badworkplace

Archive for November, 2009|Monthly archive page

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Dangerous Coworkers

In 1 on 11/22/2009 at 10:14 pm

Do you work with individuals who are potentially harmful to coworkers and other organizational assets?

Workers can be a dangerous threat without making a threatening statement. Operating vehicles or machinery irresponsibly, for example, can put coworkers at risk.

Even some workers who appear just to be inconsiderate or too immature to take responsibility for their actions can be potentially dangerous. They are the ones who forget to secure the doors, fail to follow correct procedures on the assembly line, forget to turn off the electric hotplate in the lunchroom, light a cigarette too close to flammable materials, block emergency exits with equipment or merchandise, or simply fail to remain alert on the job. This can include daydreaming, experiencing dull reactions due to medications, or falling asleep because of sleep apnea or sleep deprivation at home.

Other individuals have mental problems or attitude problems about work that result in choices that subject their coworkers to unnecessary risks. Included here are workers who, consciously or unconsciously want to “get back at” a coworker or the organization. For example, they can intentionally leave doors unsecured, sabotage computer data or equipment, jam machines, give information to competitors, participate in espionage, etc. These individuals may fit the profile of someone who could commit workplace violence in the future as their needs, feelings, or emotions intensify.

Then, of course, there are individuals whose minds and hearts are filled with hate that compels them to become terrorists against those who believe differently. They may kidnap for ransom to support a cause, for example, or destroy people and businesses in their role as an independent “soldier” for an organized cause. These may be the most difficult to identify or to remove from the workplace in today’s climate of political correctness.

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Violence and Political Correctness

In 1 on 11/19/2009 at 1:34 am

In view of the recent shootings at Fort Hood, we are reminded of a relevant case used in our “Bad Bosses, Bad Workers” book. Does the following story sound familiar? Why does management place “Political Correctness” above the safety of our citizens?

CASE:  “In a highly secure government installation, there was an employee who was a recent immigrant from _____. He took a loyalty oath to get security clearance to work in our company. Yet he held a deep commitment to helping that country, even to the point that he seemed willing to talk about our work with his friends ‘back home.’ This posed a high security risk for the U.S. He had been told to hold his tongue, but when he was with those he regarded as his countrymen (as opposed to regarding U.S. citizens as his countrymen), he still just talked and talked.

“Soon he reached the point where he would also talk about our country. He criticized the President on down to the Governor. Sometimes he would be so critical that we would feel like shooting him. He seemed so angry that he was not in his country, yet he wanted to stay here. His loyalties most surely lay outside the U.S. The fact that he could not be trusted had an immeasurable effect on the work that could be done at this installation.

“As you can imagine, all his coworkers hated him. No one wanted to be assigned to a project with him. No matter if you were just starting a project or deep into working on it, you could count on him going on a tirade about the terrible United States and how they had mistreated his country. Not only that, we were afraid this guy would someday reach his boiling point and do major damage to the installation where we worked, or worse. As workers, we don’t know the story behind why he was hired or why he was not let go.”

Which comes first: loyalty or political correctness? Protect yourself by letting your views be known to your company and your legislators.

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Health and Safety at Work: Stress on the Job

In 1, WORK - Bad Workplaces, WORK - Safety, WORK - Workplace Violence on 11/16/2009 at 3:19 pm

Just as you should seek information about accidents and safety for any job for which you are interested, you should also seek information about stressors and the level of stress on those jobs.

Stress is not a simple phenomenon. It refers to individual responses to strong stimuli, which are called stressors. While some stress can be positive— it can motivate you to work to your top level of performance— other stress or too much stress clearly is negative. Positive stress is beneficial whereas negative stress can be harmful if it is not recognized and dealt with at an early stage.

Stress can be caused by “good” as well as “bad” things. Excessive pressure, unreasonable demands on your time, and bad news can all cause stress. But receiving a promotion with a raise can be stressful, too: like the stress of wondering if you can handle the new job, or the disappointment of receiving a smaller raise than you had expected and thus not being able to afford something you had planned on being able to afford.

Positive stress is experienced by meeting deadlines, becoming more innovative, being more productive, and accepting challenges. Negative stress occurs when the pressures of life, including work, increase to a level where the individual can no longer cope. In other words, pressure is healthy until it exceeds the person’s ability to cope and then it can cause illness. Negative stress is the form you want to avoid.

Negative stress can be seriously debilitating and the effects can be long-lasting. Management and organizations suffer because of absenteeism, reduced productivity, increased compensation premiums — medical insurance based on stress are higher than other claims.  Thus, finding answers to questions such as the following will tell you indirectly if too much stress is associated with a particular company or job:

  • What is the level of turnover on this job?
  • What are the major sources of stress on this job?
  • What are the normal working conditions for this job?
  • Does this job involve ever having to handle or be exposed to chemicals, biological agents, or the like?
  • Does this job involve having to come into contact with people who are known to be sick?
  • Does the company have a wellness program?
  • Does the company have an Employee Assistance Program?

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Workplace Violence Not New But Growing

In 1 on 11/04/2009 at 5:57 pm

Why are we shocked that people are murdered at Yale, Virginia Tech, Columbine, or other institutions? Or federal buildings, USPS facilities, and Planned Parenthood offices?

Violence in society at large is not new, but it is growing.  Incidents of violence are mentioned in The Bible and in ancient hieroglyphics and literature. For centuries sailors who traveled far from their employers on the high seas faced piracy by groups of bandits. Various religious and political groups have frequently resorted to violence—and still do.

A larger and more organized group, the Mafia, has been around since its origination in Sicily during the 9th century.  Street gangs have been fighting for at least 400 years, and in the last century there were numerous instances of violence committed by “The Mob” or other criminal elements in places where people work.  We also saw American businessmen in other countries kidnapped and held for ransom from their employers or for political purposes.

However, virtually all of these violent attacks were tabulated as criminal acts, not workplace violence; and they had little direct impact on most citizens in the USA.  Public and managerial indifference began to change when violence struck closer home in the 1980s and 1990s, with repeated homicides at U.S. Postal facilities and the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

During the last 3 decades workplace violence also spread to a totally different group of workers in a worksite that had always been considered safe:  the nation’s schools–elementary, secondary, and more recently, higher education. From 1997 to 2007, for example, the most recent year for which data are readily available, more than 7,000 occupational homicides occurred nationwide (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) by individuals inside or outside the organization.

How safe is YOUR workplace?