Have We Entered a New Age of Bullying?

More than a decade of bullying prevention in public schools is being undone by the messages spread by the American president-elect. The Southern Poverty Law Center has recorded the highest surge in reports of bullying, harassment and racist displays since 9/11. My fear is that bullies will also feel emboldened to bring this sort of behavior into the workplace. On a recent speaking tour in the Midwest, people came up to me afterward to tell stories of how employers used their “employed at will” status to remind them they could be fired at any time. This excellent article by anti-bullying author Emily Bazelon in the New York Times takes a closer look in Bullying in the Age of Trump. But it’s important to remember that one of the first steps in curbing bullying, especially in the workplace, is to find out how employees feel about their jobs and why they feel that way. This is why the Faas Foundation has partnered with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence to survey working people about their complicated feelings about their work. You can participate by taking this survey, and please share it with those you know. It’s only by making our voices heard that we will be able to create the psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplaces we so desperately need. 

Photo: BIGSTOCK

Buddy or Bossy? Don't Oversimplify the Dynamics of Leadership

Some managers lead by dominating employees; others try to win them over. But the most effective leaders deploy the style best suited to the situation. This piece oversimplifies the dynamics of leadership, and as the title suggests a choice between being bossy vs buddy. What I advocate for all leading through respect. With respect a manager and leader can be very demanding and tough and people will positively respond. By being "bossy" people usually respond out of fear and by being "buddy" people respond only when the leader or manager is consistent with this style through good times and bad. I have witnessed a number of buddy leaders turn into barbaric monsters when times get tough. From the New York Times: Bossy vs. Buddy: Two Leadership Styles, Each with Its Place.

Credit: BIGSTOCK

How Do You Feel? Make Your Voice Be Heard

Now that we know the results of what has been the most divisive election in our lifetime we must reflect on how the political establishment, the pundits and the media totally misread how people feel and more importantly—why they feel the way they do. Emotions, good and bad, drive behaviors. The people have made their decision in a highly charged emotional environment. While we must respect the will of the people, we must work to protect the checks and balances in place so that history does not repeat itself in normalizing the abnormal, and protecting the hard won rights that may be in jeopardy. 

There is no question that most people distrust the political system and establishment. Unfortunately this has exposed the ugliness, bigotry and intolerance that have been simmering below the surface long before the election cycle started. It also appears that many of us have forgotten what we all learned in kindergarten, the ethic of reciprocity: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Organizational leaders must understand that the level of distrust extends beyond the political establishment. Rarely a day goes by when we are not exposed to the atrocities committed in every segment of our society: in politics, in government, in business, in religion, in sports, in entertainment and in media. The recent scandals at Wells Fargo, Volkswagen, Fox News and Veterans Affairs have highlighted how pervasive this is. Based on research I have done on bullying and psychologically safe, healthy and fair workplaces, employees are afraid and angry. 

The election revealed a great divide that will continue to exist. It also revealed how fragile democracy is. Unless the political parties and the government totally reinvent themselves in a positive way the divide will widen and democracy will fail. The first step in this reformation is to come to grips with how people feel and more importantly why people feel the way they do. 

To come to grips with this in the workplace the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and the Faas Foundation are initiating the Emotion Revolution in the Workplace to help organizations create psychologically safe, healthy and fair workplaces. Currently, we are conducting a North American survey to determine how employees feel about the work they do, the relationships they have at work and how they feel about the organizations they work for. Most importantly, we will determine why employees feel the way they do. Our initiative will identify the unnecessary stress factors employees face and provide evidence-based solutions, unleashing the power of emotional intelligence coupled with the ethic of reciprocity. 

I encourage everyone to complete the survey and ask you to encourage everyone you know to do so as well.

Credit: Emotion Revolution in the Workplace

What We Can Learn from Golding's 'Lord of the Flies' Right Now

There’s a lot we can learn from William Golding’s classic novel, Lord of the Flies—particularly now. In this excellent New York Times article, Lois Lowry finds herself despairing about the circumstances that led the children to such a hell: Their Inner Beasts: ‘Lord of the Flies’ Six Decades Later. 

Credit: Neil Gower, Faber & Faber 2011 centenary edition

America, What Have You Become?

Some recent articles reinforced my pride in being a Canadian. In the October 29- November 4 edition of The Economist the cover story “Liberty Moves North: Canada's Example to the World” outlined how “Canada is uniquely fortunate in many ways—but its liberalism and tolerance hold lessons for other Western countries.” 

USA Today reported, “The Georgia Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that a law that prohibits insulting or verbally abusing a public school employee in front of students violates the First Amendment.” This perplexing ruling makes it OK to bully and abuse employees, and—worse yet—do it in front of students during their most impressionable years.

Then there was the piece in The New York Times about Hamdi Ulukaya who employs resettled refugees in his Chobani yogurt factories. He’s now being targeted on social media by right-wing websites.

When you compound these examples with all of the bullying and hate mongering we are witnessing in the media in real time on prime time, Americans appear to want to normalize the abnormal. Again: thank God I am a Canadian!

Photo: BIGSTOCK

Tell Us How You Feel About Work

How are things at work? Millions of employees wish that someone would listen to their concerns about what happens at their workplace. Businesses, organizations and legislators don’t have an accurate barometer to determine if workplaces are psychologically healthy, safe and fair. That’s why The Faas Foundation is partnering with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence on the Emotion Revolution in the Workplace, a study to measure how feelings drive organizational behavior. This is your chance to let your voice be heard. This sample survey is completely anonymous and will add to the body of data that will help improve working conditions for everyone. Here's the Emotion Revolution in the Workplace Survey.

Credit: BIGSTOCK

Has Walmart Discovered the Key to Happier Employees and Higher Sales?

Can the answer to what ails the global economy be found in the people in blue vests at your neighborhood Walmart? When sales went down for the first time in Walmart history they tried something new—paying workers a better wage, giving them better training and more opportunities for advancement. And guess what happened? Being valued and given opportunities are part of creating a psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplace. Looks like Walmart is getting it! Neil Irwin reports in The New York Times: How Did Walmart Get Cleaner Stores and Higher Sales? 

Photo: Melissa Lukenbaugh for The New York Times

How Will Facebook's New Workplace Platform Affect Work-Life Balance?

Today’s workplaces are in a constant state of evolution in terms of technology. I’m not breaking new ground by declaring that the Internet is changing everything, but it truly is. Facebook’s new Workplace platform sounds modern, efficient and maybe even a little fun for employees used to spending a lot of time on social media. However, I have one question about this and other work communication apps like Slack: how will they affect work-life balance? Work-life balance can be a buzz-phrase for human resources types, but there’s obviously a lot to be said for having time away from work. People today spend so much time on their various social media profiles that I can foresee potential issues with an app designed to be similar – or nearly identical to – to the ones most people use just for fun. Anna Wiener discusses in this article in The New Yorker: Workplace by Facebook, or A Party in the Office.

Photo: BIGSTOCK

The Unsayable Can Now Be Said Thanks to Trump

Thanks to Trump the unsayable can now be said. “Go back to where you came from,” is the phrase of the moment. Something I have been warning about for a while.  While Trump fiddles with the inflamed rhetoric of the extreme right and fires up his supporters’ hatred the rest of us are facing more prejudice than ever. While comparisons to Hitler may seem overblown, there are frightening echoes of what took place in pre-World War II Germany. Roger Cohen explores the language of hate in this New York Times piece, How Dictatorships are Born.

Credit: Damon Winter/The New York Times

OHIO: In The Twilight Zone

Last week I spoke at the Women in Leadership Conference at Ohio's Bowling Green University. The theme at this conference was Pathways to Promotion and Leadership. 

I agreed to speak at the event on the condition that it would not be censored and that it “may offend some sensitive ears and sponsors of the event.” I clearly indicated that if the organizers of the event were uncomfortable with this, then I was the wrong person to give this talk.

The reason for my caution is according to the World Economic Forum, Ohio ranks 40th out of the 51 States in gender diversity. Despite billions of dollars being spent across North America on diversity, harassment, sensitivity and performance management programs over the past few decades by organizations and corporations, the results have been beyond dismal. Given that fact, I did not, and will not, give a motivational speech full of human resource gobbledygook that only provides false hope.

During my speech, the event coordinator approached Patrick Mundt, the Executive Director of the Faas Foundation who was monitoring the power point slides, and demanded he hook me from the stage. She indicated that a few of the sponsors had walked out in disgust. 

However, Patrick and I observed an engaged audience, many taking notes and nodding in agreement. Afterwards, I received not one but two warm and enthusiastic ovations and many came up and thanked me for my frankness. One person said that those who came up to speak to me afterward were brave to do so because they were likely being watched by their co-workers or supervisors in attendance, and it could be a career-limiting move for them. This was particularly significant as Ohio is, an “at will” state where employees without a contract can be fired without cause – something that was repeated by a number of people at this event and two others I spoke with in Ohio. 

The event organizers did not come to me to express their displeasure—nor did they thank me for giving the speech. In response to a note we sent thanking the event coordinator for hosting us and allowing me to speak, we also asked her to confirm that sponsors were upset with what I said, which she did. 

Reflecting on this experience, it became obvious to us that Bowling Green University is more concerned about their financial sponsors than changing Ohio's dismal standing in gender diversity. Leaving the state, I felt I was leaving the Twilight Zone!

 Credit: Jessica Vailat/The Red List