Hold Your Tongue Around Recovering Injured Workers on Light Duty

Never assume an employee under your supervision who is recovering from an injury is faking his or her need for light duty. In fact, better not to even think it. Many injured people in their initial recovery period may demonstrate few signs of distress others can see. The injured worker may even have little or no pain. Your frustration at performing laborious tasks for your employee or even comments you make to coworkers may prompt you to question the legitimacy of light duty or for them to taunt or hassle the injured worker into performing essential duties that are temporarily prohibited. This can lead to re-injury. Recovering workers are vulnerable to these peer confrontations, even if non-verbally communicated by huffs and puffs, sighs, and side comments. Risk of another injury is high, together with an even longer recovery period and the costs associated with them.

Is Your Boss Is Telling You to Motivate Your Employees More?

If you are getting complaints from the boss about not motivating your staff, don't shout down the hallway that it is not your job. It's a myth that people can't motivate others. You have to do more than explain what you want them to do and what's at stake. It simply will not inspire them. There is more to motivating employees than telling them what to do and why it matters. You also need to arouse their passion about work. That requires an awareness of their “hot buttons”—a keen understanding of what they value most. Examples include recognition, money, flexibility, job security, or freedom and independence. The only way you can identify what drives someone is to listen and learn. Chat with each of your employees to find out about their goals, aspirations, and special skills and talents that they want to apply more fully to their jobs. Be sure to ask what causes them to feel motivated. They will tell you. In the meantime, assume that enjoying personal growth in one’s work, earning sincere praise, and doing meaningful work are three core motivators for just about everyone. This supervisory training course that can be used to train all supervisors can help you I think.

Documentation of Performance: Think "Who", What", "When", "How"

Have you written documentation that looks like this and have it tossed in the trash?" "The employee ignores me and does not respect me as a supervisor." Whether you realize it or not, documentation is useless for its intended purpose. Most people who read your documentation would know you're frustrated, but would have to ask questions to understand what you are referring to with this employee. There's your clue! The need to ask "how," "what," or "when" points to the limitations of your documentation.  To make it more useful, think in terms of your five senses.  In this case, what do you see or hear that demonstrates disrespect?  Phrases like "does not respect" and "ignore" describe behaviors you've witnessed, so these should be included in your documentation.  More effective documentation might read: "The employee demonstrates disrespect by gesturing with her hand that she will not listen to what I am saying, and she turns and walks away when I am speaking to her."

Anger Management Ideas for Supervisors

So you blow up at your employees a lot, hmm. You're easily irritated, and they are calling you a mountain troll. Need a cure? You're first step is to admit you need help. After that, your next step is to ask if you are alcoholic. Don't look so shocked. Alcoholism is highly augmenting--no, not when you are drinking. I mean when you are in withdrawal. If you meet the criteria for the diagnosis of alcoholism, start there. Get treatment, recover, become sober..and then come back here......So admitting there is a problem means that you half way home. Anger is a powerful emotion that often requires more than a simple decision to manage it.  A programmatic approach is sometimes needed to make a permanent change.  One well-known technique for managing anger requires, first, that you keep a journal and make a notation immediately after an anger incident by recording the first symptom of anger experienced.  Second, write down exactly what triggered the anger.  Third, record how you responded.  Fourth, identify what you did well in the anger management situation, and fifth, make a notation about what you can do differently the next time a similar incident occurs.  Its likely that youll see noticeable changes in the way you manage anger after approximately seven to eight journal entries.  Remember you may have to get counseling for this problem, but don't panic it should only be short term--a few sessions or so. The above plan however will give almost all people some results right away. Subscribe to Supervisor Tips

Addicts Can Hold Their "Breath" for Only So Long

Employees with addiction problems are well-practiced at explaining job performance shortcomings and will usually increase the quality of their performance after a period of absenteeism or some negative experience on the job. This includes you confronting them about their behavior, conduct, attendance, or quality of work issues. This is not manipulation. Instead, you're seeing short-term willpower in effect. It won't last. What's happening? Your employee has acquired a temporary sense of urgency strong enough to place brief controls on the frequency and amount of consumption of alcohol. Improved behavior is the result. Note: Never assume that a pattern of behavior represents a certain diagnosis like addiction. It is extremely difficult to diagnose a medical condition by looking at just behaviors and patterns. Employees with schizophrenia, schizo-affective disorders, delusional disorders, etc. can act in odd ways causing you to think they have drug or alcohol problems, or that they are under the influence of a psychoactive drug. Just focus on performance and good documentation. Then team with your HR department to decide on your next move.

How Long Must You Wait to See Improvement?

How long should you wait for an employee to turn around and begin to show solid gains in improved performance after you've held a corrective interview? This is a tough question, but the answer is crucial because you can save a life, possibly, if you act with a cool head. A life!? Yes. Some employees have personal problems and they refuse to get help for them. But once you are "tired" of the problems, you become a runaway train for leveraging an employees into treatment, who will turn around. Although many supervisors would report knowing exactly how they would handle such a scenario--fire the bump-- in practice most supervisors deliberate too long and feel ambivalent. They stall. Such a decision may require making a judgment that weighs the urgency needed for change, the expectations of management, or the attitude demonstrated by your employee toward resolving his or problems affecting performance. Although waiting longer sends an unintended message of indifference, and enables your employee to grow worse, it is likely that a personal problem remains untreated and resolved if you are still seeing performance related issues. Be careful of your emotional reaction to your employee so you can effectively decide  what to do. Want some fun? Tell the employee: "My decision is to fire you today, right now, at this hour, and you can pick up your check at the front desk when you leave. However, would you like to hear my proposal in lieu of this decision?" There is no employee you have ever met in your career who will not say, "What?" as their next utterance to this question.. After the employee says "What?", say this: I am willing to hold this decision in abeyance under several conditions: 1) That you go to a professional counselor who can do an assessment. (Tip: Get an employee assistance professional to assist you. If you do not have an EAP, hire a professional t do an assessment via the list of experts available from the EAP Association). The assessment must include verification of attendance and follow through with recommendations. The counselor must phone me to verify. You must maintain a signed consent for the release of confidential information so the professional can contact me and maintain in contact with me for the purposes just stated. I don't require any other information." This employee is getting help, and you have salvaged your employees, possibly your best worker.

Use Performance Reviews to Grow Employee Motivation

Performance reviews and performance management systems are powerful productivity processes that can help drive an organization’s achievements through the roof. But when not used to their full potential, performance reviews can instead become a burden to both supervisor and employees. At the very least, use employee reviews as springboards for discussions with your employees about their goals and aspirations. Discover the degree of inspiration your employees possess to do their best work, and learn how to increase it. Chances are that you will discover something you did not know about your employees’ needs that, if met, would better serve the organization’s mission and goals. Also, be sure to let your employees hear from you firsthand the importance of what they are doing and how it fits with the organization’s mission. All employees look and hope for pay increases, but hearing that they personally are valued by you and the organization fulfills a level of need that the paycheck won’t reach. And the research on employee job satisfaction proves it is true. Enjoy the inaugural issue of Supervisor Tips Newsletter by clicking here.