Archive for the ‘Workplace Issues’ Category

Does the ongoing talk about the sluggish economy make you wonder if your job is recession-proof? Since job security is passé, you’d be wise to prepare for a range of employment outcomes.

Regardless of your position within your company or organization, you should be thinking about your options in the event of changes at your place of employment. Take the following positive steps instead of dwelling in fear about negative possibilities,

Focus on what you can control: your attitude, your behavior and your response to whatever happens.

1. Update and refine your résumé and professional documents: e.g. references, writing samples, portfolio (when appropriate), and examples of your work.

2. Identify the skills you’ve developed that you enjoy using. Be prepared with examples of times you’ve used each one.

3. Give some thought to other jobs or employers to which your skills would be valuable and transferable.

4. Create a list of contacts with whom you could network for job leads or informational interviewing.

5. Avoid the rumor mill and conversations with colleagues at work that are fear-based and hypothetical. They will only raise your anxiety and contribute to feelings of powerlessness. Check in with your supervisor for answers to questions and concerns.

6. Keep your spirits up and stress levels down through regular exercise, a balanced lifestyle and positive thinking.

Have you ever found yourself in a new job that sounded perfect during the interview process only to discover it was not what you expected? If you answered yes, many factors may have contributed to your situation. Here are a few scenarios I’ve heard from clients over the years:

1. The employer was not clear about the responsibilities or expectations and you did not ask for a job description before accepting the position. (Next time: Always ask enough questions so you are clear about day to day tasks as well as on which criteria you will be evaluated. Never accept a job without first reviewing a job description.)

2. The person who hired you and to whom you were to report leaves soon after you begin the new job. You don’t like their management style and quit. (Next time: Give the new boss a chance, but know that it is sometimes difficult to work for someone who had no say in your hiring. If you do decide to leave, ask H.R. if there might be any severance offered to you due to the change in circumstances after you were hired.)

3. Several months into the job, you discover what’s most important is missing in the job. It’s not necessarily that your judgment was off in accepting the new job. Sometimes it is the absence of a specific responsibility, opportunity to use a certain skill, or a particular focus of the work that is more important than we realized. In this case, it is only the experience of the loss of it that allows an individual to clarify how important this factor is in his/her work.

(Suggestion: Perhaps sooner than later, you’ll need to move on to another position that more accurately meets your desires and needs. But this time, you’ll know what to look for.)

4. Your co-worker is not cooperative or even friendly, for that matter. Coming into a new work environment can be a challenge, especially if other people have worked together for some time. Sad to say, but not everyone has a welcoming attitude to newcomers and that can make things miserable for them. (Suggestion: Try and take the high road on this one and see if some extra effort on your part can improve things. It may help to make specific overtures to this person, like take them out to lunch, even if you’d rather not. Know your limits and that there may come a time when you’ve done enough and you begin to explore other options within the company.

5. Once inside, you find out that your new company is in financial straits and your coworkers are concerned about losing their jobs and fear permeates the company.When the culture of an organization is taken over by fear, work does not get accomplished in the same way and the spirit and attitudes of employees takes a downward turn. (Suggestion: Begin to look at your options before you get too caught up in the negativity that can be contagious. Next time: Consider the financials of an organization before saying yes to an offer. Speak to the CFO and ask questions about the financial health of the company. Watch his/her body language as they respond. In addition, speak to someone who has recently left for more of the “inside scoop”.)

Sometimes I’m shocked when I hear clients talk about their abusive bosses. I wonder how people can get away with such outlandish behavior—isn’t anyone besides the victim noticing? It seems that there’s even a name for this common problem in the workplace: “the bully boss phenomenon”.

Whether the abuse is physical like throwing objects at a person, as in the case of the boss cited in a recent Washington Post article, or psychological, such as continually berating an employee in front of colleagues and clients, the harm done is considerable. To the bullying boss, the immediate result may justify the behavior—after all, the employee seems more compliant and may even seem quicker to respond after the abuse. However the long term impact on the victim can be devastating.

It is not uncommon for employees harassed by bully bosses to require medical and psychological help to deal with the affects of the abuse. Research has shown that this abuse reduces employee productivity and can eventually impact organization’s effectiveness as a whole.

Workplace bullying is an experience that four out of five employees — 23 million people — will deal with at some point during their careers, according to a Wayne State University study. Since it is estimated that 4 out of 5 employees will experience some type of bullying in the workplace during their work histories, we would all benefit from information on what to do about it.