Social mores dictate consumerism. An organization not relating to social trends becomes laid back and its business may shrink as a consequence. Employees need to undergo a certain amount of discomfort in trying to connect to the latent perspective so as to create business differentiation in the market.

Organizational discomfort means pushing the whole organization towards change that leads to strategic innovation which differentiates, sells better, and raises profit. Western societies have implicitly mastered discomfort in their hunger to discover the new and for better living. Stretching thought into lateral areas, they have gone beyond the obvious. Let’s look at the way we individually shock-absorb discomfort.

Of the innumerable activities outside your workplace, with family, friends or in social gatherings, something suddenly can disturb you. Your personal life has many surprises you absorb as part of the trend. You may not even notice it, as it becomes implicit; you expect it. In time, such social discomfort, so different from India’s non-liberalized days, can even convince you that you enjoy it.

Look at your 18-year-old daughter’s low-cut trousers. They’re precariously hugging her hips, the T-shirt is barely covering her belly. To establish a trend, she’s creating discomfort in the parent in you, and in the social environment. Fifteen years ago, a middle class Indian girl would think it immodest dressing. Will you admonish your child’s new dressing style? Wouldn’t you rather understand her new ways and become a liberal parent?

If you’re over 40, you’ll remember your young life with stringent home return timings, no grace period for girls. It was an adventure escaping parents and neighborhood spies for that secret love affair, or even to converse with the opposite sex! A 25-year-old today easily introduces romantic relationships to parents who may feel discomfited at the variance from their childhood, but accept the change as the contemporary way to be.
In contrast, when it comes to the workplace, predictable routine reigns supreme, keeping the employee in total comfort zone. The conventional workplace has imposing dogma employees easily distance themselves from. They don’t expect or want flexibility from ‘The Company.’ They resist change, become risk averse, and refuse to go along with any discomfort in the working system.