WORK ISSUES 1

 

 

Chapter 1. Workplace Conduct 1

 

Find a Mentor at Company X

 

Find a mentor by being a friend, listening to someone talk about themselves, remembeting their children’s names, etc.

 

After awhile, ask questions then say you got a couple of ideas.  You were wondering if you could run them past them.  If they agree then that’s a mentor.

 

Find mentors at all levels of the company.

 

Always show respect.

 

Talk informally then ask questions.  Don’t go up to someone cold and ask them to be your mentor.  It's too artificial.  If someone wants

to be your mentor, they will talk to you.

 

Talk to your mentors regularly.  Ask questions when you have them.

 

An advantage of having a mentor is that they will promote you when there is a competition becausee they like you.

 

People need friends at work.  Come off like a good person and make friends who will help you.  This includes higher-ups.

 

Psychology, Legal Aspects and the Daily Grind of Work

 

There are all kinds of books about work at #331 or HF5381 at the library.

 

Personally, I think they go a little too far trying to analyze work and bring in what they call the scientific method.  It’s just people working.  Human wisdom or nature does not change.

 

Industrial-Organizational Psychology List of Career-Work Issues

 

Abilities

Academic advising

Affirmative action

Age discrimination

Age Discrimination in Employment

Act of 1967 (ADEA)

Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of

Values

American Counseling Association

American Psychological

Association

Anticipatory socialization

Antisocial work behaviors

Apprenticeships

Armed Services Vocational

Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)

Aspirations in career decisions

Assessment centers

Assimilation and mutual

acceptance

Bennett Mechanical

Comprehension Test

Biculturalism

Big Five factors of personality

Blue-collar workers

Boundaryless career

Bridge employment

Burnout

Business simulations

Butcher Treatment Planning

Inventory (BTPI)

California Psychological

Inventory

Campbell Interest and Skill

Survey

Career

Career anchors

Career appraisal

Career as a calling

Career centers

Career change

Career coaching

Career construction theory

Career counseling

Career counseling competencies

Career decision-making styles

Career Decision Scale (CDS)

Career Development Inventory

Career education

Career exploration

Career goal

Career indecision

Career interruptions

Career intervention outcomes

Career investments

Career maturity

Career mobility

Career motivation

Career-planning workshops

Career plateau

Career salience

Career satisfaction

Career strategy

Career success

Career Thoughts Inventory

Career transition

Careers and health

Center for Creative Leadership

Child care practices

Churning of jobs

Circumscription and compromise

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Civil Rights Act of 1991

Cognitive Differentiation Grid

Cognitive information processing

in career counseling

Collective bargaining

College student career development

Comparable worth

Compensation

Computer-based career support

systems

Contingent employment

Continuing professional

education

Cooperative education

Copreneurship

Cross-training

Crossover effect

Crystallization of the vocational

self-concept

Culture and careers

Customized careers

Derailment

Differential aptitude testing

Disability

Diversity in organizations

Domestic-partner benefits

Downsizing

Early career stage

Early retirement

Elder care practices

Electronic employment screening

Emotional intelligence

Emotional labor

Employability

Employee assistance programs

Employee participation in

organizational decision making

Employment advertising

Employment contracts

Employment-at-will doctrine

Empowerment

Entrepreneurship

Environment awareness

Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission (EEOC)

Equal Pay Act

Erikson's theory of development

Ethics and careers

Executive coaching

Exit interview

Expatriate experience

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Family and Medical Leave Act

(FMLA)

Family background and careers

Family-responsive workplace

practices

Fast-track career

Flexible work arrangements

Gender and careers

General Aptitude Test Battery

(GATB)

Glass ceiling

Globalization and careers

Hall Occupational Orientation

Inventory

Handwriting analysis in hiring

History of career studies

Holland's theory of vocational

choice

Hostile working environment

Human capital

Human resource information

systems (HRIS)

Human resource planning

Human resource support systems

Identity

Impression management

Individual career management

Industrial Revolution

Inequality

Informational interview

Integrity testing

Intelligence, schooling, and

occupational success

Interests

Internal labor markets

International careers

Internet career assessment

Internet recruitment

Internships

Job challenge

Job design

Job fairs

Job interviews

Job involvement

Job loss

Job-posting programs

Job rotation

Job satisfaction

Job search

Job security

Job sharing

Knowledge work

Knowledge, skills, and abilities

(KSAs)

Kuder Career Assessments

Late career stage

Leadership development

Learning organization

Learning styles

Leisure interests

Life Style Inventory

Life-Career Rainbow

Lifelong learning

Lifestyle preferences

Lockstep career progression

Locus of control

Low-income workers and careers

Machiavellianism

Mentoring

Merit-based pay

Metaphors for careers

Middle career stage

Midlife crisis

Minnesota Clerical Test

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality

Inventory-2 (MMPI-2)

Minnesota Theory of Work

Adjustment

Morale

Motivation and career

development

Multicultural organization

Multinational organization

Multiple intelligences

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

National Career Development

Association

National Labor Relations Act

(NLRA)

Needs

Nepotism

Networking

Obsolescence of knowledge and

skills

Occupational choice

Occupational classification

systems

Occupational commitment

Occupational Information

Network (O*NET)

Occupational Outlook Handbook

Occupational prestige

Occupational professionalization

Occupational stereotypes

On-the-job training

Organizational career

management

Organizational citizenship

behavior

Organizational commitment

Organizational entry

Organizational image

Organizational justice

Organizational politics

Organizational socialization

Organizational staffing

Orientation

Outplacement

Outsourcing and offshoring

Part-time employment

Pay compression

Pay-for-performance reward

systems

Performance appraisal and

feedback

Person-environment fit (P-E fit)

Personal Globe Inventory

Personality and careers

Personnel selection

Phased retirement

Positive organizational

scholarship

Proactivity

Procedural justice

Protean career

Psychological contract

Pygmalion effect

Quality of work life (QWL)

Racial discrimination

Rater errors in performance

appraisal

Realistic recruitment

Recruitment

Redeployment

References for employment

Reinforcement theory

Religious discrimination

Résumé

Retention programs

Retirement

Retraining

Reverse discrimination

Reverse mentoring

Rokeach Values Survey

Role models

Sabbaticals

School-to-work transition

Self-awareness

Self-concept

Self-Directed Search (SDS)

Self-efficacy

Self-esteem

Self-leadership

Self-monitoring

Sex discrimination

Sexual harassment

Sexual orientation and careers

Single parents and careers

Sixteen Personality

Questionnaire (16PF)

Social capital

Social cognitive career theory

Social constructionism

Social learning theory of career

development

Socioeconomic status

Specialty choice

Spirituality and careers

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

Stereotyping of workers

Strategic human resource

management (SHRM)

Stress at work

Strong Interest Inventory

Succession planning

Super's career development

theory

Sweatshop labor

Team-based work

Technology and careers

Telecommuting

Thematic apperception tests

(TAT)

Three-hundred-sixty-degree

(360°) evaluation

Tokenism

Tolerance for ambiguity

Toxic leadership

Training and development

Tuition reimbursement

Turnover

Two-career relationships

Type A behavior pattern

Unbiased hiring systems

Underemployment

Unemployment

Values

Virtual expatriates

Vocational education

Vocational Preference Inventory

(VPI)

Vocational psychology

Wechsler Intelligence Scales

Welfare-to-work programs

Wellness and fitness programs

White-collar work

Wonderlic Personnel Test

Work ethic

Work values

Work Values Inventory

Work-family balance

Work-family conflict

Work-family enrichment

Work/life litigation

Workaholism

Worker Adjustment and

Retraining Notification Act

of 1992 (WARN)

Workplace romance

Wrongful dismissal

 

New Job/ Be Humble

 

Over the years, the thing I noticed about any new job I had is that most people will purposely ignore you for the first little while.  The odd person might be very friendly but most people aren't.  I think it's because people feel you have to earn their acknowledgement or respect.  Some people are naturally shy but most people feel they don't owe you anything until you earn it.

 

They're all watching you quietly to see if you're an asshole; a brown-noser or an arrogant jerk.  It doesn't matter if you were the king of the world.  At that job, you're the new kid on the block.  That means you're a flunkie until you prove yourself.

 

Be modest.  Don't talk too much at first trying to impress people with your intelligence.  I did this once because I was nervous.  I later realized it was a mistake.  You don't go in like gangbusters when they're all average people doing an average job.  The day unfolds slowly.  It's not really good to go in all keen because most jobs just take average effort and the day is so long that you can't keep it up.  Fall in line with their pace. 

 

When I was in the military, I was assigned to some supply warehouse.  It took me about a half a day to realize it was the slackest operation I ever saw.  Some ships were coming in so we sat at the windows on the second floor looking down at all the sailors coming back meeting their families.  We didn't do any work all day. 

I did what everybody else did, took long lunch breaks and left early.  If I went in there all keen, they would have hated me for outshining them.

 

If you're there for about a week and you're feeling that you're not liking it for whatever reason, it's a good time to start looking for another job right away.

 

Leave.  There is nothing to gain by staying in a position you don't like.

 

New Job Guide

 

Be courteous.  Don't accidentally rub anyone the wrong way.  Be polite and respectful.

 

Ask advice if you don't understand something.

 

Go with the flow of the workplace.  Don't work too fast or too slow.

 

Join in on breaks or anything that gives you a chance to get to know your new workmates.  They will help you learn the unwritten rules of the workplace.

 

Be positive.  Don't badmouth your last job or past co-workers.

 

Try to avoid joining a particular in-group at work thereby labelling yourself and separating yourself from everybody else.  Be friends with everybody.  Go out to lunch with different people.

 

Show a willingness to do extra like buy stuff for the fridge on your lunch hour with the money they give you.

 

Arrive ontime for work.

 

Be the last to leave at least for the first year.

 

Be the last to lunch and the first back to work.

 

Show your new colleagues that you're a good worker but also a cool dude who is united with the workers therefore not a brown-noser with management.

 

Shut up and do what you're told and then some.

 

Learn the tasks and responsibilities of the job.

 

Learn the advancement path.

 

Be likeable.

 

Follow organizational values.

 

firstthirtydays.com, first30days.com

 

Good Boss 1

 

Judge people on merit, not age, experience or diplomas.

 

Respect your employees 100%.  Develop a team attitude.

 

Authority speaks the loudest when it speaks the least. 

 

Happy workers are productive workers.  Make them feel like they count, challenge them then reward them even if just with praise. 

 

The number one thing about being a good boss is to have the ability to make people aspire to reach their true, God given potential.  The golden rule is to walk around, talk and look things over all the time. 

 

Be a good boss but not a busybody.  Give people space to do their jobs and don't come on too strong about asking about their personal lives. 

 

Be honest with your workers about what is going on in the company.

 

Employees want a piece of the action or ownership.  Offer stock options, upward career mobility or something like that.

 

When hiring, be quick.  Don't leave somebody waiting before you hire them.

 

Having fun in a friendly environment results in high productivity.  Having fun can energize your workers to become more productive.

 

Listen to good ideas and act on some of them.

 

Be loyal to your workers.

 

Be available to talk to workers who want to talk to you.

 

Some people want some things left private so don't impose too much just because you're the boss at work. 

 

As the leader, you're the moral and authoritative authority which means there's an invisible space between you and your workers. 

 

Your true authority is directly proportional to how much real responsibility you're willing to take.  You can't horse around with them or slack off at all.  You must demonstrate a solemn dedication to the job all the time. 

 

You can't be a faker or a slacker, you must have a strong knowledge and understanding of the business including technology, inner politics, general insight into life, people skills, money matters and have a healthy dose of experience to boot. 

 

Don't be afraid to be a trailblazer, groundbreaker and all around original, that's what makes a good leader. 

 

To be a good manager over and above a good leader, you must strive to increase business effectiveness systematically.  You have to be a boring guy and deal with the details not just blindly go with the vision all the time.  Visions are useless if you don't have the sense to keep a positive cash flow.

 

Formal education doesn't play much of a role in a boss's success.  It's all about current, relevant education to your narrow niche in the marketplace and an elusive thing called instinct and insight. 

 

The greatest teacher is always real life experience.  Don't let your ego and/ or need for power get in the way of the bottom line, the profit margin.  And don't forget charm aka charisma. 

 

Another thing I've noticed is that bosses who can't write good copy with proper punctuation and grammar expose their true ignorant selves to their employees. 

 

There's nothing more ridiculous than some boss who comes on with a real rousing speech then when you read his correspondence, you see that he makes all kinds of simple mistakes and his words don't really flow smoothly. 

 

In the white collar professions, trust me, writing ability is very important not just the flow of words but the simple stuff like spelling, commas, semicolons, etc.

 

It's alright to delegate the leadership for some projects.  You can't do it all by yourself.  A good leader takes a stand and is firm in his beliefs. 

 

Don't be a nit picky, in your face leader.  Give people space to do their own things.  If there are problems with the company, don't keep it to yourself, tell your workers about it.  They will understand and may be able to help.  Analyze your performance objectively. 

 

Contrary to myth, authoritarian bosses are not good except in emergency situations that need one good leader to make quick decisions such as in the military, police or fire fighting. 

 

In the world of business, your best bet is to make the workplace a happy place where people like to work and feel that they can talk to you freely about any problem or good ideas they might have. 

 

Strive for a middle ground between being the tough guy boss and a good guy.  Be real with them.  Don't candyass just because you don't want to be perceived as a meanie. 

 

The bottom line is profit, they know it, you know it, they know they're expendable if they don't produce to standard and they know that if you're incompetent, the whole operation could blow so it's your job to make sure they do the job and don't take it lightly.

 

The trend is teamwork with a high visibility, accessible boss but if an employee is low key, don't push him to participate. 

 

If you put on an act, sooner or later, the real you will show through.  You can't fake it for long.  Just be yourself all the time.  Never be wishy washy about anything.  If someone has an unresolved issue, think it over, make a straight decision then act on it, no ifs and buts. 

 

If someone asks you a question, it's alright to take time to think about it before you answer.  If you have to say "no" to something, say it without getting sappy or guilty.  It's all about business.  Give an explanation if you feel so inclined. 

 

Try to keep everything as simple as possible in all work matters particularly with the organizational set up and chain of command.  There should be no chain of command.  Everybody should be accessible all the time.

 

The golden rule to motivating employees is to give them challenging work with real responsibility attached to it so that they can get some self respect and pride out of it. 

 

Many jobs are just plain out dull.  You can't make them more challenging but you can give the worker more responsibility so that he feels like he's really doing something important that someone somewhere is counting on.  Try to use whatever qualities your workers have.

 

You should encourage new ideas by either keeping a feedback box outside of your office for suggestions or putting signs up that say something like, "We respect your opinion, tell us your ideas."  Tell them they don't have to sign their names to their suggestions. 

 

Always be accessible to anybody that might want to talk to you.  Talk to your workers face to face, not on the phone.  Meet them on the work floor not in your intimidating office. 

 

Think of yourself as an educator and try to teach them things and offer resource materials for them to learn on their own.  Try to develop a common values interdependent teamwork connection with them.

 

Don't believe any gossip you hear about so-called negative employees.  Talk to them yourself and make your own decision. 

 

Employees have no loyalty to you.  If they're having a bad day and you come along, they will take it out on you in their minds. 

 

Don't assume your relationship with any employee is fine just because you rapped last month.  You have to always check in with them periodically to find out where their headspace is at. 

 

If you have supersensitive employees, deal with them or just tell them it's nothing personal, just business. 

 

Don't order your workers to do as you say and not as you do.  Lead by example.  You're always on display, they're all watching you. 

 

Get out there and be with your workers.  Don't hide. 

 

Reward good performances with praise and incentives, criticize sloppy work but don't get personal with it.

 

If you're new, go around personally, shake every worker's hand, look them in the eye and introduce yourself like a man or woman in business. 

 

In the case of new employees, introduce yourself, take them around for a guided tour, introduce them to everybody and fill them in with the details of the job. 

 

Be specific about what you expect from your workers.  Keep regular contact with everybody.  Be accessible.  Always remember that just because you're the boss, that doesn't make you a superior being to your workers.  They will accept your authority and respect you if you treat them right but if you're out of line just a little bit, like displaying anger, trying to suck every ounce of work out of them, etc., they will start talking about you behind your back and ultimately take it out on you in a concept called workplace revenge/ workplace sabotage. 

 

I read a book about this which talked about the things people do to get back at their bosses.  The most basic ones are stealing minor things like pens, stationary, etc. and slacking off during work but some employees are much more creative. 

 

One guy erased everything from the mainframe computer, another guy put sugar in the gas tanks of every truck of a delivery service, someone else messed up the accounting system, someone created a fake supplier account and pocketed the money himself and the list goes on. 

 

Always be a hands-on boss who knows everything that's going on.  Don't trust anyone, not even so-called Christians.  Howard Hughes surrounded himself with Mormons.  Anyone can be corrupted especially when there's lots of cash around.  Cash can tempt anyone.

 

It's all about workplace chemistry.  You want to treat your workers well because you want stability for the long term.  It's always better to keep employees for a long time rather than go through them like nothing.  Just show them that you're a good guy there to help them. 

 

Workers are usually unhappy because of:

 

Too much work.

No say in anything.

Not enough pay and praise.

No sense of teamwork or community.

Boss plays favorites.

Everything geared for profit.

 

There's a fine line between a pleasant workspace that's productive and a workplace where the workers come to see the boss as soft and try to take advantage as much as they can.  Be a good guy but be firm with slackers. 

 

Make it perfectly clear that you don't mind if they listen to the radio, go to the bathroom when they want, take a few extra minutes for lunch, switch workdays between themselves or whatever but the bottom line is that the work must get done - that's the golden rule.  In a typical eight-hour shift in any job, I'm willing to bet that most workers could get the job done in 4-5 hours but they learn to stretch it out so that the boss doesn't pile more on. 

 

As a boss, don't try to suck blood out of a stone but at the same time, look for alternatives to the clock like if they work hard, give them the afternoon off on Friday or let them go home early if they do all the work with quality and clean up. 

 

The psyche of workers is strange, different in every situation.  The best deal is to get your workers working as a team then give them little breaks when they work hard and get the job done well. 

Time off, an extra pay bonus, taking them all out to lunch, buying them all little gifts, etc. solidifies them and make them feel like they're part of a team.

 

Follow your gut instincts about your workers, the mood on the job, the tension in the room, etc.

 

Bad apples spoil the bunch.  If you've got one, get rid of him.  Always watch out for theft.  It can't be tolerated because if you go soft on 'em, you will just be giving them carte blanche to keep doing it.  Workers don't like to be under video surveillance while they work. 

 

Workers like simple things like windows in factories, clean bathrooms and a little yard out back where they can sit around outside during their breaks. 

 

Educate your workers about the organization.  Try to get them to share your vision.  Tell them what your vision is.  If the company is public, give them stocks or stock options.  If not, reward them by promoting them, giving them more responsibility, more money, etc. Never lose sight of the fact that you're in business for profit.  You're not running a charity and won't tolerate slackers. 

 

Your workers could care less about the organization itself but they do care about the people they work with.  It might take a while but keep firing people until you get the right team in place.  Your workers will hate you sometimes.  Just ride the storm out.  Don't criticize people, criticize a wrongly done job or bad behavior only. 

 

Don't start hating some employees and playing favorites.  Treat everyone equally and objectively with a serious sense of respect.

 

When you have meetings, don't go in casually.  Be ready with what you have to say, say it seriously, open the floor for questions and feedback, make your recommendations then get the hell out of there. 

 

Think of it as a peptalk with purpose.  Nobody likes meetings so treat them as all business, don't waste time and don't let them run too long particularly with aimless, trivial matters. 

 

Keep to the main topic.  You can handle the trivial stuff individually with only the workers directly involved.  Think fast, focussed, open feedback and then direct decisions that tell the people exactly where you're going, nothing wishy washy to it at all.  Follow up your meetings with action to see that the decisions are actively put into practice.

 

Don't try to fix something that ain't broke.  If you want to make some major changes, don't be drastic about it.  Ease into them.

 

As a boss, always analyze yourself and try to improve.  If you screwed up with an employee or were insensitively rude, owe up to it and apologize.

 

If you're younger than some of your subordinates, just treat them as you would treat anybody but respect their experience and ask them for advice.

 

If your workers hate each other and there's other trouble there, try to get at the root of it and solve it.  Shuffle workers around with more compatible people if need be.

 

Create an Employee Referral Program.  Ask current employees to recommend possible new employees but putting their resumes in your in-box with a note saying they recommend this person.

 

Put a job icon on your company website outlining jobs.

 

Reward failures of projects if the people worked hard on the project.  A lot of failures are due to the timing of the market and the zeitgeist.

 

Make the work culture fun.  Do not allow negative thoughts to permeate the work environment.

 

Connect people to the company goals.

 

Share resources between employees.

 

Discourage judgmental thinking and opinions.

 

Focus on work content.

 

Establish relationships with your employees.

 

Treat everyone equally, never allowing favoritism or cliques to develop.

 

Do not allow people to divide the culture with bias in favor of longer-term employees.

 

Convince the longest-term employees

to show appreciation toward the newer employees for believing in the company cause.

 

Encourage all employees to think of one another like colleagues of equal value in different ways.

 

Communicate high-level business plans regularly.

 

Make decisions.  Do not stall on big ideas for very long.

 

Allow feedback in your in-box.

 

Two heads are better than one on projects.

 

Offer continuous learning opportunities which lead to career advancement.

 

Offer flexible schedules such as four 10-hour days.  People can also work from home part-time as long as they can be effective working remotely.

 

Recognize people for their extra effort.  Give them days off and extra money.

 

Keep workers engaged and challenged.

 

Listen to how employees are are doing.  You want them to feel good in their jobs and share a sense of accomplishment with company success.

 

Let people feel as comfortable as they need to be with their own motivation.

 

A good manager helps to provide a strong foundation.  Give new workers a chance to adjust to the work place.  Be a mentor.  Tell them what is expected of them.  Help with administration; filling out forms, parking, etc.  Introduce the new hire to others.  Touch base regularly.  Employee and employer relationships need continuous attention and care.  Talk to them.  Connect with them.  Care about them as human beings.  Act sincere.

 

Pay people extra if they're worth it.

 

Ask for new ideas.

 

Emphasize people relationships within the company.

 

Treat all employees as customers.  Give good employees what they want.

 

Give workers a sense of community and belonging, a purpose, pride in the organization and a feeling of control over their career.

 

Good Boss 2

 

A people's boss is personable, leads by example and doesn't ask anyone to do anything he either hasn't done or isn't willing to do. 

 

He's actually not much of a boss at all in the sense that if it ain't broken, don't fix it.  If the employees are doing their jobs, he doesn't hover over them, constantly checking them out which breeds distrust.  He leaves them be until the situation demands that he step in.

 

It's not about all that cheap human resource psychology crap you hear all the time about strategies to motivate employees or supercharge the workplace.  In fact, workers resent it when they see you trying those cheap one-liner ploys on them.  Don't use rah-rah gimmicks.  Be solid.

 

Nevertheless, the so-called art of motivating employees is big business in the realm of business education and human resources so I will give you a bunch of one-liners I gleaned from several books on the subject.

 

Good bosses are all about helping your workers get ahead at work and achieve their personal life goals.  You're trying to help them upgrade themselves education-wise and get promoted to higher positions so that you can benefit from their abilities. 

 

It's a mutually beneficial thing.  Both sides look in the same direction, to the betterment of the company.  When you make your workers happy, they like you and become more productive so everybody wins.

 

The more motivated, upbeat and inspired you are, the more your employees will absorb some of this through osmosis. 

 

The more honorable and dignified you are as a human being, the more respect you will get.

 

Your word and reputation is all you have.  Culture it and live by it or die by not following it.  All you have is your honesty.  If you compromise it, you have nothing in the eyes of your workers.

 

Be a common man or woman.  Don't even try to act uppity.  This is the one thing the workers are always checking you out on, are you being real or putting on airs.

 

The more clear your vision is for the company, preferably written down somewhere (on the wall in poster form and in the company manual), the more the workers will know exactly what you want and work towards that end.

 

It's generally not about the boss versus the workers even though that's the conventional wisdom.  Workers want bosses to win as a successful company because it means they will win too in pay and job security.  They know they're on the same team.

 

Encourage teamwork, a mutual commitment to the company and their work for the good of all of you together.  Be democratic about it.  Lead by example.  Your goal is to get employees to be the best they can be, to unleash their potential for the good of the company.

 

Sharing information with everybody is one of the most basic ways to help empower everybody within the company, even the customers.

 

Don't be a preachy, soppy, phony motivator like some guy reading lines out of a self-help textbook.  Be more natural and real, more informal as opposed to formal.

 

Leading is an oxymoron because the best leaders don't often lead, they simply stand back and let the team operate only intervening when and as required as in cases of crises or a need for encouragement.

 

Walk your talk.  Don't be a bullshitter.

 

Don't preach.  Have conversations.  Help people as a mentor would.

 

Don't be too complex in anything.  Stick with the basics.

 

It's always about simple, straight, direct communication between a boss and his workers.  Be accessible.  Keep an open door policy.  Can the memo route.  Encourage people to walk up to you and talk to you anywhere, anytime. 

 

It helps if you walk around making smalltalk from time to time, asking them how it's going and if there's anything you can do to improve the situation.  Be the same way with customers.  Listen to them.

 

Don't be lacksadaisical when hiring people.  Hire good ones upfront.

 

Take your workers out to lunch sometimes, either one at a time or in a group.

 

Workers like consistent, fair bosses not moody bosses who have favorite people and people they pick on.

 

Say what you mean and stick to it.  People hate both a boss who doesn't say much of anything and keeps them guessing as to what's expected and the boss who gives all kinds of peptalks but doesn't seem to remember or care an hour later.

 

Give people enough freedom to open up and contribute their ideas.  When you give most workers responsibility, they will rise to the occasion.  Some won't though.  They're not necessarily bad workers, just people who would rather be grunts doing a low level job than to be a supervisor.

 

To create a team, you have to give them enough freedom to work as a team and make their own decisions.

 

Everybody has an ego.  Make people feel important and special.  Give compliments and rewards where due.  People generally rise to the competence level you expect from them.  If they don't, get rid of them.

 

Earn their trust then put your trust in them by giving them bigger jobs and more responsibility.

 

In a conflict, don't automatically accept the version from the higher status person.  Treat both sides equally.

 

Rather than focus on individual performance, try to focus on team performance.

 

Don't listen to gossip.  Accept only firsthand info.

Keep an open mind focussed on education.  Encourage the pursuit of knowledge for employees by offering incentive plans such as paying a certain percentage of tuition.

 

When contemplating big decisions, consult with your employees about it.

 

Be patient.  Let little things slide.  Hide your anger.  Try to stay calm.

 

Mind your health.  Take care of yourself.

 

Be loyal to your workers.  Fight for them if the situation demands it.

 

Remember, the workers are human beings with personal lives.  They're not just expendable commodities.

 

When you screw up, admit to it and apologize.

 

Everybody goes through times.  They're looking at you to see how you handle it.  If you can be stable and keep an even keel throughout, the crisis will pass quicker.

 

Minimize bureaucracy.

 

Don't act distrustful of their expense accounts.  If they can't be responsible and trusted for that, they're no good and you're no good for being that trivial about it.

 

Everybody needs some encouragement but don't be phony about it.  Make personable smalltalk with employees.

 

Be crystal clear about what you want from employees.

 

Get rid of the bad seeds.

 

If you have a problem, deal with it rather than sweep it under the rug.

 

Get periodic independent audits.

 

Delegate work to trusted people.

 

Offer your people opportunities to get more education, higher position and better pay.

 

Personally stay on top of the nuts and bolts of the business.

 

Even though it's fine to reward top performers with bonuses, it's better to reward a whole team for brilliant work.  Individual bonuses often create animosity and jealousy.

 

Learn from what your customers and workers tell you.  Ask for their feedback.

 

Don't hide in your office.  Be out there in the work and business area.

 

Be kind, humane and friendly.

 

Let everybody (bosses, workers and customers) know what's going on in the business.

 

When there's a crisis, take charge of the situation like a leader would.

 

Be polite.

 

Give a little bit sometimes.

 

With good workers you don't like, since you can't legally fire them, try to be amiable with them.

 

If the company is making money, be generous to good workers.

 

Throw a few good parties and social events here and there to show you're a cool guy.  You don't have to be extravagant.  Just supply some booze and food.

 

Show them how dedicated you are by being a workaholic with pride in your company.

 

Don't be a dictator.  Be a negotiator and compromiser.

 

When you criticize, criticize the wrong behavior not the individual.

 

Try #658.314 at the library for books about being a good boss and motivating people.

 

Rate Your Boss

 

ebosswatch.com

 

Christmas Bonus

 

A Christmas bonus is probably more symbolic than it is material.  Employees expect it around Christmas just like a kid expects his toys.  If you give it, they feel they're appreciated and will give more on the job especially when you need a favor like to meet a deadline or something like that. 

 

You could give out food baskets, gifts, a turkey or something like that but the best thing is cash.  Give every employee a week's pay or give them all $200 cheques, from the highest to the lowliest worker.  Don't give too much because they will expect you to match it or beat it every year.

 

If you're doing alright, driving a new car, wearing nice suits, don't pull a fast one by not giving them a Christmas bonus because you claim times are tough.  Whereas giving a Christmas bonus will make more loyal employees who feel part of a family, not giving it won't just be neutral, it will create bitterness and possibly even sabotage.

 

Take the cheques around in a Christmas card and personally hand them to each employee while you say, "Merry Christmas" and shake their hands.  Cash would probably be better than a cheque.

 

Think twice before you decide to be a cheapo unless the business is really, really struggling.  You could always give paid time off as a Christmas gift.

 

Deal With A Rude Worker

 

If you don't want to get in someone's face, simply send an anonymous letter telling them about their problem and that you're just a concerned friend who wants to help out.

 

Elearning at Work

 

ninthhouse.com, an e-learning company that simulates everyday situations that come

up in work

pensare.com, e-learning company that creates

business knowledge communities

 

Get Rid of a Partner/ Manager

 

Conflicts start among longtime friends and business partners for a lot of reasons, usually money, differences of opinion as to whether someone is pulling their weight, incompetence, substance abuse, theft, misappropriation of funds, ego and jealousy, etc. The bottom line is that this individual has got to go.

 

First off, in your company charter right from the beginning, list reasons why anyone can be terminated, reasons such as substance abuse, discrimination, incompetence, sexual harassment, laziness, theft, moral turpitude, etc.

 

Secondly, if there's no way to keep a top executive or even a founder without going crazy, you have to offer him a big bone to get him out, hopefully voluntarily without going through company and legal procedure which is similar in some ways to firing any employee although  different.

 

Some common ways to get undesirable top guns out is to:

 

Offer him a new or currently existing separate branch of the company which he takes on as his own business.

 

A big paycheque.

 

Setting up another division in another state or country which you give to him.

 

Have him investigated to hopefully find dirt on him.

Dissolve the company then start it again on your own.

 

Go through some manner of arbitration or mediation.

 

Hash it out in a legal court of law.

 

Be civil, amicable and reasonable.  Explain that he no longer fits the vision of the company.  He should take the money and enjoy his life for awhile.  Make it sound appealing for him to chuck it all and live easy. 

Offer him a big enough bone, tell him the board or the other managers will vote against him if he pushes it, tell him it will be simpler if he takes the cash settlement and leaves quietly.  Offer him almost anything to avoid a legal battle in court. 

 

Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, was fired by his own company.  The two original founders of Cisco, the guy and the girl whose names I don't know, were also fired.

 

A Ninja Warrior Attitude in Life and Work

 

Subvert anything of value to the enemy.

 

Accept the aid of enemies of your enemy.

 

Treat your allies well.

 

Give up all old loyalties and traditions in pursuit of what you do.

 

Destroy your enemy invisibly anywhere you can without a direct confrontation.

 

Be secretive and quiet.  Don’t blab about what you do.

 

Wear dark clothes.  Blend in.

 

Have a principle of honor.  Use evil against evil people only.

 

Think about what you will do.  Plan it out.

 

Mediate to see yourself and the world clearly.

 

Train to be in good physical shape.

 

Cuklture the ability to relax to stay strong as opposed to allowing stress defeat you.

 

Be patient with what you want.  Bide your time.  Strike when the opportunity is right.

 

Study others.  Try to figure out their motivations.

 

Be strong, wise, brave and silent.

 

Gather knowledge and plan in advance.

 

When in doubt, don’t act.  Wait for the right time.

 

If your enemy gets you, act passive.  Wait for a time to exit or escape.

 

Don’t be careless and leave things around that might implicate you.

 

Chapter 2. Workplace Conduct 2

 

Job Change/ How To Keep Good Workers

 

Career change or job change into another job in the same career is very popular these days for several reasons.  Firstly, a lot of professions are being phased out as technology and automation deplete the traditional working professions. 

 

Secondly, companies go in and out of business all the time as the demands of the marketplace and technology changes.

 

Thirdly, individuals in general, sometimes get tired at the same company, sometimes feel like they're not appreciated and often feel the grass is greener elsewhere so they look around for other opportunities in their field which is a fair deal in today's world.

 

There's no loyalty like thirty years ago when you could expect a company to take care of you for life if you worked there.  Just as companies have no loyalty to anyone when they're downsizing, neither should a worker have loyalty to a company if they think they can do better elsewhere.

 

Ask yourself the following questions about your job:

 

Are you happy or unhappy there?

 

Is it a good job that you like?

 

Are you paid enough?

 

Do the people like you as a friend?

 

Are the people good?

 

Does your boss like you and support you?

 

Have you been promoted or rewarded lately?

 

Is the work atmosphere peaceful or tense.?

 

Are you near enough to your pension to stay or far enough away to go elsewhere?

 

Is it a good company or could it fade away at any time?

 

If you want to leave, keep your mouth shut, take courses on the side to upgrade and send out resumes where applicable then if you get an offer, tell the boss.  He might give you a better counter-offer or say, "Adios."  Either way, make that change.

 

If you're a boss and want to keep good workers, ask yourself the following questions:

 

Am I paying him enough?

 

Why does he choose to work here over somewhere else?

 

Have I given him enough promotions or rewards?

 

Do I talk to him regularly and meet his mind on what he wants out of the deal both moneywise and directionwise?

 

Does he have any complaints?

 

Have I told him lately that he's a good worker and asked him what I can do to accommodate his needs?

 

Is he burning out, tired or unappreciated?

 

Do we have an open, trusting relationship?

 

Does he seem happy and in good health?

 

Does he enjoy the work?

 

Does he feel that you'll reward him proportionate to his efforts as times goes by?

 

In general, the way to attract and keep good workers is to:

 

Hire workers with good attitudes upfront.

 

Be a good guy.  Be friendly.  Help the workers fit in.

 

Treat workers well.  Give them creature comforts.  Pay them a good wage.

 

Encourage teamwork.

 

The more definite the job, the better the worker knows exactly what he has to do so be clear about it.

 

Offer interesting work.  Offer creative people worthy challenges.

 

If somebody feels uncomfortable at first, give them a chance.  Some people have personal problems and never fit in.  If you hire an unsociable personality but realize it too late, I would suggest you get rid of him or her because bad attitudes or loners with attitudes are bad for the workplace overall.

 

Talk to the workers.  Keep an emotional connection there.

 

Offer workers new education programs, training workshops, etc.

 

Recognize good work and show appreciation.  Some people have an employee of the month award which has a bonus with it.

 

Don't promise the moon upfront and/ or promise an interesting job if it's really dull.

 

transitionteam.com, they help companies with downsizing issues.

 

New Age Business Philosophy

 

According to a New Age article, companies should:

 

Create a light, lively, lightly colored setting with windows and inspirational slogans on the walls.

 

Have flexible working schedules so workers can take time off when they need to.

 

Have a meditation room with a masseuse or a chiropractor, some touchy-feely therapist who touches you somehow.

 

Have a sleep room for power naps.

 

Exercise room.

 

TV room, reading room.

 

Group sessions where the workers talk about their feelings on company time.

 

Sabbaticals, up to six paid months off after five years of service to relax and get a new perspective.

 

Management should work as a team with workers.

 

Obligations of Corporations

 

Directors of public corporations have a general standard they have to live by otherwise they can be booted out by the corporate regulators. 

These general rules make good sense for all managers in all companies including private ones. 

 

Some are as follows:

 

Act honestly in the best interests of the corporation.

 

Act in good faith.  Your undivided loyalty is to the corporation, even over your own self interest.

 

Avoid conflict of interest.  The interests of the company must come before you try to line your own pockets.  Any situation which puts money in your pocket at the expense of the corporation is at the least morally reprehensible, at the most, a violation of criminal law that could land you in jail.

 

Do not misuse position or knowledge.  Directors must not make improper use of information acquired by virtue of their position to gain, directly or indirectly, something for themselves or their allies or to cause detriment to the corporation.

 

Exercise care and diligence.  People put into positions of responsibility in a business corporation must exercise the degree of care and prudence that a wise, cautious person would.  Don't make hasty decisions or do reckless things with other people's money.

 

Wage increases are one of the ways to reward and motivate workers but the question is can you afford an across-the-board increase?  Nothing will arouse the wrath of one group of workers as giving another group or individual a raise and not them. 

Before you give a raise, make it universal for everybody, calculate how much it will cost and do it or don't, depending on if you can handle the increase in labor costs.  If the business is doing fine, don't think twice about giving the workers raises and building a nice lunch room for them.  Invest in them.  They're what makes your business a success.

 

If you can't afford a wage increase, give them other breaks like Friday afternoons off once a month, good Christmas bonuses, a big barbeque or party, etc. Employees are very aware of how generous or stingy you are with them.

 

Businesses are obligated to provide a vacation with pay to any employee who has worked there for 12 months or more.  If the employee does not take the vacation with pay and they lose their job, they're entitled to receive at least 4% of their wages earned during that year. 

 

Departing employees are entitled to outstanding wages, vacation pay and payments the employee paid into the pension fund, if applicable. 

 

Severance pay which is extra pay for getting rid of the employee is a matter of personal preference on behalf of the company but many companies feel it's good policy to give terminated workers some extra money because it lessens the incidence of lawsuits against them for wrongful termination and the like.

 

A lot of companies get sued for wrongful dismissal.  The employee thinks he or she was terminated for unreasonable grounds and often, beyond suing the company, individual managers are sued as well for what is sometimes called bad faith.  There is some case law supporting these types of lawsuits but as of now, no specific statutes.

 

With sexual harassment and harassment claims in general, a lot of workers are now suing the company as well as individual managers who they claim knew about the harassment but did nothing about it.  As with wrongful termination lawsuits, there is some case law supporting it but no direct statutes.

 

Parkinson's Law, Etc.

 

If anything can go wrong it will.

 

Nothing is ever as simple as it seems.

 

Complications always happen.

 

Everything takes longer to do than expected.

 

If everything is going good, be ready for all hell to break loose.

 

Some of Murphy's Laws

 

Parkinson's Law, named after Cyril Northcote Parkinson, (Parkinson's Law: The Pursuit of Progress, 1958) said, "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion."  It's a cynical look at workers assuming that if left to their own devices, they'd take the easy way out.  If you give them eight hours to do five hours of work, they'll stretch it out each and every time. 

 

A better way is to pay for production somehow, either by paying a salary with bonuses for good work or offering some incentive like if they work hard all week, putting in eight hours of work for an eight hour day, you give them Friday afternoon off or if they work hard for five hours straight with one 15 minute break in there, you give them an hour for lunch instead of the usual half hour and do easy work for the last two hours.

 

Set realistic deadlines when establishing the time limits for work routines.  If you give them too much time to do work, they'll follow Parkinson's Law and slack off. 

 

If you ask for the impossible by giving them too much work to do in the time period, it will backfire because they'll laugh cynically, know they can't do it so they will spite you for giving them this impossible order by never finishing and having a good excuse as to why; because it's too much work.

 

Murphy's Law is that if anything can possibly go wrong, it will.  Circumvent this by preparing and planning as well as you can then when something happens, don't sit and mope, get on it right away. 

 

Sometimes a good night sleep solves business problems that don't seem so daunting when you wake up or you get a simple insight about how to solve the problem.

 

Pareto's Law is the law of the vital few and the trivial many.  Pareto, a mathematician, noticed that many people tend to attempt the trivial details of jobs first thereby getting bogged down in the process giving them less time for the most important jobs.  Tasks should be prioritized in order of importance.  Do the important stuff first.  The trivial stuff can wait.

 

Power and Business

 

Clothes used to be important, the car you drove, etc. to make an impression but these days it's not that important in many businesses provided you're a genius. 

 

Some companies still want yes-men immaculately dressed, some companies don't care as long as you do the job. 

 

A tie is a symbol of yes-man conformity.  That's the message it gives off, that you will willingly wear a noose around your neck to make it in the white-collar establishment.  That's all it means.  It has no useful function. 

 

It's a symbol of conformity, it shows that you gave up some of your natural free spirit for the system.  In some situations, you have to wear one like if you're looking for a business loan or venture capital.

 

The old school was that you have to consciously act the part of one who is used to being in command.  You must move, speak and act power.  The men who are capable of making money are men who can act in a strong style.  The new school is just be yourself.  Don't put on airs like all that phony crap they taught me in military officer training.

 

Language and the way you speak can say as much as the ideas in your words.  I respect people who are intellectuals for its own sake.  If I hear bad grammar, I know I'm dealing with someone who is not intellectual.  I once read a report written by an alleged bigshot.  There were so many spelling and grammatical misteaks in it that I knew he couldn't have been very smart.

 

Be the man or woman who's in demand.  Power isn't just you being able to call someone and tell him what to do; it's also other men calling you and asking for your business or wanting to associate with you. 

 

If you're a man who seems to possess a wide knowledge of the world, an awareness of trends, if you're the early-bird who catches sight of opportunities first, if you're the man who's capable of handling many different kinds of situations then people will seek you out. 

 

They will invite you to vacation at their country homes, to meet their influential associates, to join their social clubs and their business syndicates.  And when they do, all of these will enhance your image of power and widen your power base so you can zoom ahead even more.

 

Be alert for clues you can use to your advantage.  Present yourself with confidence; broadcast your willpower, speak and move with assurance and, to make sure they get the message, have the clothes, car, office and the other outer appearances of power and money.  People tend to believe what they see.

 

Procrastinators Are Either Weak or Bored

 

If you waste time dilly-dallying around with your work or studies rather than doing it straight-on, to me, it means you're either weak or this is not what you were born to do.  If you really, really like what you do, you're never bored, you never procrastinate because you love doing it so much.

 

If you really got guts, you'd quit what you're doing to earn a living if you find yourself procrastinating a lot and keep searching until you find something that you're so interested in that you never procrastinate.

 

Whenever I procrastinate from my main task, it's because I got interested in something else for awhile, not because I hate my main job.  I love everything I do.  I move from interesting thing to interesting thing.

 

Fear might be the reason you put off doing what you know you should do.  Whether it's fear of failure or fear of success, it's still fear. 

Once you recognize how you procrastinate, you'll better be able to put a stop to it.

 

Break down the job into little parts so it doesn't seem so big.

 

You have to love what you do.

 

Take small steps in the right direction and you'll eventually get there.  Reward yourself for your little successes.

 

There are some people who aren't interested in anything that involves effort.  They're lazy by nature.  They will always procrastinate regardless of the job.

 

Procrastination isn't good for your health because it creates stress. 

If people rely on you, you let them down when you don't do what you're expected to do.

 

Don't do trivial tasks as the excuse to not do your major work. 

You have to get into the flow of what you do and love it.

 

I wrote my book A Free Spirit's Search for Enlightenment to tell people if you don't do what you really wanna do in life, you're screwing yourself.  If you procrastinate, it means you're not doing what you really love to do.

 

Workplace Literacy/ Reading Ability at Work

 

nald.ca

naldatwork.ca, nald; workplace literacy.

 

work-basedlearning.org/toolkit.cfm

work-basedlearning.org

wdr.doleta.gov/scans/whatwork/whatwork.pdf, what work requires of schools report.

 

ncsall.net/index.php?id=105, workplace literacy education.

 

proliteracy.org/netcommunity/document.doc?id=40, workforce literacy workbook.

 

Work Clip Art/ Job Clip Art

 

ncrtec.org/picture.htm, amazing picture machine

coolarchive.com/clipart.cfm, cool archive clip art.

 

virtuallrc.com

clipsahoy.com/occupations.htm, occupations clip art.

 

Chapter 3. Workplace Conduct 3

 

The Workplace 1

 

Look at the employees as an investment.  If you treat them well, they will give you worthy effort.

 

Golden Rule of the Workplace

 

People aren't robots, they're people so treat them that way.  You need a certain element of respect and trust in order to offset the inevitable boring parts of any job.  

 

Basically, it comes down to the worker giving you time in exchange for money so you should try to infuse it with a spiritual sense of peace, goodness and security and offer material incentives to your workers if you're doing well. 

 

Share the wealth so to speak.  Don't just try to suck every ounce of sweat out of them for as cheap as you can. 

 

In business, nice guys as bosses finish first provided they got the guts to know what it takes to do a good job and do it.  Don't lose sight of your workers in your quest for the almighty dollar.

 

A good workplace is a happy workplace.  Trust your workers enough to let them do the job on their own without looking over their shoulders and barking out orders all the time.  Let the workplace flow peacefully in a nice, efficient quality manner, not too fast or too slow. 

 

Give them freebies here and there, a free lunch, Friday afternoon off, a box of chocolates, a barbecue on a weekend inviting all the workers out to a park on you.

 

Have a friendly atmosphere without the usual top-down dictatorial boss looking for something wrong.  Instead, focus on the positives over the negatives.  Minimize politics.  Give everyone the same, fair deal, namely work hard and you will be rewarded well.

 

There's an average job then there's a place you enjoy going to because you feel you will move onto bigger and better things through it and besides they treat like you're a part of a family there. 

 

A great workplace is a place where you feel that you trust the bosses, that they won't fire you on a whim, you enjoy the work you do and enjoy the people you work with. 

 

The worst thing beyond a straight-out dictatorial situation workers can't stand the loudmouth boss who promises the world but doesn't deliver. 

 

A good boss makes the workers feel safe and secure, like he's out for their best interests as well as his.  It's a mutual, teamwork thing, everybody working together for their mutual benefit. 

 

Constant communication and commitment are what makes your reputation or breaks it.  Don't berate people for honest mistakes.  Instead of criticism, try to help the workers improve and learn from their mistakes.  Be fair over being a benevolent wimp who doesn't hold the workers up to a standard. 

 

If people do dull jobs, try to make them interesting or offer them options to move into more interesting jobs.  Be an honest boss.  Try for partnership over dictatorship.  The bottom line is that the workers are your greatest asset and could destroy you if you don't treat them right. 

 

Go easy on the psychobabble and the attitude they drilled you with in management school about being professional all the time.  You can be friendly and be a good boss without bumbling all over yourself.  Just be real and straight. 

 

There's a time to play and a time to work.  If somebody wants to play when there's a deadline to meet, call a spade a spade.

 

Don't be preachy either and think you're some self-help guru who's gonna motivate his workers to be master blaster champions.  That stuff gets old real fast.  Nobody can stay on fire with inspiration forever.  There's a comfortable pace to the workplace.  Honor it.  If you run them too hard, they will rebel. 

 

If your workplace is currently bad, you can change it by consistently be a good boss day after day.  People treat you the way you treat them. 

 

It's all recent.  People will accept your improved behavior and hope you stay that way.  Nothing is worse than an inconsistent phony who praises you one minute then gets angry the next.

 

Your workers are full grown adults, not kids.  Just because you're technically their boss doesn't give you the right to treat them without respect.  You have to develop an emotional rapport with them and talk about work and their personal lives.

 

Ask them to work as a team and come to you with any ideas they might have to make the job go better.  Try to be a genuine, loving, nice open person.  Have an easygoing straight manner. 

 

If background music helps the day go smoother, bring a radio in, tune it to a soft rock station and play it at moderate volume. 

 

Some companies have free pop and snacks for their workers.  Their policies are happy workers make productive workers.  Provide a water fountain at a minimum and don't make people ask to go to the bathroom like schoolkids.  If they need to go, they go on their own. 

 

People in general as individuals or as a team can do good work unsupervised if respected and paid adequately.  People intrinsically want to do good work, something inside of them craves to do something well, to be a part of something greater than themselves to achieve something worthy for the world so don't underestimate your workers. 

 

Of course, there will always be a few lazy bums watching the clock who won't give you an ounce of sweat more than they think you deserve but by and large, if you give people trust and a challenging job to do, they will want to rise to the challenge. 

 

Control is a dirty word.  Try for more freedom and a supportive, peaceful, creative open workplace.  Share the power and decision making with your workers. 

 

If people can't get to express the power, energy and creativity within, they feel miserable and become lousy workers.  If they feel you're an asshole trying to control them, many will quietly hate you and try to sabotage you by stealing things or destroying your property. 

 

Teamwork, participation by everybody in the process, is the key theme not just disjointed departments doing isolated jobs not understanding the whole process.  These things will help create greater morale which will increase productivity and make customers happy. 

 

Be constantly vigilant of the collective emotional state of your workers.  They must be made to feel happy and satisfied in the workplace all the time in order for the company to do its best. 

 

Think of leadership as providing the means and the atmosphere through which your workers can express themselves and be the best they can be at what they do.  Good leaders are positive, active, get involved with their workers and develop a rapport with them. 

 

Do little things around the workplace like hire a cleaner to keep it clean and put some nice looking inspirational and safety posters up. 

 

Give them a little lunch room where they can do what they want. 

If the workplace is an office, splurge on comfortable chairs for greater productivity. 

 

The Workplace 2

 

The workplace has to be fun but the workers have to be aware enough that the bottom line is work and profit.  Find that middle ground.  The fun part just makes the serious part of work easy to tolerate. 

 

You don't lead by coercing people into fear, you lead by helping them be the best they can be because they want to.

 

Try to be informal in the workplace.  Since you're all adults, try to call each other by first name rather than titles or "sir" or "Mister Jones."

 

Make the workplace pleasant but not so pleasant that the workers spend a lot of time gossiping and playing on their computers.

 

Try to make the workplace comfortable so the worker feels good about doing his job.  Keep the atmosphere comfortable so they feel relaxed and do a good job without fear of screwing up.

 

You must believe that your workers can do the job alone without you on their backs and prove it to them.  Getting involved doesn't mean riding them, it means getting to know them a bit, talking about the job and their personal lives.

 

Make your workers feel good about being part of the team and guide them into expressing their creativity to help develop better quality products and a better work process. 

 

When work becomes a fun place to be and everybody's happy being productive, you've won the game in creating a great workplace.  Just keep that atmosphere going. 

 

If you've got a team of inspired people liking each other, working with each other, you're a great company with the potential to do something great.

 

Be serious about your vision but at the same time don't take life too seriously.  Work hard, give honest effort then knock off, relax, take a break, enjoy life for awhile then do it all over again. 

 

Your workers operate in this kind of rhythm.  You have to be able to read them and give them breaks after bouts of hard work.  Keep that rapport with your workers by making small talk and being straight with them. 

 

Make a conscious attempt not to alienate your workers no matter what.  Don't let them mistake your kindness for weakness.  Just let them know you want a good job done and encourage them to try hard, work as a team and take pride in their work. 

 

Good leaders share themselves with their workers.  Be strong enough to be human.  Admit when you've screwed up and made mistakes or treated somebody unjustly. 

 

Try to clear the air of tension and personality conflicts.  Some people you can't reach.  Either get rid of them, be nice to them or try to ignore them as much as you can. 

 

When something personal has to be said, do it in private.  A great leader makes things happen by nurturing his employees to be their best.  Most people want to belong somewhere and get a chance to use their unique skills in a worthy way so give your workers that chance, to be productive and happy in their work. 

 

A great leader kills most of the bureaucracy around him to deal with his workers and situations straight on, face to face. 

 

Remember all work and no play creates dull workers who want to get back at the boss for being such a dud so they may sabotage the workplace by stealing or doing acts of vandalism. 

 

You gotta have a certain lightness at work since you're spending at least eight hours a day there with your workers, all their moods and problems stuck together in that one place, the workplace. 

 

If it's too hot, get fans or air-conditioning.  If it's too cold, turn the heat up.  Keep the workplace comfortable.

 

Push when you have deadlines but let the show run itself most of the time via the workers' inner code of how to run the job then back off on a Friday afternoon or on a slow day and give them the afternoon off with pay. 

 

Focus on the quality of the work right now and everything else will take care of itself. 

 

The person doing the job knows about it more than you so back off.  Leave him alone if he's doing it right. 

 

Have occasional open talks between employees and management.  Try to get them to give feedback about how to change for the better.

 

If you've got a tough employee and go through a grievance process put the final decision to a jury of his peer employees.

 

Stock options and employee-ownership plans are good at motivating people.

 

Have a newsletter or online website where anyone can say whatever they want anonymously and uncensored.

 

Employees will generally do the job on their own well if treated right.

 

The Workplace 3

 

Based on a survey questionnaire filled out by both managers and workers, the most important facets to keep a workplace reasonably peaceful and happy are as follows:

 

Explain everything clearly, even the big picture because then they see how what they do relates to what the other people in the company do. 

Encourage teamwork.  Try to make individuals feel part of the team.

 

Keep people interested in their work.

 

Show them you want feedback and new ideas.

 

Train workers correctly.  Don't skimp on training mateials.  Don't throw them into situations cold turkey.

 

Try to mentor your workers.  Train them so that they flourish and grow.

 

Pay at least the average wage for the particular job.  The higher you pay relative to average salary, the more likely they are at stay with you.

 

Tell people exactly where they stand.  Are they average, above average or substandard?

 

Provide a clean, safe workplace.

 

Get to know the workers and give them work based on their individual personalities.

 

If you try to assign too much work that can't be done in the time given, employees laugh cynically and rebel because they know you're asking the impossible.  In most cases, their own flow is adequate.

 

Give trusted people the power to make their own decisions about major aspects of the job.

 

Be available to anyone who wants to talk.  Let them know you're available. 

 

Give praise and compliments only when justified and don't overdo it.  Be sincere and write out a "good chit" for their files.  When I was in the military, if anyone did a particularly good job at something, the boss would write them a good chit and put it in their files. 

 

A great way to give praise is to publicize it in front of the group.  Tell them all what a great job John Doe did on something.  They might call him a brown-noser but they'll all be jealous.  You will have gotten your point across.

 

The worst example of praise I ever saw was one time when I gave my boss some report I did and he tells me that it was among the best work he had ever seen then two weeks later, he's berating me like I'm a dumb schoolboy. 

 

If you give praise then forget that you've given it by treating the worker average when he thinks he's special and he probably is because he does good work, he'll lose all respect for you.

 

Treat all employees fairly.

 

Don't beat around the bush.  Be straight with everyone.

 

Help out when the floor is having a tough go og it.

 

Offer incentives for workers to further educate themselves about work-related matters.

 

Be personable with people.

 

Hire women and minorities to diversify the workplace.

 

Don't be a stickler for the rules.  Live by the spirit of situations.

 

Document all disciplinary actions with paperwork.

 

Be aware of your own weaknesses and try to improve yourself.

 

Encourage the workplace to live by the Golden Rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

 

Don't tolerate an atmosphere of sexy or racist jokes.  Tell them it doesn't belong in the workplace.

 

In the end, think of managing people as an intervention.  You stand in the background and only come out to intervene if they screw up.

 

Proper training and a friendly manner are the best ways to keep workers reasonably happy.

 

Books about the workplace and personnel management are at #331.209, #658.4, HD66 and HF5549 at the library.

 

Ambition, Business and Work in the Bible

 

The Bible basically says that work and business are good if you do it for the glory of God but if you do it for selfishness and egotistical ambition, it's wrong.

 

Ambitious people are praised on the one hand because they achieve things but if their attitudes are arrogant and haughty, they always end up hurting other people, thinking they're superior, acting elitist.  Idolatry of one's own ego is the worship of a false god.

 

Let nothing be done through ambition or vain conceit, but in humility let each esteem others better than themselves.

Philippians 2:3

 

The way of man is perverse and strange, but as for the pure, his work is right.

Proverbs 21:8

 

Trust in the Lord and do good, so shall you dwell in the land and truly you shall be fed.

Psalms 37:3

 

There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor.  This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.

Ecclesiastes 2:24

 

What does man gain from all his labor, from all his anxious striving and toiling under the sun? for all his days are sorrowful and his work brings grief; yes, his heart takes not rest in the night.  This is also futility.

Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

 

In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty

Proverbs 14:23

 

He that tills his land shall be satisfied with bread, but he who chases worthless pursuits is void of understanding.

Proverbs 12:11

 

The hand of the diligent shall rule, but the lazy will be forced into slave labor.

Proverbs 12:24

 

The slothful man does not roast what he took in hunting, but the diligent man gains precious wealth.

Proverbs 12:27

 

The Father, who without favoritism judges according to every man's work.

1 Peter 1:17

 

And the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to work it and to tend it.

Genesis 2:15

 

In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread.  Till you return to the ground; for out of it were you taken, for dust you are and to dust shall you return.

Genesis 3:19

 

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days shall you labor and do all your work; but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord your God.  In it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor the stranger that is within your gates.  For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

Exodus 20:8-11

 

If a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.  But let every man test his own work and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another.  For every man shall bear his own burden.

Galatians 6:3-5

 

I considered that all labor and every skill come from man's envy of his neighbor.  This is also meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:4

 

Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30

 

What is a man profited, if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?  Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Matthew 16:26

 

Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:9

 

Better is a handful with quietness than both the hands full with toil and a chasing after the wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:6

 

What is a man profited, if he gain the whole world and lose his soul?  Matthew 16:26

 

This one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forth to those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-14

 

You shall not defraud your neighbor, nor rob him; the wages of him that you hired shall not stay with you all night until the morning.

Leviticus 19:13

 

You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is of your brethren or of your strangers that are in your land.  At day's end you shall pay him his wages, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor and is counting on it; lest he cry against you to the Lord and it be sin to you.

Deuteronomy 24:14-15

 

By much slothfulness the building decays and through idleness of the hands, the house falls through.

Ecclesiates 10:18

 

My beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, since you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:5 8

 

Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways and be wise.  How long will you sleep, O sluggard?  When will you arise out of your sleep?  Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep - so shall your poverty come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.

Proverbs 6:6, 9-11

 

As vinegar to the teeth and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard (lazy person) to those who send him.

Proverbs 10:26

 

The slothful man does not roast his game, but the diligent man obtains good things.

Proverbs 12:27

 

The soul of the sluggard desires and has nothing, but the soul of the diligent shall be made prosperous.

Proverbs 13:4

 

The way of the slothful man is overgrown with thorns, but the way of the righteous is made level.

Proverbs 15:19

 

He that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.

Proverbs 18:9

 

Slothfulness brings on deep sleep and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.

Proverbs 19:15

 

The craving of the slothful will be the death of him, for his hands refuse to labor.

Proverbs 21:25

 

The lazy man will not plow by reason of the cold; at harvest time he shall beg and have nothing.

Proverbs 20:4

 

The thoughts of the diligent lead to abundance; but everyone who is hasty is led to poverty.

Proverbs 21:5

 

The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

Proverbs 23:2 I

 

He that tills his land shall be satisfied with bread, but he who chases worthless pursuits is void of understanding.

Proverbs 12:11

 

The hand of the diligent shall rule, but the lazy will be forced into slave labor.

Proverbs 12:24

 

The slothful man does not roast what he took in hunting, but the diligent man gains precious wealth.

Proverbs 12:2 7

 

In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty

Proverbs 14:23

 

The thoughts of the diligent lead only to prosperity, but those of the hasty lead only to want.

Proverbs 21:5

 

Do you see a man diligent in his business?  He shall stand before kings.

Proverbs 22:29

 

He that tills his land shall have plenty to eat, but he who follows after foolish fantasies shall have poverty.

Proverbs 28:19

 

I looked on all the works that my hands had made and on the labor that I had labored to do, and, behold, all was meaningless, a chasing after the wind and there was no profit under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 2:11

 

Behold what I have seen: it is good and fitting for one to eat and to drink and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he does under the sun all the days of his life, which God gives him, for this is his lot; this is the gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-19

 

Labor not for the food which perishes, but for that food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give to you.

John 6:27

 

I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.  Yes, you yourselves know, that my hands have supported myself and my companions.  I have showed you all things, how that in laboring you ought to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Acts 20:33-35

 

Be not slothful in business; be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.

Romans 12:11

 

He who sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly and he who sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

2 Corinthians 9:6

 

Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, so that he may be able to give to those in need.

Ephesians 4:28

 

Serve with good will, as doing it for the Lord, not for men.

Ephesians 6:6-7

 

Study to lead a quiet life and to do your own business and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, so that you may walk honestly toward outsiders and that you may lack nothing.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

 

Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother who is idle and not living according to the tradition he received from us.  For you know how you ought to follow us, for we were not idle while among you, nor did we eat any man's bread without paying; but we labored night and day so that we might not burden any of you.  This was not because we have no right, but in order to make ourselves an example to you to follow.  For even when we were with you, this we commanded you: If any will not work, neither should he eat.  For we hear that there are some of you are living in idleness, not working at all, mere busybodies.  Now such as these we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, so that with quietness they work and earn their own living.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-12

 

If any provide not for his own and specially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.

1 Timothy 5:8

 

Listen now, you rich men; weep and wail for the miseries that shall come upon you.  Behold, the wages of the laborers who have harvested your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out and the cries of the harvesters have entered into the ears of the Lord Almighty You have lived in pleasure and luxury on the earth; you have fattened your hearts, as for a day of slaughter.

James 5:1-5

 

There is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor favoritism toward persons, nor taking of gifts.

2 Chronicles 19:7

 

The thoughts of the diligent lead only to prosperity, but those of the hasty lead only to want.

Proverbs 21:5

 

See you a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings.

Proverbs 22:29

 

He that tills his land shall have food in abundance, but he who follows fleeting fantasies shall have poverty.

Proverbs 28:19

 

The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much, but the abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep.

Ecclesiastes 5:22

 

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.

Ecclesiastes 9:10

 

Be not slothful in business; be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.

Romans 12:11

 

Whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

 

My beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, since you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:58

 

Serve with good will, as doing it for the Lord, not for men.

Ephesians 6:6-7

 

Study to lead a quiet life and to do your own business and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, so that you may walk honestly toward outsiders and that you may have lack of nothing.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

 

Listen, now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city and continue there a year and buy and sell and make money."  and yet you do not know what will happen tomorrow.  For what is your life?  It is like a vapor, that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.  Rather, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."

James 4:13-15

 

Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues gained dishonestly.

Proverbs 16:8

 

The rich man's wealth is his strong city and like a high wall in his own conceit.

Proverbs 18:11

 

Be of the same mind one toward another.  Be not high-minded, but be willing to condescend to men of low estate.  Be not wise in your own conceits.

Romans 12:16

 

Behold, some that are last shall be first and some that are first shall be last.

Luke 13:30

 

See you a man wise in his own conceit?  There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Proverbs 26:12

 

Let him that thinks he stands firm take heed lest he fall.

1 Corinthians 10:12

 

Wise men die, likewise the fool and the senseless perish and leave their wealth to others.  Their inward thought is that their houses shall continue forever and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.  Nevertheless man, despite his honors, abides not; he is like the beasts that perish.  Such is the fate of the foolish and of their followers who approve their sayings.  Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall decay in the grave, far from their dwelling. 

 

But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave; for he shall receive me.  Be not afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased, for when he dies he shall carry nothing with him; his glory shall not descend with him. 

 

Though while he lived he was counted as blessed and men will praise you when you prosper, he shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.  Man that is held in honor and lacking in understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Psalms 49:10-20

 

He that is greedy of gain troubles his own house.

Proverbs 15:27

 

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. For you are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful outwardly, but within are full of dead men's bones and of all kinds of filth.  Even so, you outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and dishonor.

Matthew 23:27

 

Better it is to be of humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Proverbs 16:19

 

In many dreams and many words there is also meaninglessness.

Ecclesiastes 5:7

 

The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.

Ecclesiastes 9:11

 

Woe to those who add house to house, that lay field to field, till there are no places left, that they may live alone in the midst of the earth.In mine ears said the Lord Almighty, "Surely the many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitants."

Isaiah 5:8-9

 

The devil took him up into an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them and said to him, "All these things will I give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Then said Jesus to him, "Get you hence, Satan, for it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.

Matthew 4:8-10

 

What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?  Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Matthew 16:26

 

Whoever will be great among you, let him be your servant.

Matthew 20:26

 

Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger.  Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

Luke 6:24-25

 

Jesus spoke a parable to them, saying, "The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, because I have no room to store my fruits?' and he said, 'This will I do: I will pull down my barns and build larger and there will I store all my fruits and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have much goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.'  But God said to him, 'You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you.  Then whose shall those things be, which you have provided?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."

Luke 12:16-21

 

Behold, some that are last shall be first and some that are first shall be last.

Luke 13:30

 

That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

Luke 16:15

 

Jesus said to them, "The kings of the pagans exercise lordship over them and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.  But you shall not be so, but he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger and he who is chief, as he who does serve.  For which is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at food?  But I am among you as he who serves."

Luke 22:25-27

 

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Colossians 3:2

 

If you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, do not boast of it and do not deny the truth.  This so-called wisdom descends not from heaven, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.  For where envying and strife are, there is disorder and every evil work.  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

James 3:14-17

 

All that is in the world, the cravings of the sinful nature and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1 John 2:16

 

Revenge At Work/ Sabotage

 

A person who broods on revenge only worsens his wounds.  His injuries would heal if he would refrain.

Francis Bacon

 

You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.  But now I tell you: do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you.  If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap you on the left cheek too.. When someone ask you for something, give it to him: when someone wants to borrow something, lend it to him.

Matthew 5: 38-39, Luke 6: 29-30

 

I'm a man of peace but as a messenger of informaton, it's my duty to report all relevant information.  Revenge is defined as the act of doing hurt or harm to another in return for wrong or injury suffered.  Thoughts of revenge come from anger at someone. 

 

Everyone has had thoughts of revenge at some point in time and such actions are necessary according to political Machiavellian rule and according to some, to make it in the business world. 

 

Revenge is sweet to some, wrong to others.  It's a kind of getting even, getting some dirty scumbag back for the wrong he or she did to you. 

It goes against the Christian edict of turning the other cheek, forgive and forget but I personally feel that sometimes you have to stop scumbags otherwise they will just keep going on unchecked. 

 

Revenge is a hot, interesting topic.  Just check out all the TV shows, movies, tabloids, etc. that love to deal with it.  The golden rule is Living Well Is The Best Revenge.  If it's just trivial stuff, why waste negative energy on it.  If it's big stuff, my philosophy of life is that they must somehow be made to pay and be taught a lesson. 

 

I personally strive to get revenge if some jerk tries to put one over on me.  I'm not religious, I have no qualms about it except getting caught and going to jail. 

 

If you go on after you've been taken advantage of undaunted, living a good life, your enemies and phony friends will get jealous when they see you're doing just great and they're still living loser lives. 

 

Talking it over will help.  Time and patience can heal anything.  It's all in the soul.  Everybody gets used and abused in life.  The winners keep their souls intact and keep going on.  In the end, you can either get cynical and bitter as I've seen happen to many, many people or you can go on regardless and let it all slide off your shoulders. 

 

If you're serious about getting revenge, there are some ground rules to follow; namely don't tell anyone who is a big mouth in general or who you might have a falling out with at some point in time who could call the cops on you, even a spouse and do not threaten the intended victim, either privately, publicly or over the phone because it just points the finger of guilt on you not to mention that threats alone are a criminal offense. 

 

Don't use your own phone, computer or credit cards that leave a paper trail pointing to you.  Pay cash for whatever you buy that you plan to use in your little scheme. 

 

Beware of fingerprints, shoe prints, tire prints and DNA which can identity you from something as insignificant as the saliva on the back of a licked stamp. 

 

Bide your time, wait quietly for the best opportunity.  Don't leave any evidence and keep your mouth shut about everything.  The revenge, in order to be successful, must screw the intended victim up, without getting you in any trouble so you get a quiet sense of justice without having to brag about it all over the place.

 

Many people use subtle, passive forms of revenge like being accident prone, saying and doing things to irk the other like conveniently being late, making loud noises, pretending you didn't hear something, asking someone to repeat something, saying "huh" or "what," talking high class phony, swearing on purpose, correcting somebody for something trivial, being sarcastic, etc.

 

If you get arrested for revenge on property, it's generally a charge of criminal mischief.

 

In the world of work, the insensitive boss often tries to suck blood out of his employees and belittles them because he thinks he owns them.  In those cases, according to me, revenge is justified.  What's fair is fair.  If the boss and company treat you righteously, send it back their way but if not, get what you can out of the deal and get back at them.

 

For any boss or business owner out there, every employee can be pushed too far.  If they do good work and you don't reward it by raising their pay, they will screw you one way or another. 

 

If you holler at them and make their lives miserable just to be an asshole, they will get you back.  If you promise them things but don't deliver, you're setting yourself up for the fall.

 

The most common form of revenge at work is theft or destroying company property.

 

The following is a general list of some revenge techniques:

 

Water in electrical components while on.

 

If you work in retail, you will see that shoplifting is big but employee theft is bigger in various forms.  The easiest one is getting a friend to come on, charging them $2 for a VCR, putting it into a nice big shopping bag and stapling it up with a big receipt.  A lot of employees hide the stuff by the backdoor or have their cars parked nearby.  Beware of surveilance cameras though.

 

Make up a phony supplier account and write cheques to yourself.

 

Try not to just destroy something.  Get something that improves your life like free food, pencils, phone calls, etc.

 

Time theft is sleeping on the job, doing personal business, taking long lunch breaks, having fun, etc.  If the boss is not around, the employees will steal time.

 

Urine and feces may be able to be traced back to you genetically so don't piss anywhere.

 

Get extra keys for the store then rob him.

 

Two furniture delivery guys for a furniture shop consistently stole furniture and resold it through newspaper ads.

 

Steal, steal, steal, only watch out for hidden cameras.  Take it out with the trash, hide it and recover it later.

 

If it's unsafe and they won't do anything about it, call the local media or subtly break the machines.

 

Wipe out computer hard-drives or important files.  You can get viruses at some hacking websites.

 

An easy way to look busy is to talk on the phone to nobody or your wife while looking like you're talking business.

 

Screw up so your boss looks bad.

 

One scientist and a survey taker simply make up their own results without doing the studies or surveys.

 

Always plead dumb when you screw up, especially if on purpose.

 

If you do a job like graphic artist, get personal contracts on the side and do them at work during work time.  Steal some of your boss's customers.  Offer to do the job on the side for half the price.

 

One sales guy on a salary faked his sales calls pretending he went out looking for new customers but never did.

 

One janitor sat in his closet watching his portable TV a few hours a day.

 

If your boss owes you money, tell him you can make it such that it will cost him so much in damage that he will wish he paid you.  Do it without witnesses around then do a few little things like superglue the locks to his car door, office door, key his car, spill a quart of paint on his front door and keep telling him you want the money.

 

One mail carrier hired for the Christmas simply threw all his mail in the garbage and claimed he delivered it.

 

Do your own personal work at the computer.

 

Make long distance calls.

 

Use their stamps.

Send your packages via their delivery system.

 

Steal a computer if you can.

 

Pad your timeclock if you can.

 

Take long breaks.

 

When asked to work too fast for comfort and safety, slow down as a unit.  Break something.  Have a short circuit.

 

Ignore customers.  Give poor customer service, especially on the phone.

 

Do your big thefts right after inventory.  Good thieves are nice to the boss, always clean, orderly and on time such that they're never suspected.  If you work with at least one other flunkie, there will always be doubt in their minds as to who did it, that is if they even know.

 

One oil delivery guy who didn't feel like working some emergency calls just told them he couldn't find the place.

 

Take what you can on expense accounts.

 

One guy at a building supplies store looked for working class guys like himself then when he put the stuff on the truck for them, he asked them if they need more plywood, etc., at 50% of the regular price.

 

Put important papers in the wrong order.

 

Walk off at a critical time when it's too late to find a replacement so the current big order gets screwed up.

 

The following is a general list of some revenge techniques:

 

Cut clothes.

 

Bleach on everything.

 

Take pet and give it away.

 

Take his credit cards and spend, spend, spend.

 

Call the cops from a payphone and tell them he's a dope dealer.

 

Take his birth certificate and passport and throw them out of the car in a ghetto area.

 

Water in electrical components while on.

 

Find out if there are free ads in your community in the local buy and sell newspaper as well as on a local freenet.  Advertise a flea market Saturday at six o'clock in the morning at target's address and phone number.  Do an ad like he's selling his car or house real cheap so he gets flooded with calls.  Put a kinky ad in the Personals section in your target's home with his phone number.  Do this on the internet giving out his personal phone number and address.

 

In public bathrooms, wrote out solicitations for gay sex to his number.

 

Throw paint remover on his car.

 

Send him a letter saying he won $200 of groceries at the local supermarket and that he must present the letter at the customer service desk.  He goes and gets embarassed. 

Hide dead fish in his office, car, house, etc.

 

Buy some stupid bumper stickers and put them on his bumper.

 

If he has a swimming pool, throw some gas, oil or paint into it.

 

If your target is taking a trip on a plane, slip a knife or some dope into his luggage, especially across borders.

 

Make up a set of hijacking plans, leave them in airport bathroom with target's phone number "in code" backwards.

 

If angry with a bank, shove something in the ATM card intake like a thin piece of cheese but wear a disguise like sunglasses and baseball hat because most have cameras.

 

Use additives to target's gas tank (sugar), oil tank at house, lawn mower, acid on his lawn, stuff in his food (not enough to change its taste) like ex-lax in orange juiceor in a cake mix, put Neet hair remover in bottle of shampoo, replace eye or nose drops with vinegar, etc.

 

Poison letters are negative letters you send to the target's employers and family to expose him for the louse he is or you send silly letters to companies and people pretending you are the target such that they respond back and complicate his life.

 

Use contact cement in his toilet, kitchen sink or bathtub which means the floor will have to be uprooted in order to repair the pipe.

 

Cut the target's cable TV and phone wires outside his house.

 

Buy several books at a flea market, tape notes in them saying, "This book belongs to Flunky Joe, If you find it, call me at 555-5555 and I will give you $20 cash on its return."  Lay them on benches downtown.

Dump some goeey food in target's clothes dryer.  Turn it on.

 

Order a tuxedo, wedding dress rental, flowers, cake, etc. for wedding in target's name.

 

Make up a fictitious invitation to a fake wedding or a free supper for the Elks lodge such that the target gets dressed up and goes.

 

Make up a fake coupon for a free dinner complete with drinks at Jo-Jo's restaurant, send it to the target.

 

Put crazy glue in target's car, house and apartment locks.

 

Place an ad in target's name with house for rent very cheap.

 

If your target is getting married, at the very least, drop a stink bomb at the church or reception.

 

Call real estate agent posing as target, say you want to sell your house.  Invite him over.

 

Fill out change of address form for target at post office.

 

Put tacks or nail up to the tires in target's car so he gets a flat when he pulls out,

 

Put bleach, food coloring or dye in target's washing machine.  Leave the lid up so he can't smell it when he goes to wash clothes.

 

Send embarassing postcards from hooker girlfriend or buddy in jail for rape to target at his work.

 

If you have two enemies, send one a poison letter with the name and address of the other enemy so that they get all screwed up.

 

File a phony tax return using his name and Social Security number.

 

Call the IRS whistleblower line or send a letter telling them your target is cheating on his taxes.

 

Pretend you're the target.  Call the IRS with his full name and SSN, tell them you cheated on your taxes, went to church and now feel guilty.  Set up a meeting with the audit department.

 

Get your target's license plate number, call the cops or send a letter saying you saw him with a gun in the car or telling them he's carrying drugs to sell.

 

Report target for child abuse or child sexual abuse.

 

Glue and paint by the gallon.

 

Spraypaint on the car.

Drain money in joint accounts.

 

If wife is awarded proceeds from the sale of a house or car, sell it for a dollar to spite her.

 

If you're brutal, when you sign a lease for home rental, put it in your name only then you can kick her out anytime.

 

If you're really brutal, live common-law, keeping everything in your name.

 

Urine and feces may be able to be traced back to you genetically so don't piss in his aquarium.

 

Get extra keys for the house then rob him while he's at work.

 

One guy urinated in the office coffee pot.

 

One guy neutered his girl's dog that she had wanted to breed.

 

Have a garage sale and sell all his stuff cheap.

 

Call the cops and say he's got dope in his place.

 

One guy got back at his girl by giving her a fake diamond ring complete with a fake proposal and after she told everybody, he broke it off.

 

Put sugar in someone's gas tank.

 

Collect ants and roaches and put them in your enemy's place.

 

Poison someone's pet with antifreeze.  It tastes sweet.  They will drink it.

 

Hide a dead animal or dead fish in someone's ceiling tiles or somewhere to smell the place up. 

Slash someone's tires or just let the air out.

 

Key someone's car.

 

Steal his license plates so he has to apply for new ones.

 

Itching powder in the underwear works wonders.

 

Spill a cup of water into the top openings of their computer monitor.

 

Call a foreign recorded number like the weather number in England and leave his phone off the hook while the bill keeps increasing.

 

Call the IRS on him.

Give a cake with laxatives in it.

 

Rig the salt shaker so that the top comes off when shaken.

 

One guy deleted all his company's records from the computer.

 

Some people write poison letters about someone and send them to teachers, bosses, coworkers, etc.

 

Humor and cruel jokes are often disguised pot shots.

 

When an enemy is down and out, rub your fortune in his face and don't help him.

 

Send naked pictures of her via e-mail or snail mail to her family.

 

One guy got his revenge at the library by tearing pages out of books.

 

If you want books on revenge, you might find a few by typing the word Revenge into your library's computer.  I found a few at #152.47. 

Get the following free catalogs which each have at least a dozen books on revenge techniques ranging from high tech electronic revenge to revenge in the workplace. 

 

casandrasrevenge.com

crazy-bitch.com

cs.uit.no/~paalde/revenge

disgruntledhousewives.com

ekran.no/html/revenge

fuzzydog.com/mscannoy3.htm

loompanics.com

purerage.com

retribution.net

revengelady.com

revengeunlimited.com

roadrunner.com/~plewis/jason/mis/ruin

rubberchicken.infospace.com, personalized fake mail.

uglypeople.com

urbekah.com/housewife/dick/index.html, disgruntled housewives.

virtualinsults.com

 

Work Ethics Websites/ Ethics Websites in Work and Business

 

Books about business integrity are at #658.31-40 and HD57.7 at the library.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/business_ethics, business ethics overview.

ethics.iit.edu/codes/coe.html, codes of ethics in professions

coe.uga.edu/workethic/on_linelesson.htm, work ethics lesson plans.

globalethics.org onlineethics.org

businessethicsresources.com

coe.uga.edu/workethic, work ethic site.

doug-johnson.com/dougwri/teaching-students-right-from-wrong.html, technology ethics primer.

business-humanrights.org

                            dead website, try dotdash.com, thebalance.com and thoughtco.com
/gi/pages/ethics.htm

aeip.com/ethics-f

bms.com/sr/product_integrity/content/data/qa.html, bristol-myers squibb, corporate responsibility

ama.org/about/ama/fulleth.asp

asce.org/membership/ethics

atheism.                            dead website, try dotdash.com, thebalance.com and thoughtco.com
/od/bookreviews/fr/businessethics.htm

bioethics.gov

bsr.org, business for social responsibility.

business.com/directory/management/business_ethics/

businessethics.com

business-ethics.com

businessethics.org

businessphilosophy.com

businessphilosophy.com

businessphilosophy.org casfinancialgroup.com, is honesty and integrity important?

cebcglobal.org

ceres.org, coalition for environmentally responsible economies.

coopamerica.org

corporatemofo.com corpwatch.org

crossroadsprograms.com

csrwire.com/synd/business-ethics inthecompanyofgoodandevil.com

csrwire.com/synd/businessethics/

cudenver.edu/ethiclinks

depaul.edu/ethics/, on business ethics and values in the workplace. difrances.com/business_ethics_speaker_author_reclaiming_the_ethical_high_ground_john_di_frances.htm

enterweb.org/ethics.htm

ethicalcorp.com

ethicaledgge.com

ethics.ca, ethics international, based in victoria, british columbia, canada, is a business with a mission to promote fair practice.

ethics.navy.mil

ethics.publication-ads.com/678.php, business ethics: the law of corporate karma.

ethics.state.tx.us

ethics.ubc.ca/resources

ethicsandbusiness.org

ethicsweb.ca/books/indexbusiness.htm

fenews.com/fen50/ethics-finance/ethics-finance.html

geodynamics.com.au, sustainable company.

globalchange.com/businessethics.htm

gsk.com/investors/reps02/csr02/gskcsr16.htm, glaxosmithkline corporate and social responsibility report.

icmr.icfai.org/courseware/businessethics&corporategovernance/becg.htm

ieet.org, institute for ethics in emerging technologies.

integritybridges.com

integrityinteractive.com, corporate compliance training and business ethics consulting.

interfaceinc.com, carpet maker, pioneer of industrial ecology.

investigatorsgroup.com/ethics.html, business and corporate ethics investigations and forensic accounting toronto.

johnsonoutdoors.com/pdf/senior_code.pdf, johnson corporation code of ethics.

kiewit.com/about/compliance.html, business ethics and corporate compliance program.

learnwell.org/eth6.shtml

marathon.com/our_values/ethics_integrity/

metlife.com/applications/corporate/wps/cda/pagegenerator/0,4132,p2439,00.html, metlife vision statement.

miamidade.gov/ethics/pdf/ethicsmanual.pdf

michaelgurian.com

mothra.inc.com/extra/columns/ethics

nais.org/inform/pubs/pgpequit

newsworld.cbc.ca/moraldivide

novell.com/company/ir/cg/ethics/cobe.html, corporate governance/ code of business ethics.

quintiles.com/corporate_info/ethics.htm

responsiblewealth.org

sandisk.com/corporate/default.aspx?catid=1016, code of business conduct and ethics policy.

scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/business

seagate.com/newsinfo/invest/governance/international_ethics.html, seagate technology corporate governance: international integrity and ethics.

srb.org, responsible business.

startupnation.com/pages/articles/business-social-entrepreneurship.asp

st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/vhi

sustainability.bhpbilliton.com, reports on companies.

sybase.com/detail?id=1018482, sybase's statement of values and business ethics.

thevaluesdivide.com/

total.com/en/corporate-social-responsibility/ethical-business-principles businessphilosophy.com

vtethicsnetwork.org, vermont ethics network.

web-miner.com/busethics.htm

westpac.com, bank, sustainable company.

workerbees.typepad.com/hipandzen/2006/02/interesting_art.html, the hip and zen pen: interesting articles on doing business and doing good.

workplacespirituality.info

xyarticles.com/ethics/

yaprice.com/compare/prodp287847.html, corporate integrity: rethinking organizational ethics and leadership.

zicklincenter.org

 

Work Attitude Websites

 

It all comes down to one thing, the attitude with which you choose to travel. 

 

If you'd like to see what's out there in the realm of conventional self-help, go to #155 to #158 and #291 at the library. 

 

Christian self-help books are at #248 or BR1725 and BV4598 at the library. 

 

Go to #640.43 or BF637 for books about self-management and time management.

 

achievementradio.com

achieveradio.com

achievers.com, 877-678-0234

acresofopportunities.com

allinspiration.com

audiomotivation.com

bestselfhelpcourse.com, home study course for ongoing personal growth. building-products.com/readarticles.aspx

career-success-for-newbies.com

coachesclipboard.net/attitude.html

creatingpower.com

creativepowerofthought.com

dailystrength.org dailytidings.com

dalecarnegie.com

ehow.com, how to help yourself.

ezinearticles.com, attitude in the workplace: how your work attitude can define you.

franklincovey.com

freedombuildersinc.com

happy-people.co.uk, learn how to create a great place to work.

heartachewithhardwork.blogspot.com

help-yourself.co.uk

herinst.org/sbeder/workethic/work_age.html

quotations.                            dead website, try dotdash.com, thebalance.com and thoughtco.com
/cs/inspirationquotes/a/effort8.htm

inet.ba/~admahmut/quotes/1/hard-work-quotes

inspiredlifestyle.com

inspiredlifestyles.com

inspiredliving.com

inspiredpower.com

inspirezone.com

knowledgeandpower.com, the knowledge and power success system of personal achievement

lifeoptimizer.org

lifepositive.com/mind/personal-growth/

managementhelp.org/prsn_wll/attitude.htm

mindforcesecrets.com

paulgraham.com/hs.html

psychologyinfo.com

puterworld.com/it_labor_shortage_two_contrasting_views, a good attitude and hard work equates to being a qualified it professional.

realmindpowerskills.com

school-for-champions.com

scienceofmind.com

scienceofsuccess.com

secretstotheirsuccess.com

selfgrowth.com

selfhelpmagazine.com selfknowledge.com

self-mastery.net

self-mastery.org

slowdownfast.com/blog

stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/06/self-discipline-hard-work

successories.com

successtrategies.com acenterforhumanpotential.com

toolsforlife.ca

topachievement.com totalifecoach.com

totalselfmastery.com

totalsuccess.com

trulypositivechange.com

woopidoo.com/business_quotes/hard-work.htm

hardworknelp.blogspot.com

workshopsinc.com/manual/ch3l8.html

 

Audio-Forum

#20a

96 Broad St.

Guilford, Ct 06437

800-243-1234

info@audioforum.com

audioforum.com

 

Big Sur Tapes

Pob 4

Tiburon, Ca 94920

800-688-5512

bigsurtapes.com

Tapes of speakers.

 

booksontape.com

Pob 7900

Newport Beach, Ca 92658

800-626-3333

 

Clement Com.

10 Lacrue Ave.

Concordvile, Pa 19331

800-345-8101

customerservice@clement.com

clement.com

Teamwork poster brochures, motivational posters.

 

Dale Carnegie Training

780 3rd Ave.

Nyc 10017-5567

800-231-5800

dalecarnegie.com

 

Frontier Motivational Posters

15951 Sw 41st St.

#300

Davie, Fl 33331

800-640-2217

Fax: 954-474-2867

frontierconnect.com

 

G. Neil

Tools To Manage and Motivate People

72 International Pkwy.

Pob 450939

Sunrise, Fl 33345

800-999-9111

gneil.com

 

High Performance Learning Center

7903 Curtis St.

Chevy Chase, Md 20815

301-961-5805

Fax: 301-961-5806

hiperformlearning.com

 

humankinetics.com

800-747-4457

 

neweravideo.com

800-549-4754

 

Nightingale-Conant

7300 N. Lehigh Ave.

Niles, Il 60714

800-525-9000

800-572-2770

847-647-0306

Fax: 847-647-9243

nightingale-conant.com

Self-help catalog.

 

Optimist Magazine

4494 Lindell Blvd.

St. Louis, Mo 63108

optimist.org

 

Pacifica Radio Archive Tapes

Pob 8092

Universal City, Ca 91608

800-735-0230

pacifica.org

 

Priorities Magazine

For Personal and Professional Success

2200 W. Parkway Blvd.

Slc, Ut 84119

800-236-2569

800-217-7874

franklincovey.com

 

The Focussing Institute

34 East Ln.

Spring Valley, Ny 10977

914-362-5222

focusing.org

 

toolsforexploration.com

800-456-9887

 

Work One-Liners

 

Don't let a casual workplace let you cross the line into disrespect. 

 

Somes bosses like to be liked Mister or sir.  Call your boss that unless he tells you otherwise.  People have authority by virtue of their position.  If you joke around, you undermine that authority.  Don't think of yourself as your boss's workplace equal.

 

If your boss is your friend and you undermine his authority in front of others like disobeying an order, you're toast.  Nobody in their right mind will take it.  He should fire you.

 

If you just do the bare minimum, it will show and you'll be first on the lay-off list.  You're not likely to get promoted or a raise unless you give of yourself with effort.

 

Some unionized workers think they don't have to do anything outside their job description.  You're there to be a team player for the company and help out wherever needed.

 

Everything you do on your computer is allowed to be monitored and could be without your knowledge.

 

Follow the chain of command.  If you go above your direct boss, he'll never forgive you for not going to him first.  Only go above your boss if it's a serious issue and your boss can't be

trusted.

 

At some places, one particular guy might come in late but stay for awhile at the end of the shift.  If you plan to do this, make it formal.  Tell the boss you want to change your work time if possible.

 

If you have nothing good to say about someone, say nothing.  It always comes back to haunt you.  That's how gossip works.  Everybody tells everybody else what you said.  You never know who's listening anyway.  People don't like gossips because they're miserable and they know they talk about them when they're not around.

 

Onetime we had a guy who flaunted his so-called friendship with the big cheese.  Oneday one of the boys grabbed him by the neck, threw him on some boxes and told him to go tell his buddy, the big boss.  He never brought it up again.

 

Love your business, enjoy your work, do it well with gusto, serve your customers and the money will come.

 

Make work your play.  Find what your customer wants and give it to him in a manner which nets you a clear profit then multiply it by finding as many customers as you can any way you can while keeping expenses down. 

 

It's the same with work.  If an occupation or company doesn't pay big bucks, move onto ones that do.  Be at peace with yourself.  Help people get what they want out of life.

 

The highest value you get out of your work is not really the money but what you become by it.

 

Help me make the most of freedom and of pleasure.

 

Nothing ever lasts forever

Everybody wants to rule the world

Tears for Fears, song Everybody Wants to Rule the World

 

Earn your keep by mastering a soulful pursuit to a worthy level for someone to get some use out of it. 

 

The only loyalty is to you.  If you get a better offer, don't be afraid of hurting your boss's feelings.

 

If you don't get the promotion you wanted, you either keep your mouth shut and work hard or quit.  Better yet, keep the job while you look for another one.

 

If you felt you did good at the interview but didn't get a callback within two weeks, forget it, move on.

 

Don't expect a great job right out of college.  Take anything then prove yourself like everybody else does.

 

If you screw up, you're just human.  It takes time to learn and gain experience about life.

 

Don't tie your self-worth to anything in the outside world.  Tie it to the intuitive standard inside.  I've seen so many people destroy themselves trying to reach dreams they borrowed from the outside world that had nothing to with who they are in their souls. 

If you hate your boss, try to be nice to him and use him as a learning experience.  If he's still bad, quit.

 

Don't be a cutthroat.  It will come back to haunt you.  Have patience.  Work hard.  Stay humble.

 

Winners believe in themselves and work hard.

 

A career is not like a ladder that you go up.  That's society's definition.  A career is doing things you're constantly proud of without any regard for that illusory ladder.

 

You're never too old to do anything you want including going back to school to start a new career.

 

Handle the life that comes your way.

 

Don't be overly soppy, overly sentimental or too confrontational.  Let things ride.  Nothing is that deep.

 

Don't be trivial.

 

If you try to be a perfectionist, you will find yourself alone with your silly high standards.

 

Don't be a crap disturber.  Don't protest trivial things.

 

Meet fate with an attitude of acceptance rather than running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

 

Cultivate allies wherever you can.

 

If you hate the job, quit.

 

Relax.  Without peace you don't have anything.

 

If you feel down, get some sleep.

 

Chapter 4. Success at Work Guide

 

Good Worker

 

The biggest determinants of job success are:

 

the ability to show up

likeability

trust

 

If you’re a good worker but a loner or otherwise creepy, it doesn’t wash in jobs that require people contact.

 

Loners and creeps make good employees in loners jobs like long-haul truck-driver or night security guard.

 

People are guided by emotions.  They want a buddy at work.

People want a positive person who helps them.

 

The boss likes a brown-noser willing to do things and learn new things to get ahead.

 

Even if you don’t like people, while you’re at work, pretend you’re a good old buddy.

 

Find your motivation.  Even though you’re working for money, bosses notice the one look8ing at the clock who lewaves at the exact second even if there’s work to do.  Show you care or at least pretend to care.

 

The best way to get ahead at work is MAKE FRIENDS WITH EVERYONE.  Do favors.  I watched every episode of the TV show American Greed.  Some of those guys and gals pulled off their cons by making friends with everyone amnd getting them to trust them.

 

Be interested in other people.

 

Be interesting and fun while being professional.

 

The more business or related software you know how to use, the better for you in many jobs.

 

If you show anger, you’ll never get anywhere.

 

Help others.

 

Networking, connecting with people, is what gets opportunities going your way.

 

Let people know that you’re looking to get ahead, make more money.

Go to conferences and conventions in your field.

 

Networking is good but don’t overdo it to the point of being a nuisance.

 

 

Success at Work Info

 

Reap what you sow.

 

Oh good and faithful servant, ye have been faithful over small things, I will make you master over large things.

The Bible

 

Your Talent x Your Networking Ability=Your Level of Success

 

Figure out how to earn money doing what you love to do.  If you don't like what you are doing enough to want to do it in your free time, you are in the wrong job.

 

Figure out what you're good at that other people either aren't good at or don't want to do.

 

Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm.  You have to work really hard at it.

 

You have to be an artist of whatever you do.

 

Constantly learn about your field, money and business.

 

The market only pays well for extraordinary results not average products.

 

Save your money.  Don't spend it foolishly.

 

If you work a job, work hard and do it well.  Bosses know who deserves a raise and promotion.  Make yourself indispensable to the company.

 

Develop a reputation for being the hardest worker.  Start earlier, work harder and stay later.

 

If you love your job, work everyday.

 

Have a sense of urgency about your work.

 

Don't drink coffee and read the paper first.  Work.  Don't procrastinate.

 

Opportunities for promotion will come only if you put in the extra time and the extra hours.

 

All the top people anywhere work way more hours than anyone else.  Go in early, work through lunch, don't spend much time socializing, stay late.

 

Accept complete responsibility for everything you do.  Don't make excuses or blame other people for bad performances.

 

Spend most of your time on the important things.

 

Offer to do some petty things your boss does like filter his email every morning.

 

Never be satisfied.  Always try for progress.

 

Do your job well then go to your boss and ask for more responsibility then do whatever he gives you well.  Each time you get a new responsibility, you get an opportunity to become more valuable.

 

Do the job quickly. When told to do something, do it now.

 

Have a sense of urgency about work.

 

Work yourself into a position that is critical to the success of the business or organization like marketing, sales, accounting, finance, production, supply and delivery.

 

Develop necessary specialized knowledge that nobody else in the company has.

 

Make contacts anywhere you can.  People like to do business with and hire  people they know.  Join your professional association, chamber of commerce and local business association and get involved.

 

Be a good business writer and speaker.

 

How can be the best person you have the potential to be.

 

Focus on helping and contributing to the company.

 

The more you work while you are at work, the more the boss will notice you.

 

Get along well with other people.

 

Learn everything you can about your field.  Become an expert.

 

Be a team player.

 

Take courses to become great at your job.

 

Help people.  They return the favors.

 

Look for ways to be of service to people who can help you.

 

Act trustworthy even if you're a scheming scumbag.

 

Most good leaders started as good followers.

 

There are some successful flukes but for most people, it's hard work.

 

Good Worker/ Great Worker/ Successful Worker Websites

 

baselinemag.com

43things.com/things/view/56521/succeed-in-my-new-job

blog.penelopetrunk.com/2005/02/14/how-to-succeed-in-a-new-job

aharrisonbarnes.com/2008/10/how-to-survive-in-your-job-and-succeed-in-a-new-job

managesmarter.com

ehow.com, how to succeed in your new executive job.

examiner.com/examiner/x-4577-milwaukee-unemployment-examiner~y2009m7d22-you-got-a-job-how-to-succeed canadianbusiness.com/managing/career/article.jsp

 

discoverwinningways.com/succeeding-job

examiner.com/x-872-cleveland-job-search-examiner~y2009m1d19-adopt-a-new-attitude-about-your-job-search first30days.com/starting-a-new-job/articles/starting-to-succeed.html

slideshare.net/barnesdorf/how-to-survive-and-succeedin-a-new-job

blog.crankingwidgets.com/2008/03/04/screw-up-new-job

halcode.com/archives/2008/07/31/a-shining-job-interview-how-to-succeed

careerplanning.                            dead website, try dotdash.com, thebalance.com and thoughtco.com
/cs/firstjob/a/new_job.htm

amazon.com/become-better-negotiator-work-smart/dp/0814400477, book called how to become a better negotiator (work smart).

blog.coworking.info

bnet.com/2403-13056_23-57287.html, how to manage your boss.

businessworld.in/index.php/become-a-smart-worker.html

citehr.com/19866-become-smart-worker-print.html

cubes.typepad.com/blog/2008/08/smart-worker.html

employer.jobster.com/find/people/about/smart+worker

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/smart_work

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/smart_work_zone

internosis.com/project-manager/8018.htm, questions for supervisors or any smart worker?

juliadiary.com/index.php/be-a-success-worker

livesafeworksmart.net

msnbc.msn.com

peopleportfolio.com

quality-service.com/news/wcw/smart-worker.html

registeredrep.com/advisorland

smart-worker.co.uk

smart-worker.com

smartworker.net

smartworkethics.com, smart work ethics certified submityourarticle.com/articles/alan-gillies-5177/smart-workers-52597.php

trainers.

webworkerdaily.com

 

Be a Brown-Noser Without Looking Like One

 

Obvious brown-nosers are quickly recognized and not taken seriously except when the boss needs a front-man to cover for him.  The boss knows he's loyal but still knows he's a slippery character because brown-nosing is the art of faking sincerity.

 

You have to act quiet and dignified and actually be a good worker.

 

Make your boss look good.  If he's a good boss, he'll remember and promote you.  If you work hard and the boss doesn't promote you, find another job.

 

Be positive and upbeat.

 

Be friendly but reserved.

 

Help your co-workers.

 

Talk to people in a non-threatening way.  When they feel they can trust you, they'll tell you about office politics or secrets.

 

Make friends with the lowest workers.

 

Bring in some cookies or coffee now and then.

 

Don't gossip with the gang.  Be their friend but be apart from them.

 

Be willing to do the tough jobs and do them well.

 

Keep a Bible in your desk and wear a cross necklace.  A like you're reading it sometimes.  Mke your screensaver a picture of Jesus.

 

If you get a good idea to make the workplace more efficient, write it out or tell your boss directly.

 

Don't promote yourself in an obvious way.

 

Don't put down other employees or flaunt your success in their face.

 

Be a Great Worker 1

 

Show up ready to work.

 

Start the work.

 

Stay focused on it.

 

Take every job as if it might be the one you'll have for the rest of your life.

 

If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.

 

If you're the best at what you do but go in the corner to be by yourself, eat garlic for lunch, watch porno on the internet and subtly play with yourself, hardly ever wash, look like a nerd, act arrogant and think you're the stud-cock of the walk, they might keep you for awhile but they will get tired of you, realize you're not that special and get rid of you because you're not good for the place as a whole. 

Arrogant individuals who do their own things are generally not liked by bosses because they can't be controlled and could be a disruptive force to everybody.

 

Time and time again when I read those books about corporations at #338 at the library, I see CEOs and bosses say technical skills count for maybe 40% of your ability to keep a job and move up in the organization but the most important thing is really the traditional soft skills of being able to relate to your boss, get along with people, work as a team, go to work with good grooming habits, don't smell, don't fart too much around other people, don't be crude, arrive most days, arrive on time, be pleasant, act like part of the mainstream in-gang at work, in essence, people skills.

 

The golden rule is to work hard, don't talk too much and don't gossip about anybody. 

 

Regardless of the job, simply think of yourself as the action person.  It's all about knowledge, energy and momentum, kind of like you exude a sense of destiny about yourself.

 

When you first get the job, be cool.  Don't come on like a storm right away.  Learn the politics of the place first.  You don't want everybody alienating you because you make them look bad.  Make friends first then start working hard.

 

The best way to be a great worker without being a brown-noser is to get on it, do the work, do it hard, get rid of your extra energy on the job and don't blabber too much.  Many people on the job use the psychology of minimal effort.

 

When I used to work factory type jobs during my youth, I had lots of energy, I enjoyed exercise so I was the opposite of most of the other guys there, doing my job and picking up their slack.  They didn't care if I made them look bad or anything like that because they all saw their jobs as dead end anyway.

 

Transform your inner potential into real production.  Be a leader, show some charisma.  Bosses often give new employees simple tasks to test them to see how they do. 

 

Take all tasks seriously.  Include your own innovations and offer your ideas to your boss.  Take initiative with a good idea.  Always network on the job.  Meet new people, talk to everybody.  Be friends with everybody.  Help people. 

 

Be an opportunist.  If you see a door open, get your foot into it.  Be a good follower, team player and leader when the situation demands it.

 

Learn about your company.  Pay attention to politics, who has got the real power, who hates who, etc. and use it all to your advantage but DON'T GOSSIP.  All gossipers will eventually talk about everybody behind their backs even the people they gossip with. 

 

Try to get in good with one of your superiors.  Act like he's your mentor teaching you the ropes.  Be a good student.

 

Be a good communicator.  Speak sparingly at the right times only.  If you talk too much about nothing in particular, people stop listening after awhile. 

 

Find the winners in your company and copy them.  Come in on Monday morning with a smile on your face ready to go. 

 

Always go beyond your own point of view to see the world from the perspectives of your peers and bosses.  Analyze them to see what makes them tick.

 

Good relations with your co-workers and your superiors will not only help you but will make work more enjoyable. Every employee wants to be liked by other employees. If you treat people the way they want to be treated, they will like you.  When you move up in the company, you will need all the support you can get.

 

Praise people.  Everybody enjoys being praised.  People look for approval from others but you should praise people only when they deserve it.  If you praise people when they don't deserve it, or, if you praise too much, you lose your credibility.  Don't exaggerate your praise. Make the praise as warm and sincere as you can.

 

Don't put people down.  Putting down a person can be very damaging to you and the other person's relationship with you. People don't want to feel degraded by being called stupid, crazy, weird, etc.

 

Don't put down anyone even if they are not present. If you do, the word will get back to them and you will look bad.

 

Always talk positively about people. Even if you don't like them, still speak highly of them.  You will be amazed at what this does. If you can't say anything good about someone, don't say anything at all.

 

Don't be concerned with your interests only.  There is nothing wrong with caring and looking out for yourself.  Just don't make it that noticeable to other people. You will be resented by others if you seem selfish.  Make sure others know you look out for them as well yourself.

 

Share the credit.  When others have helped you accomplish something, share the credit with them. Even if their contribution was not as great as yours, still share the credit with them.  They will return the favor at some point in time.

 

Don't ask others to do for you what you won't do for them.  If you are unwilling to go out of your way for people, don't expect them to go out of their way for you.  Set the first example.  If you help them, they will help you.

 

Don't show others up.  When you show up others you do it at their expense.  Showing up people in front of others takes away their self-

respect.  If you are better than others, they will know it.  You don't have to degrade them.

 

Treat small things with importance.  Some things that seem small to you mean a great deal to others.  Don't ignore small problems; help people solve them.  Treating small problems with importance shows other people you care.

 

Care about people or at least act like you do.

 

Everybody is concerned about themselves and it is important for them to have someone care for them or at least to have that illusion. They are touched when you care about them or pretend to.  Helping people cope with life makes people feel that you care about them.

 

Don't criticize a person in front of others.  If you criticize someone in front of others, he or she will always resent you.  It is one of the most degrading things you can do.  If you criticize someone, criticize him constructively and privately.

 

All people want to feel important.  To make a person feel important you must give him your undivided attention when communicating with him.  Get rid of all interruptions.  Make sure you have good eye contact and that you are not doing other things while talking like reading or writing.

 

Everyone appreciates people who are courteous, tactful, polite and diplomatic. The best way to learn these qualities is from others. Study someone you want to be like and learn from him or her.

 

If you don't have confidence in yourself, others will not have confidence in you.  People respect confident people.  If you show others ambivalence and insecurity, that;s how they will treat you.  Be sure of yourself and even if you're scared, don't let it show.

 

Books about job satisfaction are at #650.14 or HF50 to HF549.5 at the library.

 

socyberty.com/work/how-to-be-a-great-factory-worker/

 

Be A Great Worker 2

 

He that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.

Proverbs 18:9

 

I've seen literally hundreds of books on how to succeed in business and at work at #331, #338 and #650 at the library.  They all give you the usual spiel about how to be effective (patterned after Steven Covey's Habit's of Highly Effective People) and how to set goals and be disciplined about them which is the crux of virtually every self-help book written in the past half century but I laugh at all of them because they all fail.

 

In essence, all these so-called experts are clones following each other.  It's like the blind leading the blind.  I saw one of these guys on TV the other day with five steps on how to set goals and achieve them but he forget one and messed up the order for the others.  So much for psycho-bamboozle.

 

If you wanna be a great worker, it's simple.  Go back to simple core values.  Love what you do.  Try hard at it because that's your job.  You aim too please.  Don't talk too much or too wise.  Keep your nose to the grindstone and do good quality work.

 

Your parents taught you good basic values as a kid.  Stick to them now in the workforce.  It doesn't hurt to read the Bible either.  Act like Jesus would. 

 

The mentality of our society is that once you get a job, you're against management.  Your mentality is spozed to be to get away with the least work you can but I never went for this even when some guys on an assembly line told me to stop working so hard because I would make them look bad. 

 

If I'm there to work, I'm there to burn off energy and that's what I do.  That's why I'm a great worker because when I go to work, I go there to work.  The work itself doesn't have to inspire me in my soul but I pretend it does and make an honest effort of it.

 

It's all basic.  Give good effort.  Approach work with a spiritual, intuitive flow.  Be more simple and basic than effective, anal and nitpicky. 

Have a career plan

 

Discover your strengths and weaknesses.  Work on them.

 

Be energetic.

 

Make your deadlines.

 

Get to work and appointments on time.

 

Listen when elders speak.

 

Look professional, talk professional.

 

Keep learning.

 

Keep your ethics.  Don't sell out. 

 

Have backup plans for when things go wrong.

 

Be loyal to the company/ boss.

 

Here's a good poem from Rudyard Kipling If, which he wrote to his son which won the Nobel Prize in 1907.

 

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good nor talk too wise;

 

If you can dream and not make your dreams your master;

If you can think and not make thoughts your aim,

If you can meet Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build them up with worn out tools;

 

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch and toss,

And lose and start again at your beginnings,

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they're gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: HOLD ON.

 

If you can walk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute,

With sixty seconds worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And which is more, you will be a Man, my son.

 

Be A Great Worker 3

 

Being a great worker depends partially on the type of job you do and partially on where you are in the food chain; boss or worker but even with these differences, there are certain commonalities to being a great worker regardless of position or job.

 

When I was a psychology teacher, I gathered together a class of students and asked them what were their issues and ideas about the things that most of us will spend oodles of time on in our lives, work.  The following is a list of one-liners I gathered from several classes over a space of several years.

 

Focus on work.

 

It's cool to be a slacker and get one over on the boss as some comic strips convey but this is wrong.  There's integrity and dignity to simple hard work.

 

Don't play games.  Be real with people.  Treat them all with equal respect.

 

Even if you're a loner, at work you have to get along with people and be a team player at times.

 

Do the big jobs first, the little ones later.

 

Don't do everything yourself.  Delegate.  Get help.

 

Know yourself.  Read my free spirit books.

 

You intuitively know what you have to do by virtue of being a thinking human being.  Do it.  Don't doubt yourself.

 

The key is to love your work but even if you do, you can be a victim of overwork and your health and well-being can deteriorate.

 

When I was a kid, I had a teacher who taught us MYOB, Mind Your Own Business.  Focus on your own work.  Don't poke your nose in other people's work and don't gossip about them.

 

Assuming you're somewhat ambitious which you should be, be true to your ambition.  Work hard with intelligence because that's how you get what you want.

 

Don't try to be a perfectionist.  Pretty good is good enough.  The extra effort required for perfection is probably detrimental to your health.

 

Don't be too serious or try to do everything.  It will drain you.  Zap your e-mail list sometimes.  If it's that important, they will send another one.

 

You can't control everybody or everything but try to control yourself.

 

Be relaxed and calm at work no matter what.

 

Some stress is good, stress to the point where it invigorates you to perform but anything beyond that is detrimental.

 

Don't take work so hard that it cuts into your health and well-being.  If you're in a toxic workplace, quit if you have to in order to keep your peace of mind.

 

You must love what you do.  If you don't, either pretend to and stop complaining or get into another line of work.

 

Have some kind of balance.  Even if you love your work, chances are you have other loves like a spouse, kids, religion, a hobby, etc.  Spend time on them too.

 

Fifty percent is just showing up on time day after day and giving functional effort. 

 

Be a team player regardless of whether you're worker or boss.  If you're a boss, have some bosslike standards about yourself but don't be arrogant.

 

Have a sense of passion about your work.

 

Help people become what they are capable of becoming.

 

Strive to reach your potential as a good, strong, tough human being.

 

Teamwork breeds confidence.

 

Great managers manage themselves.

 

Your focus is to serve your fellow man.

 

If there's work to be done, don't waste time with talkers.  Get to the point and say you got work to do.  The same goes for meetings.

 

TAct like you really care even if you don't.

 

Do your work with passion.

 

Build relationships with people in your field.  Build trust over time.

 

Think big, great ideas.

 

Underpromise and overdeliver on what you do.

 

The best way to be good at what you do is for you to love it as part of your true nature.

 

Learn from people by watching them, talking to them and even reading good business books.

 

Be happy with your work for the sense fulfilment it gives you.

 

Set high standards, not perfectionist standards but a real good standard.  Beyond 90%, the next 10% of quality may not be worth the added effort.

 

Be stable.  Don't be moody.  Never blow up on somebody.  Calm down when you're angry.

You have to network around to meet people who can help you.

 

Help people help themselves.

 

Read both my business and my jobs books cover to cover.

 

Every night, plan the next day mentally in your head.

 

Have long-term ideas and visions.

 

Prepare for unexpected problems.  Face them in a calm manner.

 

Admit you're human and can't do everything.

 

Constantly analyze your life.

 

Try to find people with similar attitudes to succeed to befriend and talk to.  Preferably find an older person willing to mentor you.

 

Whatever you do, make sure it is something useful that people get a decent benefit from.

 

Be likeable.

 

When you feel weak or have a setback, have a rest and a cry then get back to work.  Do not accept failure.

 

All failures are learning experiences.

 

Sometimes offer freebies like a free product or free time in helping someone.

 

Always learn new things in your field.

 

Be an innovator.  Create ideas.

 

You have to be in sales and sell yourself.

 

Be a team player.

 

When people you barely know offer gifts, it means they want something from you.

 

Write out all your professional career/ business ideas on a publicly available blog.

 

Set the tone for work not for socializing.

 

If you're a boss, pick good people to work for you and take up some of your slack.

Culture the ability to discover talent in others and use it.

 

Trust your intuition.

 

People want order and community as opposed to chaos.

 

Stay disciplined about your business.

 

Be nice to people.

 

Be peaceful as opposed to stressed.

 

Be patient, honest and understanding.

 

Never talk too much about your personal life, especially unsolicited talk.  Don't engage in meaningless gossip.

 

Treat everybody equally respectful.  If you play favorites, your non-favorites could come back to haunt to you.

 

You don't have to be scheming in the Machiavallean sense but be smart enough to culture friends and hold your enemies even closer.

 

Be a team player but look out for yourself.

 

Take courses that will help you on the job or get promoted.

 

You become what you do and think. 

Prepare every night for next day's work.

 

You have to be ambitious in a way that doesn't look like you're a one-dimensional, cutthroat ambitious person.  be subtle and quiet about it.

 

You have to look professional or appropriate.  Wear the right clothes.  Be clean and neat.

 

Overweight people are rarely super successful.

 

People with interesting and balanced are well-liked and get further ahead in work than others.

 

Have a calm demeanor.

 

Make your bosses like you by doing good work.

 

Sometimes it's better to lose than to win a fight and alienate everybody.

 

Be low key easygoing.

 

When someone else's ass is on the line, chances are they will betray you to save their ass.

 

Have a good command of the English language but don't use big words.  Talk as you would talk to your mother or friend.

 

Your written language either brands you an educated person or a less-than educated person.

 

Don't be an obvious suckhole.  Give subtle compliments like smiling, laughing lightly, spending time in the company of your targets.

 

Job performance is attitude and the ability to do the job quickly and efficiently with enthusiasm.

 

If you want to be promoted, study your Pers and try to achieve each of the factors in a superior manner.

 

Act in the best interests of the company even though you're out for yourself.

 

Every single day, plan what you will do and your comportment.

 

Every act of anger and aggression creates equal animosity.

 

Respect everybody.  Try to like everybody.

 

Be disciplined about your work.

 

Try not alienate bad bosses.  Try not to alienate workers.  Fire the bad ones quickly.

 

It's all about respect, being calm and not gabbing too much.

 

Socialize with workers and bosses after work.  It gives you brownie points.

 

Be willing to change when the company dynamics change.

 

Workplace Skills Websites/ Job Skills Websites/ Job Search Skill Websites

 

aces.edu/crd/workforce/pubs.html, workforce development factsheets.

acinet.org/acinet/skills/default.aspx, occupational skills profiler.

apps.career.colostate.edu/blog/archive/2009/11/11/what-are-the-soft-skills-that-employers-seek.aspx, what are the soft skills employers seek.

bbc.co.uk/skillswise/workplace/text_only.shtml, workforce survival kit.

black-collegian.com/career/eqquiz200.shtml, how sharp are your soft skills.

careers.unsw.edu.au/careered/planning/knowyourself/employability.aspx, skills and attributes employees value.

casas.org, workforce skill certification assessment battery.

cimaglobal.com

cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7labor/b003.htm, soft skills interview questions.

collegegrad.com/intv, interviewing skills.

collegegrad.com/jobsearch/2-0.shtml, real world experience.

conferenceboard.ca/topics/education/learning-tools/employability-skills.aspx, career and employability skills

conferenceboard.ca/topics/education/learning-tools/isp.aspx, innovation skills profile.

crinfo.org/action/browse.jsp?nid=2337, workplace conflict resolution.

dcsf.gov.uk/14-19/index.cfm asktbs.com/dealer/equipped_for_the_future_plan.pdf, 21st century skill for a new economy.

deed.state.mn.us/cjs, job search essentials; recently unemployed.

dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/softskills.htm, soft skills; the competitive edge.

eff.cls.utk.edu, equipped for the future.

eff.cls.utk.edu/fundamentals/common_activities.htm, common activities

eff.cls.utk.edu/work_readiness_profile_web.html, workforce readiness profile.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/soft_skills, soft skills overview; wikipedia.

etu.org.za/toolbox/docs/building/webmeetings.html, meeting skills.

gp-training.net/training/leadership/emotional_intelligence/index.htm, emotional intelligence.

honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/facdevcom/guidebk/teachtip/scans.htm, scans skills. niace.org.uk, basic skills agency uk.

honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/facdevcom/guidebk/teachtip/cor-abil.htm, core abilities.

honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/facdevcom/guidebk/teachtip/abrprate.htm, workplace habits rating scale.

hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/essential_skills/general/home.shtml, essential skills; what are they.

hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/publications/index.shtml, workplace skills publications.

ilo.org/skills/lang--en/index.htm

ilo.org/skills/lang--en/index.htm, core work skills.

ilo.org/skills/lang--en/index.htm, skills development for youth; ilo.

itf.org.nz/what-do-we-mean-by-skills.html, what do we mean by skills.

literacynet.org/icans/index.html, i cans; integrated curriculum for achieving necessary skills.

managementhelp.org, management help library.

michigan.gov/documents/career&employ_standards_12_01_13760_7.pdf, career and employability standards.

mindtools.com/pages/article/newcdv_34.htm, why soft skills matter.

nald.ca/clr/btg/ed/evaluation/employment.htm, employment rubrics and checklists.

newwaystowork.org/librarycontents.html

nextsteps.org

nrdc.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_4025.pdf, value of basic skills

nww.org/kckcontents.html#tools, workbased learning tools.

online.onetcenter.org/skills, o*net online; workforce skills search.

owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/626/01, skills checklist.

portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/resources__documents/9086/foundation_skills_framework/523305, foundation skills framework.

positivelyminnesota.com/jobseekers/recently_unemployed/identifying_your_skills/index.aspx

positivelyminnesota.com/jobseekers/recently_unemployed/identifying_your_skills/index.aspx

quintcareers.com/transferable_skills_set.html, transferable skills set.

quintcareers.com/tutorials.html, job hunting tutorials.

ritter.tea.state.tx.us/teks, texas essential knowledge and skills.

schoolandbeyond.org/docs/scansskills.pdf, scans skills.

Soft skills are social skills, emotional stability, the ability to empathize and be friendly, the ability to smile and come off like a nice person.

Soft Skills Websites

toolkit.com

toolkit.com/tools/bt.aspx?tid=jobrqr_m, job requirements checklist.

udel.edu/csc/jobskills.html, developing job skills.

udel.edu/csc/jobskills.html, job seeking skills.

umn.edu/kmc/career_transfer_survey.html, transferable skills survey.

unimelb.edu.au/alumni/careers/careers2aug.htm, soft skills; employment skills.

wdr.doleta.gov/opr/fulltext/95-voluntary.pdf, skill standards, a primer.

work-basedlearning.org

workfutures.bc.ca/wfa/viewstaticpageaction.do?filename=employability_skills_eng, skills for today's workplace. wested.org/online_pubs/workforce/workforce.htm, skills for tomorrow's workforce.

workreadiness.com

 

Emotional Intelligence Websites

 

Emotional intelligence is one of them psychobabble terms that some psychobabblist (Daniel Goleman) created in order to convince people they were deficient in emotional empathy so he could create a mini-industry by selling books, tests and workshops on it.

 

He makes the fallacious assumption that the human personality can be dissected into different, discrete parts, one of which is emotional intelligence but it's all a crock of crap because we're holistic beings.  Everything we think and do is tied into our emotions.  We can't separate them from the rest of ourselves.

 

gottman.com, emotional intelligence.

eiconsortium.org, consortium for research on emotional intelligence in organizations.

eqperformance.com, institute for organizational performance, bring emotional intelligence into organizations.

unh.edu/emotional_intelligence

knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu

emotionaliq.com

equniversity.com, emotional intelligence assessment, training.

cleardirections.com, assists people and organizations reduce stress and increase emotional intelligence through coaching and seminars.

 

Happy at Work Websites

 

bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/mates-not-money.shtml

blogs.harvardbusiness.org/cs/2009/05/7_ways_to_be_happier_at_work.html

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2561469.stm

changethis.com/36.04.happyatwork, the happy at work manifesto

csmonitor.com/2008/0122/p09s01-coop.html

humanresources.                            dead website, try dotdash.com, thebalance.com and thoughtco.com
/od/success/tp/happy_work.htm

living.oneindia.in/do-it-yourself/personal/happyworker.html

ezinearticles.com, staying happy at work daveramsey.com/etc/cms/happy_work_5969.html

workhappynow.com

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/happy_working_song happyatwork.be

happy-at-work.co.uk

happyhousewivesclub.com

huffingtonpost.com/gretchen-rubin/are-you-happy-at-work-12_b_274782.html

happinesshabitsatwork.com

lifelearningtoday.com/2007/08/23/25-tips-to-become-more-productive-and-happy-at-work

lifestyle.aol.ca/article/happy-unhappy-at-work/268615

money.cnn.com/2009/08/03/news/economy/happy.fortune

oregonbusinessreport.com/2009/08/survey-americans-happy-at-work-especially-women-seniors/

positivesharing.com/category/happyatwork

reddit.com/r/happyatwork/

 

Willingness to Work at Work

 

Walt Disney said, "First find something you like to do so much you'd gladly do it for nothing; then learn to do it so well people are happy to pay you for it."

 

The major preoccupation in most people's lives is their work, fantasies of better work opportunities and how to earn a living but when it comes right down to it, very few people are engaged in the work they do, that is, are spirited about it.

 

Most people go to work then put their mind in neutral or think about other things as they do it.  Very few people love their jobs or get some inspiration out of it which is a good thing in a way because if we had a society where everybody wanted to be inspired about their work, we'd have a bunch of artists, writers, pop musicians and wanna-be professional athletes and nobody left to produce the goods or clean the streets.

 

I'm not saying everybody should strive for work that inspires them. just the few smart ones like whoever is reading this to try to get something more out of their work than the average dreg who's happy with any generic job as long as it pays the bills and buys him his beer or her make-up so that's the bottom line.

 

If you want to get the most out of your life, look for work that you really enjoy doing, that keeps you inspired about your life.  As a sidebar, this is the only way to really be successful at work, to do what you enjoy. 

You can be sucessful by setting some goals, following them religiously in a one-dimensional stilted manner, be a brown-noser, a yes man, a conformist, etc. but nothing comes close to tapping into the inspired flow within yourself when you find something you love to do.

 

I can never stress it enough that the key to both happiness and success is to love what you do to earn your cash.  The American Dream, the quest for material success and the quest to get rich are worthy goals in and of themselves but they aren't the be all, end all to life. 

The only way to enjoy your work is to simply do a job that you really like.  As I already said earlier, there are countless people out there who started out pursuing their dreams via college education in a certain field only to find that they hated the work so they switched in midstream and now some are probably happier while some have regrets.

 

Everybody hates change because it adds stress to your comfort zone but if you hate your job, you gotta seriously consider getting the guts to make a change to do something you like.  It's that simple. 

It will be scary but it's your life and this is your only shot.  Don't waste it doing something you don't like.  Take the plunge, make that change.  You have to be honest with yourself, analyze yourself then take action. 

All you have is finite time.  It's more important than money.  Think of how you want to spend the rest of the time in your life.

 

Workaholic/ Workaholism

 

My work is my worth.

 

Workaholism is positive for some people because you perceive yourself as an artist of work.  You love it so much that there's nothing else you'd rather do with your life but the picture is not so clear and rosy.

 

They say workaholism often hides other problems like wanting to escape home life, alcoholism, if you're single, you don't want to go home and be lonely, a distraction to cover up some problem you have, etc.

 

Personally, I'm a workaholic for what I love to do because it keeps me inspired about my life.  Day by day, my life is about releasing a certain amount of my natural energy to meet my own personal standard in life.  This is generally a monumental amount of work only to me it's not work.  It's kinda like my fountain of youth.  It keeps me young.  There's almost nothing else I'd rather do.

I don't wanna go to Disneyland, I think most TV and movies suck, frivolous pursuits like golf and video games bore me.  I love what I do and I intuitively know it keeps me young so I only think it's workaholism if it stresses you out and there are plenty of counselling services opening up to treat workplace stress.

 

Some workaholics burn out physically via heart attacks, brain hemorrages, ulcers, etc.  Other burn out mentally via depression, stress and suicide. 

You need balance in your life.  Remember the old cliché about not wishing you had spent more time at the office on your deathbed. 

Free time to do what you really want to do is the goal of life.  Find something you really love to do that can earn you your cash.  Lower your standard of living if it means more free time.  You don't need much to live a great life.

 

1099.com/c/co/dw/pe/economy014.html, in defense of workaholism.

 

ahealthyme.com/topic/workaholism

allaboutlifechallenges.org/workaholic.htm

askmen.com

charminghealth.com/applicability/workaholism.htm

eaglealliance.com/resources.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/workaholic

family.org/lifechallenges/a000000820.cfm

fatherhood.                            dead website, try dotdash.com, thebalance.com and thoughtco.com
/od/workingfathers/a/workaholism_2.htm

freecoolarticles.com/tm2.htm

graduatingengineer.com/articles/feature/05-23-06f.html, are you at risk for workaholism? healing-journeys.com/work.htm

ivillage.com

justpeople.com/contentnew/careeradvice/workinglife/workaholism.asp

maledepression.com

managementhelp.org/prsn_wll/wrkholic.htm

medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51425

meersinc.com/articles/

men.webmd.com

mlode.com

narcissistic-abuse.com/leisure.html

r-a.org, recoveries anonymous.

selfhelpmagazine.com/articles/wf/work.html

smh.com.au/news/business/workaholism-is-a-sin-that-must-be-stomped-on/ soulwork.net/sw_articles_eng/addictions.htm

spiritofrecovery.com/work.html, counseling for behavioral addictions

timeday.org, books about minimizing work, enjoying life.

workaholic.org

workaholics4hire.com

workaholics-anonymous.org

 

Workaholics Anonymous

511 Sir Francis Drake Blvd.

#C-170

Greensbrae, Ca 94904

510-273-9253

workaholics-anonymous.org

 

Workaholics Anonymous

Pob 661501

La, Ca 90066

310-859-5804

workaholics-anonymous.org

 

Great Worker One-Liners

 

You don't have to wait until the boss shoves a pole up your ass to do great work.  People who do great work without being ordered to are the most successful.  Be responsible for your work.  Focus on what has to be done without waiting for someone to hit you in the butt with a stern order.

 

Make things happen.  Be an action person.  Take charge when the situation warrants it.

 

Listening to orders is not enough.  You have to take independent, assertive action in order to make it.

 

Unleash your potential and fulfill it.  Live as though you have something important to contribute to society.

 

Focus on your work.  Let the others gossip, play politics and flirt with each other.  Do your job well.  The boss will notice in due time.

 

Take personal responsibility for your work life focussing on what you can do to improve things. Look for ways to master your job and improve career options.

 

Be more effective in your everyday work.

 

Don't be a busybody, a gossip or a know-it-all giving unsolicited advice.  Just focus on your job.

 

Your strengths drive your success so focus on maximizing them.

 

Live by your word.  Do what you say you will do.

 

Be an active doer.  Focus on what you want and do it.

 

Mistakes are part of the process.  Don't dwell on mistakes.  Keep moving.

 

Leadership is making decisions and making them happen.  A lot of people can't make a decision.  They want someone else to do it.

 

Successful people solve problems. They don't just break down.

 

Strive to learn something from everyone.

 

Listen well when you disagree.  Their point might be valid or better than your ideas.

 

A big ego alienates everyone.

 

Hardships help us to strengthen our character and make us a better person.

 

Help more. 

Judge less.

 

Every person who has achieved great success has had a strong commitment to make it happen.

 

Believe in yourself. It is not ego but a belief that you can do whatever it takes to succeed.

 

Learn the job then as you get to know what's going on, suggest changes and improvements.  Do some of them on your own.  Realize that people might not always be receptive to your ideas so if they reject an idea, save it for another time when the opportunity is right.

 

Do what needs to be done.  Don't just do what you're told and nothing more.  Take initiative.

 

Ask questions when you don't understand something.

 

Do the dirty work.

 

Come in early.  Stay late.

 

Be a friend.  Make friends with everybody if possible.

Project the attitude that you're serious about your work.

 

Be willing to work overtime and on holidays.

 

Don't take days off.

 

When you're a slacker, you hurt your chances for future promotions.

 

Level of energy is the main determinant of success.

 

Make suggestions about how your department and the company can be improved.

 

Don't be a whiner, radical or sourpuss.

 

Even though you're serious about your work, be nice to people and make as many allies as you can.

 

Don't come off arrogant or know-it-all.

 

Sometimes, it's better to keep quiet or "not be right" to preserve allies and peace rather than fight for justice or that you're right in some trivial thing.

 

Don't burn bridges.  Don't take potshots at someone currently down.  They might have power over you someday.

 

Don't gossip.

 

Try for cooperation rather than competition.

 

Be a team player rather than the selfish, miserly bastard or the brown-noser who sides with management over his peers.

 

Success is to make the most of who you are with what you have wherever you might be.  You can be successful in jail by using the time to the best of your ability.

 

Your success or lack of it is directly determined by how much pleasure you get out of your work.

 

When you help others be successful and happy, you will be successful and happy.

 

Do more than is expected of you.

 

Finish jobs, do not leave them hanging in limbo.

 

Work is business.  Don't be a gossip, clown or goof-off.

 

Volunteer for the tough jobs then do them well.

 

Be creative.  Generate ideas.

 

Use problems as challenges to make things better.

 

Be tenacious.  When you meet resistance, don't degenerate into a low lever fighter.  Step back, re-evaluate and quietly do good work until another opportunity presents itself.

 

Don't brown-nose.  Show your ambition through your work.

 

Learn to enjoy the tough jobs that others don't like.

 

A winner does his best and doesn't concern himself with whether others are competing with him.

 

Find work you enjoy and love the process.

 

Don't do a dull job you hate just for the money.

 

Don't blame others for things that go wrong.

 

Don't be afraid of being fired or making mistakes.  Be true to yourself.  The credit belongs to the one who makes the effort even if he comes up short.

 

There is politics in work.  Don't overstep your boundaries or anger the wrong people but still be brave enough to take initiative.

 

Know who you are.  Your career must be your calling, not a job done just for the money.

 

There's no ending for inspired action.  You do it for life.

 

Never be satisfied.  Always try to do better and keep getting better.

 

A positive attitude is the key to happiness at work.

 

Mistakes are good.  You learn from them and they define your borders.

 

Don't be obsessed with your fears.  Imagine the worst case scenario, probably a bit of embarrassment, then go ahead and do it.

 

Trust people until they prove themselves otherwise.

 

Act like you care about people or at least are mildly interested in them even if you could care less.

 

Be a positive force to the people around you.

Enjoy your life and pass it on.

 

Love life or at least act like you do.

 

If you're not having fun, do something else.

 

Wherever you work, do it as though you're working for yourself.

 

Be a team player and partner.

 

Be smart about your work.  Fix your mistakes so they don't drag you down later.  Do things right the first time.

 

Work on the most important things, don't waste time with the trivial things.

 

Be flexible.

 

Play it cool when you start until you know the system.

 

Learn what you can on the job.

 

Don't come on so strong at the beginning that you've got no encore.

 

Don't try to change the system.  Tailor yourself to fit it.

 

Don't take criticism personally.  It's the boss's job.

 

Your most important job is to develop a rapport with your bosses.

 

Be a low maintenance happy employee.

 

Don't stick out as a troublemaker.

 

Don't get caught up in work at the expense of leisure.

 

Be clean whenever you go to work.

 

Follow the dress code.

 

Try to be pleasant with good energy.

 

Don't dress sexy or act sexy.

 

Be loyal to the company.

 

Avoid difficult people as much as you can.

 

Don't be late for work.

 

Don't talk too much.  Don't say anything you wouldn't want the boss to hear.

 

When push comes to shove, everybody will betray you and what you said or did in confidence before will come back to haunt you.

 

Use tact but be straight.

 

Don't get behind in workload.

 

Work smart not hard.

 

Don't leave your desk/ office/ work area messy.

 

Use ergonomics to set up a comfortable work area.

 

Don't give excuses.

 

Don't panic in a tough situation.

 

If you're ambitious, let them know by your actions and dialogue.

 

Don't alienate different demographic workers like older, blacks, etc.

 

Balance at Work

 

The things important in my life are a sense of inspiration, personal control, peace of mind and freedom to do what I want, to live my life my way, on my own terms. 

 

I'm lucky in a way because I'm not bound by materialism for its own sake beyond taking care of my basic needs, nor the need for power over others or blind ambition. 

 

I know I'm different from a lot of people out there who work their butts off all day long, talk on their cellular phones in their cars all the time, probably make a good living, are stressed out, tired out and have addictions like food, booze and cigarettes.

 

These people, in my opinion, are lost because they've made money, power and/ or ambition their gods at the expense of everything else, even wife and family. 

 

They're running a race with themselves that will eventually lead them to either nowhere or an early death.  The only way to say it is that you gotta compromise and the way to do it is to become more efficient. 

 

Instead of working 12 hours a day, cut it back to 9 hours and get more work done during that time.  Make it a point to knock off at five o'clock everyday regardless of what you're doing.  Rome wasn't built in a day.

You should strive for a ritual like take the wife and dog out for a walk everyday when you get home from work, have some romance with her, play with your kids, join a choir, take piano lessons, workout or do something like that that will get you out of the work headspace. 

 

Take a sailing course, play golf or something like that.  Get balance in your life.  You know the old cliche - nobody on their deathbed is ever gonna wish they had spent more time at the office.

 

One way to get more out of life is to simply simplify it.  Get rid of the cellular phone and the pager or at least shut them off at five o'clock.  Every night, reflect on your life a bit and plan the next day. 

 

Ask yourself if you love your job or hate it.  If you hate it, get the guts to quit and move on.  Instead of mass media all the time, spend time in complete silence in your own thoughts. 

 

Cut out some TV, magazine subscriptions, business shows on TV, etc.  Don't spend money foolishly.  Save wisely.  Get a pet for peace of mind sake. 

 

If you don't want to go out drinking with your coworkers or playing golf with the boss, just say your family needs you at home.  Get rid of your materialistic mindset.

 

If you work with jerks on your job, it's not a healthy environment and you must either talk to them about it or get away from them.  Try to be a team player but if the people you work with are serious assholes, it might be better to get out for your peace of mind.

 

Don't set yourself up for disappointment by setting excessively high expectations then not reaching them. 

 

Be thankful and happy for what you achieve and for what you get out of it.  Don't dwell on near misses like how you could have gotten the big promotion.

 

You shouldn't just be a sheep at work, do the job for the paycheck and follow the herd.  You should have a vision for yourself on the job, see yourself as a person with destiny going somewhere with it.

 

Smart Worker One-Liners

 

When I sit down to work, the question is what is right, what is good, what is for the public good.

 

Don't work for a boss that can't give you the kind of money and position you want.  Find a job where there's upward mobility.

 

Be ambitious.  Focus on making yourself indeispensable to your boss.

 

Do your job well.

 

Get in early, not late.

 

Never refuse a request from your boss to do extra work.

 

Be good at what you do.

You will be a little nervous, apprehensive and a little intimidated by a new job.  Be friendly and polite.

 

Ask questions if you do not understand what you're spozed to do.

 

Do not try to be an overachiever right away because your fellow employees will not like you for making them look bad.

 

Don't get sucked into gossip.  When somebody gossips to me, I just nod.  I might chuckle but I never add anything to it.

 

Do an honorable job at whatever you do.  When the boss sees you do small jobs well, he promotes you.

 

Follow the chain of command.

 

pongoresume.com

 

Be honest with everyone.

 

If you make a mistake and get caught, own up to it.  I've screwed up, lied about it and got away with it so for me sometimes it's better to lie.

 

Don't bring your personal and family problems to work.  Don't be a sad sack.

 

If you make them money, they'll reward you.

 

All success originates in the ability to sell yourself and sell products.

 

Upgrade your skills.  Take continuing education classes.

 

Don't be a hypster, slickster or brown-noser.

 

Work hard.

 

Impress other people.

 

Get to know other people all over the company.

 

Think about job situations.  Anticipate what you'll do.

 

Don't try to outshine your boss to the bigger boss.  Work on helping him get promoted then he'll promote you.

 

Teamwork at Work Websites

 

money.howstuffworks.com/business/starting-a-job/how-to-improve-teamwork-in-workplace.htm

post.career.vi/2010/03/teamwork-the-essence-of-workplace-productivity/

smallbusiness.chron.com/disadvantages-teamwork-workplace-1937.html

humanresources.                            dead website, try dotdash.com, thebalance.com and thoughtco.com
/od/involvementteams/team_building_employee_empowerment_employee_involvement.htm

associatedcontent.com/article/317564/the_importance_of_teamwork_in_the_workplace.html

buzzle.com/articles/teamwork-in-the-workplace.html

cmoe.com/team-work-in-the-workplace.htm

teamworkonline.com/

 

Chapter 5. Problems at Work

 

Anger, How To Deal With It

 

Anger is drinking poison and hoping someone else dies.  You hurt yourself more than you hurt others.

 

Life's too short to be angry.  Let the feelings flow to release them then let them go.  Make peace with your emotions.  Forgive, forget, keep moving forward.

 

Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at at someone else - you are the one who gets burned.

Buddha

 

He who can keep silent in an argument even though he knows he's right has true power.

 

When angry, count to ten before you speak.

 

When very angry, count to one hundred.

Thomas Jefferson

 

If any man offend not in word, he is a perfect man.. Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts of great things.  Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindles?

James 3:2-5

 

When two people have a dispute both are to blame.  It will only stop when one has the humility to see that he too is partially guilty of provoking the fight.

 

Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council and whoever says, "You fool" shall be liable to the hell of fire.

Matthew 5:22-23

 

The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Galatians 5: 22-23

 

He who guards his lips guards his life but he who speaks harshly will come to ruin.

Proverbs 13:3

 

Pride only breeds quarrels but wisdom is found in those who take advice.

Proverbs 13:10

 

A gentle answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 15:1

 

Pride goeth before destruction; a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 16:18

 

Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper.

Proverbs 16:32

 

A man of knowledge uses words with restraint and a man of understanding is even tempered.

Proverbs 17:27

 

A fool gives full vent to his anger but a wise man keeps himself under control.

Proverbs 29:11

 

An angry man stirs up dissention and a hot tempered man commits many sins.

Proverbs 29: 22

 

Reckless words pierce like a sword but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Proverbs 12:18

 

In your anger, do not sin.  Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry and do not give the devil a foothold.

Ephesians 4:26-27

 

In the Bible, Ephesians 4:22-32 deals with anger.  Even if you act out of anger and destroy somebody elses's life, usually either the repercussions in the real world will destroy or your own sense of decency will make you regret it at some point in time.

 

If you're patient in one moment of anger, you'll escape 100 days of sorrow.  Walk away from anger.  Work it off.  Anger is all about one thing; inner pain that the world is not the way you want it, loss of control in any situation, a feeling of powerlessness so you react the only way you can by taking it out on yourself via taking it out on people or things around you.  You don't need it.  Stay cool. 

 

Know what the major emotions are, how you deal with them and express them; love, happiness, joy, hate, sorrow, sadness, guilt, shame, jealousy, fear, anger.  Everything comes down to how you react to it.  If you can remember to stay calm, keep that quiet smile inside and have infinite patience, you can be slow to let anything get to you. 

 

Keep your mouth shut about everything before you analyze it.  A disciplined tongue doesn't talk much, especially about negative things.  It tries to be positive, pleasant and encouraging. 

 

Once you stop and think about a situation for a few minutes, you can usually let it blow off your back and forget about it.  The opposite of anger is self-control, good manners and a kindly nature.  People know you by your actions.  Keep the negative stuff to yourself, deal with it then let it go. 

 

A peaceful mind without anger is the key to mastering your life.  Forgiveness is the most divine force on the planet both for your peace of mind and for the good of the world.

 

You're not fooling anyone when you show anger.  Everybody knows you really hate yourself at that time and need some serious soul searching.  Depression is anger turned inward left to fester inside. 

 

The best approach is to either talk it out with a trusted person or get away from everybody for awhile.  My approach is the eraser approach, in one ear, quick analysis, say screw it, it ain't nothing but a thing then it's gone. 

 

I deal with all the negatives in my life by making them disappear out of my mind.  Somebody once told me that time heals everything.  for some things, you need time to mourn, to give yourself some room for self-pity and grief then after awhile of moping, you should have the sense to snap out of it and break back into your life.

 

Being grumpy and angry doesn't get you anywhere because people just see you as an idiot and shut off and it's hell to pay on your mind for all the space it takes up and hell on your body with all that excess adrenalin you're releasing that poisons it.  Angry people become what they're angry at.  It's called projection.  Usually you're angry at a personality trait that you have.

 

Frustration is life.  Unless you were born with a big silver spoon in your mouth, you can't avoid the hassles of earning a living and even then, rich people get bored and almost never trust the people who supposedly fall in love with them because they think it's for their money so bottom line, nobody's immune to hard times and frustration but it shouldn't necessarily lead to anger. 

 

All anger is a state of mind.  If you can learn to see life for the big picture and let all the trivial, everyday stuff just blow off your shoulders, you've got it made but many people get caught up in their own little worlds and let little things skyrocket in their minds until they explode. 

 

The old cliche is learn to relax and meditate.  Rest the mind and body.  Live for peace of mind.  There's a technique called Progressive Relaxation where you lay down and focus on each body part, making it relax as deeply as possible.

 

Truly happy people with peace of mind don't get angry because they have the proper perspective about what really matters.  You create your own anger within yourself, therefore you can change it with an act of will if you so desire.  It's good to be a passionate person for what you believe in but once you cross the line into zealousness, extremism, obsession and anger, you're setting yourself up for a miserable life. 

 

Many anger prone people live in a fantasy world of delusion.  They're self-centered, egotistical, dictatorial, authoritative, absolutist jerks who see the world only from their point of view and proceed on with their goals without regard for anyone else until someone or something interferes, then they get angry and most of them, unless they're in a position of authority where they can blow up at will, just keep it in and let it fester, having all these fantasies about the person like what a monster they are and how they'd like to dissect them piece by piece and finally give them a slow, painful death.  They never blame themselves for anything that happens, it's always the other person even when they're blatantly wrong. 

 

The problem with most anger is the frustration-aggression hypothesis where people get crapped on at work but because they're subordinate, they can't do anything about it but let it fester inside so they go home and take it out on the people they love the most because they're there as convenient scapegoat punching bags.  This phenomena is also-called the kicking the dog syndrome. 

 

When you let things get to you and get tense, it's written all over your face and somber mood.  People won't like you and your boss won't promote you.  Misery might love company but normal people don't wanna be around downers so as long as you're a downer, don't expect to be a winner at work. 

 

Expressing anger might feel good for the moment in the short term but it becomes a vicious cycle and sooner or later, the angry person finds himself alone without any friends or allies at work.  In fact, when you act like a jerk, people just don't turn off, they do things to quietly sabotage you to get you back for being a jerk and talk about what a jerk you are behind your back.  That's no way to live.

 

All anger is irrational, created in the mind of the person.  If you let it, anger will destroy your mind and body, drain you, alienate people and make you a jealous, miserable person.  Every time you get angry, you release adrenalin which wears the body out and you put a strain your heart which has to work extra hard to pump all that angry blood to your head. 

 

Just stay calm and deal with whatever comes in a rational, mature manner.  Be assertive if you have to get your rights but don't cross the line into aggression where you put the other person down and attack them personally.  Just deal with situations over people.  Consider just what's happening in one situation and try to resolve that problem. 

 

No matter what happens, the sun always rises the next day and you have the choice to either take inspired action to create your life or do nothing an stagnate away in bitterness and anger.  I've had major negative events happen to me but I always knew regardless of these things, my life was still my choice on a daily level to either follow my true bliss or destroy myself by sitting around and moping.

 

The biggest cause of all anger is that you feel ripped off, betrayed, abused or that unreasonable demands are being made on you.  That makes people the cause of your anger.  Instead of jumping the gun and attributing all manner of negative qualities to the person that screwed you in some way, step back for a second and analyze the situation. 

 

It could be several things, maybe just an innocent oversight on their part, maybe they don't even realize that they wronged you, maybe they were having a bad day and did something inadvertently rude, maybe they have to screw you as part of their job to get what they want, maybe they're just low level, insensitive, harmless jerks or maybe they're truly poison people who purposely want to screw you for their own insidious satisfaction. 

 

The first few cases you can deal with by staying calm, letting it blow over and giving the person a second chance.  If certain people around you continue to make unreasonable demands on you, you have the right to be assertive and stand up for yourself by telling them straight out that they're being jerks.  It's up to you how far you wanna go to confront people.  Whatever you do, always attack the behavior rationally and not the person. 

 

I rarely confront people because I have my own peace of mind and don't care that much about the jerks around me if they're being jerks.  I just laugh cynically and leave.  As for poison people, once you identify them, you have only two choices, to stay away as far as possible or think up a righteous case of vigilante justice.  Sometimes it's the only way to teach a jerk a lesson. 

 

Anger therapists are quick to say turn the other cheek, forgive and forget which is fine in most cases but sometimes revenge is the only way to stop a jerk from screwing other people.  Don't blame others for your anger.  Analyze yourself then strive to be a kinder, gentler person. 

 

Don't buy into all the psychobabble about how predisposition and upbringing determine anger traits.  Anger is a now phenomena, created by you in the moment so it's your choice if you wanna change it.  Don't blame anger on something inherent within yourself.  It's very easy to live in the rut of anger.  It takes work to change it. 

 

Find alternative ways to let off steam like exercise, play piano, get a hobby, go dancing, talk, hit a brick wall with your head, etc.  When you do something you really love to do, it frees you from your anger for awhile then when you've expended yourself and it's all done, your perspective changes.  You realize it wasn't such a big deal after all.

 

Try to change your philosophy from one of competition to one of cooperation.  Start smiling a bit more.  Ultimately, anger will not solve your problems.  When you feel yourself getting angry, think about how it's destroying your body.  Think tolerance instead of animosity.  Realize how foolish it is and how stupid you look being angry since nobody likes an angry person not even the one being angry. 

 

Carry yourself with respect and dignity.  Don't be whiny.  Define yourself so that people know where you stand and know that they can't run all over you.  If you carry yourself well, the jerks'll know that they can't get one over on you and if you're calm, people'll know that you're stable meaning that you'll deal with adversity and disappointment in a rational way without being a jerk about it. 

 

When you come face to face with an angry person, disarm them by being calm and speaking quietly.  Ask them why are they so uptight or what's wrong with a tone of sympathy in your voice.  They might calm down and open up.  Don't be too serious about life.  Lighten up, get a sense of humor. 

 

angry.org

 

Anger at Work

 

The human organism is generally moody and lives by emotion but mature people don't take out their negative emotions on others.  Unfortunately, many people do.  This is the source of workplace hell.

 

People get angry at others for two major reasons:

 

That person is interfering with what they want to do.  It could be innocent interference, not realizing they're bothering this other person.

 

People are general assholes who are not straight shooters and may do irritating things on purpose to try to get on other people's nerves.  In the clinical sense, this is bullying behavior.

 

The issue is one of power or more correctly, the abuse of power.  People with power often take out their anger on subordinates and the subordinates take it even though this is abuse and is subject to civil and even criminal laws in cases of violence.

 

Surbordinates or low level workers get angry too but they generally can't act on it directly so they do the next best thing:

 

Take it out on their peers and subordinates.

 

Take it out on the company by sabotaging it.

 

Doing poor quality work.

 

Stealing from the company.

 

Keep it all in until they explode in an act of violence.

 

Get depressed, turn to booze, etc. to deal with it.

 

Go home and take it out on the family.

 

In any case, anger at work is bad.  You're there to do a job.  You should be civil about it.  It not only hurts production but creates a horrible tension in the air.  Try to resolve all personality conflicts as quickly as possible and get rid of angry people as quickly as you can.  They're bad for the atmosphere of the workplace.

 

Try to create a positive, relaxed, cooperative atmosphere at work.  Don't be too strict.  Be in the middle so that people have a safety valve to cool off throughout the day in the form of breaks, access to a bathroom, a lunchroom, a place to smoke, etc.

 

Accept the fact that anger happens.  If the people who get angry only do it every once in awhile, they can be salvaged and educated to walk out and take a break when they feel hot and stressed. 

For chronically angry people, warn them formally then the next few times they get angry is enough to fire them.

 

Be straight and direct about anger.  Don't pussyfoot with angry people.  Tell them to learn to cool it and act mature or get out.

 

Show both sides that you're empathetic, that you feel and understand their pain.

 

Don't point fingers and blame, especially when someone is angry.  Try not to add insult to anger by attacking the angry person personally calling him a wacko.  Tell him to cool it for a second, to compose himself then criticize the behavior, not him personally. 

Say you just want to get to the bottom of that particular situation and not deal with the personal lives of the people involved.

 

Diffuse anger quickly by getting both sides to air their beefs right there on the spot.  Often, the act of releasing the frustration is enough to diffuse the issue for the moment but go one step further and try to get them to compromise and agree to be civil with each other in the future. 

Find common ground between them.  Tell them they're both mature people, family men or women, working for the same company who want the same things out of life so they should try to get along with each other.

 

This works for some but not for others.  With co-workers who hate each other, either fire the worse one or if the company is big enough, separate them, put them to work far away from each other.

 

You can only go so far with some angry people.  They can't be reformed.  In these cases, either learn to live with them or get rid of them.  You can help some people control their anger but not eliminate it.  It's still in there but they don't let it out as much.

 

Try to be fair at work.  If somebody is angry, they may have a legitimate beef.  Try to help them get justice so they can get over it and move on.  If you don't at least try, you've got a wounded worker with a long-term grudge.

 

The bottom line is to eliminate anger one way or another.  Try to help angry people resolve their beefs or minimize the anger within themselves or fire them.

 

Take or offer courses in anger management and stress reduction.

 

Books about a anger at work are at #650.13, #658.3045, #658.38 or HF5549 at the library.

 

Violence at Work/ Workplace Violence

 

"Going postal" means you explode like a frustrated postal worker who goes to his workplace and shoots his co-workers.  There's plenty of that going around but workplace violence is more routine than that.

 

The most dangerous jobs according to usdoj.gov are:

 

Cop

Security guard

Taxi driver

Mental health worker

Prison guard

Grade school teachers

Bartenders

Gas station attendants

Convenience store clerks

Bus drivers

 

There is conflict at work.  You might be able to forsee violence if:

 

a co-worker starts badmouthing the boss and company all the time

 

if he brings a weapon to work

 

if he makes threats

 

Gets into arguments and fights

 

depression, talk of suicide

 

substance abuse

 

aggressive, bullying behavior

 

let's himself go, poor dress, messy hair, etc.

 

Think about your workplace.  What would you do if a gunman came in?  Make an escape or hiding plan. 

What about valuables?  Is there anything in the workplace that someone would commit a daylight robbery for?  If there is, incorporate tighter security procedures.

 

If you're in a cash business like restaurant, bar, food, entertainment, you're always at risk.  Surveillance cameras help but the critical moment is when you leave with the cash at the end of the day.  Always send your decoy out first to get the car.  He parks it by the door in Drive while you run out and get in.

 

If you're a big boss, get a steel door with a deadbolt for your office.

 

Another threat is angry customers.  Think twice before you rip off customers, give them poor merchandise or refuse to give refunds.

 

Try #362.88 at the library.

 

Anger, Violence at Work Websites

 

osha.gov

osha.gov/publications/osha2209.pdf, the osha handbook for small businesses, 800 321 osha.

 

crisisprevention.com

ilo.org/public/english/protection/safework/violence/intro.htm, violence in the workplace introduction.

namass.org, national anger management association.

osha.gov/sltc/workplaceviolence/index.html, workplace violence

pp.okstate.edu/ehs/links/violence.htm, workplace violence.

ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbid=db_gethelp787, workplace violence get help series.

elt-inc.com/terror_and_violence_in_the_workplace.html

workplace.calm.to, mental health consultants with expertise in identifying and managing conflict and potential violence in the workplace.

4therapy.com/consumer/life_topics

aggressionmanagement.com

alternet.org/workplace/24796/

angermgmt.com/book_workplace.asp

annsmith.com/lecture topics.htm

apa.org/monitor/julaug01/deskrage.html

archives.cnn.com, go to desk rage.

careerplanning.                            dead website, try dotdash.com, thebalance.com and thoughtco.com
/od/anger

cartoonstock.com/directory/w/work_rage.asp

ccrllc.com/images/workstationacoustics-rage.pdf

cnn.com/2000/career/trends/11/15/rage

defoore.com/drdefoore.htm

discoveryvip.com/courseware/sales_skills/skills_2.htm

dr911.com/mixandmatch2.htm

dwij.org/pathfinders/victor_la_cerva/victor1.html

findarticles.com, type in workplace violence.

findlearning.com

globalfind.net/management_176/workplace-violence-people-are-dying-going-to-work

growthgroups.com/angermanagementorganizationallearning.htm

gtcpro.com/gtcpro/everythingsalesskills/managingangeratwork.pdf

howlandgroup.com/anger.htm

hrgopher.com

mediationworks.com/mti/certconf/angermanagement.htm

nraila.org/news/archives/inthenews.aspx

nutritionaltest.com/stressnews2.html

ossa.com/content/newsletter/editorialhistory.cfm

protectics.co.uk/content/pages/anger.html

spalding.edu/frame.asp?pg=/security/violenceatwork.pdf?id=447

sproutingjoy.org/anger.html

stopworkplaceviolence.ca

successunlimited.co.uk/rage.htm

suite101.com/bulletin.cfm/6514/10621

theproductivitypro.com/newsletters/number31december2001.htm

tregistry.com/violence.htm

uky.edu/police/workplace.html

womenincrisis.info/literature_abuse.htm

wordspy.com/words/workrage.asp

workdoctor.com/press/hrnews011801.html

workplaceviolence911.com

workplace-violence-hq.com

yale.edu/opa/v28.n1/story1.html

 

Bad Boss/ Bosshole 1

 

Stay sane, in control, keep your self-respect no matter what is happening around you.

 

Many bosses abuse their power, that's a fact but many aren't inherently bad, it's just they don't see eye to eye with you on the basics of life.  They're conservative and focussed on the bottom line. 

 

You're a liberal just doing a job and don't particularly like the business leaders of the world. 

 

In these cases, you either grin and bear it, get a transfer to another department or quit and get a job elsewhere.

 

If the boss isn't really a scroundrel, just an eccentric, the best way is probably accept him or her for he or she is and play along during work.  Be patronizing in a subtle way.  Try to reach a mutual level of respect and leave it at that.

 

The truth is that in surveys of people in general, most have a complaint about their boss.  It's inherent in the nature of the boss-worker relationship, bosses are easy targets for criticism.

 

I'm not suggesting that bosses are just misunderstood but they are often unjustly the brunt of a lot of anger.  Some bosses are bad but many are just people doing a job.  They have to give orders and play the hard-ass here and there.  This is what they do.  If the guy is not a bastard, give him a break.

 

Having said that, there are many bosses who don't know how to treat people with respect.  A boss that hollers, screams, calls everybody names, asks for perks unrelated to the job like making coffee, chews you out in front of others, tries to humiliate you, sexually harasses you, etc. is crossing the line. 

 

Don't drop to his level.  Be a model employee but document all of his bad behavior and get witnesses to corroborate them.  Keep every bit of paperwork and e-mails he sends you.  It may come in handy for a later trial. 

 

A bad boss is a bad human being.  We can make some allowance for a stressed out boss in a high pressure job but you can usually sense the bad boss's true character by sensing his inner vibe.  Is he mean-spirited?  Does he do things just to piss people off or is it a function of the job?

 

One thing is certain.  Most people have rated a bad boss as the worst thing that could possibly happen on the job.  Studies of people in bad boss working situations have revealed incredible stress, effects on health and even suicide in some cases. 

 

If you've got a bad boss and you have not been proactive enough about your life to have enough options such that you could quit that job for your own sanity if you had to and not worry about being homeless, then it's your fault.

 

Of course, there are legal issues.  You could place a charge against him through your union, a human rights commission or even charge him civilly or criminally in some cases but you need documented evidence, the paperwork is tedious, these trials take time and they emotionally drain you.  If you're in control of your life, you simply move on.

 

Bad bosses don't even have to be bad to you.  They could be people who are so insecure, neurotic and indecisive that they screw the operations of the company up.

 

The implicit nature of workplace politics often results in a lot of people getting promoted to be bosses when they're really not good boss material. 

 

Seniority is big, simply being around the longest and/ or the big boss feels indebted to certain employees for one reason or another.  The only feasible way to promote people is via merit and a lot of this includes the ability to work with people civilly.

 

The number one determinant of success in business is your ability to deal with people.  If somebody can't do this, they should not be given a management or supervisory position.  It's that simple.

 

When dealing with a bad boss, determine if he's like this with everyone or if he's just singling you out.  Is he a general all-around control freak or does he feel threatened by you as an individual?

 

You have a few choices regardless of whether he's targeting just you or is a bad boss with everybody.  You can quit to save yourself the hassle of it all or ask to see him alone in the office then once you're there, simply calmly tell him he can't abuse people like that, that there are laws in place for that and if he doesn't respect you as a human being on the job, you will be forced to report him to the Department of Labor and the Human Rights Commission.

 

Make friends with others who are united against him and together work to dethrone him.  You can take some abuse and let it go but if he repeatedly crosses the line, you have to take action.  Either quit or stay and quietly put the evidence together to file a lawsuit against him.

 

When you're ready to state your position, be confident.  When you know in your heart you are right, don't back down.  Don't be venomous in your charges, just state them objectively.

 

Hide a tape recorder and even a video camera in the office to tape all of his bad behavior.

 

Bad Boss/ Bosshole 2

 

There are a number of different kinds of bad bosses who are simply a representative sample of the assholes of society in general.  Some common traits and stereotypes are as follows:

 

A confrontational nature, likes to threaten people.

 

According to a survey of workers, the characteristics they most dislike about bosses are:

 

Acts vain, controlling and belittles workers in an attempt to hide his inadequacies as a boss.

 

Alcoholic/ drug addict.  These people are happy sometimes but they say things to embarrass you then when they get mad, they don't hold back.

 

Analyzes people, going beyond the job to say they have a mental illness.

 

Angry/ stressed.  Many people are very angry and take this anger out by dumping on their workers who feel they have to take it but I wouldn't.  I'd tell him straight up he's a miserable, angry coot who had better treat people with respect if he doesn't want trouble from the Human Rights Commission.

 

Angry, stressed out and miserable.

 

Arrogant bully, tries to show how superior he is to others.

 

Bad hygiene.

 

Blames others for everything.

 

Bureaucrat, somebody trivial who doesn't understand the spirit of his workers is much more important than his trivial rules.

 

Condescending.

 

Constantly lies.  Tells people what they want to get rid of them but it's often a lie.

 

Control/ distrust/ Nazi.  I used to work for one guy who never failed to check up on everybody a minimum of twice a day, usually 3-4 times.  If you're a good worker, the boss should leave you alone, never come around unless it's for a real reason.

 

Does mean things on purpose.

 

Doesn't clearly explain what he wants then hollers at people for not doing it right.

 

El cheapo, wants to suck every minute of work out of employees.  Complains if he sees you throw paper away or turn the A.c. on if it's below 95 degrees.

 

Embarasses people publicly.

 

Free ride, delegates everything but accepts praise for everything too.  Usually into his image (how he appears to others) at the expense of work.

 

He's never wrong.

 

Image, tries to make himself look good at the expense of doing a good job for its own sake.  Tries to hang around with the big shots to gain their favor.

 

Inconsistent.  One day he praises employee x, the next day he puts him down.

 

Insecure compensated for by being overly controlling to feel in control.

 

Insensitive, callous.

 

Is distant and aloof.

 

Is too soft.  Doesn't tell his workers what he really wants because he doesn't want to hurt their feelings or is afraid of human contact in general.

 

Is isolated in his office.

 

Know-it-all.

 

Leadership by terror.

 

Makes excessive demands, piles on the work.

 

Makes empty promises.

 

Many insecure bosses try to overcompensate by being bastards and bitches so no one can get close enough to sense their anxiety.  Photocopy this article and leave it anonymously on his desk, front and center.

 

Micromanages everything.  Can't leave people to do their work on their own.

 

Never a kind word.

 

No respect for others.

 

No sense of humor.

 

One-dimensional frame of mind.

 

Openly critical of others.

 

Overly ambitious at the expense of workers.

 

Paranoid, thinks everybody is talking about him, scheming to depose him behind his back.

 

Perfectionist and controlling.

 

Plays mind games.

 

Plays favorites.  Treats some people well but snubs the rest.

 

Punishes people for minor mistakes.

 

Reprimands people in front of others.

 

Rude, condescending.

 

Schizophrenic, tries to be a buddy today.  Tomorrow, he will act like a bureaucratic Nazi.

 

Steals the credit for work others have done.

 

Takes the credit for other people's work.

 

Tries to be too personal.  Lets his baggage out to bother others with it.

 

Uses intimidation to get his way.

 

Wimp.  Often a woman who doesn't feel worthy of her position or an introverted man who'd rather work alone on a specific project than deal with people.  These bosses hide out in their office, have no interaction with the workers and let things run themselves.

 

Workaholic, bonafide workaholic who is obsessed with work and production.

 

Bad Boss/ Bosshole 3

 

Don’t be sensitive out in the workplace. People say mean, callous things all the time but to them, it’s business. It’s not personal. They expect you to do as you’re told while you’re on the job. They are function-oriented. That’s it. Don’t overthink people or their motives. Life moves too fast. Focus on doing a good job regardless of how you’re terated. People eventually notice. If a boss is smart he or she will promote a good worker.

 

There are truly evil people out there. Most of the time people aren’t evil. They’re just self-centered. They expect you to do as you’re told. They don’t understand that you have emotions and might feel hurt. Do your job. That’s it.

 

If someone is truly evil, complain if you can. Get corroborating evidence from other workers who are treated like crap too from this guy. If you can’t complain to anyone because the evil guy is the boss, your last chance to keep your job is to tell him he’s insensitive. Talk to him about it as though it’s a defect in who he is. He should treat you better. If he doesn’t lighten up, QUIT. Your life is never as small as you think it is. Start looking for another job while you’re working for this bum. It’s not worth the hassle to work for a bum. Despite what everybody says about how tight the economy is, if you’re a good worker you’ll find another job.

 

Do what you feel in your heart to be right. If others put you down, it’s their problem not yours.

 

A lot of people are naturally angry. The best you can ever do is to be as calm as you can.

 

Be friendly and unphased when someone is being mean. If someone is hollering at you and you smile, the anger becomes foolish unless you make them so angry that they hit you.

 

Bad Boss/ Bosshole 4

 

If you work for a boss who doesn't like you, you'll never be promoted.  Some people try to get their boss to like them but why bother.

 

A bad, incompetent boss will never help you move ahead.

 

Bureaucrats and micro-managers are by the book.  They're trivial assholes.  They don't see you as a possible great employee.  They see you as how much of a conformist you are versus the possibility that you could get them into trouble by breaking a rule.

 

A lot of people turn into assholes when they assume positions of authority.

 

A boss is just a person.  Treat him or her with basic respect.  If they don't like it, too bad for them.  The hell with them.  You don't have to take abuse.  Call them on it.  It will probably make them stop and think that they're being jerks.

 

Bosses use people.  They lie about promoting you in the future, make empty promises, etc., all to get you to do the work.

 

A boss might hate you for some reason and want you fired.  Decide whether to stay and hold your ground or leave.

 

The best way to deal with a bad boss is to stay calm.  I once worked for a bad boss who treated everyone like crap.  He hollered at people.  They quietly listened then he left and everything went back to normal.  It was like a routine part of the job, the boss hollering.

 

If a boss is genuinely bad, unethical and breaking the law, get evidence.  Document all events, get co-workers to back you up then report him to the proper authorities.

 

The best way to deal with bad bosses is to quietly give them enough rope to hang themselves.  Bad bosses keep alienating people and screwing up until their business either screws up or they're discovered to be incompetent by upper management and axed. 

 

Human relations is not as lax as it was 30 years ago.  If a boss doesn't treat his workers with respect, you can bring civil charges against him and get him in other kinds of trouble.

 

The key to dealing with a bad boss is to show him you're not gonna play this game and be sucked into his efforts to bring you into his emotional aura and let him manipulate you through it. 

 

There's a big chasm between respect and unacceptable behavior.  Everybody knows what's fair and what's rude.  If he crosses the line with you, either tell him straight up or ignore him until he acts righteously. 

Never trust your boss.  If he plays you and acts like a friend then pulls rank and acts like an impersonal bureaucrat, screw him.  Next time he comes around acting friendly, be distant and professional with him. 

 

If you feel you should continue to play along and be his phony friend, then it's your fault for enabling him and sticking around.  Get the guts to leave or give him the cold treatment until he smartens up.

 

Don't stoop to his level.  Just stay professionally impersonal with him and do your own job competently.  Do what you can to quietly sabotage him.  When he screws up bigtime, be there to do what you can to push him over the edge.  Your purpose is to either reform him (very tough to do), get rid of him or quit. 

 

Even if you need the job, a job is a job is a job.  I've seen so many people destroy themselves to keep some crappy job without even trying to go out and look for another one while they still held on to the crappy job for security sake so it's really your own fault if you've got a crappy boss and simply take it without looking for another job in your spare time.

 

Whenever you deal directly with a bad boss, bring a co-worker with you or make sure someone is around to corroborate what takes place as your witness so he can't lie about it.

 

If a boss wants you to do something illegal, by law, you're supposed to refuse to do it.  Whether you whistle-blow/ report it, is up to you but at the least, refuse to do it and tell him it's illegal. 

 

Legally, you can't be fired for refusing to do an illegal act.  You could go to the cops and offer to go undercover for them in the case of something bad like cooking the books, dumping toxic wastes, price goughing, etc.

 

Don't assume you can tame a boss because you can't.  You can demand that he respect you which he might do grudgingly to protect himself but he will probably hate you all the way.  It's your choice to either stay and take the tension or leave to find a better place to work.

 

If you bypass your boss about something, it may come back to haunt you since he's the guy with direct power over you.  Always try to follow the chain of command and go through your boss unless he's a jerk.

 

I feel that you as the worker should set up your own invisible boundary as to how you will deal with your boss, professional and courteous but not personally friendly because many bosses are self-centered.  They will use this fake friendship then pull rank when they need to. 

 

Most bosses care about themselves before they care about you.  Many are so self-centered they can't see it from your point of view.  Do your work and document it as your own.  Most bosses care about their own promotion not yours which is why you have to keep a record of everything you do if you plan to go in and ask for a raise or promotion.

 

As a boss, do the right thing.  If an employee who's a friend is a jerk, be objective about it.  Give him a chance then fire him if you have to.

 

Bad Boss Websites/ Toxic Boss Websites

 

Try #650.13 or HF5548 at the library.

 

ebosswatch.com, reviews of bosses, no cost for basic service, fee-based boss background checks.

allisontaylor.com/wrongful_termination/bad_boss.asp

askmen.com/money/professional/3_professional_life.html

badbossology.com

bigbadboss.com/bad_boss_stories__advice.html

bigbadboss.com

beldingskills.com

blogs.abcnews.com/toryjohnson/

blogs.hbr.org

corporatetrainingmaterials.com

bofh.ntk.net, bastard operator from hell.

boss.com

bullyonline.org

discoverysurveys.com, 30 reasons why people hate bosses.

dragonflutesrising.com/coretta-dealing-with-bosses/

ehow.com, bad boss.

examiner.com/business-insight-in-national/harassment-or-just-a-mean-boss

findlegaladvice.org/forum/law-ethics/bad-boss-or-bad-employee-please-answer-i-39-m-in-tears-325195.htm

gawker.com/news/evil-bosses

groups.yahoo.com/group/toxicmanagers

happy                            dead website, try dotdash.com, thebalance.com and thoughtco.com
/scrappyabout/scrappywomeninbusiness.php

io9.com/392142/the-7-types-of-bad-bosses-according-to-star-trek-and-how-to-survive-them

marieclaire.com/career-money/advice/tips/bad-boss-help

msnbc.msn.com

humanresources.                            dead website, try dotdash.com, thebalance.com and thoughtco.com
/od/badmanagerboss/a/bad_boss.htm

humanresources.                            dead website, try dotdash.com, thebalance.com and thoughtco.com
/od/badmanagerboss/a/bad_boss2.htm

mediationblog.blogspot.com

mycareerquizzes.com/bad-boss-test

myreferences.com/wrongful_termination/bad_boss.asp

quintcareers.com/bad_boss-dos-donts.html

quintcareers.com/bad_bosses.html

reallybadboss.com

mytoxicboss.com

ocbiz.ocregister.com/2009/10/15/bad-news-that-mean-boss-probably-wont-get-better/15291/

shrinkinabox.com/difficult-people

thepayback.com/revengepackages.html

wikihow.com/deal-with-a-bad-boss

workawesome.com

workingamerica.org

workingamerica.org/badboss/

workingamerica.org/badboss/index.cfm

 

Be A Good Negotiator

 

The art of negotiation is all about compromise and seduction.  There isn't a winner and a loser.  Both sides win.  Make the other guy feel like he's your buddy, like you feel his pain then just talk straight with him, man to man.  Don't try to bullshit.

 

You can take either one of two ploys:

 

1.) I'm the hotshot.  Even if I don't have the leverage, I will still act like I do.  On a sinking ship, I would rather go down with my head held high rather than bow down to anyone.

 

2.) Flush your ego down the toilet.  Sure, you don't let someone run all over you but when two sides lock horns, don't expect to "win" without giving something up.  Try to make it good for both sides.

 

Even in these so-called enlightened times, I constantly see news stories that pit management against the union and both sides are so headstrong that strikes go on for weeks and months longer than they should have then when an agreement is finally reached, it's often very close to the original proposal. 

 

The reason why it took so long was in the adversarial approach. 

 

Management said here's our offer, take it or leave it, leaving these union people (who are just people) to act on immediate gut instinct which is screw you. 

 

They have to save face and not take this deal the arrogant management shoved in their faces so both sides suffer for a few months then they call in a third party who is simply used as the scapegoat for each side to swallow a bit of their egos and make a deal that could have been made on the first day if they were both enlightened enough to get past their egos enough to make a deal but they played the little ego games that most low level humans play because they weren't big enough to act small and forget about their egos.

 

You don't have to be right.  You don't have to play power politics.  You don't have to have a big ego. Just go for the deal.  Give up those few points anyway up front because you're gonna have to give something up anyway sooner or later.

 

Set a friendly "let's make a deal" tone.

 

Find the common ground between the two of you.

 

Empathize.  See it from his point of view.

 

If it's two sides or more than two sides, ask each side to clearly spell out their interests/ demands.

 

It's equal parts the substance of the deal and the process itself.  You have to wine and dine/ seduce the other side that you're acting in the best interests for the both of you.

Everything is negotiable but rather than negotiate, which implies me against you, think of it as teamwork.

 

Even you hold the power today, don't grind the other guy into powder because there will come a day when he has the leverage and payback will be sweet.

 

The more you let the other guy talk, the better he feels and the closer you are to a deal.

 

Be aware of your body language and tone of voice.  They communicate more than what you say.  Once you're perceived as a phony, slippery character, it's probably all over.  You need trust. 

 

Don't be above taking your client/ boss out to lunch, supper, bar, disco, strip joint, etc.  Food, booze and naked women dancing on a stage have the power to seal a lot of deals.

 

Most people are up for win-win cooperative negotiations, some are aggressive self-centered bastards who alienate the other side and some hate it so much they give up everything to get it done and get out of there.  The critical element is power.

 

Analyze it to see who stands to lose more if the deal isn't made.  If you have the power, don't abuse it because people could do drastic things to try to spite you to get it back so present a fair offer and remind them once or twice you're the guy in the better position so they should consider it.

 

People often bluff to pull out and even walk away then two days later when you haven't called to accept their offer, they call you and make a deal.  Sometimes this even goes for months when one side walks out but they eventually cave and come back because you're the one with the power.

 

There was one case where an American company didn't want to help Canada build an electric power plant which they would buy electricity from so they said no thinking the Canadians would build it anyway but they didn't and several months later, the Americans gave them the upfront money to build it.

 

If you want to negotiate anything, have your plan all set up beforehand, know who to contact specifically, set up a meeting and show them your stuff.  Have your compromises figured out too.  Pick your top priorities and stick with them.

 

Don't be rigid.  Have several possible deals in mind.  Don't bluff.  Always get the other guy to make the first offer so you know where he's at then reject it no matter what. 

 

Trade off the stuff you don't care about much in favor of your top priority.  If the other guy is pressing you, tell him you have to make an important phone call.  The break will cool him off.

 

When someone says no, persistence can often wear him down.  You have to catch him at the right time.  Everything happens in the last minute. 

 

Knowledge is power.  The more you know about the situation, the better off you will be.  Silence is golden at times.  Keep your mouth shut if you have nothing to say.

 

If you're buying something, tell the guy that his competition is offering a pretty good deal.  Sometimes say something like, "You can do better than that" or "What's your rock bottom price" or What's the best you can do?" 

 

At the very end, always ask for his Bottom Line, Best Deal.  Once the deal is made, go over it point by point to get that meeting of the minds.

 

Confidence is good, arrogance is bad.  If you're valuable, let it show.  If you believe in yourself, take the risks to get where you want. 

This might mean embarrassing yourself to contact someone you want to see your stuff but that's part of the game.  They might like your spunk.

 

These days, there are several options.  Mediation is where two sides come together with a third party who tries to get them to both agree to a deal while arbitration is where a third party comes in, listens to both sides then hammers out the deal for them and they have to go with it, binding arbitration as it's called.  There's also a mediation-abitration hybrid.

 

If you've got a winning concept, don't be afraid to let your true colors show to sell it.  Timing is everything.  Get the guy when he's not busy or feeling tired like right after lunch.

 

Being tough doesn't mean being dishonest.  You can be firm without being a liar.  Know who's on the other side of the table.  Study this guy beforehand to plan your strategy.  No matter what happens, don't burn bridges.  Live to fight another day.

 

If you're doing fine as is and you don't have to negotiate, sometimes it's better to hold 'em but sometimes if you give people the illusion that you care by listening to them and giving them a bone, it scores you more points in the loyalty department rather than if you had just callously tossed them off. 

If you disregard employee requests, it will always come back to haunt you in the form of worker revenge through sabotage and minor pilfering.

 

If you're dealing with a guy you can't stand or that you think is an asshole, tell them straight up the guy is a jerk, you wanna deal with someone else, like his 2ic.

 

If you will be negotiating with a particular individual, look him on the web.  Dig up what you can to learn about him.

 

Be straight.  Forget all the psychobabble they taught you in bullshit psychobabble business success school.  Just be straight.

 

The more you listen, the better you look.

 

After the deal, follow through with a thank you card and gift.

 

In a nutshell:

 

Be patient.

 

Talk less, listen more.

 

Be a friend rather than argue.

 

Go at a leisurely pace.

 

Let the other guy get it all out of his system.

 

There are books on negotiation at #658.405 or HD58.6 at the library.

 

bradmcrae.com

calumcoburn.co.uk, negotiation skills training and sales coaching.

degreex.com, get an executive certificate in negotiation online.

harvard.edu/vine/providers/program_on_negotiation

notredameonline.com, online certificate in negotiation.

sabonline.com, learn effective negotiation skills.

scotworkusa.com, learn effective negotiation skills.

 

Bullying at Work/ Workplace Bully

 

Quebec, Canada is the first place in North America to pass a law giving employees the right to report workplace bullying and have it heard before a panel of the Office of Workplace Standards.

 

They say workplace bullying is stressful, makes some people physically sick and has even caused suicide in some cases.  The crux of the law is the atmosphere of the workplace.  Most little incidents are not serious by themselves but a bunch of little indiscretions over time constitutes a bullying atmosphere.

 

People fired unjustly or who quit can be reinstated but most judgments award monetary compensation to help the complainant get situated in a new job elsewhere.

 

Bullying by itself is not yet illegal unless it moves into assualt or threats.  Bullying can be legally defined as harassment in some cases where there is a hostile workplace where someone or a group threatens, harasses, belittles, verbally abuses or criticizes others in a condescending way.

 

These bullies are either very insecure people who try to overcompensate for their fear of inadequacy or just plain mean, aggressive, bad people who do it because they've gotten away with it so far so even though they know it's wrong, they still intimidate people because it works for them.

Some bosses bully for the pleasure and power of it. It's an ego thing.  You're not feeling so hot so you belittle someone to make yourself feel better.  It's not right but bosses do it all the time because they know they hold power over people's job security.

 

It could be a reaction to stress.  If a boss is stressed, he will often dump some of that angst on his underlings.

 

You could ignore minor bullying, confront the bully on his bad and possibly illegal behavior or quietly gather evidence then report him.  The easiest way to get evidence is to get a small audio recorder or use your cellphone recorder to tape the guy in audio and/ or video when they're acting up.

 

If several people are being bullied, get together as a group, make up a written statement and either go to his boss or file a grievance with your union/ job board as bullying or abuse.  A civil lawsuit usually comes after the grievance is processed and concluded in your favor.

 

Keep a written diary of all bullying incidents, including the date, time and any witnesses.

 

In any situation, tell the bully that their behaviour is unacceptable and could be illegal then either leave or ignore the bully.  Don't fight back or argue.  This can come back to haunt you if the bully says you were the instigator.

 

Avoid being alone with the bully as much as possible.

 

You need evidence.  Your best evidence is witnesses and audio/ video tapes you make.

 

The Workplace Bullying and Trauma Institute has identified the following behaviors as the most common bullying tactics:

 

Falsely accusing someone of mistakes they didn't actually make: blaming.

 

Stare, glare, non-verbally intimidating.

 

Discounting or dismissing the person's thoughts or feelings like saying that's silly or stupid.

 

The silent treatment with tension in the room.

 

Chewing people out in front of others.

 

Disregarding rules of conduct.

 

Disregarding satisfactory work even though there is evidence of it

 

Harsh and constant criticism.

 

Start or continue destructive rumors.

 

Badmouth someone to others to try to get them to turn against that person.

 

Male bullies are loud and verbal.  Female bullies try to ice the person out with coldness and the silent treatment.

 

In some areas, workplace bullying is making its way onto government job board statutes and even onto the criminal code but in most places the attitude is still put up with it or quit.  In many cases, it's better to quit then to suffer the indignity of an evil person who thinks he has some power over you.

 

The best way to counteract a bully is with quiet-toned, polite, witty one-liners that make them look like idiots for doing whatever it is they're doing.  Just make the one statement then shut up and either walk away or ignore them.

 

There is a certain line in the affairs of people that when crossed, violates human dignity and gives you the right not to take it regardless of who it is even a boss.  If you take it, you're implicitly giving this person some kind of control over you. 

 

If it was me, I'd call him an asshole for being a disrespectful lowlife and either quit right there or if I needed the job, I'd then back off and see what his next move was.

 

Quite often if you stand up to a bully once and show him you're not gonna take his shit, most wither away and won't bother you anymore.  They might bother other people but they'll know you fight back and won't take it.

 

The issue of bullying will slowly permeate into union rules, corporate rules and government job rules but as long as there are small, privately owned companies, there will be bosses who think they are supreme dictators.

 

Workplace Bullying Websites

 

workplacebullying.org

bullyinginstitute.org, the workplace bullying and trauma institute

bullyinginstitute.org/home/workdoctor.pdf

jan.wvu.edu/media/MR.html, disabled people, info good for everybody.

 

groups.yahoo.com/group/bullyonline

thefieldfoundation.org

mobbing-usa.com

mytoxicboss.com

groups.yahoo.com/group/toxicmanagers

groups.yahoo.com/group/Nineveh

successunlimited.co.uk

zogby.com, workplace bullying story.

bullyonline.org/workbully aauw.org, 800-326-aauw, american assn. of university women educational foundation.  Info about sexual harassment, etc.

aclu.org, american civil liberties union.

antibullying.net

apa.org, american psychological assn.

bbc.co.uk/education/archive/bully/

bullybeware.com

bullying.co.uk

bullying.com bullying.org

bullyonline.org

character.org, 800-988-8081, character education.

dontlaugh.org

ed.gov/pubs/harassment, 800-usa-learn

ed.gov/pubs/harassment/climate1.html, 800-usa-learn

ed.gov/pubs/hatecrime.start.html

feminist.org/911/harass

nobully.org.nz

pesten.net/index_english.html, support for victims of aggression.

tolerance.org

traumapages.com

vpc.org, the violence police center.

worldculture.com

 

If You Hate Your Job

 

If you really hate your job, first ask yourself why.  Write down the reason or reasons.  Once you figure out exactly why, do what you must to better your situation.  Either quit and get another job, solve the problem with co-workers or whatever it is out there or learn to live with it in your mind.

 

People generally hate work for these reasons:

 

Addict.

 

Problems unrelated to work.

 

Mental illness.

 

Anger at life.

 

Hate people.

 

Relationship problems at work.

 

Intense competition at work.

 

Boredom.

 

People expect too much from work. Boss is too hard.

 

Problems rarely get solved so people whine and morale is low.

 

Everything's a mess.

 

Assholes at work.

 

Too much in your in-basket.

 

Baggage of other people.

 

Stress.

 

People fight, tease and harass.

 

Some jobs really are awful and some employers really are as evil.  You can always quit but if you stay, you must accept the fact that there are some things you have no control over.  You have to play by their rules but no matter what, they don't control your mind.  You do.

 

If you feel like you're worth more than you're getting paid, look around at the job market first before you ask for a raise because if you ask and the boss refuses, you will have lost face.  It will be difficult to keep working there.  The boss will peg you as a malcontent and try to get rid of you too.

 

Get more training and education to move up or out.

 

If your boring job pays well, be thankful for what you got.

 

Try to make friends with everybody at work, even the co-workers you hate.  Do this by initiating conversation with them.

 

There are laws about sexual harassment but in some places like Quebec there are general harassment workplace laws.  Everybody has the right to work in a workplace without being harassed.

If your boss is bad, things probably will not improve. Incompetence is tolerable because he or she will eventually get fired but if your boss is evil, you either:

 

1.) Take it and work.

 

2.) Look for a new job.

 

3.) Report him to higher authorities.

 

There's almost no way to win unless you find a better job.

 

Keep a record of all abuses and try to team up with others to get rid of him or file a civil lawsuit for abuse and harassment that caused you stress and ruined your health.

 

If your boss overworks you and denies you breaks or doesn't pay you all your hours, team up with other workers, see a lawyer about a class-action lawsuit.

 

20somethingfinance.com/i-hate-my-job/

 

Office Politics Info

 

Office politics span the spectrum from cutthroat Machiavellian tactics to trivial brown nosing to get on the boss's side and maybe become the boss's pet. 

 

The bottom line is that we're all creatures of emotion and ego so if you wanna make it in the office, it's all about playing up to people, charming them, buttering them up, seducing them with smiles, praise and compliments.

 

Make your boss and your coworkers like you and you will go places.  Don't make them like you just because you look sexy, make them like you because you're an upbeat, enthusiastic ready to go team player who always willing to do extra to help out.

 

The art of diplomacy is all about compromise.  Don't be a hard head about anything.  You can bend with anything, after all, it's just work, nothing but a thing.  You can manipulate people a lot more by being nice rather than being a jerk.

 

Analyze everyone in your office.  Identify the weasels and the skunks (egomaniacs, liars, crooks, overly-ambitious, etc.) and stay away as much possible.  If the boss is a jerk, show your dignity by doing your job with quiet humility.

 

The way you carry yourself and the way you keep your workspace tells other people whether you're leadership material.  Always dress for success, nothing casual.  Keep your work area clean and plain.  Get rid of the cute teddy bears, the photographs, the corny inspirational messages, the bowl of candy, etc.  This is business not a warm, homey feeling.  If you wanna make it big, you have to become the only logical choice for the job.

 

If you want to be a master suckhole, do your research to find the people in the company who have the power and the ability to promote you then approach them with tact.  Try to make friends by being your humble, respectful self and smiling at them. 

You can cozy up to the boss by either offering good ideas or letting him feel like he's your mentor so always act like you're serious about learning from him.

 

Being a good, all around, balanced conversationalist always helps out in every situation.  There's an art to good talking.  It's all about a smooth, low key flow.

 

There's a balance to everything.  Don't abuse or overuse your friendship with superiors.  They may resent you for it.  If the timing is off about doing something, trust your instincts, wait for a better day.

 

If you're gonna screw your fellow employees to get ahead, just remember, you're still stuck with them whether you're a boss or not and the most powerful hate vibes are when a group turns on one of its own and gives him either the silent treatment or the dirty look, ice cold treatment.

 

Show loyalty to everyone because you never know when they will be in a different position or you will need their help.

 

Try to fit into the workplace culture.  If you're a loner genius and your contemporaries are just pleebes, still socialize with them, help them and go out for a drink with them after work sometimes.

 

Anybody who's not only a good worker but loves their job tries to be a master at it.  They don't waste time.  They're there for work not all the little social things people do at work.  While at work, be serious about it.

 

Balance your work and your life.

 

If somebody likes you at work and sees themselves as your mentor, accept the role, learn from them and they might give you the big promotion.

 

New people and new situations are always stressful.  Keep your mouth shut, let everybody else talk.  You will learn soon enough.

 

careerjournal.com/myc/officelife

crazycolour.com/os, office survival.

 

buckleysearch.com/office_politics.htm

 

Post-Traumatic Bitterness Syndrome

 

Post-Traumatic Bitterness Syndrome is a situation when someone at work or in some other situation gets very angry but they can't do anything about it lest they get fired or arrested so they internalize it, seethe quietly, imagining doing things like killing the boss or vandalizing his car while they are doing minor things to get back at their employers like stealing small things, resting on the job, doing things other than work, etc.

 

Scent-Free Policy in the Workplace

 

 Some people claim to get sick from certain scents like perfume, cleaners, deodorizers, chemicals, tobacco smoke and other stuff.  Some workplaces and public buildings have scent-free policies meaning you can't use certain products or wear perfume in those places.

 

Some companies have instituted scent-free policies to please some complaining employees and probably to protect themselves from a lawsuit.  After all, there are medical professionals out there willing to swear it exists for a fee.

 

A scent-free policy orders employees and visitors to respect the fact that some people are sensitive to some chemicals so the use of scented products is not allowed within the building at any time.  This could include a few or most of the items in this list.

 

Some of the most common products people complain about are as follows:

 

Virtually all bathroom products from shampoo to toothpaste.

 

Most beauty products like cosmetics and perfume.

 

Cleaning products.

 

Air fresheners and deodorizers.

 

Candles.

 

Paint.

 

Plastics.

 

Rubber products.

 

Building materials treated with chemicals.

 

Home insulation.

 

Vinyl siding.

 

Vehicle exhaust.

 

Cigarette smoke.

 

Smoke from fire.

 

Anything with chemicals in it.

 

ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/scent_free.html

ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/scent_free.html

cosmeticsdesign-europe.com

gcd.oa.mo.gov/scentfree.shtml, governor's council on disability.

genderblur.org/about_no_scent.html

lung.ca/_resources/developingascentfreepolicyforaworkplace.pdf, recommendations for developing a scent-free policy for the workplace.

mcscanadian.org, scent free facilities, organizations, events.

psacnorth.com/scent_free

scent-team.com

ssw.cehd.umn.edu/img/assets/4466/scentfreepolicy.pdf

unbf.ca/its/policies/scentfaq.htm

 

Mental Health and Work Websites

 

Some large companies and organizations cover mental health services in their medical insurance coverage and it's supposed to be confidential meaning your boss does not have access to your mental health records.

 

Neverthless, a lot of people are afraid to us their employer's mental health services.

 

There is also the legal issue of an employer approaching a worker and inquiring about his mental state of mind.  Don't intrude unless they're really acting messed up.

 

acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2053, mental health in the workplace: depression awareness week.

allmentalhealth.samhsa.gov/business_execs.html, businesses materials for a mental health friendly workplace.

bu.edu/cpr/reasaccom/employ-read-akabas.html, mental health disorders with workplace consequences.

camh.net, centre for addiction and mental health.

carmha.ca/publications/index.cfm?topic=3, antidepressant skills at work.

chmonline.ca, mental health, a workplace guide.

ilo.org/public/english/employment/skills/disability/download/uk.pdf, mental health in the workplace.

london.gov.uk/gla/publications/health.jsp, mental health in the workplace.

mentalhealthamerica.net/go/information/get-info/workplace

mentalhealthpromotion.net

mentalhealthworks.ca

mentalhealthworks.ca, workplace mental health training.

mentalhelp.net

mindfulemployer.net

naminh.org/mental_health_in_workplace.php, the national alliance on mental illness new hampshire.

samhsa.gov, substance abuse and mental health services administration.

tacklementalhealth.org.uk

watsonwyatt.com, addressing mental health in the workplace.

wbhm.org/news/2005/mentalhealth&productivity.html, mental health and workplace productivity.

who.int/mental_health/policy/workplace_policy_programmes.pdf, mental health policies and programmes in the workplace.

workplaceblues.com

workplaceblues.com/mental_health

workplacementalhealth.org

 

Chapter 6. Tough Workplace Guide

 

Toxic Workplace 1

 

Look at conflict at work as a necessary release of tension or safety valve that if left unchecked will explode.  Simply ask co-workers how the day is going. 

 

Tension should be dealt with to clear the air.  If left unchecked, it could blow up into bad fights.  Listen, then try to get to the root of the problem.  If left to simmer, it causes headaches, anxiety and disrupts everything else in your life. 

 

You may turn to addiction, any form from shopping to drugs to numb the emptiness it leaves inside you.  It may get so bad, you might try professional help but I believe that people should solve their own problems except in extreme cases.  Get it out, solve it immediately through talk and understanding. 

 

Invariably, the root cause to virtually every fight is resistance breeds resistance.  The egocentric part in each of us tells us not to let anyone get the better of us. 

 

And somehow this translates to the ones we love, maybe because we're stuck so close in living proximity that we get on each other's nerves from time to time. 

 

Ultimately, we're all individuals stuck in our own point of views made up of everything that ever happened to us which formed our attitudes and perceptions about the world.  We're all a tangled web of emotions.  Some parts fit with others, some don't. 

 

The parts that fit may lead to a snug connection, the parts that don't could short circuit and self-destruct.  My point in all this is that we are all individual entities floating around like blobs of flesh each encumbered in his own space and the reality is that no two blobs are exactly alike.  It's just one of the facts of life. 

 

The best we can do is acknowledge in our minds that we are different, we come from different places so we must except and accept such things in others without going off half cocked.

 

Every single day is a new day.  Just as it's a battle to keep your spark of inspiration alive, it's a battle to keep stable relationships with the people around you.  I just be myself and try to be nice all the time.  It's the easiest way to live. 

 

When you're nice, karma comes back to you.  No gimmicks, just try to be nice to people.  do favors for others to earn their favor.

 

If you are living a good life, you feel relaxed, you have nothing to prove to anyone nor do you feel a need to fight or upstage anyone should a situation develop. 

 

To this end, before you ever get into hostile situations, do some of the following things in order to feel good about your life and be calm when things happen:

 

Know yourself.  Discover what your true identity is away from cultural conditioning.

 

Try to live a relaxed lifestyle.  Identify stress in your life and minimize it.

 

Analyze all the negative thoughts and feelings you have.  Try to understand them then get rid of them.

 

Be a positive, upbeat person.

 

Don't live under any delusions.  Be real.

 

Be on good terms with the people around you. 

Try to culture allies and friends.

 

Try to love life and a few people around you.

 

Try to live a healthy lifestyle.

 

Be inspired about something in life.

 

Whenever you're in a hostile conflict, try the following steps:

 

Slow down for a second.

 

Keep your mouth shut while you analyze the situation.

 

Identity exactly what emotions you're feeling.  What is angering you?

 

Try to listen to the other side and empathize.  Put yourself in their position.

 

When you speak, try to be non-confrontational.  Make it such that you're just trying to solve the problem.

Try to cooperate, to make it a win-win situation. 

Be assertive if you feel you must.

 

Back off if the whole thing is not really a big deal to you.

 

Try to build bridges rather than destroy them.

 

Toxic Workplace 2

 

It all comes down to relationships with people.  Without trust, the workplace is dead.

 

Up until recently, problems at work was a mostly taboo topic relegated to minor sections in the human resources chapter of the typical business administration textbook but the truth is that the personality conflicts at work are often the most powerful, emotionally insidious issues that could break or make companies depending on how they are dealt with.

 

There are two major causes of work problems:

 

1.) When an individual gets too much power over others, the workers see him as a god in this closed system and he abuses his power over them by going beyond professional job duties to use them as his personal servants/ punching bags.

 

2.) The old kicking the dog syndrome, the frustration-aggression hypothesis, the dumping complex. 

 

Everybody has some baggage which is frustration, angst and anger inside.  It could be caused by lack of money, your wife won't have sex with you, your kids are self-centered rascals, you're getting old and fat, your boss just chewed you out, etc.

 

This creates tension in you.  A mature person doesn't betray his tension to others but immature people can't deal with it so they take it out on the nearest thing that probably won't fight back.

 

For anyone in a managerial/ supervisory position, it's his or her workers.  They probably won't fight back because they're afraid of getting fired so bosses generally start small with the abuse of power then when nobody complains, they escalate until they're out of control.

 

Be careful of groupthink.  In your closed system at work, everybody is thinking the one-dimensional company but you have your own identity but the problem is that groupthink will try to make you feel like a deviant if you don't conform so you have to be strong even when they try to make you feel like there's something wrong with you because you're not playing their little game and allowing yourself to be exploited like everybody else there. 

 

Sometimes it's better to leave toxic companies than hang around for the measly pay cheque, especially if it starts costing you your sanity.

 

The term currently being bandied around in human resource management is that of the Dysfunctional Workplace where something is poison and has to be identified to either be cured or extracted.  The easiest way to identify it is to sense the vibes.  If you feel tension, you know it's there.

 

It can often be traced to one person, either a callous boss or an overbearing employee who wants to control everyone else by trying to embarrass them in front of others. 

 

It could be one faction against the other; the girls vs. the guys, the in-crowd vs. the others, the warehouse guys vs. the retail clerks, management vs. workers, etc.

 

In a good working environment, management is not necessarily adversarial with the workers.  They both work together as a team, side by side, each respecting the other's boundaries.

 

When all the rules and regulations are taken into account, they don't matter half as much as basic respect and being personable enough to be likeable but a lot of people are either too stupid to realize this or too egotistical, feeling they need to dominate others (usually because they're insecure), purposely be bastards or bitches for the thrill they get out of it, to make themselves look good or the fear of getting too close to others because they think if people see them as they really are, they will be perceived as weak, loser type people.

 

A dysfunctional workplace is not a trivial matter where the personality conflicts people have are just a minor distraction from the main business of production. 

 

Many workplaces and companies have self-destructed because of the ego of one stupid, insensitive boss or an immature worker who wanted to create tension for everyone and was protected by his union despite his horrible personality because on paper, he didn't create any specific violations, he was just an overall negative personality.

 

All in all, the reason for the tension doesn't matter much.  You have to find the source and either change it or eliminate it.  If two guys hate each other, don't put them next to each other and hope they will make up, they won't.  Put one guy on delivery and one guy in production.  Barring that, fire the worst one.

 

If the boss is an asshole, in a big company, you can go around him to complain.  In a small company, you generally can't complain without expecting some repercussions.

 

One woman was so traumatized about her abusive boss at her small company that she started getting stress disorders and was scared to quit because of the insecurity of being unemployed. 

 

One day, she had no choice.  She couldn't take it anymore.  She quit and found a better job both money-wise and people-wise.

 

The point is that you don't have to get tunnel vision working in your little office thinking that's your entire life and letting the boss know through unconscious signals that you're too scared to go anywhere else so that he feels some control over you and abuses it. 

 

If worse comes to worse, leave an abusive situation and have faith that you're good enough to work somewhere where they will respect you.

 

The old saying "One bad apple spoils the barrel" is true.  One bad boss or employee can put the entire workplace in a state of walking on eggshells.  Find that person, get rid of him or her.

 

The way to avoid problem employees is to hire the right people to start out with.  Have a good first interview and possibly a second one.  Have a probation period where you can kick them out if you don't like them, no questions asked. 

 

Put that in your work contract, a statement saying that you can terminate them within the probation period if you don't feel they're good for the company.  Tell them problem employees will not be tolerated.

 

Give each new employee a good orientation.  Spell out exactly what's expected of them, all the rules and regulations on paper, possibly on video and verbally.  You could even test them on it as some companies do.

 

Have good managers and bosses who can weed out problem employees right off.  Counsel them, give them a chance but if they can't improve, can them.  You warned them upfront and gave them a chance to improve.  They asked for it.

 

Find what your workers are best at and place them there.  Use their best talents.  Educate them if necessary to show them you're interested in helping them move up and better themselves.

 

Treat someone as the person they could be and they should respond by living up to their potential.  Challenge your employees to be all they can be.

 

Focus on the negative only enough to tell them to change then move onto their strengths and tell them to go for it.

 

Employees are your gauge for the company.  If they're happy, the company is good.  If they're not, there's something wrong.

 

There is an objective standard of decency and sanity in the world.  If you can measure up to it when tough times are happening to you, you win the game of life. 

 

If you simply conform and eat whatever crap they feed you with, you lose.  I know the pay cheque is important but either get the guts to stand up against the fat ass losers or quit and get a job elsewhere.

 

Respect everyone.  Keep a certain professional distance from everyone.

 

A healthy self-respect is good.  A big ego to try to look good and get respect from others can destroy empires and companies.  When you see big egos, either set them straight on the game or show them the door and the point of your shoe.

 

Have a grievance/ suggestion box.  If somebody feels that somebody else is taking credit for their work like their boss, speak up, put a note in the grievance box.

 

Good leaders don't need fads like corporate culture training and development.  They intuitively know what's going on.  They don't live in denial by trying to make everything look great when it's really falling apart.  They face the truth and deal with it.

 

Most people will lie to you to serve their interests in one way or another so take everything everyone tells you with a grain of salt.  Make your own decisions by watching and intuitively sensing what's really going on.

 

If you're a woman or a minority, you can generally find an organization to help you in your fight against the company. 

 

If you're a white guy, you have to stay strong, build a good case then go to a work attorney to address your complaint.

 

To err is human, to be an asshole is intentional.  You can usually separate an honest mistake from a chronic jerk.  If you have a chronic jerk on staff, either have a good heart to heart with him telling him he doesn't fool anyone with his arrogant act or get rid of him for poor personal deportment not in keeping with the company's integrity.

 

As an employee, know what your objective rights as a human being worthy of respect are.  If a boss crosses this line, start documenting the events. 

 

Get witnesses if other people are present then after it happens several times, go to his boss or if he doesn't have a boss, go to him with your documented diary, tell him he's violating your rights, there are laws against it, either he stop it immediately or you will file a complaint with the Department of Labor or go see an employment attorney about it.

 

That should shut him up.  If it doesn't, contact them, file a report and a civil lawsuit for damages and back pay after you quit due to his unethical behavior.

 

Quietly document the incidents, get witnesses, bring a secret tape recorder or video camera in to tape the incidents then report them when you get enough, three or more definite abuses.

 

If the top man is bad, a corporate culture can become easily polluted because all the clones and yes-men will imitate him and play his game.

 

The way to determine whether somebody is friend or foe is if they side with objective human relations between people over company culture or company policy. 

 

If somebody is more loyal to the company rules than their relationship with you, they can't be trusted.  They've been brainwashed.

 

If you take away people's individual identities, you've just destroyed the soul of the company because people won't feel free enough to contribute individual ideas nor try hard at something that doesn't inspire them.

 

If you're an autocratic leader, get ready to be double-teamed when you're down and out and need a favor.

 

Have an open door policy for employees for both work and personal problems to either come see you or someone in the human resource department if they want.

 

If your boss is stupid but essentially harmless, it might be worth it to stay and ignore him as much as you can.

 

Egotistical people are generally easy to topple if you can unite because everybody hates them, their peers, their bosses, their workers.

 

Management tries to rein in noncomformists by giving them petty rules to follow.

 

Sexual harassment is intolerable and grounds for a civil lawsuit.

 

Sometimes an anonymous letter to a problem employee or boss about his problem is better than a straight confrontation.  It might solve the problem.  If not then you will have to confront the person.

 

It all comes down to how well the employees do their jobs.  If they're happy and productive, all is good.  If they're scared, gossipy, looking over their shoulders, you got a loyalty problem caused by a toxic workplace.

 

If you or anyone publicly humiliates an asshole manager, he won't rest until he gets his revenge.

 

If you promote growth, happiness and a free exchange of ideas, you win.  If you promote fear and conformity, you create a toxic workplace.

 

Books about a toxic workplace are at #650.13, #658.3045, #658.38 or HF5549 at the library.

 

mcclureassociates.com

whistleblower.org

 

Problems Between People At Work

 

Everything between people comes down to how much you like someone and they you based on how similar they are to you, how closely they think like you, how agreeable and cooperative they are with you and how much they respect you even if they hate you.

 

We like people like us who agree with us and don't argue.  All this talk about business relations is the superficial top layer. 

Human relations are primal, it's a feeling in your gut you get about someone very quickly after meeting them based on intuition.

 

I've learned to reserve my judgments about people.  Even if I don't initially like someone I meet, I keep my mouth shut, my unconscious gestures neutral and act courteously. 

 

By showing respect to people I initially didn't like, they've often come back and done me favors and talked to me about profound and interesting things whereupon I liked them more.

 

My point is that the boss-worker relationship exists at a professional superficial level but the person to person relationship is what really counts. 

 

Does your boss treat you with the common respect afforded to any human being?  If not, he's crossed the line trying to abuse this artificial power he has over you.

 

Either quit or document the exact details of him abusing you verbally, giving you too much work, etc.  Try to get witnesses if there are other people around then either report him to your personnel office, your union or the EEOC.

 

Employee performance is generally directly related to how well the worker gets along with the boss.  If they're buddies, engage in some smalltalk but keep a professional distance while working with the worker respecting the boss's position and giving good effort on the job.

 

If the boss has a stilted, uncomfortable relationship with the worker(s) for whatever reason, he will criticize the employee, the employee will get discouraged and the work will suffer.

 

There's a backlash effect where many employees get back at bosses they hate by stealing things, vandalizing the workplace and doing poor work on purpose.  It's all in the relationship between the players.  If it's good, the workers will do good work and not try to sabotage the workplace.

 

If it's bad, the worker will be naturally antagonistic so the bottom line behind all boss-employee problems is the personal relationship between the the boss and the worker.

 

Try to be friends with your workers or at least respect them professionally.  When you correct or discipline an employee, do it without emotion as though they did something the wrong way and you're simply showing them the right way to do it without scorn like a benevolent teacher.

 

Of course, some people are impossible.  They have problems within themselves that cause them to be miserable and they take it out on everyone around them.

 

In that case, regardless of whether you're employee or boss, a poison person around you is detrimental to your all-around quality of life.  Terminate the relationship.  Either quit the job, report the person or fire them if you're the boss.  Life's too short to get stressed out over jerks.

 

If you as a boss are having a problem with a worker, you have to talk to them privately about it.  Talk about the specific problem and try to be unemotional about it. 

 

Tell them you just want a good worker, what can he or she do to help you achieve that end.  Tell them exactly what their problem is, offer suggestions, ask them if they're aware of it and tell them to think about it on their own and analyze the situation for themselves.

 

Ask them how things are going in life and on the job.  Listen to them while they talk then tell them to try harder, go for it and you have faith in them.  Monitor their performance and keep having private talks until it improves or you get tired and fire them.

 

A problem could be anything; somebody absent, always late, somebody who gossips, somebody lazy, someone with bad breath or body odor, somebody too religious or somebody who talks too much.  Deal with the specific problem behavior and not anything else.

 

Don't be wishy-washy with problem employees.  Let them know you have a specific problem with a certain aspect of their work performance and tell them you want them to improve it so it's perfectly clear on both sides and there are no mixed signals in the air.

 

You don't approve of that behavior and expect changes.  After the second time, write it out on paper, get the employee to sign it and put him or her on probation for six months or so.  If they don't improve, you have grounds to take further disciplinary action like a last chance formal warning.  If they screw that up, you're justified in firing them. 

 

Don't ever overreact.  It makes you look like a fool and could get you in trouble both by abusing your power and in the eyes of the other workers who will see you as an ass.  Just be cool, say that we gotta problem and we gotta take care of it.

 

Don't lecture.  Discuss the problem with the employee or just state it very simply and clearly.  Don't be condescending.  Be an encourager.  Act as though you're teaching the employee something not scolding him.  Give him a few chances.  If he screws up, he knows the deal.  It's totally up to him.  Don't leave him hanging.

 

If he's improving, tell him so.  If he's still dragging, tell him in no uncertain terms to get with the program or ship out. 

 

You're trying to help this person reach his potential with the company.  Make that perfectly clear to him that you're on his side and want him to succeed.  Help him correct his undesirable behavior.

 

wlb.monster.com/articles/introverts/, understand the inner life of workplace introverts.

 

Sore Spots Between Employers and Employees

 

There are many potential sore spots between employees and employers that could conceivably end up in either a complaint to a federal labor agency, a civil lawsuit filed by either the employee or employer or instead of that, an arbitration hearing.

 

Some of the issues that typically come up between employees and employers are as follows:

 

Employee fraud on the resume.  Often the employee is just terminated unless he wants to object to it.

 

Employer fraud misrepresenting the job, pay and perks.

 

Employee violates the terms of the employee handbook.

 

The right for an employee to see his or her personnel file.

Unjust termination, not related to performance.

 

Termination because of discrimination.

 

Termination because an employee was a whistleblower.  He or she pointed out an illegal or improper action done by the employers to the authorities.

 

Termination because of abusive discharge.  The employer decides he doesn't like the employee for one reason or another and terminates him.

 

Firing an employee for refusing to do something illegal or trying to prevent him or her from doing something required by law.

 

The employer makes false accusations against an employee without evidence.

 

The employer says lies about the employee.  This is called defamation.

 

Retaliation against an employee for anything.  One example is if you give a bad reference about a previous employee when he or she was really a good worker.

 

Sexual harrassment.

 

Harassment in general, intentional infliction of emotional distress.

 

Short-changed on the pay cheque.

 

Questionable fees taken out of the employee's pay cheque.

 

Forced to work more than 40 hours a week.

 

Forced to work at ridiculous times.

 

Pay below minimum wage.

 

Not honoring overtime laws.

 

Problems with leave, vacation time off, leave during pregnancy, etc.

 

Health insurance coverage.

 

Excessive absenteeism.

 

Coming to work late.

 

Unsafe working conditions.

Injury on the job.

 

Worker compensation.

 

Deal With The Tough Guys

 

In many working situations, you might find a few guys or dames who think they're it.  They may be a boss or a coworker, they may be angry, secretly competing with everybody, totally ambitious or otherwise getting out their deep rooted frustrations on anybody who's feeble enough to take it. 

 

A boss oversees you to guide your work and that's it.  If he makes it personal, hollers at you, demeans you in front of others, you may have a valid case of harassment against him.

 

Other than legal channels, the way to deal with negative people is don't take their crap.  Don't be afraid of them.  If you are, don't show your fear.  Face it head on. 

 

You don't have to fight bull with bull but just make it perfectly clear that you see through the asshole and you won't take any of his crap.  That will usually shut them up.

 

Most bullies are jerks.  Look them in the eye, don't back off.  Even if you fight and lose, as long as you fight hard, you will prove that you had the guts to fight and he will never bother you again.  If it comes to blows, don't pull your punches.  Fight with all the fury you have.  Think like you're teaching this jerk a lesson. 

 

I'm not talking just generic bullies here, I'm also talking about corporate bullies in the boardroom.  Don't be intimidated by them.  They may try to act like they're in with the in-crowd know-it-alls while you're a green horn nobody.  Don't be intimidated.  Guts and backbone mean everything in defining a person's character.

 

Anyone who's a bully or angry all the time has serious life problems, that's a fact.  You could disarm them by talking gently and asking them if they'd like to talk to you about what's going on in their lives. 

 

You might make a friend out of the deal but don't bet on it.  Many assholes are bent on self-destruction and nobody can help them. 

 

Some have such high superiority complexes that they're so self-centered that they can't put themselves in someone else's position which means they can't empathize with them so they're stuck in that bubble that is them and will never really be able to relate to anyone else unless they get a good dose of humble pie.

 

Beyond facing a jerk head on, if you're around a truly poison person all day long and he's really getting to you, like your boss, bottom line, a job is a job is a job.  Have confidence in yourself, look for another job on the side then quit.  It ain't worth it. 

 

I remember working some assembly line job in a bakery once.  One guy was a real big mouth.  He liked to embarrass people by saying stupid, sexual things and stuff like that.  It was about 11 o'clock in the morning, I had enough, I took my apron off, walked out and never went back.

 

successtrategies.com/news-and-media/articles-interviews/the-macho-test-at-work.php

 

Tough Situations

 

Any fool can start arguments; the honorable thing is to stay out of them.

Proverbs 20:3

 

Don't make friends with people who have hot, violent tempers

Proverbs 22:24

 

I presume you had a religious upbringing like me that gave you some sense of right and wrong but I believe this sense of right and wrong within is something you're born with, inherent to the human condition.

 

Young people often do bad things and break the law but it's not because they're ignorant of what is right and what is wrong.  They know the difference but they just choose to act in the latter way for a variety of reasons.

 

Because of my belief in a straight line between good and evil, tough situations should be easy because everything comes down to the right thing, what is the morally ethical thing to do in any situation.  There is rarely a bonafide grey area.  One person is being the asshole, instigator or clearly in the wrong.

 

Beyond morality, it's just overall demeanor and attitude.  You're asking the question, "What core values do these people in this situation each have?"

 

People in general are either kind, unassuming and nice and try not to cause problems or dissatisfied, angry, frustrated misfits and it don't take a rocket scientist to know that if there's a problem between a meek secretary and the boisterous delivery guy who likes to act cocky as part of his persona, it's more than likely the dude that's doing something in the wrong even though you should hear both sides out and take it from there.

 

Trust your intuition over logic but be middle of the road.  If you're angry, it seems right to throw the book at someone but it's best to cool off, think it through and give people punishments but not overly harsh the first two times. 

 

After the third time, sure, they struck out, do what you want, terminate them but I believe in giving most people at least two chances.

 

I'm simply of the firm belief that one person is clearly in the wrong in most work and business situations.  Try to get to the heart of the matter, the objective truth and take appropriate action from there.

 

In any situation, simply ask, "Who is being immoral, unkind or rude here."  Sometimes the right decision morally is unpopular because it will disrupt the lives of more people than if you just took the easy way out but a wise business person takes the utilitarian approach (exercises situational morality) sometimes, do what is the greatest good for the greatest number without regard for objective reality. 

 

In essence, don't be an absolutist.  Live by the Golden Mean.  People in the wrong are not necessarily absolutely evil unless they demonstrate it over three situations or so.  You have to give people a few chances before you determine they have evil inside of them and you don't want them around.

 

Everybody knows abortion is morally wrong but if you take the hardline approach and ban it, it won't stop it.  People will just move underground to get their abortions done.  That's why you have to play it cool.  Don't be a hardass and don't be a prude.  Play it midway between absolute morality and popularity.

 

Laws are made to be broken because they're just guiding principles.  What really matters is the spirit of the situation so in some cases the law will be wrong.  You have to do the intuitive right thing and bypass the law if you think the letter of it is violating the spirit of it.

 

Sometimes you're in a tough situation, caught between two people who both seem right or at least not wrong.  I say go back to intuition.  Loyalty counts for some but you have to do the right thing too.  Sleep on it, mull it over in your brain. 

 

Sometimes this process of incubation will spit out the correct answer in a flash of insight.  It has happened to me more than once.  By sleeping on problems and thinking about them over several days, the right answer has come to me in a quick moment from the subconscious mind when I wasn't even consciously thinking about it.

 

In some situations, you, as the boss have to do the right thing and that means truth over loyalty or the popular option. 

 

If you're convinced that somebody is innocent or right while everybody else thinks he's guilty or wrong, if you cave to popular pressure, it shows you can be bought, you have no strong backbone.  Ride out your unpopular decision if you believe in it and stick to it.

 

In essence, you have four extremes of conflict resolution:

 

Absolute morality.

 

Utilitarianism, situational morality, what decision will benefit the most people.

 

The popular option, what do your cohorts and employees want you to do.

 

The ecological option, what's best for the future of the world.

 

There is no right or wrong approach.  Simply think each of these three options through with every tough situation you come across and then decide what's best from your analysis and intuition.

 

Never forget forgiveness, compassion and mercy.  In some situations that escalate into ugliness, it's sometimes better to absolve everybody and hope they all learned from it enough to try to avoid such situations in the future.  The botttom line is always peace in the workplace.

Tough Situations Checklist

 

Overall, there are some situations at work that threaten to reak more havoc than others.  Go through the following list and perhaps think these scenarios through to see how you would deal with them should the situation present itself.

 

You have to discipline a worker who is also a buddy.

 

Fear of lay-offs.

 

The boss is told to lay-off several people.  It's a dilemma for him who to pick.

 

A top worker is dissatisfied and threatens to leave.

 

Booze and drug use that's affecting work performance.

 

Theft in the workplace, either outright physical theft or white collar crime.

 

The clerk/ receptionist always leaves the books in a mess that you have to fix.  You suspect she is doing this as a cover for stealing money from the daily cash received.

 

You have a good worker but somebody tells you he was convicted for murder or some other heinous crime 20 years ago.

 

Lies on the application form.

 

Malicious gossip and rumor in the workplace.

 

You work your ass off and the boss takes credit for your hard work.

 

The boss blames you or the workers for his incompetencies and mistakes.

 

You think your boss is about to make a major wrong decision.

 

The boss is unjustly picking on you or someone else.

 

You've got a middle management boss and an upper boss and both seem to think you're theirs fulltime.

 

You see illegal or unethical conduct or are asked to participate in illegal conduct.

 

Nobody seems to listen to you on a point you believe in.

 

In a public company, you have a tough situation, cater to the shareholders or your workers.

 

An angry customer who is justified.

 

An angry customer who is just being an asshole.

 

Just how right is the customer?  How far do you bend for him?

 

You get bad press.  What do you do?

 

You screw up.  How do you handle it?

 

You lie and are caught in it.

 

Somebody else lies and are caught in it.

 

You are promoted over co-workers and now have to lead them.

 

You have work commitments and family commitments and are always struggling between the two.

 

Prejudice by either a boss or co-worker.

 

The boss gives you an impossible workload.

 

The boss takes out his frustrations on his workers.

 

Harassment, sexual harassment.

 

There is a crisis.  The team has lost morale. 

The main machine of production breaks down.

 

Business is bad.

 

Stress in the workplace.

 

One worker is really stressed out.

 

One worker is having personal problems that affect his work performance.

 

A good worker has been promoted as high as he can go but it still doesn't seem enough to satisfy his potential.

 

You have to choose between promoting only one of two good workers.

 

Obvious brown-nosers sucking up blatantly.

 

Competition among a few workers to outdo one another.  This can be good if it enhances production but often results in destructive behaviors.

 

A loner worker.

 

A high strung worker.

 

A loud mouth.

 

Inter-office adulterous affair.

 

Incompetent employee.

 

A good worker but noncomformist.  Doesn't think the rules apply to him.

 

An angry malcontent or simply negative worker.

 

A poor worker in general.

 

You don't like a co-worker and/ or they don't like you.

 

The workplace is tense for one reason or another.

 

You want to bring an outsider in for a top position over one of your own flock.

 

One of the workers is terminally ill or disabled or is caring for a terminally ill or disabled person.

 

There is a death of a workplace employee.

 

A great worker starts to lose motivation.

 

An individual's absenteeism.

 

Regularly taking too long breaks.

 

Average performance rather than great motivated work.

 

A poor worker thinks he or she is great.

 

Employee bitter at not being promoted.

 

You don't have the money to give bonuses and raises to great workers.

 

The people don't like one particular boss or don't like the entire management staff.

 

There is hostility among some co-workers or among different cliques (groups) of co-workers.

 

Major changes like new ownership, new factory, new management, etc.

 

There is a bitter disagreement on a controversial policy issue.

 

Try #658.40 or HF5387 for books about work and business dilemmas, business ethics and tough situations.

 

Tough Situations, How to Avoid Them

 

Do unto others as you would want them to do to you.

The Golden Rule

 

The simplest rule about life is you get back the vibes you put out: positive begets positive; negative begets negative.  When you put out a positive vibe in response to a conflict, you get a positive response back.

 

De-escalate serious things with humor.  Stay calm.  In the middle of an argument, slow down, take a break, leave, get a drink, wash your face, walk around the block, anything to diffuse the tension. 

 

If you have to fight, do it fairly in a rational manner.  Be less critical and more considerate.  Think about what you're gonna say before you say it.

 

The way to diffuse conflicts is to all of a sudden get gentle instead of angry and either forget about it or talk it through quietly with calm and logic.  Never criticize, blame, complain, control or get defensive.  Use compliments instead and you will marvel at how much a little bit of love brings back to you.  Saying hurtful things are usually a subconscious way to get back at your lover for past injury. 

 

The way to stop anyone cold is to detach from your ego, act like you don't give a damn about holding your own, getting the better of this person or letting them get the better of you. 

 

Simply smile to yourself, realize it's meaningless in the grand scheme of life and stop the fight right there. 

 

They will see that you're ignoring them and get the message quick enough that you're not really interested in the fight and you're going on with your happy life.

 

Hold your tongue, be patient, let them ventilate, then, because you're so calm, they will see what idiots they're being.  Virtually all fights come from the same thing, you're not getting enough love and praise from the world.  The cardinal rule of all fights is not to go past the point of no return. 

 

The bottom line is that you don't have to fight, just live for peace like Jesus did.  Ain't nothing nothing but a stupid, little thing in the grand scheme of things.  Can you be that free to just keep going with a smile on your face and let everything roll off your back? 

 

The best way to counter an angry person is to do something for him or her.

 

When someone gets crabby, that's the time for you to put on the super soft pads and bomb with love.  It's all about ventilation, letting the other guy get the hurt off his or her chest.  Deal with issues directly and always try to be light and humorous about a serious scuffle. 

 

Never get sarcastic.  Think before you open your mouth.  Be civil in voice intensity, don't shout.  Have the guts to apologize and/ or call a truce.  There are many ways to call a truce, all of them about swallowing your ego and humbling yourself. 

 

The one thing I've found about life is that tone of voice is everything.  If you talk gently, regardless of what you say, you diffuse almost every situation.