Ever wanted to tell your boss that he’s an idiot? Workplace consultant, Robert Flower says, “It is the responsibility of workers to tell their managers that they are stupid. Who isn’t going to pay attention when they hear that?” But wait – before you rush off to see the boss, there’s more that you should know.

Flower continues with advice on just how to go about saying such things without getting fired. “Obviously, you can’t say it like that,” he says. “You have to find a way to show how changing your job makes sense for the company. Managers will listen to that and appreciate it.”

The point is really that the employees are best-placed for understanding what is wrong with their jobs and how to make them better. If they can get this across to their managers and supply well thought out ideas and suggestions, everyone will benefit.

Flower sees it as the employee’s responsibility to work out how best to approach his boss and to sell new ideas. A part of the problem is that the workplace culture often does not encourage such openness from employees, but the employees themselves assist in this by not devising ways to be heard. They do not see it as their responsibility to assist the company to greater efficiency and productivity.

If these attitudes can be changed, the company will benefit from an untapped source of informed and practical ideas for improvement. And that has to be good for everyone involved.

You can read more of Robert Flower’s ideas at Signonsandiego dot com.