Category: Respectful workplace

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Our new Leadership Academy and Blog is launched!

As we enter the Fall 2019 semester, we’ve launched our new Leadership Academy.  This new program is comprised of 3 programs that support supervisors at various levels providing information and skill development for current supervisors and managers (not for supervisors of only undergrad or graduate student employees). This is a multi-modal learning program that includes in-person classroom and online components.

Our previous SLDP Blog will be replaced by the Leadership Academy Blog.  Same great information, just a different blog name.

Please visit our website for more  information, including application and program start dates.

 

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Civility in the Workplace

Civility usually is demonstrated through manners, courtesy, politeness, and a general awareness of the rights, wishes, concerns, and feelings of others. It includes the behavior that helps to preserve the norms for mutual respect at work.

In 2016, 62% of employees were treated rudely at work at least once a month, according to a global, annual poll on workplace incivility by McKinsey & Co. Since the poll began in 1998, rude behavior has increased at an increasing rate — which means that every year, chances go up that managers and employees are being dismissive, demeaning, and discounting to one another.

How Civility is Hurting Your Workplace

Incivility is a bug, and it’s contagious,” said researcher Christine Porath at a Masters Series session at the SHRM 2018 Annual Conference & Exposition in Chicago.

That’s right. Simple rudeness and disrespect can pass from person to person like a virus, said Porath, an associate professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and author of Mastering Civility: A Manifesto for the Workplace (Grand Central Publishing, 2017).

Incivility Impacts Workplace Productivity

There is also a cost for incivility in lost productivity. Stress stemming from a less-than-civil work environment can severely diminish productivity. Research from the National Institutes of Health shows that working in a group where incivility is present affects people’s mental health, even after accounting for general stress and the incivility an individual personally experienced. An employee doesn’t have to be part of the targeted population to be affected. An entire team may get pulled off track thinking about an incident, how they should respond, or whether they’re in the line of fire.

Where to Start?

Manager Training. In order to effectively address incivility, training for managers should include respect and relationship building. Getting to know employees on a personal level shows respect and helps build trust – and stands out as a rarity in this day and age. When it comes to workplace communication, you, as the manager, can set the standard for civility beyond conflict avoidance. Making civility as important as team goals and results is key to team-building, as well as building a culture of respect and positive engagement.

Manage your energy. “The No. 1 reason … people say that they’re rude is because of stress,” she said. In other words, being nice starts with being nice to yourself. That includes getting plenty of sleep, eating well and exercising.

Lead by example. “When we survey people about why they are uncivil, 25 percent say it’s because their leaders are,” said Porath, who often hears workers say they don’t feel listened to or acknowledged.

Begin by assessing your own civility and behavior. How do you behave under pressure? How do you respond to stress? It’s important that workplace leaders model the behavior they wish to teach, and your own personal experience is an invaluable part of that learning process. Sharing your own shortcomings and how you addressed them is transparency at its finest. Employees want to know that you not only expect certain behavior from them, but that you expect the same from yourself.

“The thing that people want most is respect,” she said. “It’s more important than useful feedback, recognition and even growth opportunities.”

Hire nice. The negative impact of one toxic employee more than wipes out any gains he or she may make with even superstar performance, Porath said. When it comes to recruiting, “Do your homework.” Spending the time to find a civil employee is worth the investment of time and effort.

Ultimately, creating civil cultures requires work from the bottom up and the top down, but it’s worth the effort. “What I know from my research is that, when we have more-civil environments, we’re happier and healthier,” Porath said. “Let’s put an end to the incivility bug and start spreading civility.”

 

Adapted by Paul Papierski, Employee and Organizational Development Specialist, WL&D, UMASS Amherst from

  • How to Master Civility in the Workplace, Jessica Miller-Merrell, June 19, 2018, SHRM.ORG
  • The Case for Civility at Work, Christina Folz,, June 27, 2018, SHRM.ORG

 

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Favoritism has no place at work

Leaders who practice favoritism in the workplace have no chance to build a culture of trust.

                                                                                                                  Robert Whipple

According to Dictionary.com, favoritism in the workplace is defined as an employee or a group of employees receiving unearned privilege from a manager or supervisor at the expense of other employees who have an equal claim. The privilege is unearned in that it is not based in job performance but in the employee(s) relationship to the manager or supervisor. Favoritism in the workplace is deleterious to the development and function of organizations. The very nature of this process—favoritism– artificially inflates the value of the work of a few, while simultaneously devaluing the work of others. In a workplace where favoritism is practiced, concepts like trust, teamwork, and capacity building are stifled.

Favoritism may also cross the line from a very poor management practice to an illegal practice. It becomes illegal when the exclusion of others in the workplace is based upon their membership in one or more of the state/federally defined protected categories. There may also be legal ramifications if an individual feels that the managers’ favoritism has created a hostile or toxic work environment.

In this month’s blog, to heavily paraphrase Douglas, we bring into the light, the management practice that dare not speak its name—favoritism. Shining light on the topic can be both beneficial to management and the employee. Management must recognize when there is a perception of favoritism amongst employee(s). Then an open and honest dialogue can begin, and the proper intervention put in place, to insure parity in treatment of all employee (s). Often those who are not on the receiving end of favoritism feel isolated and devalued. A process that acknowledges their perception of unfair treatment by management, and provides a pathway to equitable treatment of all employees, will help belay concerns, decrease workplace anxiety, and increase employee satisfaction and retention.

Four articles are presented to help you deliberate and frame your thinking about favoritism in the workplace. How to Handle Favoritism in the Workplace: 10 Tips for Employees and Bosses to Build a Better Team  provides helpful suggestions to supervisors and employees alike on how to defuse the potential explosive topic of workplace favoritism. If you are a manager or supervisor and the perception of favoritism has been raised in your organization FAVORITISM AND NEPOTISM: DEALING WITH UNFAIR TREATMENT IN THE OFFICE identifies some negative ways it may impact your organization. Also included in this article are helpful strategies to address favoritism in your organization. How to Deal with a Boss Showing Favoritism is an article that encourages employees to engage in a process of perspective taking in helping to validate feelings of favoritism in the workplace. Lastly, Favoritism in the Workplace: Is it illegal?  examines the nexus between favoritism in the workplace being just inappropriate and when it becomes illegal.

Please take time to read the articles and reflect on your practice of supervisor. Are their times when the favoritism could have been the possible perception of some you supervise? What was your response to this perception? Reflect on these and other issues that might come to mind. Feel free to share relevant ideas.

 

 

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Diversity and Inclusion in Today’s Workplace

diversity

“The best coaches are the ones who find a way to include everybody. And the worst ones are small minds who stop seeing the kids at the end of the bench.”   Dan Shaughnessy

The term ‘workplace diversity’ has been commonly used to acknowledge and celebrate the many different social identities represented in the workplace. When thinking of diversity in the workplace, images of celebrating cultural holidays different from our own, having representations of different marginalized communities, and regulatory compliance issues often come to mind. Workplaces by-in-large are beginning to move the discussion of diversity from margin to center. They concede that the model of recognizing and celebrating differences does not maximize the full potential benefit of a diverse workforce. To reap the full benefits, the concept of inclusion must be coupled with the concept of diversity. In a diverse and inclusive workplace all members of the workforce are encouraged to bring their whole selves to work. While differences are recognized, they are seen as a source of strength for the workplace. The inclusive workplace recognizes and leverages the benefits of different viewpoints, different perspectives, different life experiences, and captures the collective energy inherent within a diverse workforce. Successful organizations are making inclusion a core value. This month’s blog challenges you to examine diversity and inclusion as a win-win strategy for your organization. As you reflect, as yourself, “is every member of my team in the game and feels appreciated for the contribution that they make to our success?”

In this month’s blog 3 articles and 1 video are presented which will help frame your discussion..

Inclusion and the Benefits of Diversity in the Workplace 

From diversity to inclusion: Move from compliance to diversity as a business strategy

How Companies Can Benefit from Inclusion

Finding your voice in the workplace: Jennifer Brown at TEDxSpringfield

 

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Developing a Sense of “Team” in the Workplace

    By definition and function, our workplace is a collection of individuals working towards a common set of goals. The challenge of an effective manager is to help create the environment that transforms a collection of individuals into a team working in concert to fulfill the goals of the workplace. Fundamental to the success of this process, is to not lose the individuals’ voice, perspective and experience, but to capture it in the collective vision and wisdom of the team.

Coming together is the beginning.

Keeping together is progress.

Working together is success.

~ Henry Ford ~

 In this month’s blog we explore strategies and techniques that help create the  sense of team in the workplace. Take some time to read the articles, 5 Key Factors to Managing a Successful Team, Building a Collaborative Team Environment,  and  Teamwork and Team Building Essentials.  This is an opportunity to reflect on what strategies are you using to support teamwork in your work environment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Giving positive feedback

Providing negative feedback can be challenging for some supervisors because of how it may be perceived and how the employee may react. There are several strategies on giving negative feedback in a constructive way (google search: constructive feedback) but not as much on giving positive feedback. Although it seems easier to give positive feedback, it can be just as difficult. The day-to-day rush of deadlines, scheduling, and other responsibilities affect the time and dedication supervisors have to give positive feedback.  Supervisors are encouraged to “bestow their employees with praise generously, publicly, and at every opportunity – especially at the culmination of projects” according to Robert Pozen in The Delicate Art of Giving Feedback. Knowing when and where to give positive and negative feedback is equally as important, according to Todd Smith, author of Little Things Matter from his blog post: Praise or Criticize: When and Where?

Positive feedback can often  be perceived as “good” and negative feedback as “bad” yet this is challenged in the New York Times article: You’ve been doing a fantastic job. Just one thing…, Alina Tugend reminds us that the purpose of feedback is “not to make people feel better; it’s to help them do better.” Thinking about positive and negative feedback as an “opportunity to make someone work better” is why supervisors must provide feedback and knowing how they may respond to both positive and negative feedback must also be taken into consideration.

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Bringing empathy into the workplace

Dev Patnaik, founder of Jump Associates, a consulting firm that helps organizations innovate, finds that success in the workplace is directly linked to empathy.  Patnaik believes that “every one of us understands empathy on a personal level and for an organization, having a widespread sense of empathy is to get every single person in that organization to have an intuitive sense of the people beyond their walls.” 

In the workplace, employees want to be heard. As a supervisor, role-modeling empathy with employees and encouraging employees to include empathy in their work with others will be beneficial to your organization. Knowing that someone else in the workplace is listening with empathy can be conducive to creativity and overcoming challenges in the workplace. “Creativity in the workplace is enhanced by concern for others’ needs, and a willingness to walk in their shoes:” Empathy Conducive to Creativity. Dr. Dian Killian, founder of The Center for Collaborative Communication, shares how she used empathy in working with a client to overcome a challenge at work: Overcoming Workplace Challenges Using Empathy. 

Dr. Donald McCormick writes about organizational behavior, organizational development and mindfulness in the workplace, and finds that “empathizing helps us better understand other people. Empathy helps us experience more of their emotions – more of their meanings.” To implement empathy in the workplace, begin with empathic listening. To learn more about empathic listening, read and share McCormick’s article Listening with empathy: Taking the other person’s perspective  to learn about perspective taking, changing behavior, and better listening.

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??Working with Military Veterans

The recent wars in the Middle East have brought a renewed attention to those who have served the nation prior to coming to the workplace. In the University setting, some thought has gone into serving our student veterans, yet many campuses and workplaces now need to give consideration to some of the particular needs of new veterans that are joining the workplace in increasing numbers.  Supervisors need to be aware of this growing population and what they can do to help the transition to the civilian workplace. David Vacchi, Lieutenant Colonel, US Army retired, and doctoral student in the Educational Policy and Leadership program at UMass Amherst, offers five simple steps supervisors can take to work with veterans in the workplace.  For more information about hiring and retaining veterans in the workplace, the Hiring Veterans Toolkit provides additional resources.

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How do you support the use of digital technology?

We live in world where digital technology is constantly evolving. There will always be the “next best thing” that is better, smaller, and more advanced than what we currently use (or don’t use). It can be challenging to keep up with the latest and greatest digital technologies in your personal life, let alone in the workplace.  Use of digital technologies are now part of our workplaces yet “significant gaps exist among generations regarding its use and application in the workplace” according to a 2009 survey: Technology Gap Survey Finds Impact on Workplace.  

There can be a generational divide with the comfort and use of digital technology in the workplace. A different research project talks about some of these differences and how they can impact the workplace.  It is important as supervisors to recognize the skills everyone brings to the workplace, provide support for employees who aren’t as comfortable and nimble with new technologies, and be open to different approaches and needs the tech savvy can bring to work. Information about the Digital Native research project and tips on how to adapt the workplace to meet the needs of the digital savvy can be found here: Digital Natives: A tech-savvy generation enters the workplace