Posted by denised in 
Who among us hasn’t, just once, wished our boss could walk a mile in our shoes. Last night on the premier episode of “Undercover Boss” we watched Larry O’Donnell, President and COO of Waste Management , the largest trash and recycling company in North America, walk a few miles in the shoes of several of his employees.
The show’s premise is simple – bosses from major companies across the country go “undercover” in various entry level positions in their respective companies. CBS’s tag line for the show is “They will discover the truth.” And to some extent they do.
O’Donnell sorted trash at one of his waste management facilities, collected trash from the side of the highway and cleaned toilets at a carnival. Along the way he meets with several dedicated and hardworking employees (no doubt handpicked by management for their great attitudes) and learns as much about their personal struggles as he does about the shortcomings of his own company policies. For instance, workers are expected to clean 15 port-o-potties in an hour. On an assembly line, employees have to remove cardboard from a conveyer belt going at extremely high speeds or risk jamming expensive machinery. And female garbage collectors are forced to use a can as a toilet during their routes.
O’Donnell comes across as a conscientious boss who genuinely seems concerned about the well being of his employees. By show’s end, he vows to review some of the corporate policies he and his management team have instituted and he promises to become a better manager. Only time will tell if O’Donnell and Waste Management really make changes. The cynic in me thinks that when management is really concerned about how their policies impact employees and productivity, they don’t need a television show and cameras to learn the truth, they just need to listen to their employees. But, if “Undercover Boss” causes even a few companies to take a closer look at the way they do business, then it’s a start.
To catch clips from last night’s premier, click here.
