People First—Toward A Humane Workplace

People First—Toward A Humane Workplace

From Gary On Manufacturing - Gary Mintchell by Gary Mintchell

October 25, 2025 · 25 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of a humane workplace and the dignity of work, referencing historical and contemporary perspectives.

An early essay by Karl Marx writing at the beginning of the industrial revolution argued that humans who were formerly craftspeople were now just cogs in the industrial machine alienated from the products they made and their work. Today's podcast is sponsored by Inductive Automation, makers of Ignition — the world's most versatile industrial automation platform for connecting data, systems, and people. With the new Ignition 8.3 release, you can easily manage time-series and event data, quickly create custom graphics with onboard drawing tools, and centralize control using Ignition's new gateway interface with global search and deep link launching. Providing additional support for Git, containers, and private data protection to go along with its unlimited licensing, Ignition 8.3 takes industrial operations to the next level. Download Ignition for free . The Irish poet/philosopher John O'Donohue discussed in Anam Cara the dignity of work and that work should benefit workers and communities as well as owners and managers. Lean guru Keven Meyer noted in his book Simple Leader that respect for people is a pillar of Lean. When you hire someone, you are getting more than a pair of…

Topics covered

  • humane workplace
  • industrial revolution
  • worker dignity
  • Lean management

Keywords

  • Karl Marx
  • John O'Donohue
  • Keven Meyer
  • worker shortage
  • Boomer retirements

Sponsors

Inductive Automation

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Ignition, Ignition 8.3, Git

Books & works: Simple Leader

More episodes of Gary On Manufacturing - Gary Mintchell

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Gary On Manufacturing - Gary Mintchell podcast page.