We are at our best with those random acts of kindness to strangers. Co-workers and family members don’t fare so well. The reasons vary: We take them for … Read more
HR Roundtable: How to Handle and Cope With Workplace Behavior
The October HR Roundtable in Cincinnati gathered to discuss a factor of the workplace which is too often overlooked. What is that factor? Behavior. The … Read more
The Keys to Coping With Bully Behavior in the Workplace
The phrase workplace bully holds many meanings and comes in many forms. Just about every office has one – that person who makes life around the office … Read more
The Problem With Employee Behavior Assessments (or, Why HR Fears Them)
What do you do when fear has you paralyzed and it’s preventing you from taking steps that your job demands? Most self-help gurus I’ve read would probably … Read more
The Complicated Dynamics Behind Workplace Bullying
I just didn’t want to go anymore. She made it nearly unbearable. It didn’t start off that way, though. When we first started working together as colleagues … Read more
Dying to Work, or Why Great Workplaces Are Healthy Workplaces
Work can be sickening. Literally. During an appearance at the recent Great Place to Work annual conference this month n New Orleans, Stanford business … Read more
Over the Line: Why Pressuring Employees to Donate Is a Bad Idea
I used to work for a woman named Linda, who reported to a woman named Lisa. I didn’t care for Linda too much, and I cared even less for Lisa. I thought … Read more
Values Determine Corporate Culture
Every company has a culture — whether leaders shape it or not. Rather than simply letting culture happen on its own, wise leaders proactively plan … Read more
Disincentives and Deterrents, or How to Avoid Rewarding Bad Behavior
Amid all the buzz about perverse incentives that backfire, lessons about punishments that reward undesirable performance should be shared, too. A former … Read more
New Year, Same Stuff: 10 Things I Hope Companies Stop Doing in 2014
Yes, it’s 2014, and here is my New Year’s list. A drum roll, please … 1. Begrudging employees for all they “take” As a parent, I’d be … Read more