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Employee Relations

How do employees refer to your organization: ‘we’ or ‘they’?

06/13/2011
When talking to friends and family, nearly three-quarters of working Americans (72%) say they refer to the organization where they work at as “we,” while only 20% refer to it as “they,” according to a Kenexa survey.

Which of the following issues causes the biggest problems in your organization?

06/07/2011
When it comes to HR headaches, our readers say employment law issues take a back seat to run-of-the-mill gripes and clashes between co-workers.

Documenting employee discipline: 3 cardinal rules

05/31/2011
Managers should make documentation of employee performance, behavior and discipline a regular habit. Strong documentation is especially important if an employee or ex-employee ever files a legal complaint saying his or her termination or discipline was based on illegal discrimination.

When employees foul up, feel free to tailor your response to fit the circumstances

05/27/2011

Employees break rules from time to time. They make mistakes occasionally. When those things happen, you have to respond. But don’t make the mistake of thinking you must discipline or correct every employee the same way all the time. Management needs the flexibility to tailor solutions to particular problems, because every situation is different.

9 things employees want from their managers (and 5 things they don’t)

05/24/2011
Different employees crave different things from their managers. Here’s practical advice you can give the bosses in your organization. You’ll help them focus on the managerial qualities that matter most to employees—and forget about the window dressing workers don’t care about.

Employee enrichment retains talent, boosts productivity

05/23/2011
The effects of the recession have helped turn the spotlight on innovative employers that seem to have magic formulas for attracting and keeping their employees happy and productive despite the economic forces around them. SAS Institute and Google are two examples of companies that, consciously or not, have tapped into new ways of motivating employees. Call it “employee enrichment.”

Loud and inappropriate gripe? OK to punish, even if complaint involved discrimination

05/20/2011

It goes without saying that employers can’t punish employees because they have complained about discrimination. That would be retaliation, and could mean a lost lawsuit even if the employee wasn’t correct about her allegations. But that doesn’t mean you have to tolerate loud, obnoxious or disruptive complaints, no matter what their content.

Court: Discipline OK if disabled worker makes threats

05/20/2011
It’s been an open question whether Cali­for­nia’s Fair Employment and Hous­ing Act allows employers to punish a mentally ill employee whose disease makes her act out. Now the answer is clear: You can punish mentally disabled employees for threats or violence against co-workers.

No adverse action needed for hostility case

05/20/2011

Think you’re immune from lawsuits as long as you don’t cut an employee’s pay or fire, demote or refuse to promote him? You’re wrong. Employees who belong to a protected class and can show they endured enough slights, insults or other harassing conduct to affect the way they perform their jobs can win a hostile environment lawsuit.

Another reason to track everything: Passage of time makes it harder for worker to successfully sue

05/20/2011

It’s possible that a supervisor might wait years to get back at an employee who filed a discrimination complaint. Possible, but unlikely. The more time that passes between an initial complaint and any alleged retaliation, the less likely courts are to entertain a lawsuit.