Why Workplace Transformation is Imperative for the Future: A Call to Action

In 2017, I was about to die.

I was completely and daily under work stress and working extended working hours to solve the never-ending problems of the projects on my table as an employee at one of the big multinational companies.

I used to attend nearly 6 back-to-back meetings almost daily and the work pressure and problems were to the roof. To the extent that one of my colleagues went behind my back to my boss and told him that if someone didn’t interfere now, Mohamed could die from the work pressure.

I gained around 40 kg even though I spent most of my life as a competitive athlete. I couldn’t sleep at night and when the weekends came, I used to hate Sundays because they reminded me that tomorrow is the start of a new working week.

Maybe you are wondering ‘’why you didn’t complain? Why didn’t you speak with your boss?’’ and I will tell you ‘’I did’’ but I never got anything out of these discussions. I even went further and spoke to a lot of people from the upper management, but I had the feeling none of them BELIEVED that changing the situation was possible.

And I spoke about lots of things. I spoke about the work pressure and the unrealistic projects deadlines and promises that the clients are expecting and more.

And I didn’t only speak about myself, but I also explained that this is totally unhealthy for the other employees and team members and that sooner or later we will lose them.

But I used to hear things from the management such as ‘’What can we do? Unfortunately, this is the automotive industry’’ or ‘’This is an important project for the company, and we must continue anyway’’ or ‘’soon there will be changes’’…But everything stayed the same.

And then two things happened that changed everything (at least for me).

One day I was attending a meeting, and after the meeting, I remained in the room with another colleague. This colleague was an engineer that I didn’t deal a lot with. So, I used it as an opportunity to try to learn about him more.

We spoke a little about his role and what he is currently doing and then I asked him if he selected this role on purpose and if he loves what he is doing currently.

He answered me and said ‘’My role is ok. I have no problem with it. But I am not fully satisfied with what I do.’’

When I asked him why, he told me that as an engineer, he is talented in a specific area and that if he had the chance, he would spend most of his time doing work relevant to this engineering area.

And then he told me ‘’Let me show you some of the engineering work that I have made in this area on my laptop’’…I looked at his screen and immediately got impressed. He started explaining to me what was on the screen and suddenly everything changed.

His posture, energy, and body language changed, and his face showed extreme joy and excitement while he was explaining. I was happy to see him switching like this.

Then I asked him one important question ‘’does your manager know that you are talented in this area and that you love working on things related to it? I am sure a person with your passion and love for this technical area can be a huge asset to the company if used right’’.

He told me ‘’yes, he knows’’

I told him ‘’and?’’

He told me ‘’nothing. He said that I should stick to my job description.’’

I was shocked.

Of course, I understand that maybe you need an employee to do a specific type of work and to close a gap, but what are you going to lose if you let your employee close this gap while still firing him up and giving him what he or she wants?

If your employee is skilled in multiple areas, why don’t you utilize these skills and help the employee and the company? Why should you close your eyes and ignore someone’s potential because of just the job description…I felt that this was totally unfair.

This was the first thing.

The second thing that happened that changed everything was that I entered the burnout zone.

So not only that I was in a terrible condition physically, but also, I also started to get bad mentally because of the stress at work.

So, it was not a surprise that when I met my doctor, she ordered me immediately to take some weeks off to recover. And this was one of the best things that happened to me because it gave me the chance to calm down and to think.

After a few weeks off and thinking it became clear to me. I do not want to return.

I do not want to return to endure such stress again and to hear the same words over and over and I don’t want to go back to see more people working without a soul because their talents are being wasted and because they are making very little progress each day and they spend most of their time fire fighting and surviving.

I said to myself ‘’I will not accept that. We need to change something. And if everyone is saying ‘Well, we have to accept things as they are’, I will be the one who will fight to change something. I will not be passive and watch my lifetime running in front of my eyes while I am only saying ‘’what can we do? work is always stressful and the whole industry is like this.’’ (which are famous statements usually said by weak managers and you hear them A LOT inside corporations who are consistently under fire).

But I will tell you an important secret. I didn’t do this- deciding to quit and to REALLY change something lots of years ago- only for myself. And I also didn’t do it for the other employees around the world who are suffering in silence each day. I did it for my daughter.

I did it for my daughter because I did not want to throw her into a damaged workforce and let her join a company with a broken culture 20 years from now.

If I suffered bad leadership and bad culture (at least in a specific area of the company), she doesn’t have to pass the same experience…And when I am speaking here about my daughter, I am using her as a symbol to speak collectively about your daughter, your son, and the next generations.

You know, 30 years ago, I never heard my parents speaking about burnout and mental illness, now you hear these terms everywhere. And I am really worried about what can possibly happen 20 years from now with the emergence of new technologies.

Let us take the 5G for example. The rollout and expansion of the 5G will make the world move with crazy speed compared to the 4G technology. How are we able to handle that?

If we already struggled and got burned out with the rise of the internet and globalization because of the speed, and if we are now capable of making teleconferences at any time of the day and with people from any country in the world, and if we are receiving instant emails and messages 24/7, then what will happen in the era of the 5G and afterward?

That’s what I am worried about if we do not act now.

When I speak with executives and leaders, I usually ask them one important question. This question is ‘’Would you like your daughter or son to do your job and fill your position 20 years from now?’’ I always hear the word ‘’No’’. I never asked a leader and he or she said ‘’yes’’ or ‘’Maybe’’. They always said a direct No (maybe you have a different opinion, and in this condition, I am happy for you really, but now I am speaking about anyone that I have asked).

Not only this, but some of them even told me that their families would be super happy if they, as leaders, quit their jobs today.

This is proof that every one of us knows that we have broken systems inside companies, with old processes and the wrong behaviors and mindset that we need to correct and improve but we are simply ignoring…And this takes me to another bigger problem and threat. The talent shortage.

I predict that there will be a massive shortage of talent worldwide in the next 20 years if we do not act now. And the reason is very simple. The internet.

Before the internet, the path was defined. You must study and go to university so that you later find a job that pays you good money. Because of this, a lot of people entered the workforce and accepted tough working conditions or jobs that they hated just because they could put bread on the table and feed their families.

But now, the game is totally different. With the rise of the internet and platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and others, no one needs to wait until they graduate to make money.

No one needs to study engineering or go to medical school for lots of years to get a huge salary. No one needs to wait until they have a degree to start an online business.

Anyone can start an online business now and with almost no capital. So, the game changed.

Now let me ask you, if you are an executive or a manager at a company, and your son or daughter sees you struggling and under pressure and working extended hours all the time to the extent that they hope that you quit, then do you think they will be super eager to put the effort and develop themselves and study and earn a degree so that at the end they join a company and then face the same destiny like you?

In the past, when there were no other options, they would have moved on this path. But now, they will be making comparisons. Comparisons between studying hard to earn a degree and going to work at a big company, and the internet and what they can start and do directly now, with full freedom, autonomy, and less stress.

Do I mean that everyone in the new generation will be thinking this way? Definitely not. But let us not ignore the reality. The internet gave people options and other alternatives and these alternatives, like it or not, will reduce the number of talents in the job market.

That is why, the time for ignoring all these consequences is over. We need to act and to act now.

And we need something else which is not less important.

We need to stop doing things just to check boxes and avoid feeling guilty even though we know by experience that the actions that we took or the things that we have done will not really make a difference.

We need to stop blindly relying on best practices that have been recycled over and over in our organizations without bringing us forward. In fact, these best practices are the reason why we have these problems inside our corporations.

That is why after working as an employee in different multinational companies in different locations and different positions.

And after running my own Consulting and Coaching Business globally for almost 8 years now and serving people from more than 15 countries around the world, and who worked at companies such as ABB, TE Connectivity, Roche, Deutsche Bahn, and Molex to name a few.

And after serving people who worked in different industries such as Automotive, Pharmaceutical, IT, Advertising, and more, I am here now creating this series of articles (starting this article) to share with you some of the experiences that I gained in the areas of Leadership, personal and team performance, and workplace transformation.

Hopefully, you also will believe in my vision and that we need workplace transformation now more than ever. Not only for me and you but for my kids and your kids and the next generations.

So, no matter who you are, what your title is, and where you are located, I want you to believe that we -as humans- are powerful and that you and I can make a difference.

Start with yourself and what you can do. Do not say ‘’I am still young’’, or ‘’I am in a managerial role, but I do not have enough authority’’, or ‘’I am only 1 person, and I cannot do anything’’. You always can do something. It just starts with believing and that is what I am inviting you to do.

To believe in what we are trying to achieve together. And not only for a better future for me and you but also for my kids and your kids and the next generations.

Let us create a workplace that is attractive, healthy, and optimum for the new generations. Let us once leave something in this world better than we found it. Let us build something now, that our kids and the new generations will thank us for later. And let us do it together…This is my vision.

Welcome to the future of your workplace.