Employment Learning Innovations & Workplace Culture Blog

Dealing with Bullies in a Different Kind of Workplace: Schools

Stephen M. Paskoff April 5, 2010 No Comments

Imagine that you go to work every day and are taunted to your face and called hurtful names by groups of your co-workers. Unrelenting insults and threats come blasting into your cell phone. You’re yelled at and mocked in front of your colleagues. Your manager sees some of this happen and asks you if you’re OK; you mumble “yes.” Later, you tell your leader you

A Simple Solution for Preventing Retaliation

Stephen M. Paskoff March 29, 2010 No Comments

As I recently wrote, EEOC retaliation claims are on the rise. In fact, through last year, they represented the most frequently filed type of charge alleging illegal conduct. The EEOC and the statutes it enforces are only one source for such claims. Across the federal spectrum, a range of other laws prohibit retaliation, as do many state, local, and other administrative protections. Many of these

Complexity Squashes Ethics – Fight Back with Simplicity

Stephen M. Paskoff March 22, 2010 No Comments

We’ve made ethics, compliance, and daily behavioral standards too complex. By trying to convey too much, we accomplish too little. We need to simplify messages, repeat them to make them memorable, and cut through the clutter of information that confuses rather than clarifies our objectives. That’s my simple message; the rest of what follows is “proof.” We are all flooded with information, more than any

More about Bad Docs

Stephen M. Paskoff March 15, 2010 No Comments

Bad doctors lose patients they shouldn’t, cause avoidable complications, distract team members who may deliver the wrong medication, or cause others to keep quiet when they should speak up about problems. I’m not talking about physicians who lack clinical skills, though some may. Rather, these bad docs may have great and even extraordinary talents. But they scream, berate, physically intrude, threaten, and demean team members

When the Law's Not Enough to Fix the Problem

Stephen M. Paskoff March 8, 2010 No Comments

The pharmaceutical firm that keeps selling a profitable medication though its researchers know it has significantly adverse side effects The hospital that tolerates physicians’ abusive behavior though aware of the distraction their conduct causes during day-to-day practice The automobile manufacturer that conceals a discovered defect that could cause fatalities rather than absorb the costs of expensive product recalls Organizational disasters have resulted recently from each

Confidentiality Has Its Limits (At Times, That Is)

Stephen M. Paskoff March 1, 2010 No Comments

“We’ve completed the investigation, and the matter has been resolved.” “Did you verify what I told you? Has he/she been disciplined? Will this stop? What happens next?” “All I can tell you is that this has been resolved; if you have further issues, please let us know. We are required to keep our findings and actions confidential. I’m sure you understand.” This sort of conversation

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Blog

Dealing with Bullies in a Different Kind of Workplace: Schools

A Simple Solution for Preventing Retaliation

Complexity Squashes Ethics – Fight Back with Simplicity

More about Bad Docs

When the Law's Not Enough to Fix the Problem

Confidentiality Has Its Limits (At Times, That Is)