Civility in the workplace – the cost of bad behaviour

We live in such an interesting time where we learn at an incredible rate about new technologies, new ways of doing business and about how to co-exist in diverse, multi-generational, multi-task oriented and often resource short workplaces. Recent economic troubles have added to already stress-prone corporate life.

It’s not surprising then that at times some behaviour amongst co-workers is less than pleasant, professional or respectful. Recent research is suggesting that an environment that promotes civility breeds happier employees, more positive customer relationships and work environment all round. Behaving badly in the workplace is costly and is becoming an issue that needs attention.

Managing Older Workers

Despite the relatively recent flutter about managing older workers in today’s work environment, focusing only on how best to manage older workers will have limited results.

What is perhaps the underlying cause of the flutter is the complexity of the environment and the uncertainty about the way ahead. We have more generations in the workforce than ever before. Globally the birth rate is dropping and people are living longer. If these trends persist – and there is evidence they will – the scene is set for older workers to eventually outnumber younger workers. And for a host of reasons older workers are not vacating the workforce at a certain age as they once did in the past.

Learning from failure

Failure certainly isn’t a planned outcome unless of course if you’re deliberately trying to sabotage your company or your career. Learning from failure is simple. You tally your lessons learned, pass it around to your project team and sponsor, to ensure everyone knows where things went off the rail – and you’re done, right?  Well, hang on a moment, experience tells us something different. It’s not enough to do a report, to fess up and do mea culpas.  That would be naive or compartmentalisation at best. Learning from failure is a little more complicated than that. And how would anyone ever learn from that kind of approach?

Your thinking can change your job experience

It’s easy to let time manage how we work and think. After all, hard work and long hours is what it’s all about, right? And, good project managers always stick to timelines, don’t they?

We’re tacitly “trained” for what, some might say, is mediocrity not success. And not surprisingly success seems to be illusive for many of us. What most of us simply want is to feel accomplished, respected and successful. It’s not always about pots of money and we all have our own definitions of what success means. However, we have to agree that success means some kind of above average reward, status and recognition. But often these are hard to come by. It doesn’t seem to be rocket science.

But what kind of thinking and behaviour distinguish successful people from those who are average? And what will help achieve most if not all of what we see as success in our careers?

Taking full advantage of interviews – turn the tables

Often we forget that interviews are a two way street and for best outcomes they hold a shared responsibility.

If you’re unpracticed at interviewing or just feel you’re not good at it, the current competition for jobs in the finance and banking industry means you need to stand out from the crowd. Tweaking your interview skills will help to give you an added advantage.

Cultural and organisational fit are as important as the job itself. These need to be seriously considered as they relate to quality of the potential opportunity and your ability to fully participate in the organisation. As well, they greatly affect your ability to contribute, learn, hone your skills and mature in your field.

How women can up their game at work

So what’s the deal? Some women just don’t seem to get ahead at work. You know the ones. They work hard. They go the distance no matter what it takes – even regularly sacrifice personal time and throw work-life balance to the wind.

Beyond these things, sometimes getting ahead simply boils down to unwritten, subtle behaviours that tell others you’re not a contender – whether you’re a man or a woman. Granted, both men and women might have some common behaviours that send the “non-contender” signals but many of the following tend to be common amongst women in the workplace.

Employee exit processes and managing employee performance

Call it a performance problem, blame the economic downturn or call it a bad fit. When an employee and a company have to part ways, it isn’t easy for either party. And there are ways to mitigate the impact on the organisation, colleagues, the individuals and their managers. Following appropriate protocols – both company and legal – and acting with integrity and humanity can make the process easier.

“Managers not only need to understand the sensitivities, they should also be mindful of legal issues and, for that matter, doing the job in an ethical way. If they don’t, it could damage the brand, staff morale and customer relations.”