Hunan, China
Here in SE Asia the growth of trade unions is faster than anywhere else on the planet. Even in China, where such initiatives are independent and not state-controlled or instigated, unions are flourishing. Industrial action is also quite common, although very seldom reported by the press or media.
In this densely populated country people may not have all the formal democratic rights enjoyed in the west, but they certainly express their views about matters which most immediately affect them – and even group together to increase the impact of their views. An example of this is in the high rise complex where I am staying – some 40 buildings of different sizes set within its own security fence (a feature now very common in China) and all serviced by a single company. Some time ago the service company created an “App” to allow residents to express their views about how well the complex is being run. Each resident pays a service charge each month to cover such things as cleaning and repairing common areas, gardening and the provision of security personnel at several entrances.
I think the standard of upkeep is very high and it is pleasant to walk in the cool of the evening along tree-lined walkways and even keep fit using the exercise machines provided in sheltered public areas. A much higher quality of life than is possible through the western preoccupation with dull two-story boxes and private handkerchief-sized gardens (nobody uses) in urban and suburban areas. But many of the residents here think otherwise. The App is loaded constantly with photos of things that residents want to complain about – overfull garbage bins, litter on stairways, uneven areas on paths, bushes that block views … and so on.
Management is highly attentive to the views of residents and responds very quickly to each complaint, but the complaints keep coming and appear to get more and more petty. Of course, for most residents here the purchase of a small apartment has been a big step forwards in their lives. They have made a huge commitment and probably stretched themselves financially. Therefore the small additional service charge is probably a significant proportion of their disposable income. Taking part in consumer activities such as this also clearly brings people together. Chinese people are naturally highly sociable, but the impersonality of high rise complexes makes it difficult to forge connections even with neighbours.
For this reason the solution would appear to me to be for the service company to offer certain activities to the residents to share on a communal basis. Then, if certain residents did not contribute, the complaints would be within the community of occupants rather than directed against the service company itself. Another option would be to allow residents to appoint their own service company. This, however, is a difficult matter once the developer has made the appointment. Like all new communities the greatest need is to bring people together, to build bridges, compensate for the lack of immediate family members.
This experience makes me reflect on the way that companies often act. Helping the private lives of employees should not stop at the provision of family-friendly employment policies. Many companies employ people who have grown up far away from where they now work. They too live in impersonal housing estates and often do not have the pretext of complaints about a shared service company to bring them together. It is understandable that the modern corporate entity wishes to shy away from the paternalism of the past, but does not a holistic approach to HR make sense? Not only can it reduce absenteeism and increase employee engagement, but it can also curtail the trend towards increased anxiety and depression. This is particularly the case when things go wrong in people’s private lives. Most companies give a few days off for bereavement, but why not create a supportive environment – of fellow workers as well as HR – for other times too – that conventionally have been too private to be admitted. Circumstances that need to be treated with particular sensitivity and in greater confidence, but not entirely behind closed doors – such as separation, divorce, alcoholism and when teenage children go missing or seriously do wrong?