Process every employee complaint without commenting on its merits or on the potential consequences of making the complaint. Remind managers to do the same. Never make...
What’s a manager to do when faced with conflicting accounts of an argument between employees? An important part of that answer is to resolve it quickly, before the...
Question: I
have an office mate who is very nosy. We have different positions. I
have a lot of traffic flow with vendors and other employees who ask me
for help or...
Question: Last
spring, the company hired an AA. She conducts her personal business
loudly so it echoes down the hall, slams doors and comes to my desk in
the front...
"Logic bombs" and sabotage aren't the makings of a James Bond film. They're problems any employer can face in this electronic age. Sometimes, employee malice is to...
Question: A
younger woman (early 20s) is working our switchboard. She has stolen
from people before but no one has been able to catch her in the act.
(She’s...
Question: I work in an office where I am in the center of everything, so I can hear and
see everything that goes on. One of my co-workers pretends to work...
Question: I work in a nice
office with a lot of nice people around. Sometimes, however, the lady
next to me in her cube will chew gum ... then, she will pop it. Not...
Question: We have an office of about 70 employees, about 55 of whom have
face-to-face contact with the public. The owner would like all patients welcomed
with...
Question: One of my co-workers (Co-Worker A) is a good employee and a hard worker.
Another co-worker (Co-Worker B), who supports the department head, is very...
Question: Two of my managers come to my desk frequently and
read my computer screen and anything else within view of my desk. I do not
report to either one. They...
Perk up your lawsuit radar if you (or one of your organization's managers) plan to discipline an employee who has emotional problems and difficulty relating to other...
And now, a cautionary tale in the form of Spencer Stuart headhunter Dennis Carey, who wooed and promoted his protégé, Marie-Caroline von Weichs, then fired...
Americans can speak their minds as they wish in many places, but your workplace isn't one of them. First Amendment free-speech rights do not extend to the private...
Jess McCavitt claims his company withheld a promotion and then fired him for being romantically involved with another officer in the company. He said their relationship...
Joseph Succar's affair with Clemencia Lorenz soured after about a year. At the school where they worked, she verbally and physically harassed Succar and tried to...
Faced with a bad situation, Wax Works record stores managed to make it even worse, and paid a big price. One of Wax Works' store managers, Kerry Ogden, had compiled ...