The week before last I had the privilege of moderating a distinguished panel for the Department of Defense (DoD) at the 2011 Defense Employee and Labor Relations Symposium. We discussed DoD’s troublesome rise in hostile workplace environment (HWE) and harassment claims. Investigating and resolving these charges, the vast majority of which are found not to have legal merit, takes time and money. Yet, we agreed the most serious concern is whether the conduct triggering the bulk of these claims adversely affects mission readiness. In the context of DoD’s mission and the role that team behavior plays in it, I’d describe mission readiness as the ability of individuals to work together and accomplish their vital responsibilities without unnecessary distraction and disruption. Three days after our session, we once again saw the brilliance, courage, discipline, teamwork and excellence displayed by our military that planned and flawlessly executed the Bin Laden raid in Pakistan. We are grateful for its success and awed by the accomplishment. The feat will be remembered throughout history as a proud example of our armed forces’ resourcefulness, selflessness and commitment. Surely, it represented “mission readiness” at its finest.
The same discipline is found throughout the DoD. One example I had not heard about is far more routine than what happened in Pakistan. For many years now, individuals have slugged to work every day. What’s slugging? It’s not hand-to-hand combat or a special martial arts technique. Instead, thousands of individuals informally carpool every day to the Pentagon and other locations in the Washington, D.C. area. Drivers go to various “slug lines” and pick up enough riders – they need three in a car – to use designated HOV lanes. Usually, the drivers and riders don’t know one another. There are simple and clear principles of slugging etiquette, like who can say what, where riders are dropped, where people sit, whether the radio can be played [only if the driver wants it]. The whole set of rules is about a page. They’re written but, even more effectively, passed on by drivers and riders. A glare from a driver, a comment from another rider can quickly make it clear: the rules must be followed. So, over the years a slugging culture has developed which people understand and apply daily.
Why does this all work? From what I can tell, drivers and riders realize they’ll benefit by following slugging’s simple, clear and few rules: if slugging proves unsafe, disruptive, or causes other problems, it could be discontinued. The result would be that many drivers would face a longer commute unable to take advantage of HOV lanes while riders would have to find some alternative to the free transportation they get from slugging.
What struck me as ironic is my realization that some slugging drivers and riders must either engage in or experience the kinds of uncivil behavior that cause the HWE charges my panel and I discussed. So sluggers behave with exceptional civility and respect, a key DoD value, going to and from work based on a one-page document and word of mouth. Yet, for some, their behavior lapses triggering workplace problems despite rigorous policies, performance systems, complaint processes and training.
How can we take the culture of slugging and bring it to workplaces? As I’ve written elsewhere, I’d suggest defining conduct in terms of a few basic but clear specific rules, making sure everyone understands them and, most importantly, getting people to appreciate the personal consequences to them and their daily work lives if the rules aren’t followed.
If being able to use HOV lanes and ride for free to work is enough to sustain rules for commuting etiquette, DoD and other organizations can set specific, clear standards and identify clear consequences to affect what should be and mostly is a team-based environment. My message – we can’t all do the jobs of Navy SEALS, but we all can be slugs at work.
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