Ever feel like you’re the unofficial “shock absorber” in your organization, soaking up the complaints and abuse from all corners of the workplace? A...
Q. One of our employees has just filed an internal complaint claiming that she has been sexually harassed. We are concerned that if we discipline the alleged harasser...
It’s perfectly legitimate to try to prevent allegations of sexual harassment and favoritism by instituting a policy banning romantic relationships between...
When romance blooms at work, trouble may lurk not far behind. That’s especially true when co-workers fight over the same love interest. A spurned employee may be...
Personality clashes almost always affect work, and inevitably one of the combatants will file a formal complaint. Defuse that tension by suggesting that one or both...
The co-worker in the next cubicle hums all day. Yesterday your boss dressed you down in front of the entire team. Another admin has been griping about the same issue...
Discrimination can creep into the workplace, even if on the surface there’s nothing blatantly offensive going on. There are still supervisors who treat...
Overly sensitive employees can interpret anything negative as hostile. But often what is subjectively hostile is just unpleasant from an objective standpoint, the...
What if you suspect a supervisor/subordinate relationship, but the two people deny it? You probably can’t do anything more than reiterate your workplace rule...
Employers will win in the long run if they exercise restraint and use patience when dealing with an employee who clearly is looking for a lawsuit. It will take work.
Say one of your employees stops by your office with a troubled look on her face. She has a complaint, but wants to speak with you “off the record.” Can you...
Q. Some of our employees speak to each other in their native language. We are worried that some workers will feel excluded. To boost employee morale, we would like to...
Deadbeats suck the life out of everyone around them. They may sometimes be hard to identify, and they’re even harder to publicly label once found. According...
Another admin on your team just made a cringe-worthy mistake. It was so bad that, although you’re a team player, you’d like to make sure your co-worker is...
HR professionals and managers are at the front lines when dealing with angry employees. You typically have to deal with their raw rage. So, how can you handle angry...
Sometimes, HR professionals have to make judgment calls about who is telling the truth. In fact, just about every workplace investigation requires assessing the...
After 20 years of being a secretary, writes one administrative professional, she knows how to do the necessary work. That hasn’t kept her current supervisor or...
Sometimes, a handful of bitter employees can poison the workplace atmosphere so much that production falls. That doesn’t mean it’s always easy to figure...
Do your supervisors know it’s illegal to lash out at or get revenge on employees who voice legal complaints? While race discrimination has historically been the...
