Mutiny on the Windows 8?

Tomorrow’s Cleaning’s resident expert, Dean Hudson, Development Manager for CleanLink, advises on the sometimes painful process of introducing new operating systems to the office.

Q: Some of the computers in my office are leased and one of them was recently renewed as we had had it for three years. It has caused a bit of a stir because it came with Windows 8 and, to be frank, the user has complained about it ever since. She’s even asked for her old computer back!

I’m worried that I will have a mutiny on my hands before long because another two computers are due for replacement soon and I’m a bit worried that this person’s complaints will be echoed by the others. Do you have any advice?

A: Yes, take it seriously and don’t assume the problem will go away by ignoring it.

When I was a boy, I would sometimes ride my Chopper bike to Bradgate Park, which encloses the ruins of Bradgate House, the birthplace of the ‘nine days’ Queen’, Lady Jane Grey. On my way, I would travel through the small Leicestershire village of Anstey, the birthplace of Ned Ludd, a weaver who, according to folklore and myth, was the inspiration for the Luddite movement.

An article in The Nottingham Review of 20th December 1811, describes Ned Ludd as ‘not … an ideal personage’ which I suspect was actually a polite reference to his lack of mental acuity (for he was known as the village idiot). It continues to describe how, as an apprentice, he had been tasked to learn how to use the newly invented ‘framework-knitting’ machines.

Windows 1779

It was 1779 and he didn’t take to the new machines. Having not performed ‘to the satisfaction of his master’, he was rewarded with a whipping!

Ned got his own back by subsequently demolishing the machine with a ‘great hammer’. Although his act of revenge against the machine he blamed for his pains took place some 30 years before the 1811 article I refer to was written, by then his deed had already become synonymous with the deliberate destruction of any machinery that was thought to be the cause of misfortune.

Britain’s textile industry rapidly mechanised during the early 1800’s, which led to poor factory working conditions and the loss of highly paid, highly skilled knitting and weaving jobs, often to be replaced with lower paid and sometimes dangerous machine operative ones. This led the aggrieved to organise a concerted campaign of damage, destruction and burning that wreaked havoc across the wool and cotton mills of Britain.

Ned Ludd’s act of defiance transformed him into a mythical figure of inspiration for those who feared the changes mechanisation would bring. However, in 1812, Parliament took steps to deter any more insurrection by passing the Frame Breakers Bill. This stated that: ‘Anyone lawfully convicted shall be adjudged guilty of Felony, and shall suffer death, as in cases of Felony without Benefit of Clergy’ – which in plain English meant death by hanging.

But what about Windows 8?

Well, I’m not saying that your staff are Luddites just because they don’t like Windows 8. What I am saying is that this sort of change can be genuinely distressing. People get used to their routines. They get used to working in a particular way and they often don’t react well to the imposition of new machines, particularly if they perceive them to have an adverse effect on their work.

So, be sympathetic. Be understanding. It’s easy to presume that this person is just causing trouble and trying to be awkward, but in my experience, if they were happy and contented before you imposed the change, then the problem is the change, not the person.

Whatever you do – resist the temptation to reach for the whip!

Training

Perhaps you could invest in a day’s training for all of your staff that are – or soon will be – affected. Tell them that you understand that this change has made them feel out of kilter and that they might be feeling stressed about wanting to get their work done, but uncomfortable about having to use a new machine to do it with.

It’s not too late to turn the situation around and have all of your staff make friends with their new machines.

Oh, and look on the bright side – you have about 18 months before this starts all over again, as Windows 9 is rumoured to be in the pipeline for release late in 2014.

www.cleanlink.co.uk

Published in Tomorrow’s Cleaning – April 2013