The fragmentation of community: Part 1, The loss of belonging and commitment at work

Squeezed between mounting budget pressures and staffing demands, healthcare managers have little room to maneuver as they are buffeted by incessant new strategies. So what is the constant that they can use to keep a steady course through all the chaos? We suggest the overarching constant is "community in the workplace." Although it may have both short- and long-term benefits, community building is not a strategy but a career-long philosophy, structure, and approach to help managers tie together all the facets of their daily work into a more meaningful and satisfying purpose. This article, part 1 in a 4-part series, describes the negative dynamics found in many healthcare organizations that often result in the inability to get past short-term strategies and tactics to achieve long-term, sustainable change. It highlights why managers might decide to make the philosophical shift away from the mechanistic views of the past to build community and free up resources and talents of the organization in an entirely new way. Part 2 (September 2000) will explore the principles and characteristics of "community" and provide material for further study and discussion. Part 3 (October 2000) describes how to build community as well as options for implementing change in complex adaptive systems. The final article (November 2000) presents case studies and how "community" can be built in a unionized environment.