Paul Meshanko was recently quoted in the New York Times on sensitivity training for one of the most stressed out and disrespected group of workers — traffic enforcement agents.
Sensitivity Trainers’ Advice for Traffic Agents
by James Barron
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg wants the city’s 2,795 traffic enforcement agents to undergo sensitivity training, and Paul Meshanko, managing partner Legacy Business Cultures, knows exactly what he would tell them. Mayor Bloomberg has called for the city’s traffic agents, some of whom were issuing summonses for blocking the intersection of 96th Street and Third Avenue, to undergo sensitivity training.
Mr. Meshanko would explain to the agents what happens in the amygdala — the portion of the brain “responsible for assessing threats”: A $115 ticket, he said, is enough of a threat to set off a blast of stress hormones to keep someone angry for a couple of hours. He would then tell the agents why words like “I got you, buddy” should never cross a traffic agent’s lips.
He knows just how much of a challenge sensitivity is for people who worry that things will get a little too up close and personal.
“One of our larger clients is the Internal Revenue Service, another organization that’s not thought warmly of,” said Mr. Meshanko.
