Archive for the ‘Employees’ Category
Survey: Boss Behavior Causes Rampant Worrying
15January 2010
Workplace Expert, Author, Provides Career Tips for 2010 and Beyond
SANTA MONICA (January 13, 2010) — According to a new survey released today by national workplace expert Lynn Taylor, author of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant –TOT (John Wiley & Sons), U.S. employees spend 19.2 hours a week (13 hours during the work week and 6.2 hours on the weekend) worrying about “what a boss says or does.”
The national study was conducted by an independent global research firm and commissioned by Taylor’s firm, Lynn Taylor Consulting, which offers workshops on how to humanize the workplace for increased productivity and profitability.
Taylor said, “The study illustrates the tremendous drain that a manager’s words and actions can have on the minds and work product of its most valued asset – people – at a time when companies can least afford the loss. Particularly during this period of high unemployment, bad boss behavior can go into overdrive – distracting employees from the work at hand.”
“Conversely, the survey suggests that greater interpersonal sensitivity can significantly boost morale and help a company thrive,” Taylor said. She advises managers to go the extra mile by showing interest in the team’s well-being. “Employees’ careers are not on hold, even if major corporate initiatives are,” she added. Taylor said that spillover anxiety on weekends of 3.1 hours a day further underscores how critical the boss/employee dynamic truly is.
“Employees should take the initiative in 2010 to build their own human relations skills,” Taylor said. She added, “Tackle issues early on with diplomacy and deploy good ‘parenting skills’ in the office – without patronizing. Use positive and negative reinforcement; provide positive role modeling; humor; and set limits to unreasonable demands with tact, showing the benefits of an alternative compromise.”
The U.S. study was based on telephone interviews conducted with 1,000 respondents 18 years of age or older. For more information, visit www.LynnTaylorConsulting.com and www.TameYourTOT.com or call 1-800-454-0083.
About Lynn Taylor Consulting
Lynn Taylor is the founder of Lynn Taylor Consulting, which advises companies on how to humanize the workplace. A nationally recognized workplace expert, dynamic speaker and acclaimed author, Taylor is the author of the book, Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™(TOT); How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (John Wiley & Sons, July 2009).
Make 2010 Bad Boss-Free in Your Company
14December 2009
If you run a company or department, or are an HR professional, the thought has probably crossed your mind: how can you boost morale in 2010 after a tumultuous year? I can offer at least one solution. TOT proof your company, and make it safe for success.
Yes…aim to tame the Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) behavior that lurks in your offices, reducing it at times to a corporate playpen, rife with sandbox politics. Toddler behavior in the boardroom (tantrums, demanding, stubborn and self-centered behavior) costs you. These are some of the 20 traits in my book that many business leaders consider required reading for their managers.
I can also address the topic at greater length in a lively speech for companies and organizations. A preview is available at various sites: LT Speaker clip site, Lynn Taylor Consulting and very soon on YouTube with keywords Lynn Taylor, Author, Speaker, TOTs. You can also contact: 1-800-454-0083.
2010 must be the year of “what’s in it for us,” not “what’s in it for me,” if our economy and businesses are to rebound. P.S. a surprising new sector can help you ratchet down tension with their years of wisdom and corporate savvy. See more on “Gen U”as I call them - Generation Unretired (featured in BusinessWeek) - and read why, at the TameYourTOT.com blog and at another website of Lynn Taylor Consulting’s: www.GenerationUworkforce.com.
Finally, let’s hope that these boss antics are not happening under your nose, but for the sake of levity during the holiday and some helpful awareness, here’s what some some employees reported recently in a national survey, not unlike that shown in an existing, similar YouTube clip!
Don’t Do This: TOT Boss Stories Told on YouTube
21October 2009
Many people in L.A. on Boss’s Day couldn’t resist using levity to discuss bad, childish boss stories - once they saw the angry yet fearful, 6.5′ TOT boss with his famed pacifier. I guess humor helps us make a point - or at least deal with annoying, seething (or teething!) people. I often say that humor is the shortest pipeline to the memory banks.
Let’s face it, when managers (or workers) act like toddlers, you sometimes have to laugh to yourself, and then do your best to use your parenting skills. My book, Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job is about the most common, everyday variety of bad episodic behavior that we can all fall into if not careful. (Tyrannical bullies who are lawsuit worthy certainly are not laughable.)
It was nice to hear some positive stories from both workers and enlightened anti-TOT bosses, too. I spoke with many more great people who we couldn’t get on camera due to the short length of these videos. If you’re one of them, thank you for your time and great insight; I wish we could have had it run for a half hour!
When it comes to the office, “the child within” should certainly stay there. Here’s proof: the YouTube video clip on funny, bad/childish boss stories, with the TOT boss looking a bit aloof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYQSOZEMVCI
We can humanize the workplace - together!
Bad Boss Behavior Is Dragging Your Company Down
9October 2009
Many leading experts are emphasizing the importance of a psychologically healthy workplace for a company’s success. This may be more difficult to achieve now than it used to be.
National surveys commissioned by my company, Lynn Taylor Consulting, and conducted by an independent global research firm show that bad and childish boss behavior rose 50% in the period from 2004 to 2009.
This kind of behavior can increase stress in the workplace and lead to employees’ distraction, decreased motivation and even long-term health problems, the ultimate result being drop in productivity and profits. Readers’ conversation on my BusinessWeek blog shows it to be a matter of great concern among employees.
This study and other extensive research encouraged me to write a book, Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT); How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (John Wiley & Sons, July 2009). The book offers tips on “parenting” unruly managers who resemble tots in their Terrible Twos. Even more importantly, the book advises CEOs on how to “humanize their workplace.” Senior management has the most power to implement change that would establish an employee-friendly corporate culture with management/employee relationship based on trust, understanding, and mutual respect, creating a better workplace climate and improving overall performance.
Rather then managing an assorted collection of people united just by material interest, CEOs could be leading a tight team united by a common purpose where everyone is motivated to contribute their maximum. TOT-proofing a company would be a major step towards achieving that goal.
Build Trust and Counter the Office Skeptics
24April 2009
As a manager, you may be alarmed if you read a recent independent national survey we commissioned on bosses. It reveals that 86% of U.S. adults believe that public failures of large companies are similar to the much less conspicuous, yet far reaching, poor daily decisions of bosses in general. It adds that both go under the radar until disaster strikes.
Surely no boss is perfect or can make the right decisions 100 percent of the time. But you can help to dial down the mistrust that seems to be so prevalent today. It’s key to the success of your business. While staff trimming may be a necessary evil, you must show you’re committed to getting through this difficult time as a team. Like so many aspects of achieving success, maintaining an objective, healthy perspective - and being proactive can make all the difference. Here are some simple workplace strategies:
Provide your employees with highly specific input and direction: Cutting corners on time upfront may seem expedient. But it will have your team spinning their wheels. If you take the time to organize and strategize with a thinly stretched staff, you’ll reap the rewards in productivity gains.
Don’t allow negativity to devour you: Despite the prevalent “sky is falling” mood in corporate America, set a positive tone. When things are in flux, let it be known that chances for advancement still exist as always for your team.
Give those who manage others in your firm the benefit of the doubt: At the same time, operate with your eyes open and your ear to the ground. Ensure that they are good motivators during this difficult time. Keep an open door policy, as mentioned in my last blog. If their actions are caught too late, you may lose morale, top talent, customers, significant revenue - or even the company.
You likely have a manager yourself: Make it clear to others that you’re a reliable, solutions-oriented person. Read my Managing Up tips at TameYourTOT.com -News/Articles, to find out more about how to effect change through diplomacy and problem solving.
Everyone can agree that this is an unusual and very challenging period of our history. While you can’t control Wall Street or the economy’s effect on the business, you can help engender more trust and positive energy in the office. Your skillful communications, dedication to greater transparency and peace making will all make a difference. The results? Immeasurable benefits now, but particularly when the uptick returns.
Time Management: The Time is Now
14January 2009
Everyone in the workplace today feels the crunch of time. You probably have more on your plate now than you can remember in a long time (a lot to stomach!) A healthy does of time management could be a timely elixir to achieve some needed work-life balance.
Here are some tried-and-true time management tips:
• Only touch something once such as e-mails, folders, invoices and other documents. Be decisive about what do to with each item according to priority; don’t dwell on it or come back to it and dwell on it all over again. Move on.
• Create a smart “to do” list each morning. There should be one broad project list and an immediate, daily version. Keep them on a desktop for flexibility. The daily version can be kept on your smart phone or wireless device so that it can be changed hourly, if necessary. Constantly prioritize it, as the schedules of others and other time zones will simply require it. While your daily priorities will re-shuffle, your core priorities should remain constant.
• Make notes throughout the day. You can jot them down in a little notebook or on a wireless device. You can also email reminders to yourself.
(DG- can’t fix spacing on some of the bullets)
• Always be aware of paperwork that can be handled after hours, versus business calls that are mostly restricted to the workweek.
• Rethink your social life. Meet friends at the gym in the morning, at breakfast or for dinner. Limit or eliminate socializing with friends during prime work hours. Schedule calls with friends after hours; go out with co-workers after work.
• Sometimes work can make you feel overextended, spilling into your social life. You may feel overextended, missing out on seeing good friends. Consider occasional group get- togethers. Group hikes, museum outings, potlucks, movie nights and dinners, can all keep you in touch and help maintain balance.
• Maximize your time with your boss by having an organized list of topics to discuss. Always walk down the hallway with a notebook so at any point you are prepared to update your boss about an assignment or receive a new one.
• Rethink e-mails. Cut and paste whenever possible. Set periods of time each day to respond to e-mails. Remember that the world won’t stop if you are not looking at your e-mail every minute. Create a signature. Set up rules so e-newsletters can be automatically filed. Use advanced e-mail features to automatically color code, file, and/or categorize emails.
Time is a non-renewable resource. Use your time wisely – and you’ll always find yourself with plenty of it available.
