TED2019
Jess Kutch: What productive conflict can offer a workplace
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Got an idea to make your workplace better? Labor organizer and TED Fellow Jess Kutch can show you how to put it into action. In this quick talk, she explains how "productive conflict" -- when people organize to challenge and change their work lives for the better -- can be beneficial for employees and employers alike.
Jess Kutch - Labor entrepreneur
TED Fellow Jess Kutch is the cofounder of Coworker.org, a nonprofit that helps people join together to improve their jobs and workplaces. Full bio
TED Fellow Jess Kutch is the cofounder of Coworker.org, a nonprofit that helps people join together to improve their jobs and workplaces. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
I am a labor organizer,
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and in 2013, I cofounded
an organization called coworker.org
an organization called coworker.org
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that uses technology
to help people join with coworkers
to help people join with coworkers
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and organize for improvements
in the workplace.
in the workplace.
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Now, there are two kinds
of reactions to what I do.
of reactions to what I do.
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Actually, no, there are three.
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The first is complete confusion
about what organizing is.
about what organizing is.
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When my doctor asked
what I do and I told him,
what I do and I told him,
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he thought I meant organizing,
like, Marie Kondo-style.
like, Marie Kondo-style.
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(Laughter)
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He was like, "Oh, that's so great,
I could use some of that around here.
I could use some of that around here.
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I would love to clean up
our patient files."
our patient files."
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And I had to explain to him that no, no,
it's not that kind of organizing,
it's not that kind of organizing,
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it's more like if you showed up
to work tomorrow
to work tomorrow
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and all the nurses in the office
had gotten together
had gotten together
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to ask for an across-the-board raise.
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(Laughter)
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"Oh," he replied, and he got really quiet.
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01:06
(Laughter)
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Yeah, and that's
the second kind of reaction:
the second kind of reaction:
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the uncomfortable kind.
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People usually withdraw
from the conversation
from the conversation
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and find someone else to talk to.
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Finally, there's the third reaction,
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the excited one,
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the, "Oh my God, yes! We need this!"
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And someone always proceeds
to tell me a story.
to tell me a story.
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It's always a story about a job
or a coworker or a friend
or a coworker or a friend
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who's enduring something awful at work.
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What I've noticed is that there is never
a neutral response to what I do.
a neutral response to what I do.
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You're either repelled by it,
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or you're struck with
a lightning bolt of excitement.
a lightning bolt of excitement.
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So why does my work stir up
such strong reactions?
such strong reactions?
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My hunch is that it's about conflict.
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If you have power in your workplace,
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maybe as a CEO
or a senior leader of some kind,
or a senior leader of some kind,
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you're going to feel uncomfortable
with that power being challenged.
with that power being challenged.
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But if you lack power, or you know someone
who lacks it and needs it,
who lacks it and needs it,
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you might grab me by the shoulders
and shake me, you're so pumped.
and shake me, you're so pumped.
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But really, we can all benefit
from understanding
from understanding
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what conflict can offer in our workplaces.
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The power imbalance
in our workplace is real,
in our workplace is real,
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and it's constantly changing.
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Power moves between us,
depending on our roles and status.
depending on our roles and status.
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Now, sometimes this can feel
like office politics, right?
like office politics, right?
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Which is never fun.
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But when we contest
for power thoughtfully
for power thoughtfully
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and together with our coworkers,
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it can be incredibly productive.
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And it's that kind of productive conflict
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that I want to talk
to you all about today,
to you all about today,
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the kind that can make
some of us uncomfortable.
some of us uncomfortable.
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Business leaders should embrace
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when their workers conflict
with policies and decisions,
with policies and decisions,
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both for what it teaches us
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and for what it says about
our commitment to each other.
our commitment to each other.
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So what do I mean by
"productive conflict"?
"productive conflict"?
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Well, let me tell you a story.
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In 2016, a store employee
for an outdoor retailer --
for an outdoor retailer --
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I'll call her "Alex" --
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Alex approached her boss
and asked for a raise.
and asked for a raise.
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Now, she was told her pay
was fairly standard for her position
was fairly standard for her position
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and that her boss didn't even have
the authority to give such a raise.
the authority to give such a raise.
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And that was supposed to be
the end of the conversation.
the end of the conversation.
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Unhappy with that answer,
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Alex went home, and she decided
to create a campaign on coworker.org,
to create a campaign on coworker.org,
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asking the corporate office
to give raises to store employees.
to give raises to store employees.
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Within days, employees
from around the country
from around the country
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began joining Alex's effort
and sharing their own stories
and sharing their own stories
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about what they were earning --
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11, 12 dollars an hour --
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and how that wage
was impacting their lives.
was impacting their lives.
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Some even shared
that they had quit recently
that they had quit recently
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to work for competitors who paid more.
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But here's the thing: they also shared
that they didn't want to quit,
that they didn't want to quit,
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they liked their job, they believed
in the company's mission,
in the company's mission,
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but for them, the pay issue
was a growing problem in their work lives.
was a growing problem in their work lives.
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Well, after weeks of this groundswell
of employee activism,
of employee activism,
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the company decided to raise wages
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by five to 15 percent
in cities across the country.
in cities across the country.
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And that's what I mean
by productive conflict:
by productive conflict:
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pushing up against the things
that aren't working for us
that aren't working for us
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when there exists no other path forward.
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04:13
The other thing I learned
in doing this work
in doing this work
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is that people engage
in productive conflict
in productive conflict
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when they care about their jobs
and their coworkers.
and their coworkers.
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Now, that surprised me at first.
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I expected the worst jobs,
the worst workplaces,
the worst workplaces,
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to have the most
employee activism on our site,
employee activism on our site,
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but the opposite is often true.
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When we come together,
we can accomplish great things.
we can accomplish great things.
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At one company,
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there are more than 50 campaigns
by employees there
by employees there
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on issues ranging from dress code changes
to legitimate safety concerns.
to legitimate safety concerns.
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And get this:
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that same company has
the lowest voluntary turnover rate
the lowest voluntary turnover rate
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of any major chain in its sector.
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And it also has one of the higher
productivity rates as well.
productivity rates as well.
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Business leaders:
you shouldn't fear conflict,
you shouldn't fear conflict,
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and you shouldn't try to tamp down on it
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the minute it bubbles up
in your workforce.
in your workforce.
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While it can introduce uncertainties
that can be difficult to manage,
that can be difficult to manage,
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those uncertainties are trying
to tell you something
to tell you something
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about an underlying problem
that needs your attention.
that needs your attention.
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And I think this is
especially important right now,
especially important right now,
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you know, as technology
transforms nearly everyone's job
transforms nearly everyone's job
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and as the structures
that contain our work
that contain our work
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are changing at a pace not seen
since the Industrial Revolution.
since the Industrial Revolution.
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We all need to be shaping
and participating in the future of work.
and participating in the future of work.
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We all need to be challenging
and changing the parts of our work lives
and changing the parts of our work lives
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that are broken.
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So I hope the next time
a coworker invites you
a coworker invites you
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maybe to join a sign-on
letter to your boss,
letter to your boss,
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or a group of employees asks for a meeting
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to discuss their concerns
about the new health care plan,
about the new health care plan,
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I hope you'll consider it an opportunity
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to build a better workplace,
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a stronger business
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and an economy that works for all of us.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jess Kutch - Labor entrepreneurTED Fellow Jess Kutch is the cofounder of Coworker.org, a nonprofit that helps people join together to improve their jobs and workplaces.
Why you should listen
Jess Kutch and her team at Coworker.org are figuring out the technology, organizing models, financing and policies that can help workers improve their companies and industries in today’s economy. At Coworker.org, they believe anyone can be a workplace organizer and that seeking positive change at work is a form of civic and community leadership that requires infrastructure. Since 2013, hundreds of thousands of people in the United States and worldwide have used Coworker.org tools and services to win wage increases, scheduling improvements and parental leave benefits; end biased dress codes; fix harassment policies; demand corporate ethics and much more. Coworker.org also helps channel workers' information about the real-time effects of digital economy trends -- like automation, data profiting, surveillance and app-based gig work -- to influence decisions that will shape the future of work and inequality.
Kutch has 15 years of experience innovating at the intersection of technology and social change. Previously, she led a team at Change.org that inspired hundreds of thousands of people to launch and lead their own efforts on the platform. She also spent five years at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), where she pioneered digital strategies for the labor movement. Kutch is a TED Fellow, an Echoing Green Global Fellow, a J.M.K. Innovation Prize winner and an Aspen Institute Job Quality Fellow. She is a frequently requested speaker at business, labor, futurist, democracy and economic conferences around the world. She has been invited to provide expert testimony to the EEOC Task Force on Harassment in the Workplace and the National Labor Relations Board. In 2015, Coworker.org cohosted the first-ever White House Town Hall on Worker Voice.
Jess Kutch | Speaker | TED.com