Blog Posts

5 ways to work with the jerk in your office

workplace jerks

Hundreds of millions of workers worldwide dread going to work every day. But for those workers who have to work with a jerk or workplace bully, going to work is unbearable. All of these office jerks are Actively Disengaged employees whose behaviors contribute to their coworkers’ depression, anxiety, health problems, despair, and insomnia. The workplace negativity becomes even more palpable if the jerk is one’s manager or a member of Senior Management. Furthermore, the jerk’s toxic behavior becomes contagious, infecting many others who may begin mistreating others as well. In addition, the watercooler gossip mongering is equally infectious, resulting in ...

Employee Disengagement Linked to Unethical Behavior

Employee Disengagement Linked to Unethical Behavior

I am certain many of you saw the Wells Fargo scandal in newspapers and on the news earlier this year. In short, the bank’s management and culture allowed and even rewarded Wells Fargo employees for opening millions of bogus accounts that customers never requested in order to generate fee income for the bank. Think about that. When you choose where you want to bank, you no doubt are looking for a financial steward you can trust. Upwards of 5,300 Wells Fargo employees knew about the scam. Moreover, the bank is now being investigated for unfairly firing those employees who did ...

The Top Three Reasons Employees Quit

reasons employees quit

You have seen it play out time and time again. Someone in the workplace says, “Hey, where is Mary today?” Someone else says, “Oh, she quit.” Or equally as common these days is when Mary just doesn’t show up for work one day. No notification, no resignation letter, and maybe no ID Badge turn in. The sad fact is that many of these resignations could be avoided by simply studying Exit Survey data and applying solutions to the top three reasons employees quit. While running my HR consulting firm from 1996-2012, we did a lot of research on ...

The 7 Deadly Sins of Managers: What They Do to Make Good Employees Quit

Bad managers damage employee engagement

We have all witnessed it. Some really well-liked, productive employee suddenly tenders his or her resignation, or maybe just doesn’t show up for work one day. The workplace quickly becomes abuzz with rumors of why the person quit. If the rumors are accurate then the reason most often lies with the newly resigned employee’s manager. After all, there is a whole heck of a lot of truth to the old adage that “Employees don’t leave companies, they leave managers.” And here are the 7 Deadly Sins that managers commit to cause these resignations. Sadly, all of these can be ...

Have a manager who is opposed to virtual work?

work from home

Do you have “old school” Senior Leaders who refuse to allow people to work from home (WFH) or acknowledge that it’s a viable option for running a business? (Like Yahoo’s CEO a little while ago?) If so, is there a way to coach them to “see the light?” Maybe, or maybe not. But here’s your best shot for winning them over. As mentioned frequently in the press, the clear evidence about the benefits of telecommuting is very compelling. Step 1 may be as simple as showing managers the statistical ROI-based proof that working from home makes sense for ...

19 Ways to be a Bad Boss

Bad Boss

There is a reason Hollywood produced a movie called “Horrible Bosses,” as well as its sequel. Listen in on conversations at a happy hour on any given Friday, and you will hear all about them. Bad bosses can be found at every level of management, and they often display the same characteristics. During nearly all of my Leadership Development workshops, after teaching how important the manager/employee relationship is to improving employee engagement, I will challenge the participants to become someone’s “best boss.” We then explore the qualities of a best boss. However, it is just as valuable to consider ...