasis. The information obtained from these studies should becommunicated to all employees, especially those with customercontact.

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4. Conduct the JFK exercise.During John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, he said, ‘‘Ask notwhat your country can do for you, ask what you can do for yourcountry.’’ Similarly, employees should develop a list not of infor-mation that they need FROM others in the organization, but of theinformation they can provide FOR others. If everyone adopts thismindset, there will be a strong flow of communication throughoutthe organization.

5. Focus on the communication skills of supervisors.The ability to effectively pass the appropriate information to othersis a critically important supervisory skill. It should be one of themost important factors in the hiring and promotion of supervi-sors.

ConclusionEmployees resent management and are less productive when theydon’t receive the information they need to perform their work. Organi-zations need to take proactive measures to make certain employeesreceive the information necessary to do their jobs well. They shouldconduct an information-needs analysis, squelch secrecy, provide cus-tomer satisfaction information, encourage each individual to improvecommunication with others in the organization, and hire and promotesupervisors on the basis of their communication skills.

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áäFifty-one percent of all employees say they need more training to do their job well.

We need more training.

During the frenzied dot-com boom of the late 1990s I was consult-ing to a 140-employee venture capital-backed Internet service

company. It was able to hire top-notch programmers only by offeringthem stock options, a nice office, a generous salary, and a rich benefitpackage.

Many of the programmers, however, complained that they weren’treceiving the training they needed to do their work. The technologywas changing rapidly and they were not given the opportunity to at-tend training programs or engage in any professional developmentactivities. These programmers felt that the key to their own personalsuccess within the company and in their careers was to stay currentwith the latest programming languages. They knew that an out-of-date programmer was worthless in the market and doomed for careerstagnation.

But the company was struggling to stay afloat, and needed everyprogrammer to be 100 percent billable. The last thing managementfelt it could afford was the cost of sending employees to training pro-grams. But employees grew increasingly unhappy about their lack oftraining.

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The Problem for EmployersOrganizations spend a huge portion of their operating budgets com-pensating employees. In return, they expect them to provide excellentproducts and services to their customers. Yet half of all employees saythey don’t receive the training they need to do their job well, mainlybecause:

• Many organizations view training as a frivolous fringe benefit,rather than a vital business investment.

• Senior management doesn’t believe training programs are ef-fective.

• Training professionals don’t do a good job of demonstrating tosenior management that investing in training yields tangibleresults.

Here’s why employers need their employees to continue to learnnew skills:

1. Capital Improvement. Organizations spend millions of dollarsto upgrade their plants and equipment, yet precious little on upgrad-ing their most important asset: their human capital. Besides, ifemployees don’t receive continuous training, the most up-to-dateequipment will not be used to its fullest capability.

2. Morale Improvement. Employees who continuously upgradetheir job skills will also continuously improve their productivity.Happy employees may be more productive, but more productive em-ployees are also happier.

3. Ability to Adapt to Change. The more skilled the workforce, theeasier it will be for the entire organization to adapt to changes in thedemand for its products and services.

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The Psychology of It AllFor a variety of psychological and practical reasons employees want tocontinue to learn and grow. Abraham Maslow’s theory regarding whathe called the ‘‘hierarchy of needs’’ suggests that all employees are mo-tivated to self-actualize (i.e., become all that they are capable of becom-ing).1 Doing so requires them to continually develop their skills andknowledge.

The ‘‘Two-Factor Theory of Job Motivation,’’ originally developedby Frederick Herzberg and his colleagues in 1957, posited that all jobfactors can be classified into two categories based upon whether theycontribute primarily to job satisfaction or dissatisfaction.2 His theorysuggests that employees are more satisfied on their jobs if they arechallenged and provided with the opportunity to grow.

Systems theory would suggest that all employees must proactivelymanage their careers in a rapidly changing and evolving system. Justas in nature, the Darwinian principle of ‘‘survival of the fittest’’ applieshere too. Employees must continually learn and upgrade their knowl-edge, skills, and abilities in order to survive in the rapidly changingand turbulent economy. They are, therefore, motivated to continuouslyimprove.

Ω

Solutions

1. Communicate the importance of learning.Management should communicate to employees that their organi-zation is a learning center. Providing resources and encourage-ment for employees to continually upgrade their skills will helpattract and retain a dedicated work force.

2. Show them the money.Establish a personnel development fund that gives each employeea set amount of money each year (e.g., $250) that can be used for

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any job-related learning activity, such as professional meetings,books, or videos. Also, provide tuition reimbursement to enableemployees to take college courses in their field.

3. Provide opportunities to visit customers.Face time with customers will help employees gain a better under-standing of their needs.

4. Institute a job rotation program.Develop a system whereby employees rotate between jobs. Thiswill help upgrade their skills and give them a better understandingof the relationships among different jobs within the organization.

5. Institute a shadowing program.A program in which employees are given the opportunity to closelyobserve other workers will allow them to understand and appreci-ate other jobs throughout the organization.

6. Provide a resource center.Establish a center and stock it with job-related books, technicalmanuals, industry periodicals, and training videos. Allow employ-ees to visit the center on company time.

7. Systematically assess training needs.The job skills required to be successful are constantly evolvingbecause of changes in technology and customer needs. Carefullyconducted ‘‘training needs assessments’’ will identify gaps in em-ployee skills. The organization can then focus on what type oftraining employees really need.

8. Evaluate training programs.Unfortunately, only a very small percentage of training programsare ever systematically evaluated. To do so requires:

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• Identifying the objectives of the training program

• Establishing a baseline measure prior to the training

• Comparing the before and after results

If, for example, your objective is to increase customer satisfac-tion by improving the telephone skills of your staff, only by com-paring the before and after customer satisfaction results will itbecome clear whether the effort was successful. Without suchstudies, senior management often feels that they are just wastingtheir money on training. An evaluation study offers proof one wayor the other.

The importance of evaluating training programs was broughthome to me while consulting to a financial services company. Thiscompany spent millions of dollars developing informational mate-rials for meetings in which its financial experts taught employeesat other companies how to save for retirement using the 401(k)plan managed by the company. The goal of the workshop was togive employees information that would help them feel comfortableenrolling in the retirement program. The company needed toknow whether employees were learning anything and whether theprogram was increasing the likelihood that they would rollovertheir retirement savings into the program. By having the employ-ees answer questions both before and after the enrollment meet-ings about their knowledge of such financial concepts ascompound interest and before-tax savings, the company was ableto improve the usefulness of the meetings.

9. Invest in training during down periods.Managers should change their mindset from considering trainingas an expense to viewing it as an important investment. Trainingbudgets are often the first to be cut during challenging economictimes, but it actually makes more sense to focus on training duringa lull in business. When business is slow, employees are moreable to take time from their work to attend training sessions.

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10. Encourage employees to be honest about their needs.Employees have a tendency to say they don’t need training even ifthey know they really do. Employees need to take responsibility tosay to their supervisors, ‘‘I need training and here’s why.’’

11. Use methods other than classroom instruction.Traditional classroom instruction is often not the best way to teachjob skills. Hands-on or computer-assisted instruction, Web-basedtraining, and audio or video training are some of the many tech-niques that enable individuals to work at their own pace and learnmore efficiently than they would in a classroom setting.

12. Make certain that supervisors support the transfer of training.Very often supervisors discourage and even chastise employees forusing the new skills that they were taught in training programs.In that case, it’s no wonder that those skills are not used. Supervi-sors must remain open to the idea that employees can change andgrow.

ConclusionEmployees sincerely want to perform their jobs well and want to makecertain they maintain marketable skills. They resent management fornot providing them with the training they need. Employers need toview training programs as an investment rather than an expense.

Notes1. A. H. Maslow, Motivation and Personality (New York: Harper,

1954).

2. F. Herzberg et al., Job Attitudes: Review of Research and Opinion(Pittsburgh: Psychological Service of Pittsburgh, 1957).

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áãThirty-six percent of employees think the quality of their organization’s

products and services is poor.

The quality of our products andservices is terrible.

At a manufacturer of welded brass fittings for large water pipes,employees in the shop complained to me, ‘‘We have a daily quota,

but sometimes the raw materials we receive have defects, and othertimes our machinery breaks down. When that happens, the only wayto meet our quota is to ship inferior products. But when we complainto management, they tell us to keep our mouths shut and ship theproducts anyway.’’

At another company, a think tank that produces research reportsfor the telecommunications industry costing thousands of dollars foran annual subscription, employees were concerned that the reportsweren’t as timely or as useful as they used to be. They worried thatsome of their customers would realize this and cancel their subscrip-tions.

Similarly, employees on the manufacturing floor of an adhesiveproducts company complained that due to quality problems, they werereceiving an excessive number of customer returns. Processing thereturns was very time-consuming and was angering customers, whoblamed the company for sacrificing quality to save money.

These are three examples of employees being properly concerned

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about the quality of the products and services their organizations pro-vide to their customers. Back in the 1980s, when the continuous qual-ity improvement initiatives of many organizations were catching fireand when W. Edwards Deming was the organizational guru of the day,the results of many employee surveys revealed a surprising finding.Employee ratings of the quality of the products and services producedby their own organizations were declining, not improving. This wasespecially true in those organizations that had devoted a great deal oftime and attention to improving quality. How could this be?

The answer is that employees had become highly sensitized. Byattending quality improvement classes, learning about Six Sigma, andserving on quality improvement teams, everywhere they looked theysaw opportunities to improve quality. Although quality was actuallyimproving, employees had become much more aware and critical.

Although quality has rightly become a key organizational goal atmost companies, many employees have actually become too criticalof their organizations. In the frenzy to improve quality and achieveperfection, some employees have become so focused on identifyingand solving problems that they have lost sight of the fact that theircustomers are, for the most part, satisfied. This is often because theyhave little direct personal contact with customers and thus don’t knowhow customers really feel. Since these employees spend the majorityof their time solving problems and putting out fires, they don’t under-stand that the overwhelming majority of their customers are satisfiedand will continue to do business with the firm.

The Problem for EmployersNeedless to say, organizations won’t survive long if their customersare consistently dissatisfied with their products and services. They willalso be in trouble with their employees, who in order to stay motivatedneed to believe that management is committed to quality. If employeesbelieve management doesn’t really care, they ask themselves, ‘‘Whyshould I care?’’

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This could result in a downward spiral of declining quality, poorcustomer service, and lost business.

The Psychology of It AllLeon Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance suggests that individu-als become frustrated and uncomfortable when there are inconsisten-cies between their attitudes and behaviors. If they believe thatproducing high quality work is important but know their own work isnot, they will experience cognitive dissonance. This theory predictsthat people will be motivated to reduce the dissonance by changingtheir behavior (e.g., improving the quality of their work or quittingtheir job) or by changing their attitude (e.g., the quality of the workdoesn’t really matter or their work quality is really not that bad).1

Employees want to be able to take pride in the quality of their workand the work of their organization. They want to hold their heads uphigh when they talk to others about what their organization stands for.Although they may not feel that their work is saving the world, they atleast want to believe that they are working for an organization whereeveryone strives to do the best job possible for their customers. Whenemployees feel the quality of the products and services provided tocustomers is low, organizational pride, that thin glue that holds manyorganizations together, begins to lose its grip.

Ω

Solutions

Legitimate ConcernsWhen employee concerns about quality are legitimate, it is criti-cally important that management responds appropriately, asshown in the following three guidelines:

1. Investigate the problem.Employees need to know that management will take immediatesteps to investigate and act on their concerns about quality.

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2. Communicate and demonstrate a commitment to quality.Management needs to consistently let employees know the impor-tance of providing their customers with high quality products andservices. This mantra must be repeated over and over again.

3. Admit that there is a problem.Tell the truth. Don’t falsely deny that there are quality problems.Employees will usually be the first to know anyway. Honesty is thebest policy. Thank employees for their concerns and admit whenmanagement has made poor decisions, bought bad raw materials,or established ineffective procedures.

Unwarranted ConcernsSometimes, of course, employee perceptions about quality are in-accurate. Managers are often perplexed when they learn that 50percent or more of their employees rate the quality of their prod-ucts and services as poor, despite data that clearly demonstrates ahigh level of repeat business, low customer turnover, and highlevels of customer satisfaction. Here are five possible approaches.

1. Provide employees with customer satisfaction data.Our surveys show that 60 percent of employees do not feel theyreceive the customer satisfaction information they need to per-form their jobs well. Customer satisfaction surveys should be con-ducted on a regular basis, and the results should be shared withemployees. Also share data about compliments received and neworders placed, as well as about returns, errors, and complaints.

2. Identify what is important to customers.Employees often focus their energies on improving what is mostimportant to them, rather than on what is most important to theircustomers. Sharing with employees the results of surveys thatidentify what is most important to customers can help correctlyfocus their energies.

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3. Track trends in customer satisfaction.It is important for you and your employees to know whether cus-tomer satisfaction is improving, remaining constant, or declining.This information will help determine whether the organization’scommitment to quality is working.

4. Provide competitive intelligence.It can be enlightening to employees to learn how customers feelabout their company’s products and services compared to thoseprovided by the competition. This information can be gatheredthrough customer satisfaction surveys, market research studies,and by interviewing former customers of competing organiza-tions.

5. Provide an appropriately balanced picture.Care should be taken not to sugarcoat or distort data about cus-tomer satisfaction. Armed with accurate and complete data, youand your employees will be able to develop the appropriate per-spective about actions that can be taken.

ConclusionEmployees blame management when they feel their organization isnot producing quality products and services. Your first step should beto determine whether there are really quality problems or whether itis only a problem in perception. If problems do exist, provide yourpeople with the support they need to make improvements. Even moreimportantly, listen to what your customers have to say about qualityand communicate this information to your employees.

Note1. L. Festinger, Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (Stanford: Stanford

University Press, 1957).

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PAGE 166

áåOnly 46 percent of all employees feel cooperation is good between departments.

I receive poor service fromother departments.

During a series of focus groups for a New England financial ser-vices organization, employees complained about the poor cus-

tomer service they receive from other departments. Everyone waspointing fingers. An internal customer satisfaction survey identifiedwhich departments were actually the culprits.

The survey contained two sections. In the first section, all employ-ees were asked how they felt about the customer service they werereceiving from the fifty other departments in the organization. In thesecond section, they were asked to rate the level of customer servicethey felt they were providing to each of the other departments.

It turned out that employees in every department felt that theirdepartment was providing much better service than their internal cus-tomers felt they were receiving from them.

The Problem for EmployersCan an organization really expect to provide excellent service to itsexternal customers when their employees don’t believe they are receiv-ing good customer service from other departments within the organi-zation? For example, if the sales and production departments don’t

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cooperate with each other, customers won’t receive what they werepromised. Also, if the IT department doesn’t cooperate with the restof the organization, timely service to customers will suffer.

Organizations spend a great deal of time trying to increase externalcustomer satisfaction, but very little on improving internal customersatisfaction. Although most employees are usually totally unaware ofhow they themselves are contributing to the problem, they typicallycomplain that:

• Other departments don’t provide them with what they need ina timely manner.

• Other departments don’t understand what they do.

• They are not treated with respect and dignity by their co-workers.

• Other employees are often moody and unpleasant.

The Psychology of It AllOur research has shown that although employees generally have ahigh regard for their coworkers in their own work group, they oftenview employees in other departments as lazy, ineffective, and inten-tionally uncooperative.

One explanation is the phenomenon of ‘‘ethnocentrism,’’ the be-lief that your own group is superior to other groups. Right or wrong,this natural human predisposition interferes with effective teamwork.

A related phenomenon that explains why work groups don’t coop-erate well with each other is ‘‘stereotyping.’’ For example, sales em-ployees often stereotype production employees as people just puttingin their time with little regard for the customer. When a productionproblem takes place, the sales force is quick to view production em-ployees as incompetent without really understanding the situation.Similarly, production employees stereotype sales employees as self-centered and interested only in their sales bonuses, with little under-standing of how the products are really made.

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Employees form these stereotypes of other work groups due, inpart, to the interpersonal behavior phenomenon best explained by ‘‘at-tribution theory.’’ Social psychologists Edward Jones and Richard Nis-bett demonstrated that there is a fundamental difference in howpeople view their own behavior and the behavior of others. Individualstypically view their own behavior as being caused by the situation, butview the behavior of others as caused by their disposition.1

For example, if you learn that a fellow student just flunked a test,you would be naturally predisposed to judge that person as unintelli-gent. But the student who flunked the test would be more likely toblame the poor grade on the fact that he didn’t study enough, was sickthe night before the test, didn’t care about the test, or that the test waspoorly designed.

In the workplace, production employees might view manufactur-ing problems as caused by the poor quality of the raw materials theyreceived, poorly maintained equipment, or the pressure from manage-ment to ship as much finished product each day as possible regardlessof quality. They likely would not view the problem as being due totheir own ineffectiveness or lack of regard for customers. Likewise, thenatural tendency of sales employees might be to make a dispositionalattribution by blaming the problem on the laziness and uncaring atti-tudes of production department employees.

These tendencies to attribute the behavior of others to somethingnegative about their personality or attitudes are counterproductive. Itwould be much better for all involved if, for example, salespeople reallyunderstood the situation facing production workers and vice versa. Inthis way each group would be more willing to try to develop solutionsto the problem rather than just shaking their heads and saying, ‘‘Thoseother employees are really bad.’’

Ω

Solutions

1. Provide employee internships within the organization.Many employees have no idea what the employees in other depart-ments do. Although they are quick to judge their performance,

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they don’t understand the work others perform, how they operate,or the pressures they experience. Allowing employees to serve asinterns for a few days in other departments will enable employeesto better understand the work of other departments and to helpthem view the employees there as real people rather than merelyincompetent adversaries.

2. Reverse the finger pointing.Instead of blaming others, employees must learn to critically ex-amine how their own actions are contributing to problems. Eachtime employees point a finger, ask them what they can do to helpresolve the issue.

It’s like that old story about the difference between heaven andhell. A man visits hell and sees a group of frustrated people sittingaround a large dinner table. They are trying to eat their dinner butare struggling to feed themselves because their forks are each fivefeet long. The man next visits heaven, where people at a large tableare also trying to eat using five-foot-long forks. But they have noproblem because they are using their long forks to feed someoneelse on the other side of the table.

3. Conduct an internal customer satisfaction survey.The survey should ask employees how they feel about the timeli-ness, professionalism, and quality of the services they are receiv-ing from others in the organization. It should also includequestions about the quality of the services they feel they are provid-ing to others. I guarantee the results will be a real eye-opener tomany, because they will identify specific areas of the companywhere internal customer service is in need of improvement.

4. Conduct the JFK exercise.Meet with each department separately and facilitate a brainstorm-ing session focused on developing ideas about what they can do toimprove their service to other departments.

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5. Identify the best practices.Some employees and departments do a better job of satisfyingtheir internal customers than others. Identify good behaviors andteach others in the organization to copy them.

ConclusionEmployees are often unhappy about the lack of cooperation they feelthey receive from other departments. They blame management forcreating this difficult situation. The underlying causes are ethnocen-trism, stereotyping, and dispositional attributions. Organizational co-operation can be improved by instituting job rotation, reversing fingerpointing, conducting internal customer satisfaction surveys, focusingdepartments on what they can do to improve cooperation, and identify-ing and mimicking best practices within your organization.

Note1. E. E. Jones and R. E. Nisbett, ‘‘The Actor and the Observer: Diver-

gent Perceptions of the Causes of Behavior.’’ In Attribution: Per-ceiving the Causes of Behavior (New York: General Learning Press,1971).

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PAGE 166

áçFifty-three percent of all employees feel that there is too much

red tape in their organization.

There’s too much red tape here.

While trying to help a small food manufacturer improve the effi-ciency of their operation, I observed one of the machine opera-

tors jotting down numbers every 15 minutes in a notebook. I asked herwhy she was doing this. She told me she didn’t know, but that severalyears ago her boss, who was no longer with the company, had askedher to keep the log. I asked her if anyone ever looked at the notebookand she told me, ‘‘Not that I know of.’’

Many bureaucratic procedures are perpetuated for no good reason.They sap the time and energy of employees. Some organizations seemto have a form, a procedure, and a rule for everything. You can’t blowyour nose without having to fill out a requisition or get an approval.

As an outside consultant, I often bump up against these bureau-cracies when I submit my proposals or invoices. It provides me with agood understanding of what it’s like for insiders in some organiza-tions.

I frequently consult to a large manufacturer of metal products.This company has been in business for many years and has developeda bureaucracy that rivals that of the federal government. When I sub-mitted a proposal to conduct some work for this organization, theirlegal department sent me a 30-page document written in legalese.

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When I called purchasing to ask for an explanation, they told me, ‘‘Wedon’t understand it either, just sign it.’’

As every consultant knows, sometimes bureaucracies make it verydifficult to get paid. One client of mine has a 25-step approval processfor all invoices. One time I actually drove 45 minutes to a facility withabout 200 people whose sole job was to process invoices. I somehowfound the right person and stood at her desk until she handed me acheck.

Red tape is not limited to large organizations. A few years back Iconsulted to a small liberal arts college. Most of the faculty had beenworking there for many years and were tenured. It was a highly politi-cal environment. The faculty and the administration didn’t trust eachother. The organization was paralyzed. No one was able to make adecision about anything. Faculty committees would make recommen-dations for hiring a new secretary, but the recommendation had to besubmitted to department chairs for approval and then to the deans.The deans would have to submit it to the president, who would needto consult with the Board of Directors. The process, even for a verysimple decision, sometimes took years.

The Problem for EmployersEmployees often feel it is just too difficult to get things done in theirorganization. Even simple activities like ordering supplies or request-ing a computer repair are monumentally difficult tasks. There are justtoo many forms to fill out, approvals to gather, channels to passthrough, or consensus-gathering meetings to conduct. The result: an-noyance, frustration, and paralysis. Often employees throw up theiraims in disgust and give up.

What causes this red tape in the first place, and how is it allowedto fester? Here are five reasons:

1. Creation of New Systems as Companies Grow. When small orga-nizations become larger, new systems, policies, and procedures are

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introduced to regulate and discipline the organization. These well-intentioned measures are supposed to help the organization operatemore efficiently.

2. Compliance. In highly regulated organizations, such as insur-ance companies or banks, internal rules and procedures develop tokeep the organization in compliance with new regulations and laws.

3. The Desire for Internal Consistency. Organizations believe that itis important to maintain consistency about how money is spent, howpeople are hired, and the work hours, pay levels, and dress codes ofemployees.

4. Power Grabbing. Red tape also evolves in organizations becausesenior management wants to maintain as much power as possible.They are under the mistaken assumption that the more power is cen-tralized, the more efficient and productive the organization will be.But this is rarely the case. The most powerful organizations are thosewhere employees all share power. They are unencumbered by red tape.When hundreds or thousands of people are empowered, the resultingenergy of the organization is much greater than when just a few at thetop are in total control.

5. Lack of Trust. Many organizations don’t trust their employeesto make decisions or to act wisely. As a result, they impose rules andapproval processes to make certain employees are properly controlledand the organization operates efficiently.

These bureaucratic procedures put a stranglehold on the organiza-tion, reduce efficiency, encourage rule breaking, and foster an environ-ment in which employees feel powerless to get anythingaccomplished. Red tape bogs down the organization in its own inter-nal procedures rather than focusing on such key goals as customersatisfaction and profitability.

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The Psychology of It AllThe Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines red tape as, ‘‘Official routineor procedure marked by excessive complexity which results in delay orinaction.’’ Its etymology is from the 1700s in England, where red tapewas used to bind bulky stacks of legal documents.

When employees blindly follow official routines, procedures, anddirectives they often feel powerless and become paralyzed. They be-come reluctant to make decisions, take risks, or engage in any actionsthat would help the organization. Worse, they may fail to use goodjudgment, relying instead on rules or orders that they receive fromtheir superiors.

In 1961, Yale University professor Stanley Milgram demonstratedthe problems that can occur when employees merely comply with in-structions they are given by those in authority. He set up a simpleexperiment in which ordinary citizens controlled an electronic shockdevice and were asked to shock a stranger sitting in another room. Asurprising 65 percent of the subjects blindly complied with the experi-menter’s orders and applied high doses of electricity to the other per-son, not realizing that the victim was an actor and was not actuallybeing shocked.1 This well-known psychological study speaks to the un-derlying psychology of what happens when people become accus-tomed to blindly following procedures and orders. They can easily endup doing things that are not in the best interest of their company orcustomers.

While admittedly this is an extreme example of what can happenwhen people blindly comply with authority, it illustrates the fact thatbureaucratic red tape can be destructive in organizations. Employees,without thinking, can perform acts that violate moral judgment andcommon sense. This blind obedience can also lead to work ineffi-ciency, quality problems, and customer dissatisfaction.

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Ω

Solutions

1. Untangle the red tape.Take a hard look at those processes that are bogging things downand frustrating employees. Are they really necessary? What dam-age would occur by streamlining or simplifying them? Involvethose most affected in developing a set of questions to systemati-cally evaluate these red-tape traps. For example, ask them andyourself:

• Is this policy, procedure, or practice absolutely necessary?

• Can it be simplified?

• Is there a less complex but equally effective alternative?

2. Circumvent the red tape.Ever notice that some people in your organization just don’t havethe same red tape problems as you? Often this is because theyhave delegated red tape tasks to others. Or these red-tape avoidersjust don’t worry about the same approvals, forms, and protocolsthat others in the organization obsess about. Be bold! Don’t as-sume the worst. Try it and see what happens; you may be pleas-antly surprised.

3. Eliminate the red tape.Organizations typically do a much better job of creating red tapethan they do of eliminating it. Perhaps that form, procedure, orapproval has outlived its usefulness and should be abandoned. Bea pioneer by taking the lead. Instead of streamlining operations byeliminating people, eliminate the procedures that make the peopleless productive.

ConclusionEmployees hate red tape and they blame management for it. It makesthem powerless to use good judgment and can lead to inefficiency,

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quality problems, and customer dissatisfaction. Organizations need tofocus on untangling, circumventing, or eliminating it.

Note1. S. Milgram, ‘‘Behavioral study of obedience,’’ Journal of Abnormal

and Social Psychology 67 (1974): 371–378.

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áéSixty-one percent of employees believe their organization tolerates poor performers.

Why don’t they get rid of all of thedeadwood around here?

Employees at a small, rural community hospital complained inces-santly about poor performers. They felt that the organization was

too tolerant of ineffective performers and should be firing them.Nurses complained that some of their colleagues were constantly com-ing to work late, calling in sick, and not pitching in to help. House-keepers said that some of their coworkers only completed about halfas much work as they did during a typical day. Many also felt thatseveral of the department managers were just not doing their job.

The employees wondered, ‘‘Doesn’t senior management see theproblems with these employees? Are they blind?’’ Privately, they alsoquestioned whether management noticed their own good perform-ance.

The hospital prided itself on its friendly, congenial atmosphere. Itwas the kind of place where once employees took a job, they mightstay the rest of their career. The majority of the staff had been withthe hospital for twenty years or more. Firing someone was not onlytaking their job away from them, but also ostracizing them within aclose-knit community.

Management was not blind. They knew there were ineffective per-formers within the ranks who had been tolerated for many years. But

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they feared that taking strong action might destroy the collegial atmo-sphere that made the work environment so special. They also lackedthe appropriate paper trail to dismiss poor performers without facingpotential legal problems.

The Problem for EmployersEvery organization has poor performers. I’m talking about employeeswho do the bare minimum. They don’t break any company rules andthey don’t make any blatant or costly mistakes. They are neverthelessextremely harmful to the organization.

Managers who allow poor performers to just coast risk being per-ceived by other employees as indecisive and ineffective. They also willalienate good performers who believe management doesn’t have a clueas to who is performing well and who is not. Typical complaints fromthese employees are:

• ‘‘Why should I work hard if my coworkers get by on less?’’

• ‘‘I should be making more money than people who work lesshard.’’

• ‘‘I have to work harder because I end up doing other people’swork as well as my own.’’

The Psychology of It AllEquity theory predicts that when employees perceive inequity in theworkplace, they will do one of the following:

• Reduce their input by exerting less effort on the job.

• Increase their outcomes by lobbying for a raise or promotion.

• Increase the poor performer’s inputs by somehow rationaliz-ing that the poor performer is actually contributing to the orga-nization in some other way.

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115Why don’t they get rid of all of the deadwood around here?

• Reduce the poor performer’s outcomes by trying to get theircoworker fired.

• Leave their job.

Ω

SolutionsParting ways with poor performers may be the best solution whenno other option is possible. It can signal to other employees thatpoor performance is not tolerated. However, there are other op-tions for dealing with ineffective performers that should be care-fully considered first.

First Options

1. Identify the root cause of the problem.Schedule a time to meet with the employee to discuss the situa-tion. Don’t wait until the annual performance review. Try to iden-tify what is causing the performance problem and whether it canbe improved. Explore potential causes both inside and outside theworkplace. Most importantly, make the employee a partner inidentifying possible solutions.

2. Assign the employee to a different supervisor.Sometimes a different supervisor may be able to bring out the bestfrom a low performing employee. A fresh start may be all that isneeded.

3. Place the employee in a different position.Organizations, as well as employees, are constantly changing. Per-haps a change in job responsibilities, coworkers, or surroundingswithin the organization would better suit the employee.

4. Retrain the employee.The skill set of the employee may need to be upgraded or changed.Employees are typically much happier and better performers whenthey possess the skills they need to achieve a high level of success.

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Stringent MeasuresIf, on the other hand, the employee is not salvageable, other ac-tions will be necessary, such as:

1. Retrain supervisors in how to discipline problem employees.Properly disciplining employees is one of the most difficult jobs ofa supervisor. They should be trained on a regular basis about howto document ineffective performance, how to discuss performanceproblems with employees, and how to try to improve the situation.If all else fails, supervisors need to know how to terminate theproblem employee.

2. Involve the human resource department.Human resource professionals are skilled in how to discuss per-formance issues with employees. They are also knowledgeableabout the relevant company rules and state and federal laws. Getthem involved early in the improvement or termination process.

3. Start the paper trail now.Supervisors should begin to document specific incidents of poorperformance. These should be discussed with the employee assoon after the infraction as possible. The employee should also betold that this incident serves as a warning that they may be dis-missed if improvements are not made within a specified timeframe.

4. Senior management must promote the process.Senior management must communicate to supervisors that it isimportant to the organization that they do their best to improve orterminate ineffective performers.

ConclusionEmployees hate it when they perceive that others are not pulling theirown weight and management is doing nothing about it. Management

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117Why don’t they get rid of all of the deadwood around here?

needs to be proactive about solving the problem by identifying theroot cause, changing the employee’s job or supervisor, or retraining,disciplining, or terminating the employee. Contrary to management’sfears, other employees in the organization will actually be pleased thatmanagement is taking appropriate action.

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PAGE 166

áèFifty percent of employees believe that the time they spend at

meetings is not time well spent.

There are too many damn meetings.

A200-person industry think tank had a long, proud history of pro-viding cutting-edge research reports to its members. It was also

in total disarray. The presidency had changed hands several timeswithin just a few years, and the owners were looking for a buyer.

This was all very unsettling to the workforce. Key players wereconstantly vying for power and influence. The managers and employ-ees of the major departments had deep-seated mistrust for each other.The organization had morphed into a group of separate silos unwillingto cooperate with each other. Senior management was overcompensat-ing by establishing interdepartmental meetings for just about every-thing. While the goal was to try to coordinate the activities of thedepartments and maximize involvement, the meetings were typicallyunproductive. They were characterized by lots of posturing, little com-mitment, and no real decision making or follow through.

Employees didn’t really want to be at the meetings. They arrivedlate, left early, and allowed themselves to be interrupted by keepingtheir cell phones turned on. Some of the senior people even arrangedto have their secretaries interrupt the meeting and whisper into theirear that they needed to leave to attend to an important phone call. Theyweren’t fooling anyone.

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The meetings were chaotic. There was rarely an agenda. Theyoften lasted for hours. Few said how they really felt. No decisions wereever really made. Instead of constructive discussions, everyone wasjust going through the motions. People returned to their offices shak-ing their heads and muttering under their breath, ‘‘What a waste oftime.’’

No wonder our employee survey revealed that only 28 percent ofemployees believed that the time they spent at meetings was wellspent. Even all ten members of the senior management team felt thatway.

The Problem for EmployersMeetings serve many useful functions. They provide an opportunityfor employees from different parts of the organization to communi-cate and cooperate with each other. They enable employees with differ-ent perspectives to provide input and help focus employees onorganizational rather than just departmental or individual goals. Nev-ertheless, half of all employees believe the meetings they attend are awaste of time. Here are some reasons why:

1. People arrive late. When a meeting does not start on time, it isa waste of time for everyone. If six people attend a meeting and thestart of that meeting is delayed for 10 minutes, that’s a waste of oneperson-hour. Yet late attendance is more the rule than the exception. Ioften joke with the first person who attends one of my meetings bysaying, ‘‘You’re here on time, you must be new to the organization.’’

2. Meetings take too long. Many meetings have no clear pre-setagenda, objectives, or stopping time. They thus amble on endlesslywith little purpose or direction.

3. Too many people are invited. Ever attend a meeting and askyourself, ‘‘Why am I here?’’ Meeting leaders often over-invite becausethey don’t want to offend anyone by leaving them off the list. Butmany of them would actually prefer not to be included.

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121T h e r e a r e t o o m a n y d a m n m e e t i n g s .

4. Meetings are very expensive. Do the math. Let’s say there is ameeting of ten people, each with salaries of $65,000. If you add in thecost of their benefits, they’re each costing the company about$100,000 per year. Assuming they work forty hours per week, takethree weeks of vacation, and have fifteen paid days off, they each makeapproximately $54 per hour. A two-hour meeting, therefore, costs thecompany $1,080, plus the cost of any food that is served. If morepeople attend or more senior folks are invited, the cost is even higher.This does not even take into account the lost productivity of each per-son who, instead of attending the meeting, could have been billinghours to clients or making products.

The Psychology of It AllHere are a few psychological reasons why employees find meetings tobe a waste of time:

Not Enough Time Spent on ProcessContent and process are the two major components of any meeting.Many psychologists would argue that 85 percent or more of any meet-ing should be devoted to process issues. Only then will the actual con-tent (or work) of the committee run smoothly and quickly. Processrefers to discussing how people feel ‘‘in the here and now’’ about thefunctioning of the group, the task at hand, how the decision will bemade, and what role each person will play in the decision-makingprocess.

Not Enough Diversity in PerspectivesWell-functioning groups need a combination of people who view theworld in different ways. For example, some people are planners anddoers. Others are more analytical. And still others do a great job look-ing into the future and seeing the big picture. The most productiveand time-efficient meetings contain a combination of these differenttypes of people.

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Dissension Not Valued

One problem experienced by ineffective decision-making groups is aphenomenon that social psychologist Irving Janis called ‘‘group-think.’’1 This happens when a powerful leader of a meeting makes itclear to the group what decision he wants to be made. The meetingthen consists of everyone agreeing with the leader and not expressingany reservations or divergent views. This not only often leads to inef-fective decisions, it’s a waste of everyone’s time.

Leadership Not Shared

Too often people are lazy and simply acquiesce to the person whocalled the meeting. They fail to share in the responsibility for thegroup’s activities. When people are reluctant to participate and fail tobecome invested in the discussion, meetings are less efficient and peo-ple feel less committed to the outcome. The result is another waste oftime. Leadership can take many forms, such as:

• Moving the group from one topic to another

• Summarizing the group’s current thinking

• Expressing a feeling about the progress or lack of progress ofthe group

• Moving the group to consensus

• Objecting to a decision reached by the group

Lack of Commitment to the Meeting’s Goals

If the group’s members have different goals or don’t care about theoutcome, little good will result from the meeting. There will be nocommitment to following through on the decisions of the group. Theresult again: a waste of time.

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123T h e r e a r e t o o m a n y d a m n m e e t i n g s .

Ω

Solutions

1. Put a time limit on meetings.Tell people the meetings will start and end promptly. To get peopleto show up on time, make everyone late to the meeting pay into aspecial kitty that will be used for a holiday party.

When I worked for a large consulting firm, everyone’s billablehours were very closely monitored. Lost time was lost money. Theyconducted an all-out war against wasted non-billable meetingtime. They installed a high table with no chairs in a small confer-ence room. The idea was to conduct short stand-up meetings withonly a few participants. Also, the meeting room could only be re-served for a maximum of 30 minutes.

2. Use a process facilitator.For a particularly important meeting, you might want to bring ina meeting facilitator, whose job it is to ensure that the meetingflows smoothly, that process issues are discussed, and that theobjectives of the meeting are met. Or you might use as a facilitatorsomeone from another part of the organization, or rotate the re-sponsibility among group members.

3. Pay special attention to the end of the meeting.Too often, people leave meetings before they have come to theirnatural conclusion. (Typically, they are running off to attend an-other nonproductive meeting.)

Ample time at the end of meetings should be devoted to twocritical activities. First, discuss ‘‘next steps,’’ including decidingwho is responsible for doing what, and the deadline for each activ-ity. And second, conduct a ‘‘good and welfare’’ discussion, whereeveryone is asked to say what they thought went well during themeeting, what did not, and what should be done at the next meet-ing to improve the process. People are also given the opportunity

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to express themselves about any topic of value to the group even ifit is not on the agenda.

ConclusionEmployees resent management for wasting their time at unproductivemeetings. The opportunity to interact with colleagues during meetingsshould make employees feel good, not frustrated. Meetings don’t haveto be a waste of time. To make them valuable, limit their length, becareful who you invite, focus on process, and pay particular attentionto the end of the meeting.

Note1. I. Janis, Groupthink (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1972).

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P a r t I V

Employees Feel Unappreciated

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PAGE 166

àÜSixty-one percent of employees are dissatisfied with their pay.

I’m not paid fairly.

During my senior year of high school I held a part-time job loading50-pound sacks of fertilizer and garden supplies onto large

trucks. We were paid by the hour, until the job was completed. Therewere three of us: my buddy, an elderly General Motors assemblyworker, and me. I was anxious to impress, and worked hard andquickly my first evening. The second night, the GM worker corneredme and said sternly, ‘‘We work SLOWLY here, GET IT?’’ He didn’t saythat we did this to make more money, but that was obvious.

This behavior is not limited to physical laborers. A colleague ofmine works in a management-consulting firm. Most of his clients aregovernment agencies. They set what he considers a very low limit onhow much his firm can charge per hour. He plays the game by sayingthat the project will take more hours than it actually does.

Several years ago I was consulting to a small utility in New En-gland. Most of the unionized workforce had been with the organiza-tion for many years. Their biggest complaint was that the pay was toolow. They told me, ‘‘We just go through the motions on Fridays, notdoing any actual work because our paycheck only really covers us forfour days.’’

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128 E m p l o y e e s F e e l U n a p p r e c i a t e d

The Problem for EmployersMany employees feel they are inadequately compensated for theirwork, believing they are paid unfairly compared to others performingsimilar work in other organizations. They therefore may feel justifiedin engaging in unethical behavior to compensate for what they per-ceive as low pay. This includes falsifying their time sheets and evenstealing from their employer.

The truth is that most employees really have very little idea abouthow their compensation compares to other organizations. Work rules,benefits, time-off policies, and many other factors vary widely amongorganizations, making it difficult to compare apples to apples.

Employees assess the adequacy of their pay on many pieces ofusually unreliable information. Some rely on what former coworkerstell them they are making at their new jobs. Whether the departedemployees were truthful about their current compensation is un-known. Others cite the salary they saw listed in the newspaper for asimilar job, but have no way of knowing if the job is really comparableor how the total compensation package compares to their current job.Even salary surveys are an inadequate method for employees to com-pare their pay to that in other organizations. The results will dependon which organizations chose to participate in the study, and they maynot reflect the differences in cost of living or job responsibilities.

Although individual pay levels are kept secret in most organiza-tions, many employees feel they are paid unfairly compared to othersperforming similar work in their own organization. In many cases,these perceptions of ‘‘internal pay inequity’’ are inaccurate. However,whether real or imagined, this can result in resentment and poorteamwork.

The Psychology of It AllSince pay levels are secret and employees rarely share this informa-tion, they base their views about internal inequity on two, often inaccu-rate, perceptions. First, in any work group there are usually one or two

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129I ’ m n o t p a i d f a i r l y .

people who are viewed as poor performers. Employees assume thatthese employees are earning the same pay that they earn. This maynot be true.

Second, most employees feel their own performance is above aver-age. They therefore feel that if their pay is only average, that meansthey’re being paid the same as less deserving employees. This too maynot be true. Also, their perception about the superiority of their jobperformance may be inaccurate.

Pay is important to employees, of course, because it allows themto provide for themselves and their family, and they equate it withrespect and recognition. It is an invisible badge they wear for the worldto see, and for many, it has a major impact on their self-esteem.

Frederick Herzberg and his colleagues describe pay as a ‘‘hygienefactor’’—as no more important than the office furniture, lights, andtemperature. According to Herzberg, ‘‘hygienes’’ can’t motivate or sat-isfy employees. They can only be a source of dissatisfaction.1

Ω

Solutions

1. Clearly state your pay philosophy.A pay philosophy is a simple statement about how the organiza-tion pays relative to the market. Stating such a philosophy makesit clear to employees and job applicants how they can expect to bepaid. For example, a common pay philosophy might be, ‘‘We payat or above the market level of pay in similar organizations in ourarea.’’ The more specific the policy, the better, such as: ‘‘We pay atthe 75th percentile for other mid-sized life insurance companies indowntown Boston, as reported in the annual ABC salary survey.’’

Some organizations make it clear to applicants and employeesthat they pay below the market. For example, nonprofit organiza-tions are typically poor payers. Many employees are willing to livewith the lower pay because they believe strongly in the mission ofthe organization.

Other organizations say they pay below the market but offer

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other benefits instead. For example, one pharmaceutical researchcompany pays below market rates for research scientists, but of-fers a family-friendly atmosphere. Leaving at 5:00 p.m. is acceptedand encouraged. Taking time off to attend a child’s soccer matchduring the workday is also accepted. The employees all knew whenthey accepted positions with the company that they were sacrific-ing pay for a better lifestyle.

2. Avoid paying by the hour.I work with a computer professional to help me purchase equip-ment, install software, and solve problems that periodically occur.He used to charge me by the hour. When he helped me, it oftenseemed like we were focusing on time rather than results. I waslooking at my watch, and he undoubtedly was looking at his. Thefaster he was able to solve my computer problems, the less moneyhe made. It just didn’t make sense to me. We changed our arrange-ment so that I now pay him a monthly retainer, which is muchmore satisfying for both of us.

Whenever possible, pay your employees for deliverables andresults, not their time. Wouldn’t it make sense to pay a salespersonwho only works half-time as much as one who works full-time ifthey both achieved the same level of sales?

3. Use bonuses rather than pay increases.Properly administered, bonuses can be much more motivating toemployees than increases to their salary. They also are less expen-sive, because they don’t commit the organization to pay the in-creased level of pay every year.

4. Train supervisors how to talk about pay.It is important to convey the appropriate messages about pay toemployees. Don’t undermine your organization’s compensationprogram by apologizing when you offer a pay increase that is not

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131I ’ m n o t p a i d f a i r l y .

as high as the employee would like. Instead of expressing regret,talk about why they are being given a pay increase.

5. Weed out ineffective performers.If poor performers earn the same as good performers, it signals togood performers that the quality of their work doesn’t affect theirpay.

ConclusionPay is important to employees, and many are unhappy about it. Theyhate management for not paying them more. But giving everyone araise is usually not possible and would probably not solve the problemanyway. Instead, you can improve the way employees feel about theirpay by better communicating a specific pay philosophy and demon-strating to them that their hard work will be rewarded.

Note1. F. Herzberg et al., Job Attitudes: Review of Research and Opinion

(Pittsburgh: Psychological Service of Pittsburgh, 1957).

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PAGE 166

àáFifty-two percent of employees think they are paid unfairly compared with

people in their organization who hold similar jobs.

It’s just not right that weall receive the same pay.

One year I consulted to the behind-the-scenes operations group ofa metropolitan airport. This 150-person group was in charge of

security and maintenance of the airport facilities. The majority of theemployees were unionized. Here are some of their complaints:

• Equal Pay for Unequal Work. A maintenance employee workingon a team responsible for taking care of the grounds complained, ‘‘Al-though I’ve only been working here a short time, I work harder anddo a much better job than anybody else here. But I am paid far less.’’

A member of the rescue squad agreed: ‘‘The people on our squadwho have been working here the longest do the least amount of work,yet make the most money because of their seniority.’’

When I pointed out to them that this is actually the arrangementthey had asked for and paid monthly dues to their union to negotiatefor them, they just shrugged their shoulders and said it was still man-agement’s fault.

• Pay Compression. At another organization, one of the sales peo-ple on the floor complained, ‘‘I earn virtually the same as new employ-ees, and I’ve been working here for three years.’’ This is called ‘‘paycompression.’’

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• The Top-of-the-Range Blues. I received an e-mail message froma storeowner who said, ‘‘I have forty employees who do mostly un-skilled work. Many of them have been with us for more than ten yearsand have reached their maximum earning potential. My concern isthat we have ‘trapped’ them in their jobs by treating them well, payingthem decently for their type of work, and providing them with medicaland dental insurance.’’

Most organizations have fixed pay grades that specify the amountof money that can be paid to employees in each position. The paygrades have a minimum and a maximum salary. Typically, new em-ployees start at the bottom of the salary range and gradually move upas they receive pay increases.

The purpose of the pay grades is to make certain that the organiza-tion maintains good control over its total labor costs. The pay gradesalso help to maintain internal pay equity. For example, supervisorsunderstandably become upset when their direct reports make moremoney than they do. But what should organizations do when theirloyal, high performing employees reach the top of the pay grade? Typi-cally, these employees continue to work with no pay increases except,perhaps, cost of living increases.

The problem is that these top-of-the-pay-grade employees may be-come frustrated and lose their motivation. They feel trapped.

The Problem for EmployersEmployees want to believe that their good performance is recognizedby management and appropriately compensated. Most don’t want allemployees to be paid an identical wage. Instead, they want the bestperformers to be paid the most. However, most also believe they areabove average performers.

The problem is that when employees feel they are not paid whatthey deserve compared to others performing the same work in theirorganization, they become resentful. They resent the organization andtheir coworkers. They think, ‘‘That lazy SOB in the next office makes

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135I t ’ s j u s t n o t r i g h t t h a t w e a l l r e c e i v e t h e s a m e p a y .

the same as I do. Why should I work harder when I’m not going tosee it in my paycheck?’’ These thoughts are not good for employeemorale or for maintaining a motivated workforce.

Although many organizations would very much like to pay em-ployees performing the same work differently, it is often difficult to doso. Here’s why:

1. The Challenge of Objectively Measuring Performance. It is diffi-cult to measure the performance of many types of employees. Often,one must rely on the subjective ratings of supervisors. Their ratingsmay be biased or not comparable to those of other supervisors.

2. Lack of Trust in Supervisory Ratings. Employees don’t trust su-pervisors to properly differentiate between good and poor performers.They therefore ask their union to negotiate across-the-board pay raisesor raises based solely on tenure.

3. Ease of Providing Equal Pay Increases to All. Organizations findit much easier to pay everyone working the same job the same pay.They then don’t have to worry about accurately measuring perform-ance. They also believe that this will be easier to sell to employees.They can say, ‘‘Look, you’re all part of the same team and we want topay you the same since everyone needs to contribute equally to theteam.’’ But employees usually don’t buy this logic, since it’s obviouslynot true.

The Psychology of It AllRecall that equity theory predicts employees will most likely do one offive things when they believe they are receiving the same outcome(e.g., compensation) as those working at the same job but performingpoorly. They can reduce their input (e.g., their job performance), in-crease their outcomes (e.g., by asking for a pay raise), increase theoutcomes of others (e.g., rationalizing that those paid more really areperforming better), reduce the outcome of others (e.g., try to reduce

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others’ pay), or leave the situation. Reducing their own input is mostlikely.

Ω

Solutions

1. Set clear expectations for applicants.Be open and honest with job applicants about what will happenwhen they reach the top of their pay range. Tell them that whenthis eventually happens they will not be able to earn more in thatposition. Explain to them that while there are limits to the pay theycan earn in the position, they will acquire valuable training andexperience that will be useful to them in their career. This wayemployees will be able to join the organization with their eyesopen.

2. Offer additional responsibilities to top-of-the-range employees.For example, assign them the job of training new employees, orask them to work on special projects. If you’ve given them greaterresponsibilities, you can feel justified in offering them moremoney.

3. Widen pay ranges.The ‘‘pay compression’’ problem is common in organizations. Inorder to attract employees to join the organization, publicly adver-tised starting pay rates are relatively high. This annoys incumbentsbecause they see that new employees are earning the same or al-most the same as they are earning. Expanding the salary rangescan help.

4. Avoid paying by the hour.Paying by the hour makes little sense for many jobs because em-ployees develop ingenious and often unethical approaches tostretching their work into the full eight hours, even when it can beaccomplished in far less time.

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137I t ’ s j u s t n o t r i g h t t h a t w e a l l r e c e i v e t h e s a m e p a y .

Also, if paid by the hour, the faster employees work, the lessmoney they will make for the work they perform. If you pay by thehour, you will be paying primarily for attendance and will not beable to compensate people differentially based on their perform-ance.

5. Don’t stop trying to tie pay to performance.It is simply too easy to give up on the task of properly measuringthe performance of employees. Continually refine how you evalu-ate their performance and train supervisors how to use the per-formance review process.

6. Offer longevity bonuses.Provide selected top-of-the-range employees with bonuses twice ayear (e.g., December and June). This is not a raise and thereforewould not increase the cost of employee benefits, such as companycontributions to the 401(k) plan.

7. Promote your best performers.If possible, provide real promotions to your best performers, notjust changes in job titles. Offer an increase in salary commensu-rate with their new responsibilities.

8. Encourage those unhappy with their pay to leave.No one benefits from unhappy employees. It might be best forboth the organization and the employees if you encourage thosewho are unhappy with their pay and not worthy of promotion toleave. Tell them that because of their organizational knowledgeand loyalty you would hate to see them go, but there is a limit tothe flexibility of the pay system. Offer to provide them with excel-lent references.

ConclusionEmployees want to feel that they will be paid more than those cowork-ers who are contributing less to the organization. They resent manage-

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ment if they are not. Do your best to pay for performance. Set clearexpectations about pay to new employees, widen pay ranges, avoidpaying by the hour, offer longevity bonuses, and either promote thosewho are frustrated that they have reached the top of the pay scale, orencourage them to leave the organization.

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ààFifty-four percent of employees say their performance reviews are useless.

My performance reviews are useless.

Ahigh-tech manufacturer outside of Boston had been spun off ofa much larger company and was now privately held. Within the

first three months more than one-third of the workforce was laid off.Needless to say, the survivors were extremely unhappy and feared fortheir jobs. We conducted an employee survey and found that employ-ees were dissatisfied with just about everything (i.e., management,their supervisors, communication, teamwork, their pay, and their per-formance reviews).

I advised management to begin with tangible and visible changesthat would affect all employees. One of my recommendations was tomake sure all employees received their performance reviews on atimely basis. The president agreed to make this a number one priority,one that he would adhere to as well.

In a follow-up survey six months later, the results had improveddramatically. When the president was asked what they had done differ-ently, he said, ‘‘The only real change we implemented was to conductthose damn performance reviews on time.’’ Surprisingly, that onemajor change had a strong impact on how employees felt about theirsupervisors, management, pay, communications, and a host of otherissues.

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The Problem for EmployersPerformance reviews are extremely important to employees, but theyhave severe reservations about how they are conducted. Here are someof the complaints that I hear most often:

• ‘‘My supervisor is never around and has no idea of what I doon my job. How on earth can he evaluate me?’’

• ‘‘My supervisor just takes the easy way out. She says nicethings about me during the review and then recommends thatI receive the same raise as everyone else.’’

• ‘‘My performance reviews are always late.’’

• ‘‘My supervisor is biased. He doesn’t like me even though Iam a very good performer.’’

• ‘‘The rating instrument makes no sense. I don’t understand itand my supervisor doesn’t understand it either. Everyone inthe company is rated using the same form, which is totallyunrelated to my job functions.’’

• ‘‘The only performance feedback I receive all year is during myannual review. If I am doing something wrong, why does shewait the whole year to tell me about it?’’

• ‘‘My supervisor never comes up with useful suggestions.’’

• ‘‘I disagreed with my supervisor’s evaluation and refused tosign it.’’

• ‘‘Performance reviews are a waste of time.’’

Even high performers have concerns about the usefulness of theirperformance reviews. Everyone can improve his job performance, yetthose who receive glowing reviews from their supervisors are usuallyprovided with little guidance about how they can become even betterat their jobs.

Most employees feel they are above-average performers. This, of

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141M y p e r f o r m a n c e r e v i e w s a r e u s e l e s s .

course, is mathematically impossible, which means many employeesreceive information about their job performance that is inconsistentwith their own beliefs.

One reason many employees find it difficult to receive negativefeedback about their job performance and then bounce back and im-prove is that they deny rather than accept negative feedback. They denythe feedback because it is just too strong of an affront to their personalself-image. Another reason is that it is very difficult for them tochange. If you have been performing your job the same way for along period of time, the probability of your being able to make radicalchanges is low.

Although most employees might disagree, many really do needconstructive feedback to help them improve their job performance. Ifemployees don’t continually improve, the organization won’t either.

The Psychology of It AllThe annual performance review is one of the most difficult tasks forany supervisor. Supervisors must not only evaluate the performanceof their subordinates, they must feed back the information to them ina way that is constructive and useful. Few supervisors are able to dothis well. Is it any wonder many supervisors avoid conducting them?

One of the reasons supervisors find performance reviews difficultis that they desperately want to avoid conflict. They fear that their em-ployees will disagree, debate, and fight their evaluations. They there-fore take the easy road and provide feedback that is generally positive,avoiding areas in need of improvement. As a result, the performancereview is not very useful to the employee or the organization.

Another reason performance reviews are difficult for supervisorsis that they have trouble distinguishing between different levels of per-formance. What an average performer needs to do to become a supe-rior performer is unclear to them. They therefore find it difficult to tellemployees what they need to do to improve.

Conceptually, supervisors are the ‘‘middles’’ in the organizational

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hierarchy. Their job is to get the ‘‘lowers’’ (i.e., their direct reports) onboard to perform the work demanded by the ‘‘uppers.’’ The strategymany supervisors use to successfully influence their direct reports isto befriend them, to pitch in themselves to do the work, and to beviewed as more of a lower than an upper (i.e., one of the boys). Butevaluating employees is inconsistent with this relationship strategy.Supervisors find it difficult to evaluate their ‘‘friends.’’ They fear thatacting more like uppers than lowers will make it difficult for them tomaintain the cooperation of lowers.

Supervisors also fear that an unfavorable performance review maylead an employee to decrease her job performance. This could happenbecause she becomes so angry or upset that she is unable to performwell. Or she could intentionally reduce her performance to get backat the supervisor. Sometimes a perfectly cooperative and compliantemployee may turn passive-aggressive following a negative perform-ance review.

Many supervisors are consequently reluctant to accept the respon-sibility of judging their direct reports. They don’t like being evaluatedthemselves, and they do not want to evaluate others. They don’t wantto be in the position of providing judgments that will affect the finan-cial and psychological well-being of a coworker.

Ω

Solutions1. Provide continuous feedback.Supervisors should get in the habit of providing performance feed-back to their employees on a regular basis. This makes the per-formance review much easier for both the supervisor and theemployee. For the supervisor, the meeting is then just a review orsummary of the feedback that has been provided throughout theyear. For employees, the review will contain no surprises.

2. Adopt a developmental mindset.Supervisors can avoid much of the pain of the performance reviewprocess by viewing it as a developmental rather than an evaluative

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143M y p e r f o r m a n c e r e v i e w s a r e u s e l e s s .

exercise. Their job is to provide honest feedback, advice, and coun-sel to help employees improve their job performance. Instead of ameeting to discuss a report card, the review should be more of acounseling session.

3. Skip the money part.Salary and bonuses, of course, are very important to employees,but they also want constructive feedback. Salary decisions are in-fluenced by many factors outside the control of the supervisor orthe employee. Discussions about money should be held separately,apart from the performance review.

4. Involve employees in setting goals.Employees will be much more committed to improving their jobperformance if they have a hand in setting goals. The goals shouldbe specific, measurable, acceptable to both employee and supervi-sor, realistic, and contain a clear time frame.

5. Focus on behaviors, not traits.Feedback should be a discussion of specifically observed behaviorrather than an evaluation of an employee’s personality. This ap-plies to both positive and negative behaviors. For example, it ismuch more effective to say, ‘‘You did a great job proofreading thatreport yesterday and catching those typos’’ than to say, ‘‘You havevery good attention to detail.’’

6. Conduct performance discussions, not lectures.Employees should be involved in setting their own performancegoals and articulating plans for their own professional develop-ment. Supervisors should talk about the behavior they have ob-served, but also ask employees for their views of areas whereimprovements can be made. By involving employees in their owndevelopment, they will be more likely to take positive action.

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7. Conduct annual performance reviews on time.Late performance reviews are a slap in the face to employees. De-laying the performance review is a signal that the supervisors donot care about the employee’s development. Reviews should beconducted on time.

8. Train supervisors.All supervisors need to be trained on a regular basis about how toprovide effective performance feedback. It is an important skillthat must be continually refined.

ConclusionMany employees find little value in the performance reviews they re-ceive and resent management for not being able to provide them withuseful feedback. To make these reviews more useful, supervisorsshould provide continuous feedback throughout the year and view theperformance review as more of a developmental than evaluative exer-cise. Organizations should do a better job of providing training in howto conduct performance reviews, and most importantly, make surethey are conducted at the scheduled time.

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àâSeven out of ten employees say there is no link between their

pay and their job performance.

There’s no link between my payand my job performance.

Here’s yet another tale of woe in my sister Andrea’s tumultuousemployment history.

Andrea was placed on 60-day probation as a collections specialistfor a medical equipment rental company because she had a low ‘‘col-lection ratio.’’ They calculated this ratio by monitoring the percentageof the outstanding balances assigned to her to collect each month. Shewas actually doing a good job of collecting, but her ratio didn’t reflectit. That’s because any account with a balance of $5,000 or more wasassigned to her supervisor, who was doing a poor job of collecting. Butthe company had no way to separate Andrea’s collection ratio fromthat of her supervisor’s. The result was that my sister’s ratio was mis-leadingly low.

When she brought this to the attention of management she wastold, ‘‘There is nothing we can do. It would be extremely difficult tountangle it all. We’re all a team here. Aren’t you a team player?’’

Determined to keep her job, Andrea politely offered to help hersupervisor collect the larger balances. The supervisor (who, by the waywas not on 60-day probation) declined her offer. Andrea was let goafter the 60 days. Does this make sense to you? It doesn’t to me.

I frequently hear employees say, ‘‘We all make the same money in

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this department but some of us really earn it and others don’t. It’s justnot fair.’’ Some comment that the company has no effective way tomeasure how well they are really performing. Others say, ‘‘It doesn’tmatter how well you perform here, you’ll never see it in your pay-check.’’ Still others comment, ‘‘My supervisor has no guts. He takesthe simple way out and gives everyone the same pay increases eachyear.’’

The Problem for EmployersEmployees in both manufacturing and service organizations consis-tently say that a strong link between their pay and their job perform-ance is very important to them. They want to feel their good work isappreciated and that they are appropriately compensated, but mostorganizations do a poor job of tying pay to job performance. Manyemployees, therefore, feel that no matter how hard they work it willhave little or no impact on their pay.

One problem is that even when organizations are committed totying pay to job performance, they often have a difficult time differenti-ating between good and superior performers. For many jobs, individ-ual performance cannot be measured objectively. Therefore, theorganization must rely on subjective ratings by supervisors, and manysupervisors are just not up to the task. Also, supervisors in differentparts of the organization may have very different views of average andsuperior performance.

Some organizations try unsuccessfully to combat the problem byusing profit-sharing programs that link the pay of all employees to thesuccess of the organization. If the company makes a profit, a portionof that money is shared with all employees. But most employees don’tbuy into this profit-sharing approach. They see very little real connec-tion between the quality of their performance and the profits of theorganization. Also, profit shares are usually distributed equally to allemployees with no differentiation among different levels of perform-ance. Employees, therefore, continue to feel that their superior per-formance is not being recognized.

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147There ’s no l ink between my pay and my job performance.

Most organizations throw up their hands at the problem and justoffer across-the-board annual pay increases. Others tell their employ-ees that they pay for performance, even when they really don’t. Thesesolutions make nobody happy and only exacerbate the problem.

Organizations that attempt to tie pay to job performance face threemajor challenges:

1. Concern About Alienating Good Performers

Organizations worry that if they provide pay increases for some andnot others, they will undoubtedly offend or alienate some good em-ployees who may even decide to leave.

2. Necessity of Relying on Subjective Measurements

Without readily available objective measures to differentiate betweengood and poor job performance, supervisory performance ratings areplagued by a host of problems, including:

• Halo. The tendency for raters to develop a general, overall im-pression of the employee and base their ratings on that impressionrather than the employee’s actual job performance.

• Bias. Ratings can be influenced by the supervisor’s consciousor unconscious bias toward employees of a certain gender, race, ethnicorigin, or sexual preference.

• Leniency. The tendency for supervisors to rate all their employ-ees as superior.

• Personal Equations. This refers to the fact that supervisors varyin how they use the rating scales. If you happen to work for a supervi-sor who rarely provides high ratings, you will never see a good payraise, whereas those working for supervisors who are more lenientwith their ratings will always see good pay increases.

• Forced Distribution Problems. One commonly used approach toavoid the problems of leniency and halo is to force supervisors to dis-

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tribute their ratings. For example, a supervisor with ten direct reportsmight be required to limit her most superior and harshest ratings toonly two employees each. The problem is that some supervisors mayreally have more than two superior performers, while others may havenone.

3. Difficulty of Using Objective Measures

Organizations that attempt to use objective measures instead of super-visory ratings face other problems:

• Opportunity Bias. A salesperson complains that the way hersales success is measured should take into account the fact that hersales territory is much smaller than the territories of other salesmenin the company and she, therefore, has less of an opportunity to besuccessful.

• Criterion Contamination. A claims adjuster for an auto insur-ance company argues that the large volume of expensive claims heprocessed for the company was not his fault. It was due to events outof his control (i.e., the snowy weather during the previous winter ledto an unusually high number of accidents for his policyholders).

• Deficiency. The performance of sales personnel at a consumerelectronics store is calculated from the ratings they receive from cus-tomer satisfaction surveys. The problem is that the surveys are mailedto the customers’ homes after they make a purchase, and not all ofthem complete and return them. The sales personnel feel that thosewho are satisfied generally don’t bother to fill them out.

• Irrelevancy. The performance of junior consultants is typicallybased on the number of billable hours they assign to clients. However,they have no sales responsibilities and are totally dependent on othersto bring in the work that they then conduct. Their billable hours maybe low because others aren’t doing a good job of selling, not becausethey aren’t trying to do as much work as possible.

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• Group Rather than Individual Measures. Many organizationsmake judgments about individual performance based on the group’sperformance. For example, you might be the star employee in yourdepartment, but if the department is not meeting its goals, your indi-vidual performance rating will suffer.

• Dishonesty. Many organizations now use a 360-degree feed-back approach to measure performance. In addition to supervisors,employees’ direct reports and peers are also asked to rate their per-formance. For their own selfish reasons, these raters may be less thanhonest. For example, direct reports might fear retribution from theirsupervisors, and peers might worry about damaging fragile collegialrelationships or that they will receive low ratings when the tables areturned and it is their turn to be rated.

The problem is that when employees see little connection betweentheir job performance and their pay, their motivation will likely de-cline.

The Psychology of It AllExpectancy theory, conceived by renowned psychologist Victor Vroom,tells us that employee work motivation is dependent upon three fac-tors. The first is called the effort-performance expectancy (E V P). Thosewith high E V P expectancies believe that if they work hard they defi-nitely will achieve a high level of performance. Those with low E V Pexpectations believe that even if they work hard, they will not be ableto achieve a high level of performance.1

The second factor is called the performance-outcome expectancy(P V O). This is the expectation employees have that if they performwell they will achieve outcomes they desire, such as a pay raise, bonus,or promotion. Those with high P V O expectations believe there is astrong link between achieving a high level of performance and receiv-ing the outcomes they value. Those with low P V O expectations donot believe this to be true.

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The third factor is called valence (V). This is the value people attachto potential outcomes they might receive. Some employees place ahigher value than others on certain outcomes, such as pay raises andpromotions.

The equation that combines these three factors is:

Work motivation � � (E V P) (P V O) (V)

Thus, according to expectancy theory, employee motivation is equalto the sum of one’s EVP expectations times one’s PVO expectationstimes one’s valences. What this means is that if there is a perceivedweak link between pay and job performance, the performance-outcomeexpectancy lowers the employee’s motivation.

Ω

SolutionsHere are a few suggestions that can help.

1. Make your pay-for-performance philosophy clear to employees.There are plenty of good reasons why you might NOT want to linkpay to performance. For example:

• There are no major differences in how well employees per-form their jobs.

• It is too difficult to measure differences in job performance.

• There is not enough money available to make a big enoughdifference in how average and above-average performers arepaid.

• Linking pay and performance is inconsistent with manage-ment’s philosophy.

However, employees typically assume that above-average per-formers will receive higher pay increases than average performers.

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At the very least, management needs to be upfront with employeesabout whether they intend to try to link pay to performance.

2. Rate supervisors on how well they rate their subordinates.Supervisors often sabotage the organization’s efforts to improvethe pay of good performers by giving everyone in their work grouphigh ratings. Management needs to analyze the ratings of supervi-sors and base supervisors’ pay, in part, on the quality of the ratingsthey give to their workers.

3. Train supervisors how to talk about pay.Many supervisors undermine their organization’s pay for perform-ance efforts by saying things like, ‘‘I wish we could pay you more,but all we can do is increase your salary by 5 percent.’’ Instead,they should be saying, ‘‘I am delighted to tell you that due to yourexcellent performance this past year, we are increasing your salary5 percent.’’ Supervisors need to be taught how to appropriatelycommunicate to employees that their good performance is beingrewarded.

4. Use objective performance measures.Many jobs tie pay to the subjective ratings of supervisors. Theseratings are often contaminated by a host of factors, including per-sonal bias, halo, favoritism, central tendency, and leniency. Everyattempt should be made to base pay decisions on objective criteriasuch as sales, attendance, complaints, quality, and productivity.

Be creative. Just because objective measures haven’t been usedbefore, doesn’t mean they can’t be introduced now. For many jobs,useful metrics can be created for a variety of performance indicessuch as sales, speed, errors, cost control, efficiency, customer com-plaints, internal and external customer satisfaction, quality, andquantity of production. Make sure these measures are appropriatefor the job and contain no obvious sources of contamination, bias,deficiency, or irrelevancy.

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5. Be cautious when using 360-degree feedback.Receiving feedback from peers, subordinates, and others can be avaluable developmental exercise for employees. However, basingpersonnel decisions such as pay, promotions, probation, and ter-mination on this feedback is problematic. The motivation of peersand subordinates is not the same as that of an immediate supervi-sor who is accountable to the organization for providing an accu-rate performance rating.

6. Use multiple measures.It is rare that one type of performance measure, such as an individ-ual’s sales figures or supervisory rating, provides an accurate as-sessment of total performance. A variety of different types ofmeasures should be used.

ConclusionEmployees typically want to be paid commensurate with the quality oftheir job performance. Doing so requires a commitment to a carefullyconstructed pay-for-performance program using relevant measures, allof which are clearly communicated to employees.

Note1. V. H. Vroom, Work and Motivation (New York: Wiley, 1964).

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àäFour out of ten employees say their benefits do not meet their needs.

The cost of my benefits iseating up my paycheck.

My wife received a 5 percent raise last year, but she also receivedan increase in the amount of money deducted from her pay-

check for health insurance. The net result: a decrease in her take-homepay. This is a common frustration for U.S. workers.

The Problem for EmployersThe cost of health care, which has risen astronomically in the past fewdecades, is crippling many companies. When General Motors recentlyreported a $1.1 billion first-quarter loss, it announced that the in-creased costs of providing health-care coverage for its employees, retir-ees, and their dependents was the most significant factor. Thecompany reported that health-care expenditures amounted to $1,525per car produced, and that there is more health care than steel in aGM vehicle’s price tag.

Organizations have responded to the sharp increase in the cost ofbenefits, especially health insurance, by:

• Switching to managed care programs

• Shifting more of the premium expense to employees

• Forcing employees to pay more for their health insurance byraising deductible and co-payment levels

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• Cutting back on the services that the health insurance covers

• Increasing the eligibility requirements (e.g., increasing thewaiting period for coverage of new employees)

• Offering health insurance to employees but not to their fami-lies

An increasingly large number of organizations are refusing tooffer health insurance to their workers altogether. Millions of employ-ees are outraged. They feel that:

• They are entitled to health insurance from their employer.

• They and their families should be fully covered.

• Their employer should absorb most, if not all, of the cost in-creases.

The Psychology of It AllEmployees have come to expect that they will receive health-care bene-fits from their employer. They view it as an entitlement. FrederickHerzberg would call this benefit ‘‘a hygiene factor,’’ just like pay andthe physical working conditions. As such, it cannot satisfy employeesor motivate them. Its absence or reduction can, however, lead to dissat-isfaction and decreased motivation. Despite the fact that employeesknow the cost of health insurance has risen dramatically, they viewany increase in their cost or any decline in services as a take-away.

Ω

Solutions

1. Re-evaluate your current health insurer.Conduct an extensive evaluation of the company’s current offer-ings to make sure you have the best coverage available in the areaat the best cost.

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155T h e c o s t o f m y b e n e f i t s i s e a t i n g u p m y p a y c h e c k .

2. Switch to a single carrier.Switching from multiple carriers to a single carrier eliminateschoices for employees, but in the short term it can help employersnegotiate more favorable rates.

3. Tell employees what they actually receive for their premiumdollars.A few years ago I spent ten days in the hospital for a heart prob-lem. I received excellent care in a cardiac intensive care unit, wasseen by many leading medical experts, and received dozens of ex-pensive procedures. I never saw a bill and really have no idea ofthe total cost of my stay, but I would guess that it ran into thehundreds of thousands of dollars. If employees knew the actualcost of health care, it might soften the pain of seeing their largemonthly payroll deductions for medical premiums.

4. Communicate how much the organization is paying for costincreases.Many organizations do a poor job of communicating informationabout health insurance cost increases. If employees are going tobe partners in paying for their benefits, they should be kept wellinformed about the coverage, the negotiations with the insurer,cost increases, and the percentage of the increase that the em-ployer is planning to pass on to employees.

5. Produce total compensation statements.Organizations rarely receive any credit from employees forshouldering the bulk of the cost of employee benefits. This isdue, in part, to a lack of communication. Annual total compensa-tion statements can help employees gain a better understandingof the actual cost of their salaries, bonuses, and benefits.

6. Increase deductibles and co-payments rather than premiums.Increasing the deductible and co-payment levels can help savemoney by making employees more accountable for their medical

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expenditures. Many people would prefer this type of cost increaseto an increase in their monthly contributions.

7. Provide choices.Health plan products can be creatively designed to provide a rangeof options that can match a person’s budget and family circum-stances. Provide a broad range of options, such as the number ofdoctors available in the plan and the amount of co-payments anddeductibles.

8. Establish flexible medical spending accounts.These accounts allow an employee to purchase qualified benefits,including medical and dental expenses, using pretax dollars. Atthe beginning of each year, employees designate how much theywant to contribute to the account.

9. Promote wellness.Employers who promote positive behavioral changes—such assmoking cessation, weekly exercise, and moderation of alcoholconsumption—can decrease their long-term medical plan costs.These savings can be passed on to employees.

10. Help make employees better health-care consumers.Employers can also help reduce their health-care costs by makingtheir employers better consumers. If they have a better under-standing of medicine, they might not need to visit the doctor asoften. They might also learn when it is and is not necessary tomake an expensive emergency room visit.

ConclusionEmployers will need to use a variety of creative approaches to reducethe costs of benefits and reduce the pain felt by many employees. In

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157T h e c o s t o f m y b e n e f i t s i s e a t i n g u p m y p a y c h e c k .

order to avoid shouldering the blame for these increases, managementshould re-evaluate their health insurers, provide choices, communi-cate better with employees about the cost of health care, and promotewellness.

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PAGE 166

àãFifty-eight percent of employees say there are few advancement

opportunities in their organization.

It’s impossible to get promoted here.

The junior faculty of a small liberal arts college tucked away in aremote rural town in northern New England was in an uproar.

Only 14 percent felt there were advancement opportunities at the col-lege, and only 13 percent felt that the most competent faculty memberswere being promoted. No junior faculty member had received tenurefor the past ten years. The college already had a large number of ten-ured faculty members, who were all planning on staying with the col-lege for many more years until they retired. That left little room foradvancement for others.

The Problem for EmployersGood employees want to be promoted. Promotions mean moremoney, more prestige, and greater responsibility. If too much timegoes by without a promotion, they will be unhappy and may leave.Here are six reasons organizations are having a difficult time offeringadvancement opportunities:

1. More companies are contracting out rather than expanding,which leads to fewer opportunities for advancement.

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2. Mergers and acquisitions often lead to downsizing instead ofpromotions.

3. A new kind of glass ceiling is emerging. The large crop of babyboomers who have reached management positions are stayingat their jobs longer and are making it difficult for talentedyounger employees to move up.

4. Organizations are becoming flatter, limiting the number ofsupervisory and management positions available.

5. Promoting employees requires paying them more. This puts astrain on the budgets of many organizations.

6. College graduates join organizations with unrealistic expecta-tions about their advancement potential.

The Psychology of It AllPsychologists Richard Steers of the University of Oregon and LymanPorter of the University of California at Irvine theorize that two factorsinfluence whether employees will seriously consider leaving their or-ganization if their rate of promotion is slow: their expectations of pro-motion, and their self-perceived level of contribution.1

Employees have different expectations about being promoted.Some enter the organization with very high expectations. This can bedue to a number of factors, including their promotion history in otherorganizations, their success in school, their desire for a certain stan-dard of living, or the expectations of their parents, friends, or spouses.Those who have higher expectations are more likely to be disappointedwhen their rate of promotion does not match their desires.

Employees also vary in how they perceive their own contributionsto the organization. Two employees with the same skill level, job ac-complishments, and performance ratings can have radically differentself-appraisals of their worth to the organization. Those with higherself-appraisals will be more disappointed by a slow rate of promotion.

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161I t ’ s i m p o s s i b l e t o g e t p r o m o t e d h e r e .

Ω

Solutions

1. Set realistic expectations for employees.Psychologist John Wanous conducted research on the effects ofrealistic versus unrealistic job previews during the interviewing ofnew employees. He found that employees who are told exactlywhat to expect, both positive and negative, are eventually moresatisfied on the job and less likely to leave than those who receiveunrealistic job previews. He hypothesized that a realistic explana-tion of the job helps individuals make better decisions about thematch between their expectations and what the job will be ableto provide.2 Another psychologist, W. J. McGuire, theorized thatrealistic job previews serve as a ‘‘vaccination’’ for new employees.3

This dosage of the truth helps employees better deal with the orga-nizational reality they will eventually face.

Prior to offering positions to new employees, tell them in astraightforward manner how likely or unlikely they are to be pro-moted within one, three, and five years. Also, be brutally honestabout promotion possibilities during employee performance re-views and developmental discussions.

2. Be sure to point out opportunities for improvement.If a supervisor says to an employee, ‘‘Your job performance is ex-cellent and there is really nothing I can suggest for you to im-prove,’’ the employee could easily believe that she is a strongcandidate for promotion. If there are no positions available, shecould be disappointed. Job performance can always be improved,even for the best employees. Point this out.

3. Promote the best.Our research shows that three out of five employees believe theircompany does not promote the most competent employees. Need-less to say, when employees feel that the wrong people are being

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promoted, they will be unhappy and resentful. Be sure to promoteonly the most competent people.

4. Create new positions.In some organizations, it is possible to offer ‘‘mini’’ rather than‘‘full’’ promotions, such as junior programmer to senior program-mer, credit specialist I to credit specialist II, or production workerto team leader. But be careful not to just change the name of theperson’s job. Also increase their job responsibilities and pay.

5. Offer technical track promotions.In many organizations, the only way strong technical employees,such as engineers and programmers, can advance is to accept apromotion to supervisor or manager. The problem is that they maynot have the skills needed to succeed as managers. Create a techni-cal career ladder so that you can give these employees more re-sponsibilities and more pay without forcing them to becomesupervisors.

6. Promote from within.Employees become unhappy when they see their organizationshire new employees into positions they feel they could have han-dled if they had been promoted and given a chance. Adopting aconsistent policy of promoting from within, whenever possible,can increase employee commitment.

7. Move people around.Consider moving promising employees you are unable to promoteinto different jobs where they may have more potential for ad-vancement.

ConclusionKeeping your best performers is obviously important. Although manyof them may be deserving of a promotion, advancement opportunities

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163I t ’ s i m p o s s i b l e t o g e t p r o m o t e d h e r e .

are often limited. Organizations should set realistic expectations fornew employees, be sure to promote only the most competent, and becreative in how to promote employees and provide them with addedresponsibilities.

Notes1. S. M. Steers and L. W. Porter, Motivation and Work Behavior (New

York: McGraw-Hill, 1975).

2. J. P. Wanous, Organizational Entry: Recruitment, Selection, and So-cialization of Newcomers (Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley, 1980).

3. W. J. McGuire, ‘‘Inducing resistance to persuasion.’’ In L. Berko-witz (ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Volume III(New York: Academic Press, 1964).

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PAGE 166

P a r t V

W-O-R-K Should Be MoreThan a Four-Letter Word

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PAGE 166

àåTwenty-four percent of employees don’t enjoy the actual

work they perform on their job.

I hate coming to work.It’s become just a job for me now.

Nothing disturbs me more than when I hear someone talkingabout his work and saying, ‘‘It’s just a job.’’ No one should be

unhappy with his work.What people do for a living has always fascinated me. Wherever

I go, I ask people what they like about their work and what theydislike. (My wife gets upset when I ask this at purely social occa-sions.) But I’m interested on both a personal and professional level.I love what I do for a living and am happy when someone asks meabout it.

But to my surprise and chagrin, many people don’t like to talkabout what they do for a living. For some, this is because they wouldrather talk about their kids, their hobbies, or politics. But for most, it’sbecause they really don’t enjoy their work. To them, it’s ‘‘just a job,’’and they would rather not think about it once they’re away from it.How sad.

One night I attended a holiday dinner at a good friend’s house.There were several of his family’s relatives and friends whom I hadnever met. True to form, I asked each of them what they did for aliving. One person told me he was a computer network professionalfor a well-known retail chain. I asked him what he liked about his job.

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He said, ‘‘Well, it’s a job.’’ When I probed further it was clear he reallydidn’t want to elaborate. He repeated, ‘‘It’s just a job.’’

Many people are unhappy with their work. For some, it is becauseof the organization they work for or their supervisor, but for many itis because of the actual work they perform. They have been doing itfor many years and are simply burnt out. The work has lost its mean-ing for them and they just don’t enjoy it anymore.

I’ve had the opportunity to conduct many outplacement work-shops where I help people who have recently lost their jobs try tofigure out what they want to do next. I begin the workshop by goingaround the room and asking each person to say what ideas they have.Typically, about half of the people say they just don’t know, but thatthey do know they want to do something different. Many talk aboutfinding a totally different kind of job or turning their hobby into aprofitable business. They are worried, however, that they have littleexperience in a new field and might have to take a pay cut. I tell themthat if that’s what they really want to do, they owe it to themselves andtheir family to do it. Do what you love, follow your passion, and themoney will eventually follow.

Here are a few examples of people I know who successfully madethe transition. There is a man in his mid-60s in our town who hadspent his entire career as a manufacturing supervisor. He worked at anumber of companies and was usually forced to find a new job whenthe companies moved or went under. He had had it. What he reallywanted to do was start a fix-it business. He loved using his hands anddoing small projects around the house. He found out quickly thatthere were a great many people in need of his services, including me.He followed his passion and has never been happier.

I also know a computer whiz who was working as a Mac program-mer for a software development company. When he was laid off, in-stead of pursuing another highly technical programming job, he tookstock of himself and realized that what he really liked best about thework he had performed in all of his jobs was teaching others how touse their computers. He started a business that helps individuals and

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169I h a t e c o m i n g t o w o r k .

small businesses purchase their computers, install software, and usebasic programs like word processors and spreadsheets. He loves whathe does, and his new company has flourished.

The Problem for EmployersUnhappy employees are unproductive and drain the energy of others.That’s just common sense, and management should not ignore theproblem.

One of the reasons people do enjoy the work they perform is be-cause they self-select themselves throughout their career. They attendschools where they can learn things of interest to them, and theychoose jobs where they can use their valued skills and abilities. Forexample, those who are more analytical-minded choose to become en-gineers, computer professionals, scientists, or service technicians.They wouldn’t think of working as a social worker or a human re-source professional.

But there are also many who just end up working at a particularjob or in a type of organization without ever really thinking aboutwhether it’s a good fit. For example, in outplacement workshops formembers of the banking industry I ask the group, ‘‘How many of yougrew up saying to yourself, ‘What I really want to do is be a banker’’’?Not one person has ever raised a hand. Most ended up as bankersbecause they needed a job at the time, a friend was working there, orthey responded to a newspaper ad—in other words, out of conve-nience. Also out of convenience, they remained bankers. Eventually,they grew to view their work unhappily as ‘‘just a job.’’

This is a problem not only for organizations. For employees, notenjoying one’s job reduces their enthusiasm and the quality of theirlives.

The Psychology of It AllDifferent types of people have very different concepts of what workmeans to them. For some, work is purely a means to an end. They are

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interested in making as much money as possible as fast as they can.For others, work means helping people. These people are attracted toprofessions like social work, psychology, and health care. For still oth-ers, work means using their creativity. They may be attracted to profes-sions such as architecture or the arts. For others, working for a causethey truly believe in is important. They may choose to work for a non-profit organization. I happen to be among those for whom indepen-dence—working for myself—is the most important single workcriterion.

The common denominator for all of these people who enjoy theirwork is that their work:

• Fully uses their skills and abilities.

• Challenges them.

• Allows them to grow.

• Enables them to feel successful.

Those who say their work is just a job are missing out on one ormore of these intrinsic rewards.

Ω

Solutions

1. Help employees see the light.Employees who are just going through the motions and who don’thave their heart in their work are doing a disservice to both them-selves and their employer. They should be encouraged to learnmore about what they really want to do either in their currentorganization or even in a different one. Employee training pro-grams can help them better understand the possibilities.

2. Enrich jobs.Find ways to introduce more of what Herzberg calls ‘‘motivators.’’Providing employees with more challenges, growth opportunities,and responsibilities can be rejuvenating.

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171I h a t e c o m i n g t o w o r k .

3. Provide other opportunities.Some employees can be ‘‘saved’’ if you transfer them to other partsof the organization and train them to take on different jobs.

4. Let your people go.If employees are unhappy with their actual work and you are notable to provide them with alternatives, encourage them to leave.Do so in a positive way. Level with them. Tell them that you cansee they are unhappy. Explain to them that although they havebeen excellent employees and are perfectly welcome to stay, fortheir own good it is probably time for them to move on with theircareer and explore other alternatives.

Conclusion‘‘It’s just a job’’ is an unacceptable attitude. No one should settle foran unrewarding job, and it makes good business sense for organiza-tions to do everything possible to rekindle the enthusiasm of em-ployees.

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PAGE 166

àçFifty-four percent of employees are insecure about their job.

There’s no job security here.

Business headlines regularly report news of billion-dollar acquisi-tions, followed by massive layoffs. At the same time the CEOs

receive record salaries and millions of dollars in ‘‘golden parachutes.’’During the recession of 1993 I was working for a 71-office interna-

tional consulting firm at plush offices in Wellesley Hills, Massachu-setts. I had been a hard-working, loyal employee for four years. Myjob was to market, sell, and conduct employee opinion surveys forcompanies in New England.

But the economy was failing. Layoffs were rampant. Organizationsin New England were pulling back on employee opinion surveys andcertainly weren’t asking high-priced consulting firms to help them. Iwas also losing my allies in the firm. My best friend in the company,who had recruited me, saw the writing on the wall and transferred togreener pastures in one of the company’s west coast offices. His boss,another one of my key supporters, left for a job in the main headquar-ters.

As my sales and billable hours continued to slide, I knew my dayswere numbered. I felt paralyzed and scared. None of my intensivemarketing efforts were yielding new business. There was nobody Icould talk to in the office or who cared to help me. I came to work

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each day with a gnawing feeling in my stomach. I had difficultly sleep-ing and gained 15 pounds.

One memorable afternoon, my boss asked me, ‘‘Do you have aminute?’’ I knew that my time had come. He told me, ‘‘Bruce, peoplearen’t buying what you’re selling. We are going to have to lay you off.’’Even though I knew it was coming, I was devastated.

It certainly didn’t feel that way at the time, but looking back, thiswas the single best thing that had ever happened to me in my personallife.

The Problem for EmployersEmployees are pawns in the cruel corporate chess game of layoffs,mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring. Here is how they fight back,and how the negative consequences of their actions affect their em-ployers:

1. Carrying Multiple Jobs. Employees realize that they can’t put allof their eggs in one basket, so they take on second jobs or freelancingjobs. The result is that employers no longer receive the undividedfocus of their employees.

2. Demanding Portable Benefits. Employees are no longer contentwith pensions that require them to stay with the same company formany years. They know that their tenure with their current companymay be temporary and that the duration of their employment is out oftheir control. Employees would much prefer matching 401(k) plansthat they can carry with them when they leave an organization. Expen-sive defined benefit retirement programs no longer guarantee long-term employee commitment.

3. Withdrawing Psychologically. Many employees will remain aloofto your cries for teamwork and commitment to organizational goals.Instead, they have developed a ‘‘what’s-in-it-for-me’’ (WIIFM) attitude.Traditional motivators, such as climbing the corporate ladder and be-coming known as a good team player, are not as effective as they oncewere.

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175T h e r e ’ s n o j o b s e c u r i t y h e r e .

4. Adopting an Adversarial Relationship. Employees have becomecynical and no longer trust senior management like they once did.Their loyalty and commitment to their workplace have become fragile,and their priorities are seemingly at odds with organizational goals.

5. Constantly Planning Escape Routes. It is very difficult to moti-vate employees who would prefer to be somewhere else. Employeesupgrade their skills not to help their current employer, but to helpthemselves land their next job. Other employees will be constantlyscheming to take away clients and start their own businesses.

The Psychology of It AllAccording to Frederick Herzberg, job security cannot increase job sat-isfaction, but the lack of it leads to job dissatisfaction.1 Employees liv-ing in peril of losing their jobs are dissatisfied, and dissatisfiedemployees lack the motivation to perform well.

Ω

SolutionsEmployers, of course, cannot guarantee job security. Indeed, theirjobs are also tenuous. But they can manage job insecurity by:

• Communicating honestly

• Helping employees to manage their long-term career

• Developing different methods to gain the commitment andloyalty of employees

Here are a few specific suggestions:

1. Promote ideals and values rather than company goals.Management can gain a strong level of commitment and motiva-tion by promoting socially desirable (rather than corporate) goals.

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Employees are motivated by larger objectives, such as making theworld a better place and improving the health of the community.

2. Don’t deny the reality of the situation.Employers must try not to cover up the fact that layoffs and re-structuring are part of today’s economic reality. Telling employeesthey will have a job for life or that their jobs will be secure formany more years will only serve to decrease your credibility.

3. Help employees grow.Creating an environment where training and skills improvementare encouraged will help any organization. True, the increasedskills will help some employees find good jobs elsewhere. But itwill also enable others to become more valuable contributors.

4. Provide portable benefits.Rather than providing traditional pensions, employers should con-sider offering plans that allow employees to save for retirementwith pre-tax dollars such as 401(k) and 403(b) plans. This way em-ployees can take the invested funds with them when they leavethe firm. Employers should match contributions and provide themwith retirement planning materials so they can make intelligentinvestment choices.

ConclusionJob insecurity is here to stay, but employers can take proactive mea-sures to make it easier for employees to cope with this environment.Promoting organizational values, being honest with your employees,and providing long-term career assistance and portable benefits canall help.

Note1. F. Herzberg et al. Job Attitudes: Review of Research and Opinion

(Pittsburgh: Psychological Service of Pittsburgh, 1957).

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àéThirty-eight percent of employees say they don’t have a good

balance between their work and personal lives.

I’ve got no time for myselfor my family.

Ionce consulted to a fast-paced, highly profitable retail firm that out-sourced the manufacturing of its clothing to Hong Kong, Taiwan,

Sri Lanka, and other distant locales with low labor costs. The hard-working, predominately female staff was sophisticated, competitive,and upwardly mobile. They worked hard, vying for promotions andpay increases. They operated in a high-pressure environment with fre-quently changing deadlines, constant worry about costs, and dailypushback from both clients and manufacturers.

The staff experienced a great deal of stress trying to balance workand family responsibilities. Many were required to travel often to Asiaand maintain long hours. When they weren’t traveling, the time differ-ence between their East Coast office and the Asian manufacturersoften required them to make late-hour telephone appointments fromtheir homes. Many of the women had young families or were thinkingabout starting a family.

Most of the employees complained about their lack of life balanceonly to each other. Few wanted to jeopardize their promotion possibili-ties by tarnishing the personal credibility they had worked so hard toachieve. They were keenly aware that senior management was workingthe same long hours and not complaining about it.

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The employee survey I conducted revealed their collective unhap-piness to senior management. Their challenge was how to respond tothese employee concerns without sacrificing the company’s extremelyhigh level of productivity.

The Problem for EmployersPoor work–life balance poses a dilemma for both employees and theiremployers. For employees, solutions such as working fewer hours ortaking a less demanding job usually require major sacrifices, includingless money, less meaningful work, and limited advancement opportu-nities.

For employers, providing employees with more time off and aslower work pace can adversely affect the bottom line. Venture capital-ists, stockholders, and customers have little tolerance for the reducedspeed and quality that may result from a more relaxed work environ-ment.

Here are some reasons why employees have become dissatisfiedwith the balance between their work and personal lives:

1. Long Work Hours. A survey commissioned by Expedia.com in2006 revealed that more than a third of employed U.S. adults (38percent) report regularly working more than 40 hours per week.1

2. Changing Demographics. According to the Employment PolicyFoundation’s Center for Work and Family Balance, 66 percent ofworking households consisted of single-earner married couples in1940. In 2006 it was 25 percent, and by 2030 it is expected to drop to17 percent.2 That means that in most households today there is no onehome during the workday to run errands, take care of the children, orconduct routine tasks.

3. More Time in the Car. Suburban sprawl has resulted in longercommuting times. It has also meant that children can no longer walkhome from school or to their after-school activities. They need to becarpooled.

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179I ’ v e g o t n o t i m e f o r m y s e l f o r m y f a m i l y .

4. Deterioration of Boundaries Between Work and Home. Voicemail, e-mail, cell phones, laptops, and palm pilots have meant that theoffice is omnipresent. We just can’t get away.

5. Increased Work Pressure. Job security is now an oxymoron. Em-ployees feel that they must work longer hours to impress their bossesand keep their jobs.

6. Inadequate Employer Responses. Many progressive employershave actually made the problem worse by providing after-hour mealsand such services as dry-cleaning and oil changes. Although well in-tentioned, these efforts have only made it easier for employees to worklonger hours.

The Psychology of It AllMany employees are dissatisfied with their work–life balance becausethey do not feel in control of their work hours. As I mentioned earlier,these employees have a low ‘‘perception of control.’’ They do not feelthat they have the power to freely make decisions about when they willor won’t work. This increases the stressfulness of their job.

In a report published by the Sloan Work and Family ResearchNetwork of Boston College, psychologists Allyson McElwain andKaren Korabik of the University of Guelph summarized the researchliterature on work family balance.3 They state that:

• Work-family conflict occurs due to a specific type of stress inwhich two sets of pressures occur simultaneously, making itdifficult to comply with both.

• For some, work interferes with family, and for others familyinterferes with work.

• Many employees experience guilt (i.e., feelings of remorse andresponsibility) because they feel they are acting inconsistentlywith their own internal standards.

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Ω

Solutions

Employees define work–life balance in many different ways. Forsome, working 80 hours per week provides them with the balancethey want. For others, working 40 hours disrupts their personallife. Employees often self-select themselves into particular profes-sions and organizations based on the type of balance they want toachieve.

In the context of understanding these differences, there are anumber of ways organizations can help employees achieve a morecomfortable work–life balance:

1. Provide flexibility.Many organizations devote substantial space in their employeehandbooks in an attempt to carefully define such practices as workhours, time-off policies, and penalties for lateness. This only exac-erbates the work–life balance. Employees and their supervisors be-come like Philadelphia lawyers, constantly seeking to bend therules to accommodate what they both believe is the right thing todo.

Organizations should strive to create a work environment thatprovides employees with the day-to-day flexibility they need tomanage the rest of their lives. The unwritten work rules becomeat least as important as written ones. For example, employees whotypically work long hours and weekends should be given the free-dom to come in late, leave early, or take time off during the middleof the day.

There are many different types of flexible work arrangements.Traditional flextime, for example, allows employees to vary theirstart- and end-times each day. A compressed work week enablesemployees to work more than eight hours per day, allowing themto work fewer days per week. And daily flextime allows them towork a different schedule each day. The Families and Work Insti-

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181I ’ v e g o t n o t i m e f o r m y s e l f o r m y f a m i l y .

tute of Boston College reports that employees who have access toflexible work arrangements are significantly more satisfied withtheir lives and experience less conflict between their jobs and theirfamily lives than employees who don’t have such arrangements.4

Providing employees with daily flextime enables them to maxi-mize the control they have over their time and space. It not onlyreduces their general anxiety but provides them with the opportu-nity to achieve better balance by giving them time to attend specialfamily events, visit a doctor during the day, or even go home totake a nap.

2. Educate supervisors.First-line supervisors end up being the real makers and enforcersof time-off policies. Rather than following the written policies, theyshould be taught how to use compassion and common sense whenmaking these types of decisions.

3. Become known as an organization where balance is valued.In the past year I have worked with several organizations thatmake it known to employees and prospective employees thatwork–life balance is a key organizational value. They provide excel-lent benefits and work flexibility. At 5:00 p.m., employees are per-mitted—in fact, encouraged—to leave work. These organizationsmay not pay the highest salaries in the market, but their employ-ees are highly committed and are willing to make sacrifices intheir paychecks for a better lifestyle.

4. Reduce organizational inefficiencies.Our research shows that more than half of employees feel thework in their departments is conducted inefficiently. Organiza-tional inefficiency causes employees to work unnecessarily longhours. Involve employees in identifying and implementing solu-tions.

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5. Provide senior management role models.Employees often take their cues from the senior-most members ofthe organization. If they are workaholics, the rest of the organiza-tion will become workaholic. If they work hard to achieve balancein their lives, the rest of the organization will follow suit.

ConclusionManagement should set an example and use common sense ratherthan strict rules to create an environment that allows employees tocreate a balance between work and their personal lives. Not only is thispossible, but it is often good for business.

Notes1. ‘‘Expedia.com Survey Reveals Vacation Deprivation Among Ameri-

can Workers Is at an All-Time High,’’ PRNewswire-FirstCall, May23, 2006: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060523/sftu098.html?.v�56.

2. Rebecca Clay, ‘‘Making Working Families Work,’’ APA Online,Volume 36, No. 11: http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec05/work.html.

3. A. K. McElwain and K. Korabik, ‘‘Work-Family Guilt.’’ A SloanWork and Family Encyclopedia entry: http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/encyclopedia_entry.php?id�270&area�All.

4. J. Casey, ‘‘Effective Workplace Series,’’ Work-Family Information onFlexible Work Schedules, Issue 2, 2006.

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àèThirty-eight percent of employees do not feel their work provides them

with a strong feeling of personal accomplishment.

I feel trapped. I wish I couldgo out on my own.

Back in 1993, when my boss at a major international consultingfirm said, ‘‘Bruce, we are going to have to lay you off,’’ I had

mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was nervous about the future andabout providing for my family. On the other hand, I felt a strong senseof relief. I would no longer have to worry about billable hours, im-pressing the bosses, and coping with internal politics.

But I also felt a strong sense of personal empowerment. For me,losing my job was like the scene from Gone With the Wind when Scar-lett O’Hara returns at the end of the Civil War to Tara, the beautifulsouthern plantation where she had been raised. The ConfederateArmy had used the mansion as a military headquarters. All of thefurniture, artwork, and of course, the slaves were gone. Her fatherhad gone mad, and was walking around aimlessly. She was totallydistraught. There was no food in the house and she was hungry. Shewent out to the fields, which had already been completely picked over,reached into the ground, grabbed a root, took a bite out of it, andshouted to the sky, ‘‘As God is my witness, as God is my witnessthey’re not going to lick me. I’m going to live through this and whenit’s all over, I’ll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I

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have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I’ll never behungry again.’’

That’s how I felt. I was determined to figure out a way to start myown consulting business so that I could support my family, never haveto worry about being laid off again, be in charge of my own fate, sinkor swim based on my own skills, and relish personally in my accom-plishments rather than where I lay on management’s scorecard.

Many years later, I feel a sense of personal accomplishment everyday. When the phone rings, that’s not an organization’s phone I’manswering. It’s my phone and I made it ring. Apparently I am notalone. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2004 there were anestimated 10.4 million workers who had elected self-employmentrather than working for an organization.1

The Problem for EmployersMany employees look back on their many years of service to theirorganization and say, ‘‘I don’t really have anything to show for it.’’They lack a strong sense of personal accomplishment. They feeltrapped in their job, but don’t want a different one. What they reallywant to do is abandon the shackles of organizational life and go outon their own. They fantasize about starting their own business or con-sulting firm, but they’re scared. They are terrified of taking the risk ofleaving the security of their job. Many rationalize that they will makethe leap once their kids are out of college, their mortgage is paid off,or they have saved enough money. They spend their idle time merelydreaming about what could have been.

This strong desire that many employees have to strike out on theirown is a problem for their organizations. These employees possessvaluable untapped energy, but instead of providing the organizationwith creativity and enthusiasm, they become a drain on the energy ofothers.

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185I f e e l t r a p p e d .

The Psychology of It AllJulian Rotter’s social learning theory offers one explanation why peo-ple feel trapped in their jobs. His theory suggests that individuals dif-fer in how much of an effect they believe they have on theirenvironment.2 His central concept is the continuum, ‘‘locus of con-trol.’’ Those with personalities more toward the external end of thiscontinuum believe that what happens in their life is due to chance:events that are outside of their direct control. Taken to the extreme,these individuals are fatalists. At the other end of this continuum areinternals. They believe that their fate is due largely to their own skills,abilities, and the actions they take.

On the one hand, individuals who have a more external ‘‘locus ofcontrol’’ feel powerless to leave their jobs. They lack the belief thatthey really can have a major impact on their own destiny. If they dofantasize about starting their own business, they think the only waythat would happen is through a fortuitous series of events. On theother hand, those with an internal ‘‘locus of control’’ are inclined tobelieve that they can take risks in their life and that they will be ableto take control of their future. They are the ones who are more likelyto leave to work for themselves.

‘‘Objectivism’’ provides another explanation of why people feeltrapped in their jobs. Ayn Rand, the founder of this school of thought,argued that the reason people succeed or fail in life is due to whetheror not they ‘‘choose to think.’’ She writes, ‘‘A man can choose to thinkor to let his mind stagnate, or he can choose actively to turn againsthis intelligence, to evade his knowledge, to subvert his reason. If herefuses to think, he courts disaster.’’3

Extrapolating this principle to the workplace, employees who feeltrapped at their jobs and too paralyzed to venture out on their ownmay not be choosing to think. They may be failing to use their mindsto control their reality.

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Ω

Solutions

Here are several ways that organizations can harness the entrepre-neurial spirit of employees and provide them with a strong senseof accomplishment:

1. Begin an intrapreneurship program.Some organizations establish intrapreneurship programs to pro-vide promising employees with the financial and emotional sup-port they need to launch a new business within the organization.For example, let’s say an enthusiastic chemist in a pharmaceuticallab discovers a promising new compound, but the compound isunrelated to the type of drugs the company currently produces.Instead of risking the employee leaving for another job or to starthis own business, the company can fund that new business. Or amedical claims specialist working in a small practice might say, ‘‘Ican bring in more money by providing my services to other medi-cal practices.’’ If the idea makes sense, the practice could fund anew business venture to become the outsourcer for other organi-zations.

This can be a win-win situation for the employee and the orga-nization. The company keeps the employee from leaving andstands to gain a great deal financially if the new business is suc-cessful. The employee stands to profit financially, while gaining astrong sense of personal accomplishment.

2. Allow employees to work part-time.Instead of losing employees when they want to start their ownbusiness in a different field, offer them the opportunity to workpart-time. This will provide them with a safety net and the organi-zation may not lose much because many employees can actuallyproduce the same amount of work on a part-time basis as they canworking full time.

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187I f e e l t r a p p e d .

ConclusionEmployees itching to go out on their own will resent management forpreventing them from fulfilling their dreams. Organizations shouldconsider helping them start a new profit center within the company oroffering them part-time employment.

Notes1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ‘‘Self-Employed Workers by Indus-

try and Occupation,’’ Employment Earnings Monthly, January issue,Table 593: http://www.bls.gov/cps/home.htm.

2. J. B. Rotter, ‘‘Generalized Expectancies for Internal vs. ExternalControl of Reinforcement,’’ Psychological Monographs 80, 609(1966).

3. Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged (New York: Penguin Group, 1957).

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PAGE 166

âÜThirty-eight percent of employees don’t feel committed to their organization.

My company isn’t committed to me,so why should I be committed to it?

Ihave a friend who owns a small, second-generation family-ownedauto parts distributorship. He employs about thirty people. His em-

ployees receive orders from customers, order parts from suppliers,make deliveries, and keep the books. It’s not glamorous work anddoesn’t provide the same level of pay or benefits that some of his work-ers might earn if they were able to land a job with a larger company.

You would think that employee turnover would be high, but it’snot. My friend rarely loses employees. The average tenure is morethan fifteen years. Why?

Carrying on the tradition of his father, he deals with his employeesfairly and maintains his loyalty to them. He provides health insuranceand a 401(k) plan. If an employee has a personal or financial problem,he helps him out. If the company has an off year, nobody loses theirjob. If business is slow, he takes home less pay himself and makescertain his workers receive their checks on time. He treats them withrespect and gets to know them as people, not just as employees.

But this is not what it’s like in most organizations, where employ-ees are typically disloyal and their organizations are disloyal to them.That’s become the way of the world. You hear about it every day: large

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companies laying off tens of thousands of workers, cutting medicalbenefits, and eliminating bankrupt retirement plans.

We have become accustomed to believing that:

• Loyalty is an outmoded idea, no longer relevant.

• The only thing that really matters in the work world is money.

• Maintaining loyalty to your employer is a foolish careerstrategy.

• Maintaining loyalty to your employees is impractical in today’seconomy.

The Problem for EmployersEmployee turnover is extremely expensive for organizations, oftenamounting to 150 percent or more of an employee’s annual salary. Thefinancial costs include lost productivity while positions are left vacant,as well as the costs of recruiting, hiring, and training new employees.There are also more subtle costs, including reduced commitmentfrom employees who were friends of the person who left, and loss ofteamwork and camaraderie now that the team has been disrupted.

The Psychology of It AllRecall that equity theory asserts that individuals try to maintain a bal-ance between what they contribute to their work (e.g., skills, knowl-edge, effort, and commitment to their employer) and what they get outof their work (e.g., compensation and loyalty). When this balance isdisrupted, people will often try to correct the situation by reducingtheir inputs. Equity theory predicts that when people feel that theiremployer is not committed to them, they will reduce their feelings ofinequity by decreasing their commitment to the organization.

Ω

SolutionsCall me old-fashioned, but are the following thoughts mere relicsof the past, or can they still have validity in today’s harsh world?

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191My company isn’t committed to me, so why should I be committed to it?

• If I am loyal to my company, my company will be loyal tome.

• I want my company to be an extension of who I am, justlike my family.

• I want to look back on my career and feel good about themany years I devoted to this company.

• I value the people I work with.

• I really believe in what this organization stands for and willstick with it through thick and thin.

Likewise, can the following thoughts employers used to have aboutmaintaining loyalty to their employees still be relevant today?

• If we are loyal to our employees, they will be loyal to us.

• We want to be one big happy family here where everyone isfocused on the same goal.

• We value long service and will reward those who stay withus.

• We will provide good retirement benefits for those whomaintain their loyalty to us.

• Employees are our most valuable assets.

• We have invested much in our employees. They possess val-uable knowledge about our history, our customers, and ourproducts and services. We need to keep them with us tocapitalize on our investment.

If these views still resonate with you and your organization, hereis what you can do:

1. Fight rather than succumb to the prevailing trend.Become a maverick in your industry. Make it known that contraryto other employers, you do value loyalty from your employees and

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will reciprocate. Offer a pension. Offer generous benefits. Evenconsider offering long-term employment contracts. Dare to be dif-ferent because you know it’s the right thing to do and in fact willhave a positive effect on your business.

2. Rethink the economics.You may be wondering how you can possibly afford to do this. Itmay not seem practical, but it is possible.

• The cost of employee turnover is very high. Finding replace-ments and training new hires is expensive.

• Operating a company where employees are constantly look-ing to bolt lowers employee morale and productivity.

• Your employees might be willing to receive less pay if theyvalue the benefits, pension, and other guarantees. This isnot uncommon. Just ask those who work in many govern-ment and public education jobs.

3. Make loyalty to employees a core value in your organization.Rarely do you see ‘‘Loyalty to Employees’’ in an organization’s listof corporate values. If you believe it is important, it should bethere. All strategic decisions of the company should be made withthis core value in mind.

4. Be willing to make sacrifices to maintain employee loyalty.In order to maintain employee loyalty you may need to make sacri-fices, such as:

• Slowing down corporate growth to a more controlled level

• Placing limits on annual pay increases

• Insourcing rather than outsourcing work

• Investing in retraining of employees

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193My company isn’t committed to me, so why should I be committed to it?

ConclusionLoyalty to employees has become a forgotten relic in much of the workworld. It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, making loyalty a corporatevalue can actually improve your long-term bottom line.

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PAGE 166

Summary: What You Can Do

So, what can you do if the employees in your organization areunhappy and hate you? In some organizations, of course, manage-

ment doesn’t care. They view employees as expendable and nonessen-tial. Many others do nothing about unhappy employees because theyfeel powerless to solve the problem. They are under the mistaken as-sumption that all employees really want is more money. Since theyare unwilling or unable to pay more, they simply ignore the cries oftheir employees.

But I can cite many examples of organizations that have success-fully reduced the unhappiness of employees in their organizations.They have proven that addressing employee concerns can and doeswork. Here are several suggestions for what you can do in your ownorganization:

1. Listen to employees. Identify the real problems by conductingfocus groups or an employee survey. Using an outside objective facili-tator or survey organization can help assuage employee concernsabout their anonymity. Organizations committed to reducing em-ployee unhappiness listen to their employees on a regular basis.

2. Involve employees in developing solutions. Organizations that aremost successful in addressing the concerns of employees involve themin action planning. Employees can develop solutions to problems thatwould never occur to management.

3. Start small, and big things will happen. I have worked in manyorganizations with unhappy employees where management did notknow how to begin to solve the problems. They decided to focus on

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196 S u m m a r y : W h a t Yo u C a n D o

just one or two areas. For example, an electronic equipment manufac-turer decided to make certain their performance reviews were con-ducted on time. An insurance company adopted flextime. A retailerinstituted quarterly briefings from the president to all employees. Inall of these cases, addressing just one important concern had a dra-matic positive effect on employee morale. It stopped the crying, notonly on this one issue, but also on many issues.

* * *Reducing employee unhappiness is not only good for business;

it’s good for all of us. Employees spend the majority of their wakinghours at their jobs. Doesn’t it make sense to provide them with a workenvironment where they can feel supported, respected, and fulfilled?

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Epilogue: A Lesson from the Future

The second Star Trek movie, The Wrath of Khan (my favorite) openson the bridge of the starship Enterprise in the twenty-third cen-

tury, with Saavik, played by a very svelte Kirstie Alley, sitting in theCaptain’s chair. We can see from her long pointy ears that she’s aVulcan.

The communications officer, Uhura, reports to her that there is adistress signal coming from a fuel-carrying vessel called the KobuyashiMaru. The problem is that the vessel is in the ‘‘neutral zone,’’ an areathat Federation vessels cannot enter according to treaty.

Saavik makes the command decision to enter the neutral zone torescue the crew of the Kobuyashi Maru. She orders Lieutenant Com-mander Sulu to chart a course for the vessel and asks that the trans-porter room get ready to beam the survivors aboard. As they enterthe neutral zone, Spock announces from his station, ‘‘We are now inviolation of treaty.’’

The computer informs the crew on the bridge that three enemyKlingon cruisers are headed toward them. Communications OfficerUhura attempts to notify the Klingons that they are merely on a rescuemission. The Klingons do not respond and begin to power up theirweapons.

Saavik orders the crew to take their battle stations and raise theshields. A battle ensues. When the Klingons fire their phasers, Saavikorders evasive maneuvers and the return of fire. She eventually alsoorders the release of the powerful photon torpedoes.

Saavik keeps her cool as the computer calmly reports, ‘‘Shields aredown to 75 percent . . . shields are down to 40 percent.’’ Most of the

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198 E p i l o g u e : A L e s s o n f r o m t h e F u t u r e

crew on the bridge, including Spock, are killed during the battle. Theshields continue to lose strength. The computer voice then says,‘‘Warning, shields are down to 5 percent,’’ and the movie goes totallydark.

Now, of course, you know the movie isn’t over. It has just started.The lights on the bridge come back on and we see that everyone isokay. We learn that Saavik is a cadet in Starfleet Academy and that theKobuyashi Maru is a training simulation, a no-win scenario meant totest the skills of a cadet. No matter what orders she would have given,they all would have died.

We learn, however, that there is one person in the entire history ofStar Fleet Academy who has been able to pass the Kobuyashi Marusimulation. If you haven’t guessed already, yes, it’s Captain James T.Kirk, now an admiral.

For the entire movie, as they are fighting Khan, played by RicardoMontalban, Saavik keeps asking Kirk how he was able to succeed withthe simulation. She tells him that she has been through it billionsof times in her mind (Vulcans can do this you know) and could notunderstand how he did it. Near the end of the movie he finally tellsher: ‘‘The night before the test I went into the control room and repro-grammed the simulation so that it was possible to rescue the ship.’’

* * *The moral of this story is not that you should cheat on exams,

but that you have to do things differently. If you keep managing youremployees in the same way, you are going to achieve the same results.Employees are going to continue to be resentful and hate you. Startingtoday, make up your mind that you are going to do things differently.

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Recommended Readings

Selected sources that highlight the effect that roles, group dynam-ics, and intergroup relations have on the behavior of individuals

in organizations:

Janis, I. L. Victims of Groupthink: A Psychological Study of Foreign-PolicyDecisions and Fiascos. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Company,1972.

Smith, K. K. Groups in Conflict: Prisons in Disguise. Dubuque, Iowa:Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1982.

Zimbardo, P. G., and G. White. Stanford Prison Experiment Slide-Tape Show (Stanford University, 1972): prisonexp.org.

Selected books on managing and motivating employees:

Branham, L. The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave. New York: AMA-COM, 2005.

Buckingham, M., and C. Coffman. First Break All the Rules: What theWorld’s Greatest Managers Do Differently. New York: Simon &Schuster, 1999.

Campbell, M. J. Five Gifts of Insightful Leaders. Newton, Mass.: Charles-bank Press, 2006.

Carroll, S. J., Jr. Performance Appraisal and Review Systems: The Identi-fication, Measurement, and Development of Performance in Organiza-tions. Glenview, Ill: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1982.

Collins, J. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap . . . andOthers Don’t. New York: HarperCollins, 2001.

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200 R e c o m m e n d e d R e a d i n g s

Fournies, F. Why Employees Don’t Do What They’re Supposed to Do andWhat to Do About It. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999.

Hackman, J. R., E. E. Lawler III, and L. W. Porter. Perspectives on Be-havior in Organizations. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company,1977.

Herzberg, F. W. Work and the Nature of Man. New York: The WorldPublishing Company, 1973.

Lawler, E. E. III. Motivation in Organizations. Monterey, Calif.: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1973.

Miner, J. B. The Challenge of Managing. Philadelphia: W. B. SaundersCompany, 1975.

Nash, A. N., and S. J. Carroll, Jr. The Management of Compensation.Monterey, Calif.: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1975.

Porter, L. W., E. E. Lawler III, and J. R. Hackman. Behavior in Organi-zations. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1975.

Schein, E. H. Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco:Jossey-Bass, Inc. Publishers, 1985.

Sirota, D., L. Mischkind, and M. Meltzer. The Enthusiastic Employee:How Companies Profit by Giving Workers What They Want. Philadel-phia: Wharton School of Publishing, 2005.

Steers, R. M., and L. W. Porter. Motivation and Work Behavior. NewYork: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1975.

Taylor, F. The Principles of Scientific Management. New York: W.W. Nor-ton & Company, Inc., 1967.

Wanous, J. P. Organizational Entry: Recruitment, Selection, and Social-ization of Newcomers. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley PublishingCompany, 1980.

Books on consulting, self-employment, and building a business:

Gerber, M. E. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’tWork and What to Do About It. New York: HarperCollins Publish-ers, Inc., 1995.

Katcher, B. L. The Consultant’s Corner: Practical Advice and Insights for

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201R e c o m m e n d e d R e a d i n g s

Beginning and Experienced Consultants. 2006, e-book downloadableat http://www.discoverysurveys.com/store.html.

Weiss, A. Million Dollar Consulting: The Professionals Guide to Growinga Practice. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1992.

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PAGE 166

Index

Adams, John Stacey, 37advancement, see promotionattribution theory, 103

behavior, dictated by assumed roles, 9benefits, see also compensation

health-care, 153–156portable, 174, 176

boss, see management; supervisorsbureaucracy, see also red tape

avoidance of, 47–48as obstacle, 107–108

cognitive dissonance, 97communication

distortion of, 47skills, 24–25, 88multiple channels, 65open, 44

compensationavoiding hourly pay, 130, 136employee complaints, 133–134as ‘‘hygiene factor,’’ 129linked to performance, 135, 137, 145–

146, 147–149need for clear philosophy, 129–130,

150pay grades, 134use of bonuses, 130when viewed as unfair, 127–128

controlinability to surrender, 19locus of, 185perceived vs. actual, 10

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203

decision-making authority, 17–18failure to provide, 18–19managers’ abdication of, 58needed by employees, 20–21

delegationlack of, 19training for, 20

Deming, W. Edwards, 96discipline, applied individually, 55Discovery Surveys, Inc., Normative

Database, 3, 23

effort-performance expectancy, 149emotional intelligence, 25employees

changing demographics, 178decision-making authority of, 17–19,

20–21failure to speak up, 23–24feeling overworked, 79–81feeling trapped, 8increased pressure on, 179independence, 12insecurity, 54involvement in problem solving, 195job dissatisfaction, 167–169, 171lack of respect for, 51–52loyalty, 190–191misaligned with organizational

goals, 62, 175motivation, 149–150preference for self-employment, 184professional development, 14required skills change, 81

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204 I n d e x

employees (continued)restoring confidence of, 77unequal treatment of, 35–36

employee unhappiness, 3–4steps to reduce, 195–196

employment, as slavery, 7–8equity theory (Adams), 37–38, 135–136,

190expectancy theory (Vroom), 149–150

fairnesslack of, 35–38of personnel policies, 36–37

feedback, 380-degree, 152Festinger, Leon, 97flexibility

avoiding union mentality, 39need for, 38–39

flextime, 180–181

Gershaw, David, 10

health-care benefitsdealing with increased cost, 153–156flexible spending accounts, 156as hygiene factor, 154

health care, cost of, 153Herzberg, Frederick, 91, 129, 154, 175‘‘hierarchy of needs’’ (Maslow), 91hiring practices

clear expectations, 136poor, 19, 68realistic job previews, 161

House, Robert J., 70

informationdirectly shared with employees,

63–64JFK exercise, 88lack of needed, 85–86‘‘need-to-know’’ vs. ‘‘nice-to-know,’’

64systematic analysis of, 87unnecessary secrecy of, 86

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interdepartmental cooperationattribution theory, 103ethnocentrism, 102internal surveys for, 104JFK exercise, 104problems with, 101–102

intergroup perspective, 45intrapreneurship programs, 186

Janis, Irving, 122JFK exercise, 88, 104job, see workjob dissatisfaction, 167–169, 171job insecurity, 173–176job rotation program, 92Jones, Edward E., 103

Kennedy, John F., 88Korabik, Karen, 179

life balance, see work-life balancelistening

failure, 4, 8, 43–44improvement of skills, 26

Little, Grady, 57–58, 59Locke, Edwin A., 70‘‘locus of control’’ continuum, 185loyalty

to company, 190–191as core value, 192to employees, 190–191steps for maintaining, 191–192

management, see also senior manage-ment; supervisors

failure to listen, 4, 8, 43–44and honesty with employees, 11–12lack of confidence in, 75–76lack of direction from, 19lack of responsiveness, 25lack of trust in, 61–62, 175poor hiring practices, 68

Martinez, Pedro, 57, 59Maslow, Abraham, 91

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205I n d e x

McElwain, Allyson K., 179McGuire, W. J., 161meetings

cost of, 121inappropriate attendance, 120lack of effectiveness, 119–121lack of leadership, 122need for time limits, 123proper conclusion, 123–124seen as waste of time, 121–123

middle managers, see also manage-ment; supervisors

failure to share information, 63overabundance of, 18

Milgram, Stanley, 110motivation, 149–150

Nisbett, Richard E., 103

objectivism, 185openness

fostering of, 25, 27, 87lack of, 24

organization, as learning center, 91

pay grades, 134widening of ranges, 136

‘‘perception of control,’’ 10performance, linked to compensation,

135, 137, 145–146, 147–149performance-outcome expectancy, 149performance reviews

bias in, 147complaints about, 139–141difficulty for supervisors, 141–142halo effect, 147improving effectiveness of, 142–144use of multiple measures, 152use of objective measures, 148–149,

151use of subjective measures, 147–148

personnel policies, fairness of, 36–37Peter Principle, 68

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poor performerseffect on others, 114as obstacle, 113–114options for dealing with, 115–116

Porter, Lyman, 160positive reinforcement, 22, 25–26, 30

through feedback, 33training for, 32

power, management assumptionabout, 47

privacy, respect for, 11, 54product quality

employee attitudes, 95–96legitimate vs. unwarranted concerns,

97–99promotion

from within, 162employee expectations, 160, 161lack of opportunities, 159–160technical career ladder, 162

‘‘psychological contract,’’ 58psychological experiments

blind obedience (Milgram), 110expectations and IQ (Rosenthal), 46prison simulation (Zimbardo), 9

Rand, Ayn, 185recognition

immediate, 32individual vs. group, 31lack of, 29–31

red tapedefined, 110overcoming of, 111reasons for, 108–109

relief employees, 83retribution, fear of, 25Rosenthal, Robert, 46Rotter, Julian B., 185Rumsfeld, Donald, 23

self-employment statistics, 184senior management, see also manage-

mentfailure to listen, 44

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206 I n d e x

senior management (continued)failure to value employees, 53, 54ignoring employee input, 45–47lack of trust in, 61–62, 175power grabbing of, 109as role models, 33, 182top-down mirroring of, 18, 54

shadowing program, 92Smith, Kenwyn K., 18, 45staffing

excessive cuts, 81shortage, 79–80

Steers, Richard, 160suggestion box, elimination of, 48suggestions

ignored by management, 44–45promotion of, 48

supervisiondifficulty of, 48principles for improvement, 70training, 151

supervisorsas bad bosses, 67–70communication skills, 88handling of performance reviews,

141–142impact on employee performance,

69task-oriented vs. people-centered, 69

380-degree feedback, 152total compensation statements, 155training

assessment of needs, 92investment in, 93need for, 89non-classroom techniques, 94

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reasons for, 90trust, lack of, 61–62, 109, 175, 177turnover, cost of, 190, 192two-factor theory of motivation (Herzb-

erg), 91

unequal treatment of employees, 37–38

valence, 150Vroom, Victor H., 149

Wanous, John P., 161work

and career change, 168–169dissatisfaction with, 167–169, 171internal transfers, 171as just a job, 167–169keys to enjoyment of, 170motivators, 170part-time opportunities, 186

work environmentdisrespectful, 53need for flexibility, 180–181

work hourscontrol of, 12–13excessive, 178

work-life balancedefined, 180lack of, 177–179need to value, 181research findings, 179

workloadperiodic audits of, 82realistic expectations for, 82

work space, control of, 13–14Wrath of Khan, The, 197–198

Zimbardo, Philip, 9

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About the Authors

Bruce L. Katcher, Ph.D., is an industrial/organizational psycholo-gist and founder of Discovery Surveys, Inc., a management-

consulting firm based outside Boston in Sharon, Massachusetts. Since1993, he has been helping organizations better understand and delighttheir employees and customers. His firm conducts employee opinionsurveys and customer satisfaction surveys.

Bruce delivers keynote addresses on Why Employees Hate TheirManagers and What You Can Do About It, How to Address the MajorComplaints of Employees, How to Improve Your Listening Skills, The 21Secrets of Finding a Job, How to Jump Start Your Consulting Business,and How to Really Enjoy What You Eat.

Clients for whom he has conducted surveys include: Alcoa MillProducts, BBN Technologies, Delta Dental Plan, Invensys, Johnson &Johnson, Manulife Financial, the Massachusetts Medical Society,Mayo Clinic, Science Magazine, Revlon, Sodexho USA, Textron Sys-tems, Timberland, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and W.R. Grace.

For more information, visit www.DiscoverySurveys.com.

* * *Adam Snyder has for thirty years been helping individuals and

organizations communicate their messages to employees, customers,and the public. He has coauthored books with top business leaders,and his byline can be found in dozens of publications. He is also presi-dent of the animation company, Rembrandt Films LLC, a producerand distributor of classic cartoons from around the world.

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