Does “being fair” seem more challenging in 2020?

Valerie

While I hear your point of view, I personally agree with Peter. I don’t see it as being any different than pre-COVID. We have to always remember that we can’t be fair with everyone but we do what we can for the sake of the greater good.

RK

Fairness is a good attribute that a Project Manager must practice at all times. During COVID-19 we have experimented with a lot of stress and frustration, combined with the uncertainty about the future of our projects, but that isn't a reason for don't execute our Project Management activities objectively and impartially.

Great perspective and the question. I see the trouble begins when fairness means different to different individuals. All of us have different value systems and that's what drives us. I don't see this debate is going to rest unless people overall agree to what it means to be fair. May be they need legal book, or a code to go to for this.

There are two types: "aspirational" and "practiced" principles.
PMI wrote the four as aspirational values.
Principles only hold water if the organization abides by them no matter the pain (monetary, organizational) it's causing. Yet, principles are created, and must be 'lived,' especially by the exec/mgmt team - you will always notice a discrepancy in perceived vs expected values.

Normally, it's easy to see which one is which. Most of the time, nothing can be done in top down orgs. In great Agile teams, you'll always have a Retro session to air out all issues and make the team whole, and everyone feel that fairness is a practiced principle.

@Valerie, thank you for this interesting question. I was wondering what specific examples of actions/behaviors one would deem unfair in the workplace as a result of Covid-19. Organisations might have adopted a flexible approach to working from home versus showing up at the office depending on the office size, social/physical distancing and the restrictions of numbers of people in an area/meeting room. If someone is feeling sick or have contact with anyone with symptoms they are requested to work from home - are we being unfair if we ask them to work from home? Isn't the well being of everyone more important than asking them to work from the office? and is this unfair? And if we give staff the flexibility to choose and manage by outcomes are we being unfair? And for those who have to be carers/have children that they need to home school or take care of - is giving them the flexibility to work from home described as unfair?
I guess empathy and equability becomes the way we translate fairness.

Fairness makes our world activities to move in a decent way and there will not be any dificulity. The more we are practicing fairness the more we will be safe and the life will be more easy.

"It's not fair"

I have now heard this from three generations of children - my siblings and I as a children, my children and now my grandchildren. It seems we know what's not fair early in out lives and claim it loudly and regularly. But we still struggle with what is fair.

Fairness is a relative concept, very subjective. Parents try to be fair, yet children claim to know what is unfair - if it doesn't suit their purpose, it's unfair.

I'm afraid that project-team life is not much different. If a decision or action doesn't suit my purposes it is by definition unfair.

As I have noted before, fairness for the project manager is a tool in the delivery of the project. One has to appear to be fair to the client, the boss, the team, the individual and to himself. Fairness is measured in happiness - happiness means success.

I had to chuckle a little reading this response. Not only have I heard "it's not fair" many times, but I've seen (my children) emphatically cross their arms, stamp their feet, and pout... just for emphasis.

I'm not downplaying the importance by any means by adding a little humor. As you say, fairness, as are the other values, tools for the project manager. As tools, one needs to learn (and re-learn) how to perfect them.

You also stated that happiness leads to success. I guess I've never really used happy in this context. On tough projects, it is often a matter is satisfaction and balance of the objectives. Happiness is wonderful, but I guess I strive toward balancing potentially conflicting objectives.