Don't Rely on Employment At Will

Most managers operate under the delusion that the concept of “employment at will” will save their bacon when they don’t want to mess with an employee anymore.  Just fire them.  Done.  After all, that’s what employment “at will” is all about right?

Wrong. 

It’s true that, in general, “employment at will” means that either the employer or the employee can end the work relationship for any reason or . . . no reason at all . . . as long it there wasn’t an illegal reason.  Just like that.  You can be free to work with other employers.

The main idea behind “employment at will” is that neither party is required to continue working together for a specific amount of time.  And you’re thinking, so what? Isn’t that how it’s always been? 

Nope.

Employment at will evolved in the 1870’s, when laissez faire capitalism was starting to gather steam.  Before this time most employment relationships were presumed to be for a year at a time.  There was no quitting after a few weeks because you got a better offer. The doctrine of “employment at will” simply eliminated the presumption of a one-year employment term, allowing worker and employer to end the relationship whenever it didn’t suit either any longer.

Today in many states, “employment at will” has qualifiers.  In Utah, “employment at will” is still subject to notions of fairness regarding the reason an employment relationship ends.  In Utah, when you terminate an employee, the decision is subject to 3 notions of fairness, including (1) whether there was an implied contract (like making explicit verbal or written promises to an employee about job security) , (2) an implied covenant of “good faith and fair dealing” (aka requiring “just cause” to let someone go), or (3) whether the termination violates explicit, well-establish public policy (e.g., you can’t fire someone just because they filed a workers’ comp claim).

So, the next time, you’re fed up and just want to make an employee go away, hoping “employment at will” will be the reason.  Think again.  Here are 4 suggestions for laying groundwork just in case you end up firing someone:

1.            Have an “employment at will” statement in your employee handbook or employee policies.  Make sure all employees receive a copy of the handbook or policies when they are hired.

2.            Be honest with an employee about how he is not meeting your expectations.

3.            Don’t delay in addressing employee issues, thinking they will go away on their own.  They won’t.

4.            Talk to the employee in private about the issue(s).  AND summarize this conversation in the form of a memo of understanding (on company letterhead & dated) that clearly states the issue and what the employee is expected to do to conform to your expectations or to company policy.

5.            If the problem persists, issue a written warning to the employee(on company letterhead & dated), re-stating the problem , when you addressed it before with him, and noting that it is a serious matter that the employee must correct.  State in the warning that the employee will be “subject to discipline, up to and including dismissal”, if he doesn’t correct the problem.  Get the employee’s signature on this warning or at least have someone witness that you gave him the written warning if he refuses to sign it (and some employees will refuse to sign).

If the employee doesn’t correct the problem after getting a warning, you could discipline with an unpaid suspension or even termination.

With this basic documentation in place, an employer has a good chance of prevailing on an unemployment claim or even a workplace discrimination claim these basic with documents, showing the employee knew there was a problem and failed to correct it.

Nothing is a sure bet when dealing with employees. But don’t rely on “employment at will” as your only reason for terminating an employee.

Are You Managing or Bullying?

“I feel like you’re intimidating and bullying me.”  These are the words of a female employee during a meeting with her male supervisor, who intended to set expectations with her. The supervisor was taken aback and started to question his behavior.

With stories of bullying of children frequently in the news, it makes us stop and think.  So, how do you know whether you are managing or bullying?

Keep in mind that a few employees will attempt to deflect attention away from themselves, especially when a work issue is being addressed.  One thing they may say, whether they really believe it or not, is that you are bullying them, especially if they believe that no one – not even their supervisor – has a right to dictate terms to them at work.

Also, employees may use the word “intimidation” when describing what it felt like when they were called into the boss’s office to discuss a performance deficiency.  Well, sure, it’s intimidating, especially when you know you’ve failed in your work commitment.  But that doesn’t mean the boss was purposefully intimidating and is a bully.

According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, bullying is a “laser-focused”, “systematic campaign of interpersonal destruction” that has nothing to do with work itself and that negatively impacts the employee’s health, career and job.  It

targets the employee for no good work reason, causing an employee, who otherwise does acceptable work, to feel hopeless about the situation. Bullying targets tend to be good workers, who are “independent” and not easily “subservient”.  G. Namie, TheChallenge of Workplace Bullying, Employment Relations Today, 2007, 34(2), pp.43-51.

To help clarify, these are examples of when your behavior could be “bullying” as opposed to “managing”:

Bullying	Managing
On a performance review, the supervisor is intentionally biased or gives inaccurate feedback because he doesn’t like the employee even though the employee is a good performer.	On a performance review, the supervisor shares honest, substantiated feedback with the employee, whether he likes the employee or not.
The supervisor deliberately excludes an employee from workplace meetings and activities for no good reason or for a concocted reason when other employees in the same job classification attend.	The supervisor includes an employee in workplace meetings and activities that other employees in the same job classification attend, even if the employee is not the best performer.
The supervisor instigates or fails to stop others from spreading malicious gossip, jokes or rumors about an employee which are not true.	The supervisor refrains from joking about, gossiping or spreading rumors about any employees.  Instead the supervisor addresses any problematic conduct or performance with employees directly and privately, giving the employees an opportunity to give their version of the situation.
The supervisor pesters, spies, or stalks the employee with no business reason for doing so.	The supervisor monitors all employees’ whereabouts if there is a business reason for doing so, and documents and addresses any issues of attendance or productivity privately with employees, giving the employees an opportunity to give their version of the situation.
The supervisor criticizes or belittles the employee persistently or allows others to do so without saying anything.	The supervisor speaks privately with the employee if there are documented conduct or performance issues, getting the employee’s explanation during the conversation.
The supervisor metes out undeserved or unwarranted punishment to an employee.	The supervisor addresses only work related issues, gathering all relevant information regarding a situation, including the employee’s version of events, before deciding whether or not to discipline an employee for workplace misconduct.
The supervisor consistently gives an otherwise good performing employee assignments that are beneath his position to create a feeling of uselessness.	The supervisor holds employees accountable to job performance standards and documents/addresses sub-standard performance with interventions such as re-training, job shadowing, etc.

The manner in which the supervisor interacts with an employee in any situation can increase or decrease the employee’s perception of being bullied, even if the supervisor’s behavior is not out of line. So, know when you have a right to address a situation with employees and do it professionally and respectfully.

Are Your Meetings a Snoozefest?

What is the difference between a newsletter and a meeting?  You think this is a trick question?  It’s obvious, right? Apparently not so obvious to a lot of leaders.

Like a memo or newsletter, many meetings end up as simply a way to disseminate information.  Those attending go around the horn and update the others in the room about what’s going on in their respective areas of responsibility.  Or maybe during the meeting someone “trains” you on a new procedure, product, or service.  Thus, many meetings are simply newsletters in disguise.  If you are gathering others in a room or in a virtual meeting space to merely disseminate information, send a newsletter or memo instead.

In contrast, you should use a meeting format when there is a topic to discuss that is critical to the long-and short-term success of your organization.  As proposed in Patrick Lencioni’s Death by Meeting, every good meeting needs “conflict” . . . something that will spark all kinds of thought, discussion and disagreement, allow enough time to dicuss the issue(s), and not mix administrative, tactical and strategic topics.

With multiple options for interfacing and communicating with others available today, it is even more important to determine whether or not a meeting (whether virtual or face-to-face) is really necessary. The main reasons to have a meeting:

1.       To check-in daily with those working with you.  This is a short 5-10 minute administrative meeting where a supervisor and her direct reports briefly huddle to exchange information regarding their top priorities of the day.  It allows for quick updates, coordination and coverage if needed.

2.       To report back on the progress of tactics that are being implemented and are based upon the goals generated during a strategy session.  This is a weekly meeting where an entire team meets to report on individual efforts to impact team and organization goals and to make new commitments for the coming week.  In addition to Lencioni’s book, I recommend The Four Disciplines of Execution by Chris Chesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling for a practical structure to these types of meetings.

3.       To discuss the current strategy related to the organization’s current business goals and the progress being made.    These can be held monthly or as needed and usually last from 2-4 hours.

4.       To do more in-depth organizational planning, including to review strategy, industry trends, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.  This can be a two- to three-day meeting held offsite and may include department heads and other senior leaders, who gather to brainstorm, analyze, prioritize, and discuss where the business is going with respect to its market, products, service, or structure.  Sometimes they also discuss internal talent and succession planning.

All of these meeting types require the participation of the attendees around a meaningful topic.

So reflect on the meetings you convene or attend.  If you lead the meetings, what can you do make them more engaging for the others in the room? What topics, central to your organization, need to be discussed more and would lend themselves to lively discussion and analysis?  Assuming little or no discussion is required, what straightforward information currently shared at your meetings can be shared in a way that doesn’t take meeting time?

In short, instead of holding a meeting where others are dragging in a few minutes late, dreading the time they will have to spend listening to the same old irrelevant information and hoping there will be someone else in the room they can text with under the table, what can you do to your meetings, so others can’t wait to come and participate . . . ?

Does Your Back Ache From Bending Over Backwards for Your Employees?

Being the boss is tough.  With all the information available on how to motivate and engage employees, without being a micro-manager or a bully, it can be a bit confusing trying to determine what exactly an effective boss is like today.  A big part of becoming a good boss is understanding and creating healthy boundaries.

What is a boundary?  A boundary is an imaginary line that exists between you and your employees.  It marks the difference between your organizational role, authority, responsibility and status, etc. and theirs. And by virtue of this, it defines acceptable behaviors in a given situation, and it gives you permission to tell others what to do and what to expect of them as they do it.

How do you know if you have unhealthy boundaries with employees?   If your boundaries at work are non-existent or too loose, you’re probably the type who is very concerned about whether your employees like you.  That is, your primary desire, motivation, and basis for your decision-making centers on making your employees like you.  And because you want them to like you, you believe if you take care of them and even protect them, they will like you more and work that much harder.  After all, it’s all about relationships, right?

Yes, it is about relationships – healthy ones – with good boundaries.  Boundaries that recognize and communicate that you are not your employees’ equal at work and that it’s your job to tell them what to do and to provide them information about why they need to do it and how well they did it.  If you are overly concerned with being liked, you’re focusing on you and not on the company’s goals and interests (which is the job of management).  (This is called co-dependence or “letting the tail wag the dog”.)  In short, you are not fulfilling your role as boss and are bending over backwards too far.

If you find yourself walking on eggshells around employees in the pursuit of their happiness and at the expense of the company’s interests . . . . If you balk at requiring/asking your employees to do the not so fun parts of their jobs . . . . If you are avoiding a conversation about performance or conduct issues because you’re afraid you might upset an employee. . . . here are 4 things you can do to create healthier boss/employee boundaries:

·         First, consciously step into your role as boss with no apologies.  This means, you are the “decider”.   It’s your job to set expectations and sometimes to have difficult conversations: that’s what you’re paid to do.  You don’t need to be a jerk about it.  Just be as clear as possible.   Your employees already expect this by virtue of your role as the boss.  The authority and permission to tell others what to do is built into the boss/employee relationship.  (Repeat:  you don’t need to be a jerk about it.)  They’re waiting for it because even they know when they are pushing boundaries.  They are probably surprised you haven’t already addressed certain issues with them.

·         Second, strive to be respected instead of liked.  You might be able to do both, but garnering respect first and foremost forms the basis of a healthy boss/employee relationship.  To gain respect, you must be firm, fair, and consistent, so your employees know what to expect of you on a regular basis.  And yes, your employees won’t like everything you hold them accountable to, but they’ll understand it and expect it.

·         Third, don’t actively seek to be friends with your employees.  They might be great people, but to maintain a healthy boss/employee boundary, you shouldn’t see each other tipsy at happy hour or know minute details of your current or past relationships.  Concentrate on the work with occasional superficial chit chat.

·         Fourth, get better at handling conflict and hard conversations. Being the boss means you will deal with situations where most people don’t want to change the way they do things.  Conflict abounds.  When you shy away from conflict, you’re trading the possibility of something new and full of potential, for staying stuck in the present situation that you may think is safe but which reflects your inability to adapt and your lack of faith in others to do the same.

To better cope with the discomfort of being the boss, find peers – other managers, business owners, CEOs – to commiserate and celebrate with.  It can be lonely being in charge, and these peers can relate to the trials and tribulations of being a boss and offer advice and support.

Your employees were hired to accomplish work in your company.  They don’t mind doing the job – they applied for it.  And healthy, defined boundaries will create clarity, making your work together easier and more productive.

You Versus Your Management Role

I recently worked with an elementary school principal who had asked for advice regarding a substitute teacher assigned to his building on a long-term basis.  Well, the principal had just learned from credible sources that this long-term substitute was a fairly regular user of marijuana.

The principal pondered, “This isn’t a problem, is it?  I mean, I haven’t really seen her smoke pot. She’s a great employee – she’s here on time every day, the students like her, and she’s doing a good job.  I mean, there’s nothing I can do, right?  I would be violating her employment rights if I told her she couldn’t work here any longer, right?” 

Heavy sigh.  Obviously, this school principal was trying to justify in his own mind why he didn’t need to address the situation.  (I mean, really . . . how many of us know someone who smokes a little weed from time to time.)  I knew I had to offer this principal a quick lesson on the difference between his personal boundaries and those required of him as school principal.

When we accept a job in any organization, we are not paid to show up and be our sweet little ol’ selves; rather, we are paid to step into a role that serves the organization.  Further, in a management or other leadership position, we are paid to represent the interests of the company.  I like to think of it as literally stepping into a suit of clothing that represents the position.   In this case, the individual who contacted me was required to step into the role of “manager” or “school principal”.  Sounds simple enough.

When stepping into a managerial role, it’s really easy to make the transition from “individual person” to the “manager” when our personal values, beliefs and ways of operating mostly align with those required in the work role.   The rub comes when our personal values, beliefs, and ways of operating are either more expansive or restrictive than those required of the role we’ve assumed. 

And this is where the principal was having a hard time:  He saw this substitute teacher as a “good employee”, so why would the school district care about whether or not she smoked pot at home.  After all, weren’t dependable employees hard to come by?  Why would he need to do anything as long as the substitute wasn’t bringing pot into the workplace?

In short, he was looking at the situation using his more “open” personal values and beliefs, instead of viewing the situation through the lens required of his position as school principal (which dictated that he enforce the school district’s drug policy and hold those working with students to a higher standard than the average Joe).

When you look for a job, how much do you research the values and beliefs of the companies you apply to?  As a manager or leader in your company, are you aware of your responsibility to represent the company’s interests over those of an individual employee?  When you hire new employees (management or otherwise), how do you determine whether or not there is alignment between their personal values and beliefs and those of the company?  And how does your company convey its expectations to managers about carrying out the role as company representative?

Something to think about.

It’s Spring. Time to Renew Your Commitment to Your Work

As the hours of daylight increase and the outside temperature is warming up, I find myself leaving the behind the gray, unmotivated mood of winter and actually feeling . . . cheery.  What a great opportunity to renew my commitment to my work and to spread more sunshine throughout the office.  I recently read Shawn Achor’s, The Happiness Advantage (2010).  Here are some simple things you can do to stretch your happiness muscles:

1.    Consciously Re-Focus on the Positive.   It is well-established that we humans pay more attention to negative events than positive.   “ . . . [M]ost findings indicate that people react more strongly to bad than good events.  The evidence covers everything from minor everyday events and brief experimental exposure to aversive odors to major life events and traumas.  Bad events produce more emotion, have bigger effects on adjustment measures, and have longer lasting effects.”  Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Finkenauer, Vohs (2001). 

So, is it any wonder that we drive to work most mornings, dreading what might be in store for us at work? 

Aware of this human tendency, you can now counteract the negative bias we all experience and consciously focus on the positive.  To do so, write down 3 good things that occur each day.  Or write about a positive experience at work for 20 minutes, 3 times per week.  Burton, C., & King, L. (2004), The health benefits of writing about intensely positive experiences.  Journal of Research in Personality, 38, 150-163.  (Concluding that writing about positive experiences for short periods of time led to increased happiness and even led to greater physical well-being).

2.    Cross the Losada Line.  What’s so special about the number 2.0913?  It’s the number of positive interactions required for each negative one to make a team successful.  Any less than 3 positives to 1 negative will lead to sub-standard workplace performance.  And to get to the pinnacle of work performance, your team will need to experience a ratio of 6 to 1.  Losada (1999)

So, tell your employees what they are doing right and acknowledge their successes, even the little ones.  I’ve heard of some managers putting 5 marbles or some other small item in a right pocket and moving one at a time to the left pocket each time they give an employee positive feedback.

3.    Reframe Your Work to Find Your Calling.  There’s nothing wrong with seeing your job as just a way to pay the bills.  It’s just more satisfying to think that you’re actually contributing to something larger in the world.  How can you find the meaning in the more unrewarding aspects of your job?  List a task you might define as meaningless.  Next, ask yourself what the purpose is for that task or what it accomplishes.  Keep asking yourself these questions about the task until you hit on a purpose or reason for the task that is more meaningful for you.   In other words, connect the task to something larger or impactful in the world.

And to lift your mood even more, watch Shawn Achor talk about happiness in this 12-minute presentation he made at a TED conference:

Leader as Thinker

It’s the end of the day, and you’re beat.  You’ve been “on the go” since 7 a.m. and you’re ready to call it a day.  Most of your days seem to go this way.  Then, a coach like me, asks where you’ve built time into your weekly schedule for “strategic thinking/planning time”.

When I ask my clients this question, I get predictable responses – everything from a look of “you’ve got to be kidding” to a question like, “Really?  It’s OK to spend my time doing that?”   I take the responses as a symptom of American culture that preaches “to be busy” equals “to be productive”.  But the higher up the corporate food chain you go, the less time you should spend on “being busy” and the more time you can and should spend on thinking.  Insufficient time spent thinking about your business can lessen the quality of the decisions you make about it.

The basis of good solid thinking goes back 2500 years to Socrates in Ancient Greece.  His method involved asking deep questions and probing for answers before accepting an idea of as worthy of belief.   Fast forward to our experiences today, where we spend hours on activities that are quick, immediate, and/or passively mindless, like texting, watching TV, spending time online updating our status, or engaging in various other forms of pure entertainment.  (I’m also guilty as charged.)    No wonder we find it hard to believe that we ought to spend time engaging our minds in a deep, intellectual pursuit.

“Thinking time” doesn’t have to be spent alone in a locked office working on your company or department’s strategic plan (although that could be very productive).  It can be time you spend walking around a competitor’s retail store, observing how they operate.  It can be lunch in a nearby park, observing the comings and goings of local flora, fauna, and people, which may lead to serendipitous connections later on.  You can walk around your own corporate office, retail store, or manufacturing/shipping facility to observe what’s going on.  Would you father think in tandem with others?  Invite someone out to have a beverage and conversation.  You can even spend your commute time thinking.  Whatever will afford you time for meaningful introspection and reflection is the type of thinking activity that will be beneficial.

The point is that your “thinking time” will provide you with information when you need it later on.  From observations, come connections, and the more connections you make, the better prepared your mind is to draw upon seemingly unrelated information and events that might just provide you with brilliant insight applicable to your business just when you need it.


Recommended Reading

The Thinking Life, P.M. Forni


Quotes on Thought and Thinking

 

“In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind.”  Louis Pasteur

“There’s something to be said for sitting still and letting things come clear, the way morning fog burns off the lake.”  George Witte

“Far more than you may realize, your experience, your world, and even your self are the creations of what you focus on, from distressing sights to soothing sounds, protean thoughts to roiling emotions, the targets of your attention are the building blocks of your life.”  Winifred Gallagher

“Watch your thoughts, for they become your words.

Watch your words, for they become your actions.

Watch your actions, for they become your habits.

Watch your habits, for they become your character.

Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

Unknown

“Cogito ergo sum.” (“I think, therefore, I am.”)  Rene Descartes