Employees | Workforce Development

Dealing With an Office Bully

July 16, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Image by Arnaud Meuret via Flickr

It seems like the unthinkable. The playground days are far behind you. Many people come to work with a professional attitude and ready to make beneficial interactions with others through the day. However, being bullied in the workplace is not uncommon. Such actions can affect employee relationships by impacting production and creating tension in the office environment. Let’s take a look at how to remedy the situation.

If you have ever been bullied in the workplace, unfortunately you are not alone. Studies estimate than in the United States alone, about 54 million people have experienced bullying at work. Many times, the situation goes unnoticed. bullying is done either emotionally, verbally, or physically. Other times, employees may not come forward due to a sense of embarrassment or even fear. Instead they resort to suffering in silence, cringing at the thought of coming to work each day.

It’s a good idea to encourage employees to document situations where they feel bullied. Sometimes it’s easier to quietly write down incidents, than to face an uncomfortable situation. Once documented, it is important to bring the incident to human resource personnel. If you are the target of such actions, breach it a clear head and calm demeanor. Be discerning when bringing the subject up for discussion by leaving out names at first. Request with personnel that your discussions about the issue be kept in confidence.

Bullying at the office is a complex situation. Handling it with rationality, tact and clear communication places the situation on the right track to a resolution.

Filed Under: Employees, Office Etiquette Tagged With: bully, Employment, United States

The Benefits of Extra Training

May 18, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

This is a photo of Chris Crawford, Management ...

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When first stepping into a job straight out of school, most workers don’t have too many real world skills. Sure you’ve mastered calculus and how to prepare a thesis, but that doesn’t often correlate to knowledge in the workplace. Most businesses offer opportunities to employees looking to add to their skills by doign extra training.

Higher Salary

An obvious benefit of additional training for your job is a higher salary. As you add skills to your repertoire you are able to handle a myriad of situations. Most companies will compensate eager employees who want to improve their skills and grow in the industry knowledge.

Resume Builder

Possibly you don’t want to stay at your job forever, but getting extra traning while you are there is a great resume builder. By pursuing extra training it shows that you are dedicated and want to do the best job possible. When applying for future jobs this initiative on your part will show potential employers that you are an asset to the workforce and willing to work hard for your job.

Self Esteem Building

Adding to your skills and making a place for yourself in the workplace is also great for your self esteem. You will feel as if you are a more valued employee and that your time is worth a lot to your company. Feeling secure and valued in your job is a priceless commodity.

These are by no means the only benefits for additional job training. As you can see adding to your skills is not only helpful to your company but also helps you build yourself into the person you’ve always known you can be.

Filed Under: Employee Relationships, Employees, Training Tagged With: Employment, Self-esteem, Training

Dressing Up in the Office with Rocawear Clothing

April 26, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

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Many of us are grinding out our 9-to-5 shifts in an office setting of some sort. While some are a little more flexible in that they allow employees the freedom to dress in business casual clothing, others prefer professional dress. It can be difficult to find the right style of clothing needed for the office, especially when so many pieces can run the fine line between business and casual for both women and men.

Rocawear clothing, established by rapper Jay-Z and Damon Dash in 1999, offers a myriad of clothing to fit the personality and unique style of just about everyone, especially the business professional. While the company offers a fine line of loungewear and regular jeans and shorts, it also offers a number of clothing options suitable for the office. In most offices that accept business casual dress, Rocawear offers a few styles of khaki pants, as well as a number of different styles of jeans for those casual Fridays. Sweaters and button-down shirts are also available in multiple styles to complement just about anyone.

For females, Rocawear offers a number of options for office dress. Khaki pants are available, as are a variety of skinny jean styles for casual Fridays. Unique and colorful dresses are available, as are jumpsuits, top and bottom sets, and of course, a variety of shoes to add the perfect flair to your outfit, professional or casual. If that isn’t enough, intimates are also available for extra comfort under the everyday office dress.

Filed Under: Business, Employees Tagged With: Business/Training/Employee Relationships/Office Etiquette

A Healthy Workforce

March 21, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

It is important for an employer to make sure that the employees that work together stay healthy and have ways to interact. Healthy employees will likely be more productive and workers that have more interaction than just production will likely enjoy sharing time together.

One good way to engage employees on both of these levels is to offer up some kind of opportunities for healthy interaction at work. By appointing one member of the staff to implement the program, requiring a small amount of their time you can organize different programs that can take place during lunch or at a break time. This type of interaction may be exciting to many of the staff that get little time outside of work for such activities.

these activities can include outdoor activities such as short walks. An organized class like yoga or other healthy body activities is also an option. Many companies choose to organize events like this for outside of work. An example of a good after work event is to organize a softball team or other sports team. There are many cities that have already established leagues and even the smallest companies can come up with players to form a team. If your company is not big enough to fill an entire team or class (from the earlier example) consider joining with another company to make it possible. If there isn’t a league already started in your area consider getting it going. Sometimes the city already has fields that are maintained and ready to be used.

Creating a healthy, interactive workforce is good for everyone. The company can enjoy better productivity and a more engaged staff.

Filed Under: Employees Tagged With: Company, Employment, United States

The Need for Human Resources Training

March 16, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

The prevalence of different types of harassment and discrimination still exist in the United States. Laws have been past to protect workers, such as the disabled. The passage of these laws is only one step in the process of reforming or changing what is going on inside the work places across the nation.

Many people have grown up without the influence or being taught about equal rights, the law, and what is acceptable and suitable ways of treating your coworkers. In order for the culture to continue changing in the various workplaces, both public and private, education needs to accompany the laws that have been enacted.

The history of the American society is not one of acceptance of all people based on gender, race, or sexual orientation. It may not be easy to find slaves in the United States, but it doesn’t change the fact that we need to treat every individual as equal to us, in all ways, regardless of differences that may be seen on the surface.

In public employment, in many cases, employees are required to take classes, making sure that they are educated on the law. It is important that private companies also make sure to explain to employees what is acceptable behavior. Posting the laws on the wall is one step. Having discussions and educating individuals what is acceptable is even better. The process of social change seems to be a slow one. Most people today believe that harassment is unacceptable and they do not want the behavior to take place. Training from human resources on these topics will help continue the change. Harassment laws continue to change, these laws are not so set and understood, such as laws concerning theft. Every Human Resources Department should continue to develop education for a safer workplace.

Filed Under: Employees, Training Tagged With: Employment, Human resources, United States

Microwaveable Popcorn, Eating at Work

March 13, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

All of those that work in an office environment probably know the smell of microwaveable popcorn. There may be one or two people, that like clockwork, start eating their popcorn at the same time, everyday. For some people it gets to the point where they can’t stand the overpowering smell, and it starts to affect the relationship with the other worker.

Some people would say that there is a hard line and some things should just not be allowed at work. Some would say, making microwaveable popcorn goes over this line. Some would say that the sound of chewing from the next desk is too much and should not be allowed. Others consider the office, the sea of cubicles is a public space and everyone should be allowed to do as they please. Is there a line that should never be crossed.

The answer to this question of office etiquette does not have a standard answer that every office has to follow. There are certainly laws that have to be followed. Laws against such behaviors like sexual harassment or any kind of discrimination are important and should not be crossed anywhere at anytime. Other questions are more situational. In some offices the smell of microwaveable popcorn is tolerable.

The important point to take with you to the office is to communicate with those that you share space with. The cubicle world should be considered shared space, not a separate office in all respects. In order to be considerate and be considerate it is important to talk to you neighbors. Not unlike grade school, we all share the same space. Unless you find yourself in a home office, alone in the house, you are going to have to try to compromise. Popcorn on Fridays? Talk to each other.

Filed Under: Employees, Office Etiquette Tagged With: Fridays, Popcorn, Popcorn bag

Puff up Your Self Esteem for the Interview

February 16, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

A person’s image of themselves is a big part of their personality. Having low self esteem shows and can stop someone from getting a badly needed job. Low self esteem is seen in how the person stands, in their facial expressions and in their voice, and maybe their hands get shaky.

A good candidate for a job will demonstrate certain qualities, more than just the right training or schooling, because personality can play a big part in whether someone is chosen from a crowd. No employer wants someone who speaks quietly, keeps a very reserved body language going on, or doesn’t know the job. They’d much rather have someone with personality – a real person that can learn and grow with the company.

Demonstrating personality shouldn’t be a show of the person’s most outrageous behavior; in fact, employers usually won’t choose someone who is boisterous. But having an air of confidence in themselves goes a long way toward being chosen. The attitude about past experience should reveal skills they could bring to the current job.

Be Confident in Skills and Sit up Straight

Some people just aren’t made for some jobs, that’s true. A shy, introverted person barely musters up the volume for the interview, so applying for a job as a tour guide wouldn’t work. But, this shy person can have confidence in their skills and respond in kind to questions in a job they’re well suited for.

Body language can take a shy person to the top by sitting and standing in an attentive, confident manner. Usually potential employers want to sit while they interview a person, so the applicant should sit straight, look the interviewer in the eye and lean forward just a bit to look more interested. Any speaker will respond to a good listener.

Try to appear confident, even if the insides are shaking.

Filed Under: Employee Relationships, Employees Tagged With: Body language, Confidence, Facial expression, Personality psychology, Self-esteem, Skill

Should the Boss be Friends With Staff?

February 10, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Any relationship can be a struggle, but having a good rapport with a boss is important. Nobody wants to work for someone that acts like they don’t like them, but can they be friends? The old saying can be true, “Familiarity breeds contempt.”

Being friends with a coworker can strain the workplace, but being friends with a boss can be ruinous for the worker. Bosses shouldn’t know everything about their employees personally; it isn’t good practice because they can know too much and take it to work. Even though they can be a friend, bosses are better left out of the party.

A Certain Amount of Dignity is Expected

What if the worker does something the boss is offended by? Like, what if they drink a lot? The boss is going to think every time the person misses work that they’ve drunk too much and are hung-over. And likewise, the worker might expect the boss to cut them extra slack because they are friends. Neither situation works. And if it’s the boss who drinks too much, the employee will lose respect for them and it’ll show on the job. Not to mention others finding out about it and all of them losing respect for the boss, too.

If a boss is too indifferent, the employees will be left to interpret the silence themselves, and they won’t feel liked or appreciated for their work. They may feel disliked and work performance would then suffer from it, and gossip may well be started, too. So a boss shouldn’t be too distant, he should be able to get along with every person there.

The boss can’t get too close, but they shouldn’t stay at a distance, either. The right place is in the middle, where the boss can talk and joke with all the employees, being as human as they are, without overstepping boundaries of either extreme or learning too much about the people that work for them.

Filed Under: Employee Relationships, Employees Tagged With: boss, Employment, Human resources, Libraries

Make the One-pn-One Meeting More Bearable

February 3, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Make those awful one-on-one meetings easier to get through. It can be nerve-wracking for an employee to know there’s a meeting with the boss, but they have no idea what the meeting will be about. It can also be stressful for the boss, not knowing the employee as a person or how they react in evaluations.

The first thing the employer can do is tell the employee to come up with 5 points to talk about. This lets the employee not only know what the meeting will be about, but it’ll take a lot of the stress out of the meeting. The employee will feel the boss is eager to talk about things of importance to them, personally. If the employee has no idea of what to write down, help them by saying the information needed is about the employee experience at work, suggestions for their job, etc. Having the employee choose the topics makes them feel valued and secure in their job.

Be Head of the Meeting Without Being Bossy

As a boss, be prepared. Know what the person’s exact job description is and have notes all ready to look at. Ask questions that need to be answered, and even plan how to end the meeting and suggest ways for the employee to move forward and improve.

Have the schedule cleared of everything else during the meeting. It doesn’t make anyone feel better when the boss is constantly checking the computer, phone and clock. Sometimes things come up, that’s to be expected occasionally, but clear the agenda for the time of the meeting so it can be over in due time.

If everything’s been discussed in 30 minutes instead of the hour set aside for the meeting, let them go back to work. Let the meeting out when it’s over.

The meeting is really for both the employer and the employee, so try not to take up all the time talking. Some bosses love to talk, but it’s not an enjoyable trait for the workers. Letting the employee talk lets the boss know what working for them is like.

Filed Under: Business, Employees Tagged With: Bossy (Kelis song), Employment, Human resources, Meeting, Stress