T+D Blog

Detoxing Your Inbox

Along with many others, the first item on my agenda when I get to work is checking my email. Not surprisingly, it’s rarely something I look forward to. Clearing out sneaky junk mail, sifting through automatic messages and weekly blasts, and finally, not overlooking a note of importance all add up to quite a task first thing in the morning.

Robert Scoble, tech guru for Fast Company, insists it doesn’t have to be that tedious. In his column this month, he writes about ways to rekindle your friendship with your email using programs that organize and manage your message flow.

He lauds the perks of ClearContext, a program that’s free for personal use and costs $90/head for project management. The add-on to Outlook prioritizes messages based on who you’re writing to and how often, as well as graying out mass emails.

Another suggestion is ActiveWords, which at $30/year per person (though it offers a free trial option), lets you create boilerplates for typical customer answers.

Two other programs, Gist and Xobni (another Outlook plug-in), are both free and provide Web-based handy information about the contacts that you email, such as a phone number if you ever received it. Gist also searches news feeds and blogs for any information on contacts.

Looks like email is good to go for a few more years, at least until the brain telecommunication microchips go into beta mode. 

The Positive on Conflict

Beware of conflict. Is that how you approach conflict in your workplace? Conflict can be negative and make you feel uneasy, but conflict can also be a great opportunity to debate and discuss processes that can strengthen relationships among co-workers and team players.

The only way you can turn conflict into a postive learning experience is to embrace it, not avoid it. Don't let your emotions get in the way of meaningful discussions and debates.

The Other Kind of Office Politics

With Election Day one week away, it’s hard not to feel the contagion of political fervor pervading the air. But how far is this enthusiasm allowed to extend into the workplace, if at all?

One might be surprised to hear that almost two-thirds of organizations have no written or unwritten policies on political activities in the workplace, according to a recent survey of 450 employers by the Society of Human Resource Management.

Of the 35 percent of organizations who do have policies on political activities, the following restrictions were in place:

• 71 percent prohibit use of company assets in support of any political party or candidate

• 68 percent do not allow employees to devote work hours to any political party or campaign

•  68 percent do not allow any political activities on company premises

• 66 percent prohibit employees from using their position to pressure vendors, suppliers, or other staff to make contributions to or show support for any candidate or political party.

“Employers who elect to go without official policies on political activities in the workplace are making a mistake,” says Lon O’Neil, president and CEO of SHRM. “Clear guidelines help HR professionals handle employee relations problems that can arise around election time or stop them before they occur.”

What is your organization’s policy on employee political involvement?

For further reading material, try HR Magazine’s October cover story, “Politics in the Office.”

How Literate Are Your Employees?

How much of your training budget do you spend for learning and development on literacy and basic skills? According to a new study by the Conference Board, Canadian organizations spend just 2 percent of their budgets on literacy and basic skills training.

Low literacy can threaten productivity and efficiency in the workplace, but it can also put workers at risk of injury. The amount of state, local, and federal regulations is increasing daily--do you just pass a sheet along to workers with the new information. What if they can't read it or understand certain statements?

Do you test for literacy? What kinds of assessments do you perform to ensure the information you are teaching is being understood by all workers?

What to Ask?

As a workplace learning and performance professional, you know the qualities and competencies you are looking for when job seekers come into your office for an interview. You've been trained to spot certain traits in an individual and you know the questions to ask to find out the inner qualities of this person.

But what types of questions should a job seeker ask? What questions shouldn't be asked?

The Internet has given the job seeker a lot more freedom to research the company and sometimes even the position he is applying for, but how do they know what the culture of the company is like or the leadership style of a manager or executive if they don't inquire about it?

Many organizations oversell what they have to offer--shouldn't job seekers come into an interview prepared to ask the right questions? What are those questions?

Going Green While Getting Green

Implementing sustainable office initiatives doesn't have to be as overwhelming as it sounds.

Small changes can often help transition a workplace from eco-bullying to eco-friendly. For example, using a water bottle rather than paper cups in the kitchen, or avoiding use of several paper towels in the restroom.

More substantial measures can be taken as well. For example, 62 percent of respondents would not mind reviewing their paystub online rather than receiving a paper copy, according to a survey called "Getting Paid in America" conducted during National Payroll Week (September 1-5, 2008).

"Paperless payroll," as it is called, consists of employees receiving pay via direct deposit and monitoring paycheck history and information through secure online web portals.

Employers actually save on the cost of printing out paystubs so it becomes a cost-effective option. Going green can equal getting more green after all. Encouraging your organization to pursue such avenues can benefit everyone.

Gaining Ground Against Workplace Bullies

Have you ever been bullied at work? Have you seen someone else getting bullied? Would you consider your boss a bully? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, you’re not alone. Thirty-seven percent of Americans reported being bullied at work and 12 percent reported having witnessed someone else getting bullied, according to a 2007 study released by the Workplace Bullying Institute along with Zogby International.

A follow-up study this year found that in 24 percent of bullying cases reported to employers, the employer did nothing and the bullying target was retaliated against, and eventually lost her job.

Why is bullying behavior so prevalent though mishandled in the workplace? A potential indicator is that it’s often immune from legal repercussions. This could all change as many states are now considering “healthy workplace legislation” to prohibit bullying.

Do you think respectful treatment in the workplace should be legally required? Or would such mandates lead to an increase in tricky lawsuits against employers?

To find out more about workplace bullying including other studies and potential solutions for both individuals and companies, visit the Workplace Bullying web site.

Surf's up!

Do you surf the Internet at work? According to recent survey by the Creative Group, you shouldn't feel guilty to do so. More than half (57 percent) of advertising and marketing executives say it is okay for employees to visit non-work-related websites during business hours, as long as it is not longer than 30 minutes a day.

A lot, I think, depends on the sites you visit. It is never ok to visit porn sites or other inappropriate sites, and excessive browsing is never good. Before deciding to browse, check your employee handbook for rules on Internet use, and remember: They could be monitoring your use!

Tuition Benefits

A new study by Accountemps finds that 94 percent of companies offers tuition reimbursement to employees, and 95 percent of companies reimburse for other forms of professional development or training, according to 150 senior executives from the nation's 1000 largest companies.

But how many employees take advantage of this benefit? Do you?

What Makes You Happy?

A recent BlessingWhite study finds that Generation Y employees (born 1978-1990) are less engaged that Generation X and baby boomers. The study suggests that the more senior the employees the more engaged they are.

According to BlessingWhite CEO Christopher Rice, "younger employees don't have a clear picture of what makes them happy. They don't know what they are looking for because they have not been in the workforce long enough to know what they want."

Disengaged workers often feel underutilized and disconnected from the organization's strategy. Organizations need to address this issue because the diverse generations in the workplace are not going away.

Do you have an engagement strategy in place to reach the younger generations? How do you measure engagement?