Reasonable Suspicion Trap #1: "I haven't had a drink since last night!"

In the heat of the moment, this excuse can seem quite reasonable, especially for those of us who have had a few late nights ourselves. Here's something you probably won't consider in the heat of the moment--just how long ago was "last night"? And, quite frankly, its irrelevant. Is the smell there? But, let's play along for a minute.

Depending on when your employee stopped drinking, it can be as few as 3-4 of hours.

Knocking off at 4am and catching a couple hours of sleep before work may fool your employee into thinking it's a new day, but he can't fool his body. Sleeping doesn't metabolize alcohol and sober you up any faster than if you were awake.

But isn't even 4 hours long enough to sober up? Not necessarily. Don't make the mistake of projecting your own consumption habits onto your employee. He may have consumed an amount that far exceeds your own capacity. An alcoholic with a high tolerance who drinks 12 beers, and then quits at midnight will still be drunk the next day at 8 a.m., and especially if there are any sort liver problems. And they're probably are.

Employees who have a high tolerance to alcohol could have their last drink late at night and still be under the influence well after sunrise. They don't have to drink just before coming to work or first thing in the morning to be under the influence. Don't let this statement convince you that a test is unnecessary.

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Hey, what a great group of cool people we have in our office

Okay so you have nice informal work environment, no ties, everybody "high-fiving", no problems--even a softball team! So you make frequent "crude" and embarrassing sexual remarks to both men and women in your work group. Not one has ever complained, plus you're not talking and much less not targeting anyone. Hey, it like TV! You know, "that's what she said". You're pretty "rowdy" group and some of us even respond with approval at times. It can't be sexual harassment if no one person is the "target" of this behavior, right.

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That would be great, and just like TV, but unfortunately, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (one that many don't particularly enjoy hearing from) recently ruled that harassing, abusive, and crude remarks can constitute sexual harassment, even though a supervisor directed the comments to all employees. The important question to ask in all sexual harassment cases is this: Is the supervisor's conduct sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of employment and create a hostile or abusive working environment. If so, the issue turns to whether the employer, when informed of the abusive behavior, took prompt action to remedy the situation. If supervisors remember this description, much of the gray area of questionable behavior will become clear. Also, even if a supervisor's conduct is equally degrading to both men and women, it does not make the conduct immune from liability for sexual harassment.

Do Investigations Correctly So You Don't Investigated Later!

Are there commonly used guidelines for investigating incidents in the workplace associated with disturbing employee conduct?

Well, Rule #1--talk to your human resource manager or other adviser to you don't blow this one. That being said, investigations follow a logical path to gather information about an event so that a reliable conclusion about what happened can be drawn. You must start of thinking that you are on a hopscotch. You're going to take it one square at a time.

Many organizations have specific procedures to follow concerning things like sexual harassment and other severe events, so inquire about how to conduct these types of investigations.

Generally speaking, consider these steps when investigating other conduct-related incidents: First, notify your supervisor about any incident you think needs investigating. Next, interview parties separately, and in private (ask for all details, and ask for the names of any witnesses). Create a written list of your questions so things stay consistent. Third, keep the information you collect confidential from others you interview - persons involved in an investigation are not entitled to the results of your interviews. Fourth, do not form opinions as you investigate - just write down exactly what is said and move quickly in your investigation; and fifth, arrive at a conclusion - do not disclose the nature of administrative or disciplinary actions, if any, to complainants or witnesses. With this information, discuss your findings with a confidentially approved party. That could be an attorney, but do not forget your employee assistance program professional. Lots of confidentiality there. This might be your final stop before a decision or taking the results to the next level of management.

Employee Complaints about Supervisors

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Certainly you've wondered from time to time what the biggest complaints are about supervisors. There is an answer to this question that I will share. However, what you really should be asking is whether you have the guts to resolve personal issues you possess that contribute to one or more of these complaints if you perpetrate any of them.

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The following are the most common complaints employees have about their supervisors. A personal inventory of whether any of these issues come between you and those you supervise may help you determine whether your relationships with subordinates are functional.

1. My boss plays favorites with subordinates.

2. My boss doesn't listen to my problems.

3. I don't know what my boss thinks of my performance.

4. My boss doesn't possess the interpersonal skills needed to handle
people properly.

5. My boss lacks trust and confidence in me.

Nuff said!

The Employee Straightened Up, So Why Do I Not Want to Treat Him Like It

Okay, so you confronted your long-term, problematic poor performer. You put the fear of God in him, and he went for some sort of help. What ever it was, it worked. Now he wants a different relationship with you, but you're still not over your anger about his irresponsibility for the past several years. You need to get over this attitude and fast.

This is not your spouse who suddenly decided to get sober. I have seen relapses happen over this sort of thing. The problem: You have a mindset and a well-honed "neurologic" pathway in your brain of seeing your employee as a loser. Now, you need the help. Not him.

This is the same syndrome that is experienced by family members when an alcohol or drug addict finally recovers--seriously recovers. Do you realize that you can, by your attitude, create a situation where your employee relapses into poor performance again. If this happens, you will of course blame the employee, but what you did was PROVOKE IT.

So, it is normal and natural to get mad at your employee for wasting years of time and along with it lost productivity. You won however. You salvaged your employee.

Often, supervisors feel that a troubled employee put the workplace through a long period of disruption before he or she finally sought help. Consider the following in order to acquire a more positive attitude and lessen the likelihood that you could act provocatively and jeopardize your employee’s progress: 1) Assume employees want to do a good job and feel good about their work. 2) Believe that some personal problems do not easily permit self-diagnosis or self-motivated decisions to seek help. Instead, some personal problems and diseases are naturally fought with denial until consequences nearly overwhelm the victim or others. 3) With this understanding, focus on the present and reinforce the changes made by your employee. This will increase productivity and help you develop a more supportive attitude.

Reduce Supervisor Stress: Max Out on Using Your Organization's EAP

Many of you looking to improve your supervisory skills have employee assistance programs available to you for consultation through your company. The problem is that I am the first one to tell you this.

It is likely that you have therefore not had an orientation with a representative from the managed care company that runs you organization's employee assistance program, correct? This is par for the course these days, but it did not used be this way. Decades ago, supervisor training was a must, and it paid off. If you had one of these orientations, the professional counselor would give you instructions about how to refer an employee who was having job problems. So, let me give you a few helpful hints righ now. Although there are many different styles of confronting employees and recommending use of the employee assistance program, some methods work better than others. One technique that reportedly works very well is reserving a prearranged appointment time for your employee when you initially consult with the EAP about the pending referral. If your company's employee assistance program does not have a provision that includes consulting with supervisors, it is flat out, a bogus program not worth a dang. Continuing on, when you meet with your employee and conduct your corrective interview, offer the prearranged appointment to the employee if he or she is willing to visit the EAP. Do not, however, require or strong-arm your employee into accepting the appointment time. Accept your employee's desire to make his or her own appointment if the prearranged appointment is refused. Your offer of the prearranged appointment should only be a convenience to facilitate follow-through in visiting the EAP upon your recommendation. (The sooner the appointment follows your corrective interview, the better.) Definitely always ask your employee to sign a release so you can verify attendance. Don't say that signing one is required unless you have "held in abeyance" the employee's termination in lieu of his or her choice to completely cooperate with the EAP. Most employees will sign a release. Then you will be able to communicate with the EAP, but not about details. Only verification of attendance and cooperation with the program's recommendation.

Supervisors: Tense and Nervous in Corrective Interviews

When you meet with an employee to conduct a corrective interview, are you sometimes tense, nervous and forgetful, or feel a little overwhelmed by the process? Well you are not alone. Very few people in supervisory positions would say they look forward to such meetings, but nevertheless, these meetings go with the territory. Here is how to make the supervisor's role a little easier to swallow. First, plan your meeting with the employee ahead of time. Don't make the meetings off the cuff. Be sure to write a list of your concerns and use it as outline in your discussion. There is nothing wrong with this approach. Review these points however before your meeting. They way you will be staring at notes less. Get your supervisor's support and input prior to your meeting in writing this increases your feelings of security and gives more authority to quell a belligerent or non-receptive response from your employee. Meet with the employee in your office (on your turf). Discuss the listed concerns and allow the employee to respond. Do not argue with your employee. Try to remain emotionally detached by seeing the goal of your meeting as helping the employee understand the relationship between unacceptable behavior and its possible consequences. This the right attitude and keeps the feeling of "character attack" out of the interview. Good luck. Here is a super-awesome set of supervisor handouts, and if you happened to be a human resources manager, this "kit of materials" will help your supervisor improve their relationships with employees and boost their productivity. See the "Deluxe Supervisor Reproducible Fact Sheet Kit"
If the employee remains argumentative or will not listen, end your meeting with plans to meet again soon. For specific help on constructive confrontation or how to confront an employee, the 14 Vital Skills for Supervisors.