What Businesses Could Learn About Competitiveness From Super Chickens

What does the traditional culture of competitiveness do to our workplaces? Business leader Margaret Heffernan discussed this on a recent episode of the TED Radio Hour using the superchicken study as an example. She discussed what a dog-eat-dog (or chicken-peck-chicken) environment does to productivity and emotional well-being within a company and how social cohesion is what makes for a truly winning team. I’ve long believed that a productive work environment comes from employees who know that their contributions are valued and are treated as respected members of the team. You can listen to her excellent talk here: Forget the Pecking Order at Work.

Credit: BIGSTOCK

Why Are Men Missing From the Job Market?

Many of those who have given up on employment are struggling with pain and disabilities according to a new working paper by a Princeton economist. What this does not show is the reasons men are missing. I assert that in large part it is because of ageism which starts at around 45—and the difficulty in finding alternative employment when they are let go because of their age. Can we really afford to overlook a significant portion of our skilled and experienced senior employees? I recommend this interesting article from the New York Times: Millions of Men are Missing From the Job Market.

Credit: Rachel Levit/The New York Times

Trump Bullying of Clinton Reaches New Low at Final Debate

One of the most important parts of creating psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplaces is learning how to identify and deal with bullies. Last night’s final presidential debate featured a man whose bullying tactics I’ve been writing about for months. In fact, Donald Trump inspired what might well be the shortest chapter in any work of non-fiction in North America—in my new book From Bully to Bull’s-Eye (RCJ Press; January 10, 2017) all I needed was one word in my chapter, “Definition of a Bully” to illustrate what I wanted to get across; that word is: Trump. I’m glad to see women refusing to be intimidated and embracing his latest bullying comment to Secretary Hillary Clinton and making it their own, but calling her “a nasty woman” is classic bullying behavior. 

Photo: KGO-TV

Accountability Counts: Holding Grant Recipients Responsible for How They Use Funds

What do you do when a significant donation to a charitable organization is not being used in accordance with prior agreement? Earlier this year the Faas Foundation was faced with that dilemma, which forced us to make an unprecedented decision. For the first time since the foundation was created in 2005 we lost confidence in a grantee and rescinded our donation of $1 million. This story in the Toronto Star outlines what happened when the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) didn’t implement its initiative to provide Canadian workplaces with training to identify risks of mental illness and support employees living with the diagnosis.  CAMH Loses $1 Million Donation Due to Issues of Accountability  The money was given in good faith to be part of a multi-pronged initiative between the Canadian CAMH and the American organization Mental Health America and the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence to explore ways to better understand and implement psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplaces. Sadly, CAMH’s elitist attitude, failure to implement and lack of transparency made us reconsider this donation. Philanthropist Questioned the Credibility of CAMH Before Rescinding Donation  Since this news has broken, another donor has considered removing his contribution to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) due to a lack of transparency and communication. The one error in this article is the assertion that the funds were to create a psychologically healthy workplace solely at CAMH. They were actually donated to fund research into evidence-based solutions for dealing with mental health issues in the workplace. It’s time for grant recipients to be accountable for the monies they receive.  CAMH Donor Says More Transparency Needed About Money

Photo: Brian B. Bettencourt/The Toronto Star 

What Do You Know About Your Workplace's Culture?

It’s important to take the time to assess your own workplace culture, and how you fit into it. As I’ve written before, and in my new book (out in January!), there are a few types of workplace cultures, and being both self-aware and aware of your workplace is important to finding a job that will be psychologically safe. And, to take it one step further, if you work in a position where you have the ability to enact change on your workplace’s culture, then do it! Too many professionals today pay lip service to workplace culture without actually trying to make positive changes where they can. Is Your Workplace Culture a Good Fit for You?

Credit: BIGSTOCK

Are Two-Thirds of Your Employees Ready to Walk Out?

While I’m not sure if I’d agree with every idea in this article, but the statistic that two-thirds of Canadian employees are ready to walk out the door of their offices should be startling for employers. While some businesses may think that turnover isn’t a problem, a revolving-door attitude towards employees can be extremely disruptive to a workplace culture. Creating disruptions in workplace culture can, at best, lead to the loss of difficult-to-replace senior employees; at worst, disruptions in the culture can lead to catastrophic organizational scandal. Managers need to show employees that they’re valued, not just on an intellectual level, but through substantive measures like salary, time off, and fair maternity/paternity leave. Find the details here: Two-Thirds of Your Employees are Ready to Move On.

Photo: BIGSTOCK

Cultural Transformation at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The sexual harassment issues with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have been well documented. However, in the face of the settlement they’ve made to close the class-action lawsuit against them, I wonder how much the RCMP will truly transform its culture to correct the faults that led to this situation in the first place. As I’ve written in my new book (out in January!), sexual harassment in the workplace is often the result of power-dynamic bullying and can often result in retaliation against the employee being harassed. Complete cultural change is needed to root out a harassing culture as extensive as the one at the RCMP – as over 500 current and former employees were part of the sexual harassment lawsuit. While a formal apology to the victims is a good first step, we have yet to see the substantive details for the organizational makeover needed at the RCMP. Read more at The Globe and Mail.

Image: RCMP commissioner Bob Paulson, left, answers a question during a news conference, as plaintiffs Janet Merlo, centr, and Linda Davidson look on in Ottawa on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016.
Credit: Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS via Globe & Mail.

Actions Speak Louder than Words in Forming Workplace Culture

This article is dead on. Many business leaders think they can lead their companies with words rather than actions – but actions, even the small ones, speak a lot louder than any promises made about customer or employee satisfaction. When a company utilizes ticker-timer on call length, as cited in this NYT article, it has a more substantive impact on the psychology of a workplace than anything the CEO might say about taking the time to truly service clients. These kinds of decisions the things that indicate what an organization truly values – and when what a company’s stated goals are different from the ones in practice, it’s a recipe for potential disaster. And, it now looks like former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf is learning that lesson the hard way. 

Photo: John Stumpf testifying before the House Financial Services Committee. Credit: Al Drogo via NYT.

Trump 2005 vs. Today's Workplace

I feel as though a lot has already been said about Donald Trump’s 2005 comments on women, and about his response during last night’s debate. However, one element of this story that I think needs to be emphasized is the fact that the demeaning, horrible comments he made happened in the workplace. He was on that bus to film a segment for NBC to promote The Apprentice, as was Billy Bush. The woman they’re speaking about, Arianne Zucker, is there for work as well. When Trump gets off the bus and grabs the visibly uncomfortable Zucker for a hug-and-kiss greeting – that’s what an inappropriate workplace interaction looks like. Some might call the Trump tape a severe case of workplace sexism, but truly, it’s the sort of thing scores of women have to deal with at work on a daily basis. It’s sickening, yes, but what should be more sickening is the fact that this type of lewd objectification of women is not uncommon in the workplace. It goes without saying that this type of comment should disqualify Trump from the US Presidency, and that women, as Lindy West wrote in the NYT, should grab Republicans “where it hurts” – the ballots. 

Image: Ruth Fremson for NYT via NYT

Narcissism Doesn't Help You Retain Employees

This is something that managers should keep in mind. The emotionally intelligent boss will retain top talent, not only through the ability to predict issues before they start, but by being able to inspire the kind of confidence needed to ensure employee retention. Avoiding the flip side of that coin – narcissism – is essential to developing a workplace that is not characterized by high turnover. Just as narcissists tend to have “a lot more churn in their friendships” according to this article, businesses run by narcissists tend to have a lot more “churn” within their office. While oftentimes a person’s temperament is not truly a choice between emotional intelligence and narcissism, having self-awareness about this divide in business can be invaluable in building a workplace oriented for employee longevity. Read more about narcissism and emotional intelligence at the Los Angeles Times. 

Image: Roberto Parada / For The Times via The LA Times