Friday, October 30, 2020

"The best way to deal with jerks at work"/ "Team leader remains a bully. What are my options?"

Sept. 13, 2017 "The best way to deal with jerks at work": 

Today I found this article by Harvey Schachter in the Globe and Mail:


Author offers insight for those facing a bully in the office, tricks for protecting your mind and tips for fighting back when feasible

The A------ Survival Guide By Robert Sutton HMH Books, 214 pages, $38

In the past 10 years, Robert Sutton has received 8,000 e-mails about jerks in the workplace.
Except jerks is not the word his correspondents use. Ever since he wrote The No Asshole Rule in 2007, the Stanford University professor says people have been eagerly sharing their stories of office jerks, hoping he might offer a solution.

The Asshole Survival Guide is his detailed answer, and although it doesn’t have a bulletproof, definitive solution, it does offer a thorough look at the possibilities.

Mr. Sutton opens with six diagnostic questions, the first to ensure there is a problem that requires much attention: 

Do you feel as if the alleged jerk is treating you (and perhaps others) like dirt? 

Check your own biases and quirks and how others feel to be sure the problem merits much attention.

After that, determine how bad the situation is. 

How long will the ugliness persist – a long time, or can you put it behind you quickly? 

Are you dealing with a temporary jerk (so perhaps you can let it pass) or a certified jerk?

 Is it an individual or a systemic disease that has spread all around the office like a contagious disease? 

How much power do you have over the jerk? (If you have more clout than he does, do you have more options to act?) 

How much are you really suffering? That last one is the bottom-line question, because if you are deeply hurting you must act.

Don’t lie to yourself about the situation. He lists nine fibs we are prone to tell ourselves: 

1) “It’s really not so bad.” 

2) “It’s getting better.” 

3) “Things will get much better sooner.” 

4) “I will leave for something better right after I finish this one important thing.” 

5) “I am learning so much and making such great connections that the abuse is worthwhile.” 

6) “Only I can make things better – nobody else can replace me.” 

7) “It may be bad but I’m tough and can compartmentalize this, keeping it from damaging me.” 

8) “It’s much worse for others so I shouldn’t complain.” and 

9) “It may be bad here but it would be worse somewhere else.” 

Sometimes those statements can be true, but more often the person is living in a fool’s paradise, deceiving themselves.

Mr. Sutton believes in quitting, saying famed football coach Vince Lombardi was wrong when he said “Winners never quit and quitters never win.” 

Getting out can be sweet, needed relief. But most people, he acknowledges, can’t or won’t escape – they are stuck. An alternative is to avoid the jerk as much as possible.

Some possibilities:

Keep your distance: Research shows people are four times more likely to communicate with a colleague who sits six feet away than one who sits 60 feet away. So work from home or see if you can get a desk farther away from the problem. If you’re a boss, ship the problem to another floor or another location.

Try ducking strategies: Limit how often you are subjected to their poison, through going often to meet clients off site or arriving late at meetings he chairs.

Slow the rhythm: If you get a demeaning e-mail that requires a response, take a few hours or, over time, a few days, to respond, getting the person used to a slower cycle of communications. 

When talking to them, slow down your own words, with long pauses, and talk softer and softer the louder the jerk gets. 

Hide in plain sight: One way jerks leave others feeling disrespected is by ignoring them as people. Yet, Mr. Sutton says that can be a double-edged sword if you try not to stand out, wearing clothes that aren’t flashy and maintaining a bland, blank expression.

Mr. Sutton has other techniques, including mind tricks to help protect your soul, and offers tips on fighting back when feasible.

 Finally, he urges you to be part of the solution by making sure you aren’t a problem yourself. It’s a solid book that can offer some help if you are faced with a jerk at work.



Oct. 17, 2017 "Team leader remains a bully.  What are my options?": Today I found this article in the Globe and Mail:


For five years at a large company, we have continually reported the bullying behaviour of our team leader to the department supervisor. She is good for a few days after we report her, then falls back into making us feel an inch tall. HR stepped in once, but the team leader played dumb, as if she didn’t know what they were referring to. A few of us have taken stress leave and some have quit. What are our options? 

Bill Howatt
Chief research and development officer of work-force productivity, Morneau Shepell, Toronto 

What you appear to be experiencing is a toxic culture in your workplace. Common signs of a toxic workplace culture are that social norms appear to be fragmented and become inconsistent. 

This can be increasingly troublesome when it’s the leaders who allow inappropriate behaviours. If not stopped, this can reset the culture perceptions around standards with respect to what’s accepted as the norm. This can lead to feelings of being treated unfairly, along with fear and strain that can negatively affect employees’ mental health and productivity.

Most employees look to their leaders to enforce respectful workplace standards that protect employees from bullying. When these are not upheld, research suggests they lead to negative consequences such as increased sick time, staff turnover and increased levels of uncivil behaviour across the workplace.

If you and your peers believe you’re in a workplace that’s not psychologically safe, consider these options. 

Write out your concerns, describing the behaviours that are happening and by whom. 

Bring these to the most senior person in your division or to HR, providing the group feels safe to do so. 

Ontario has occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation that states employers must create a psychologically safe workplace and have reporting mechanisms in place for employees. 

As well, you can consult a lawyer who can advise on your legal rights.

There’s always the option to look for new employment, but if the bully is confronted, this may put an end to this matter for the good of you and your peers.

THE SECOND ANSWER

Caroline Cole Power
Member of the International Association of Workplace Bullying and Harassment and CEO of Canadian HR Solutions Inc. 

With your teammates, 

document the team leader’s actions, 

their impact on the team and solutions, 

such as sensitivity training, which helps to develop awareness of interpersonal sensitivities in the workplace; emotional intelligence training, which goes beyond awareness-building and helps to improve one’s ability to read emotional cues sent by others and use that information to make appropriate behavioural choices; 

and leadership performance coaching, to improve leadership effectiveness. 

Another solution your team may propose is termination of the team leader. If you do decide to propose this, understand it is the company’s decision to execute accordingly or not.

As a team, escalate the matter, including documentation and possible solutions, to the leader of your technical function. 

You work for a large company, so the HR professional who was involved earlier may not be head of the HR function. If that is the case, escalate the matter to the leader of the HR function.

After alerting your functional leader and the HR leader to the bully’s actions, note what they do to address the situation. If you observe they are taking steps to deal with the matter, give them time to turn things around and support their effort as much as possible. 

If, however, there is no communication back to your team about a planned course of action or you observe no movement to improve the work environment, consider making an exit.


This week's theme is about bullying in the workplace.  I'm posting this because the 2020 American Presidential election is next week.

Donald Trump is a bully.  You should all vote for Joe Biden:


"Time is up: #BeCivil"/ "I was a hard- charging workplace bully- until it cost my my job"



"How dirty tricks in business can backfire on the offender"/ "Downward envy: when bosses become jealous of employees"





My week: 


Oct. 24, 2020 Job search: I applied to a few jobs at a store website.  I called some stores at a mall to ask if they're hiring for the holiday season.  

Oct. 26, 2020 "Jamie Lynn Spears opens up about being a teen mom and why she’s ready for a 'Zoey 101' reboot: 'Now it's time for me'": This is a good article.  She has moved to Mississippi to raise her kid and the papparazzi still found her.

This part stood out to me:

And it was Mississippi where the former teen star would stay, leaving behind a promising career that, in addition to the lead role on Zoey 101, had included two seasons on the kid comedy show All That and major film opportunities; indeed, she tells the magazine she experienced morning sickness while waiting to audition for Twilight (“I felt so sick. Little did I know, I was pregnant.”). But leaving Hollywood behind felt like the only way forward.

My opinion: She could have been making a lot of money if she stayed in Hollywood.  She may not get a lot of roles, but she may get a few.  She could still make money, and hire a babysitter when she's working.  This is her life, and if she wants to move away from Hollywood, she can.

I have been reading the business section of the newspaper since 2010, so I focus a lot on jobs and careers.

Rake leaves: This morning my grandma and I spent an hour raking leaves in the front yard.  We filled up the whole green recycle/ compost bin.  There was good exercise and fresh air.

Oct. 27, 2020 Peeling garlic: Last month my grandma and I peeled garlic for 1hr and half.  Today we did the same thing.  I was listening to my free online event series.  If you go to my Facebook page, I put them on there. 

You: I also finished watching the 2 seasons of this show (20 episodes) in a month and a half.  This show is solid.  It's a thriller/ drama.  There's suspense.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7335184/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1

Oct. 28, 2020 "Crowdfunders have raised more than $45,000 in a week for the duped 'Borat 2' babysitter who said she felt 'betrayed'":

A crowdfunding campaign set up for the "Borat 2" babysitter has hit over $45,000 in less than a week.

The fundraiser was initially started after it was uncovered that Jeanise Jones who features as a babysitter to Borat's 15-year-old daughter, played by Maria Bakalova, was unaware that she was taking part in the satirical film, and she was paid only $3,600.

In an interview with entertainment blog Showbiz411, Jones said that she received $600 for the first stage of filming, and $3,000 for the last stage but never heard from the crew after. She added that she is now out of work in the pandemic.

"Jeanise is nowhere near gullible. In fact, none of us are," Scobey said. "We are very open people." In his interview with Insider, Scobey dubbed the film a "farce" and said that it's his responsibility as Jones' pastor to help her.

"As her pastor who loves her and is going to protect her … this money is for her. This is to help her, this is to help her family, especially during Covid," Scobey said, adding that he wanted to give Jones' fans "a vehicle to say thank you in a tangible way."

Jones, 62, is featured in several scenes throughout the comedy sequel and she plays an important role in the narrative as she helps to educate Borat's daughter that both women and men are equal.

Speaking with Insider earlier this week, Jones said that she thought she was participating in a documentary about the lives of women from impoverished countries, and she "was shocked" to learn that the film was in fact a satirical comedy.

"Misled is a kind of harsh word, but we were not aware it would be rated R, let's put it that way," she said. "We were told that the US wasn't gonna see it that much, mainly the UK. I didn't think anybody really would see it."

Asked whether she regrets participating in the film under false pretenses, Jones told Insider she did not. "I think it was worth it," Jones said, citing the outpouring of support from strangers who saw the movie. "There's people like me that's out there, you just got to find them."

https://ca.yahoo.com/news/entertainment/crowdfunders-raised-more-45-000-121713229.html

My opinion: That was kind of mean to play this trick on Jeanise Jones.  As long as she wasn't purposely made to look bad in this film.  At least she got paid $3,600, and then with the crowdfunding.

I have never seen any of Sacha Baron Cohen's films because I know I will be offended.

I then told my brother P about this and he said he watched 3 of Cohen's movies.

Oct. 29, 2020 The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz: I finished reading this book and I found this to be a solid and average.

Pros: 

There were some good tips like: "Instead of looking at what is right now, you should look at the potential."

I already follow the tip of taking some quiet time for you to think.  I do that when I go to bed at night.

Cons:

This was kind of outdated.  There was one part where it talks about a milk man delivering milk.

The example was that the milk man may deliver to a family with 2 parents and a baby.

If you see the potential, they may have more kids and they will grow up and will be drinking more milk than in the present.


Oct. 30, 2020 This is Us: I saw the 2- part season premiere of this show.  It was really good.  They showed the characters dealing with COVID- 19 and Black Lives Matter.

They focused on the black character Randall and how he dealt with Black Lives Matter.

The Good Doctor: I saw the promos for this show and the characters are dealing with COVID- 19 too.  I have only seen the pilot and it was good, and then I never watched it again.

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