Microagression in the Workplace

Does Microagression exist in your workplace?

Merriam-Webster defines Microagression as "a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group (such as racial minority)."   “Microagressions are along a continuum  from being very deliberate and conscious to being outside one’s conscious behavior.”    Derald Wing Sue, PhD,  Professor Columbia University.

While they may not always be ill-intentioned and are oftentimes an unintended insult, it is a way an individual’s implicit biases leak out.    Microagressions prevent improvement of workforce diversity and employee productivity. 

Corporate cultures should be proactive in addressing microagression and unconscious bias.  Recognize it when it happens.  Foster communication.  Be inclusive.   Create an environment where employees are comfortable raising issues such as microagression and bias.

#MeToo Backlash

Bloomberg recently reported that Wall Street was undertaking "controversial strategies" that "risk isolating women in finance."  On December 3rd Bloomberg released an article entitled "Wall Street Rule for the #MeToo Era:  Avoid Women At All Cost."

Are men so fearful of being tainted with sexual harassment charges that they are ostracizing women in the workplace?  This is an outrageous reaction - not a solution.

Extreme tactics cited in the article include:  No more dinners with female colleagues.  Don't sit next to them on flights.  Book hotel rooms on different floors.  Avoid one-on-one meetings.   As a wealth advisor stated, just hiring a woman these days is "an unknown risk."  What if she took something he said the wrong way?

Is this the beginning of a new age of sexual discrimination?  Women may find more closed doors and exclusion from training / mentoring programs or other opportunities, thereby negatively impacting their professional growth and careers.

But there is a positive response.  New research from the Society for Human Resources Management, (a survey of 18,000 U.S. employees, at all levels across 15 industries) reflected that about one-third (32%) of executives say they've "changed their behavior"  due to greater awareness of the hazards of  sexual misconduct in the workplace.  This includes risk to employee morale (23%)  and employee engagement (23%).   21% of the respondees indicated that harassment has "never been an issue" in their organization.  Almost 40% of the executives indicated their response to the movement was to be more "careful" or "mindful" about locker-room humor and sexist jokes.   

Smart employers take the appropriate measures to address and eliminate harassment concerns in the workplace through:  (1)  Harassment Policies, (2) Supervisor and Employee Training, and (3) Investigation.

#MeToo has changed the landscape.   Let's tread carefully as we are all learning in this process.  Sexual harassment claims aren't black and white, they are multiple shades of grey.

A Conversation with Leadership

"Praise in Public, Punish in Private."

Public recognition is a huge motivating force for employees.  It has the desired effect of reinforcing positive behavior.  Employees will feel more connected to, and valued by, the organization.  It will result in measurable elevation of the employee's motivation to achieve more in the future.  It will create a culture of feedback.

How we communicate, as well as what we communicate, when reprimanding an employee is critical.  Receiving criticism is difficult and oftentimes the receiver is put on the defensive.  When an employee is reprimanded in public, it is damaging and embarrassing for everyone involved.  At the very least, the manager is exhibiting bullying behavior by publicly shaming the employee.  The goal of constructive criticism is to help the employee understand how to become a more effective employee and to motivate the employee to self-correct the behavior deficiency.   Nothing can damage trust and morale quicker than a manager criticizing an employee in a public forum.

Feedback is a powerful way to interact with employees.  Set the tone from the top.

Tips:  

Avoid over-use of positive feedback to cushion the blow before delivering criticism. It degrades the value of the praise.

In private, clearly communicate what is being done wrong and be prepared to provide ideas on how to fix it.

The Quality of Being Honest

HR is torn between two masters.  The first master is the employer who controls your job, your career and that much desired paycheck.  The second master is the multitude of state, federal and local laws that govern employment actions.

What happens when there is a conflict between the two?  HR, with knowledge in hand, has the dilemma of "should I tell you what you WANT to hear, or what you NEED to hear?"  Hopefully you will go with the latter action and not be silenced by the fear of the internal consequences of your honesty.  But if you're in an employment situation wherein you're dealing with a narcissistic boss, bring that Emotional Intelligence into play.  

• Have a game plan as to how you'll communicate with him/her.  
• Frame your communication so that it meets the facts equally well, but paves the way for the most positive communication.  

Always operate in a professional and ethical manner within the workforce, regardless of whatever situation you're faced with.

Workplace Trends for 2015 #3

3.  Honesty becomes a revered leadership trait.  "Companies are going to start embracing transparency more next year as younger generations are demanding it.  Leaders won't just have to be good at inspiring and educating, they will have to be able to instill trust through honesty."

HRi:  We all encounter issues with honesty in the workplace from time to time.  How we handle these situations makes the difference in how our employees and coworkers view and trust us.  And, every organization is different.  In an environment where employees are forced into competition with each other, such focus may be at the expense of honest behavior.   Leaders should hold themselves to a high moral and ethical standard, leading employees by example.  Promote honest and open communication, ensuring the environment is free from rumors and negativity.  To quote Rex Huppke; ". . . a workplace needs to find honesty equilibrium - enough permissible white lies that co-workers aren't beating each other up for saying, "Those jeans DO make you look fat!" combined with a culture that promotes honesty."

Marketplace Notice

The ACA mandates that employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provide a notice to employees with information regarding their coverage options, including those available in the Marketplace, by October 1, 2013.  The ACA added section 18B to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requiring all employers subject to the FLSA to send the Marketplace Notice. 

Employers must send or provide the Notice to all employees, regardless of whether or not they are eligible for or enrolled in coverage under an employer-sponsored health plan.  Therefore, employers must send or provide the Marketplace Notice to part-time, seasonal, or temporary employees in addition to sending or providing the Notice to full-time employees.  While the initial notification is required to be provided to all current employees by October 1, 2013, employers must also send or provide the notice to new employees hired after October 1, 2013 within 14 days of such employee's date of hire.

Pursuant to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), individuals and employees will be able to access health insurance coverage through a private health insurance market - the Health Insurance Marketplace - beginning on January 1, 2014.

Employee Accountability

I ran across a definition for accountability that I feel truly identifies its precise meaning; ". . . the responsibility of the employee to accomplish with integrity the defined and assigned tasks required by his/her job within a reasonable time in order to assist the organization to fulfill its goals." 

Is employee accountability important?  Yes!  Employee accountability is important to a business's success as a whole.  It is the cornerstone of business success.  A Gallup poll estimates that the lost productivity that stems from disengaged and unaccountable employees costs American businesses between $287 and $370 billion annually.  This is through customer loss due to poor service, high employee turnover and quality control issues, just to name a few impacted areas.

How can you engender a culture of accountability in your workplace?  Through the effective communication of goals, expectations, success and failures.   These are the fundamental tenants of accountability. 

Establish the beliefs and values required for accountability in your organization.  Behavior will follow belief.

• Communicate accountability
• Coach accountability
• Practice accountability

DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act)

First the history lesson.  The Defense of Marriage Act was enacted September 21, 1996, allowing states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages granted under the laws of other states. 

Section 3 of the Act was ruled unconstitutional in June, 2013 thereby allowing same-sex married couples to be recognized as "spouses" for purposes of federal laws, and allowing them to receive federal protections such as Social Security, health insurance and retirement savings.  Essentially, same-sex couples who are legally married deserve equal rights to the benefits under Federal law that go to all other married couples. 

If you have followed the DOMA case, you know by now that the ruling will have far-reaching implications.  The recent ruling which mandates that all officially recognized marriages be treated equally under the law, has immediate legal ramifications for the 12 states that already allow same-sex marriages.  Opponents of same-sex marriage are bracing themselves for a wave of legal challenges in the states that do not recognize marriages of gay and lesbian couples. 

What does all of this mean for Human Resources and Texas employers?  Well, here in Texas marriage is defined as the "relationship between a man and a woman."   While the Supreme Court removed the federal definition of marriage, it left it to the states to decide whether to honor other states' laws on the matter.  This does not mean that Texas is required to legalize same-sex marriage.  Texas Family Code 6.204 states same-sex marriages performed in other states are void in Texas.  For Texas, there isn't a huge impact immediately.  However, employers should revisit the definition of "spouse" in their benefit plans to ensure that the definition is consistent with the employer's intent, in light of the Windsor decision.  With regard to qualified pensions, plan language and procedures will need to be considered because same-sex spouses have additional rights to federally protected benefits. 

Terminating With Dignity

One of the less enjoyable aspects of my job is having to terminate an employee.  While the decision to terminate may be the best step for the organization, one of HRs goals should be to maintain the employee's dignity throughout the process.  When it is necessary to terminate an employee, here are a few guidelines that I recommend:

1. Consider the timing.  NEVER terminate on a Friday.
2. Always plan out the termination.  Who is terminating the employee and what should be said. 
3. During the termination process, provide the employee with positive feedback about some aspect of their work performance.  They need the kind words!  "Even in the termination based on performance, prompted by the fact that acquired skills were not adequate for a particular situation, the person's assets and liabilities can still be acknowledged," wrote Richard Bayer in Business Horizons.
4. Have an information package available for the employee.  It should contain items such as a termination letter outlining the reasons for the termination (remember to stick to the facts).  Discuss severance, compensation for unused vacation, unemployment compensation, benefits, any type of outplacement assistance, etc.
5. Don't allow yourself to be caught up in the emotions of the termination process.
6. Allow the individual to vent if necessary. After they have vented, allow them a decompression period.  They need to have some control over their departure!
7. Always, always, handle with compassion.

Please remember that each termination decision that is made carries a profound impact on at least one human being's life.  Handle with care.

Legal Mistakes by HR (Part 4)

Here's my last, and no less important, potential area of litigation for you.  The performance appraisal conversation.  Managers dread it, employees fear it.  Sometimes the talk is effective, sometimes it isn't.  Unfortunately during the performance evaluation process supervisors may tell little white lies to protect an employees feelings or to avoid a confrontation.   Like our mother's taught us, honesty is always the best policy. 
 
4.  Misleading performance evaluations. Ensure you always document employee performance / behavior problems.   If under-performing employees are not properly rated, you won't have a legal leg to stand on if termination becomes a necessity. You'll be in a courtroom explaining why you gave a positive evaluation to an employee that you later terminated.

If you want to shape behavior, you have to give honest feedback.   If an employee doesn't know that something is wrong, the behavior becomes acceptable.

Legal Mistakes by HR (Part 2)

Many employees are unaware that their computers can be monitored without their knowledge. If they have a computer, it's the employer's window into their workspace. Employers should take steps to notify employees that monitoring is taking place. 

2.  Permitting an expectation of electronic privacy.   Remember to advise your employees that there is no expectation of privacy on their company computers.   "With businesses losing billions to computer crime and employees wasting considerable time on their computers looking at sports updates, the latest fashion trends, and even less appropriate websites, business are cracking down by monitoring their employees.  The efforts are to ultimately reduce scams, identity theft, computer crimes, fraud, sexual abuse, piracy, and threats.  As a result, many businesses have resorted to online monitoring of their workplace computers"  (Texas Business Today, Fourth Quarter 2012). 

While the Electronic Communication Privacy Act (1986) comes close to creating a starting point for a legal foundation of what can and cannot be done, legal and ethical debates on electronic monitoring and surveillance in the workplace continue. 

*There may be additional rights for employees in California given specific statutes of that state.

Legal Mistakes by HR (Part 1)

Yes, it happens.  We have a host of responsibilities and every once in awhile, HR can make a mistake.  Oftentimes multi-tasking results in our missing a step in a sequence or forgetting something.  We simply allow something to fall through the cracks.  Over the next couple of days I am going to focus on a handful of mistakes that I see as real landmines.   

1.  Failure to train supervisors.  Unintentional or not, supervisors say or do things that put the entire company on the hook.    A seemingly harmless question during the interview process such as "what church do you attend" or "how old are you" can spark a discrimination lawsuit.   Ignorance may be bliss, but it's not an excuse (or defensible in a court of law).

Ensure supervisors learn how to listen for leave requests that may fall under the FMLA umbrella and trigger FMLA protections. Remember, employees don't have to specifically ask for FMLA.  It is extremely important to train your management staff and front line supervisors on what constitutes notice of FMLA.  Further, the supervisors have an obligation to take action if they suspect an employee has provided notice. 

Why is training so important?  Let's take a look at the discount chain Target for just a moment.   Multi-cultural tips (via a controversial document) recently distributed at one Target location has sparked claims of discrimination by three employees.  The document which Target claims is not part of it's company-wide training program, called “Organization Effectiveness, Employee and Labor Relations Multi-Cultural Tips," was distributed to managers.  The document included subtitled sections like "intercultural differences."  What were the intentions of the managers?  You can only guess.  Here's an excerpt from the document:

1. Food: not everyone eats tacos and burritos
2. Music: not everyone dances to salsa
3. Dress: not everyone wears a sombrero
4. Mexicans (lower education levels, some may be undocumented)
5. Cubans (Political refugees, legal status, higher education level)
6. They may say “OK, OK” and pretend to understand, when they do not, just to save face.

Recognize the potential areas for training within your organization.  One size doesn't fit all so tailor your training needs to your organization. 

Healthcare Reform

The Affordable Health Care Act, a health care law, was passed in 2010.  By 2014 several health reform provisions will come into effect.  Unfortunately, with so many unanswered questions and loopholes, healthcare reform continues to confuse and bewilder employers.  Hopefully the below will provide some guidance.

For fully insured employers with 51+ employees, 2012-2013 health reform provisions include:

1. Limit employee contributions to FSAs.  Starting in 2013, employee salary reduction contributions to health FSA's will be limited to $2,500 per plan year, with indexed increases allowed in future years to adjust for inflation.
2. Employers who file 250 or more employee W-2 forms will be required to report the cost of employee's health benefit coverage on the employee's 2012 W-2 forms that are distributed in January 2013.   This requirement is informational only and does not mean that employees will be taxed on these dollars.
3. Provide written notice about Health Benefit Exchanges (Exchanges).  In late summer or fall (future guidance is expected on complying with this notice requirement), employers must provide written notice to current employees, and going forward, new employees, to inform them of the Exchanges and the circumstances under which they may be eligible for health insurance subsidies.
4. Assess health plan offerings.  Employers should begin assessing their health plan offerings to determine whether they meet the minimum value requirements that will become effective in 2014.  If plans do not meet the requirements, employers will need to explore alternative plan options/or the impact of paying assessments.
5. Requirements for providing the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) to your employees.  On or after September 23, 2012, group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage are required to provide an SBC that accurately describes the benefit and coverage under the applicable plan or coverage. The final regulations require that the SBC be provided in several instances (upon application, by the first day of coverage if there are any changes, special enrollees, upon renewal, upon request and off-renewal changes.)

2014 Health Reform Provisions.  Although the below provisions will not become effective until 2014, it is important for employers to know what is coming and what action is required!

1. Offer Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC).  Employers will want to consider whether they need to make changes to the cost and quality of the coverage offered to avoid penalties that will apply if that coverage is considered unaffordable or low in value.  Beginning in 2014, employers with 50-plus full-time employees may be subject to a penalty if an employee receives a premium credit or cost-sharing subsidy. The penalty is calculated as follows:
1. Employers not offering coverage.  If an employer does not offer MEC and one or more full-time employees receive a premium credit or cost-sharing subsidy through the Exchange, the penalty is $2,000 per year per full-time worker.  When calculating the penalty, the first 30 full-time workers are subtracted from the payment calculation.
2. Employers Offering Coverage:  If an employer offers MEC and one or more full-time employee receives a premium credit or cost-sharing subsidy through the Exchange, the penalty is $3,000 per employee who receives a premium credit or cost sharing subsidy.
2. An employer-sponsored plan that satisfies the ACA's reform requirements must:
1. Be affordable to the employee (premium must not exceed 9.5 percent of household income.  The IRS, however, has issued a safe-harbor allowing employers to substitute the employee's W-2 income for household income).
2. Provide minimum value, which is at least 60% of the total allowed cost of benefits.

Global Mobility and Crisis Planning

One of the most devastating things that can happen to a family is the unexpected death of a loved one.   You can't plan for it, death tends to come as a surprise.  And when the death occurs overseas the experience is even more traumatic.  The cultural and legal aspects of death and dying are varied across the globe.  Local customs, laws and procedures may not be clearly understood, creating barriers during an already trying time.

While we don't like to talk about the subject of death abroad, and I don't wish to be morbid, we must plan for every possible scenario.   Develop an Emergency Response Plan detailing steps to be followed addressing the death of an employee or any other crisis event such as a disappearance.  When building a plan, consider the following:

Disappearance:

1. Gather information (when/where last seen?  Last contact?  How traveling?  Was s/he seen with someone?  What search efforts have been initiated?)
2. Advise the U.S. State department.

Death:

1. Begin an event log, gathering background information and report crisis developments and responses.
2. Confirm status through local agencies (police, hospital, consulate)
3. Establish communication with family.
4. Seek assistance from U.S. Embassy/Consulate.
5. Contact local police and/or other law enforcement authorities in the country.
6. Coordinate the repatriation of remains. 

On the domestic front we plan for emergencies such as floods and tornadoes.  We follow OSHA guidelines in the workplace for the safety and protection of our employees.  Companies doing business on a global level should review their travel policies and ensure that a protocol has been established for dealing with the illness, injury and/or death of an employee. Ensure that it addresses the medical evacuation and/or shipping of the remains. 

NLRA

Let's talk NLRA for a moment.  There appears to be some lingering confusion.

The federal National Labor Relations Act governs the rights and responsibilities of unions and private employers.  Excluded, with some exceptions, are public employees, independent contractors, employees of Federal, state or local government, etc. 

An employee doesn't have to be a member of a union to be protected under the NLRA as it protects the rights of employees to engage in "concerted activity."   "Concerted activity" takes place when two or more employees take action for their "mutual aid or protection regarding terms and conditions of employment."  This protection can extend to work-related conversations conducted on social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

Many employers prohibit employees discussing compensation or wage levels in the workplace, often communicating that such information is confidential.  These same employers would be surprised to learn that this policy or practice would violate federal labor law.    The National Labor Relations Act contains a provision, Section 7 (29 U.S.C. § 157), that gives all employees the right to "engage in concerted activities", including the right to discuss their terms and conditions of employment with each other. Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA (29 U.S.C. § 158(a)(1)) makes it an unfair labor practice for an employer to deny or limit the Section 7 rights of employees. Based upon those two provisions, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has taken the position for decades now that employers may not prohibit employees from discussing their pay and benefits, and that any attempts to do so actually violate the NLRA.

A couple of tips:

1. You can't prohibit employees from discussing compensation or benefits, but you can prohibit them from holding such discussions during assigned work hours.
2. Clearly communicate that employees are protected in discussing their own pay as well as pay and benefits of secondary employees if information was obtained through ordinary conversation with the second party. 
3. If information was accessed in a manner that was restricted, such as access to confidential files or other off-limit information, the company can take steps to uphold confidentiality.

Exel and EEOC

An Atlanta jury awarded $500,000 ($25,000 in compensatory damages and $475,000 in punitive damages) in a sex discrimination suit against Exel, Inc., a Westerville, Ohio-based warehouse and distribution company.

According to the EEOC's suit filed in U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Georgia, Excel, Inc. violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by refusing to promote a female, Contrice Travis, to an inventory supervisor position in 2008.

During the course of the trial, the EEOC presented evidence that:

1. Male employees were routinely promoted after verbally requesting consideration from open positions while Travis, who was indisputably recognized as the most knowledgeable in inventory control, was denied the inventory supervisor position.
2. Travis's former supervisor testified that when he recommended Travis for the position, the general manager informed him that he would never put a woman in that position.
3. Travis was told that the inventory supervisor position would not be filled.
4. The male selected for the position was told by management and a human resources official that the position would be filled, but that he would be selected only if he kept it a secret.
5. The selectee, Michel Pooler, required training by Travis because he had no inventory experience.

This isn't the first, or last,  potential violation by Exel.

On April 9th of this year, The Columbus chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a federal employment discrimination lawsuit.  The plaintiff, Yusuf Sufi, was fired by Exel in May, 2012.   The federal complaint states that Sufi repeatedly asked Exel to provide him with an accommodation under which he could attend his Friday afternoon prayer services.   His employment was ultimately terminated by Exel in May 2012 when he asked for the accommodation a second time.  (It appears that Exel missed the memo.  Both state and federal law requires employers to accommodate the religious practices of their employees unless it creates an undue burden on the company.)

"This is not the first time Exel has discriminated against employees when they have asked for religious accommodation. Our office filed 18 charges of discrimination with the EEOC last month relating to the denial of religious accommodation for Muslim employees who worked at the same facility at which Mr. Sufi worked," said CAIR-Ohio Legal Director Jennifer Nimer. "This pattern of discriminatory behavior continues to be a problem at Exel." 

A massive review and overhaul of Exel's practices, policies, training and personnel needs to occur.   Both management and human resources have failed on a massive level.  Human resources is there to protect employee rights and employer rights.   In the case of Ms. Travis, HR took the side of the wrongdoer and supported a discriminatory selection process.  Human Resources didn't take steps to eliminate discrimination or reduce company liability in either case.

Insubordination

We have all heard the term "insubordination," an employee's willful disregard for a supervisor's direct orders.  But what does insubordination really mean?  How do you determine whether insubordination has occurred and what should you do about it?  Simply complaining about an assignment does not constitute insubordination. 

Insubordination can be active or passive.  Active insubordination may be the refusal to do something, challenging the directive, confrontational behavior, the use of abusive language or even physical violence.  Passive insubordination may be exhibited by the employee's willing failure to complete a task. 

To prove insubordination you must establish three important elements:

1. It has to be recognized as a direct order. 
2. The employee received and understood the order.
3. The employee refused to obey the order through an explicit statement of refusal or through nonperformance.  

A few words of caution.  Before any claims of insubordination are raised, take a moment to:

1. Assess how the order was issued.  It can't be a suggestion.  Whether verbal or written, did it clearly communicate the who, where, what and when? 
2. To establish insubordination, the order must relate to work being performed.  Always validate that the order was reasonable.
3. Could other factors influence the employee's actions?  Perhaps the employee did not willfully intend to disobey.  Does the employee have a pattern of unacceptable behavior?
4. An employee has the right to refuse an order if they are being asked to do something illegal or dangerous, or in violation of a published safety rule. 
5. The employee must be told that failure to perform the task/assignment is grounds for disciplinary action on the basis of insubordination.
6. Allow employee adequate time to comply with order before discipline is imposed.  You can't ask an employee to complete a 2 hour task in 30 minutes.

Abusive language by employees towards supervisors can also be considered insubordination.  However, you must always consider the context in which the incident occurred.  To confirm that an employee was engaged in insubordination, the abusive language:

1. Was not provoked by the manager.
2. Occurred in the presence of other employees or customers.
3. Was not an example of "shop talk" in the workplace.

While our first reaction to insubordination may be to fire the employee immediately, allow a cooling off period.  Take the time to review your disciplinary policy. Review the employee's past history. Carefully consider all the facts, all the actions, prior to punishing the employee.   On occasion employee insubordination can be attributed to a breakdown in communication.   While termination may still be the correct course of action, you'll have all your facts in place.   
 

Employee Absenteeism

When I mention measuring employee absenteeism the first thing that comes to your mind is firing employees because they missed too many days at work.  Right?  Well, maybe it shouldn't.  You can measure absenteeism for many purposes including workforce planning, lost wages and reduced productivity.  But can you also use it to measure employee morale?

Employee absenteeism is a major concern for employers.  Yes, there is oftentimes a sense of entitlement in the workplace that it's okay to be absent.   And where there is an excessive pattern, or a trend in the days the employee is absent, then it is time to take action. But, we also need to acknowledge that people get sick.  In those situations where you perceive a pattern of excessive absenteeism is developing, I highly recommend a discussion with the employee in order to determine if there is a potential FMLA, ADA issue to be addressed.

Absenteeism can be due to a variety of reasons.  If an employee is stressed about their workload, this may manifest itself through absenteeism.  Stress with the job routine and/or job satisfaction, the environment (cold, hot, noise) even with management (style, personality traits).  If stress is a factor, you need to discuss strategies to resolve the stressor.  If one employee is experiencing stress, perhaps others are as well.  We all have more to do and less time to do it in today's business environment.

In those instances where there appears to be an unacceptable level of absenteeism:

1. Meet with the employee.
2. Express your concern.
3. Provide the employee with an opportunity to explain themselves.

Some random statistics for you:

According to a 2012 global workforce survey, "highly engaged employees have lower 'presenteeism' (lost productivity at work) and less absenteeism than disengaged employees. The former lose an average of 7.6 days per year to presenteeism, compared with an average 14.1 days for the disengaged employees....

According to a 2010 Metlife report, "employees with eldercare responsibilities were more likely to report missed days of work. This was driven by the much higher absenteeism among younger caregiving employees, ages 18 to 39. Overall, 9% of non-caregivers missed at least one day of work over the past...

According to a 2009 survey by the National Alliance for Caregiving, "over seven in ten caregivers were employed at some time when they were caregiving (73%). Among them, two-thirds (66%) have gone in late, left early, or taken time off during the day to deal with caregiving issues (66%). One in five...

Territorial Behavior in Employees

When we were children we were taught to share our toys.  Through sharing we learned patience (waiting our turn), problem solving (who gets to play with what) and social skills (discussing and reaching solutions). 

Now, let's fast-forward a few years into the work environment where one of the most important assets any organization has is the combined knowledge and expertise of its employees.  "Combined knowledge" would infer that information is shared in the workplace.  Where information is not shared, information silos develop having a profound effect on your ability to develop a cooperative work environment.

So, why do some employees guard information so carefully?    On a very basic level, its job security.    If knowledge is power, sharing knowledge is a loss of power.  Company information is seen as intellectual property for the individual. Territorial employees control the flow of information in an effort to make themselves irreplaceable.    If the employee feels threatened, he/she may become territorial and retain information or information is meted out in meager portions.  Be observant.  Territorial behavior isn't restricted to only employees.  It can be observed between managers and even departments. 

End your turf wars.   Work with your employees to foster an environment of sharing. 

Managing with Questions

How do you show your employees that their opinions matter?  Ask questions.  It's as simple as that.  Questions such as:

• What made you mad today?
• What took too long?
• What caused complaints today?
• What was misunderstood today?
• What cost too much?
• What was wasted?
  What was too complicated?
• What was just plain silly?
• What job involved too many people?
• What job involved too many actions?

Communicating with your employees will improve organization communication.  I know that you're tired of me saying that any organizations greatest resource is its people.  But there, I said it again!  Remember, employees feel appreciated and valued when they are listened to!