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Employee Relations

Track details of incidents leading to discipline

03/05/2019
Want to make sure discipline sticks? Then details matter. It’s far easier to defend a termination decision if you can show the court that you specifically pointed out the employee’s work problems and offered an opportunity to improve instead of simply terminating her.

The lighter side: Taking fun seriously

02/25/2019
Research increasingly supports the notion that some laughter and playfulness in the office corresponds to a myriad of positives: reduced employee turnover, improved well-being, better communication, higher creativity and greater productivity, to name a few.

Workplace fight? OK to punish based on severity of injuries

02/22/2019
If two workers fight, employers are free to issue harsher punishment to the worker who inflicts the most severe injuries. Just make sure you document exactly why you believe the more aggressive worker deserves greater punishment.

No-fighting rule? Punish combatants equally

02/22/2019
You probably have a rule against any form of violence in the workplace. Make sure you uniformly discipline everyone involved in any altercation.

Channel your inner referee

02/21/2019
As a manager, you cannot stop workers from blowing their tops. But you can defuse their fury. Take these two steps.

6 college experiences turn students into engaged workers

02/19/2019
A survey released in January found that recent college grads who cited these six college experiences also ranked highest in measures of workplace engagement.

Note all details that led up to discipline

02/01/2019
Having good documentation of your reasoning will often persuade a judge or jury that discrimination wasn’t the real reason for differing discipline, and that you legitimately used discretion to arrive at the appropriate punishment.

Subway employee invents black assailant to cover theft

02/01/2019
A white resident of Rice, near St. Cloud, Minn., has admitted to police that she lied about being assaulted and robbed by a black man as she carried the day’s receipts from the Subway store where she worked.

Justify why you decided not to follow the ‘same rule violation, same punishment’ rule

02/01/2019
Generally, if two employees break the same workplace rule and don’t have any prior violations, you should punish them the same way. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make judgment calls on which one may deserve more severe punishment, including discharge.

Hey, where is everyone the day after the Super Bowl?

01/29/2019
Employee absenteeism after major sports events like the Super Bowl is on the rise, suggests new research from staffing firm OfficeTeam.