Posts Tagged ‘Office Management’
February 6th, 2009 in Office Management No Comments
A recent survey reveals that nearly 40 percent of U.S. workers have dated a fellow employee, and that another 40 percent would consider doing so. Inevitably, notes the author, most workplace relationships end and some end badly enough to result in lawsuits involving claims of coercion or retaliation. Even employees uninvolved in a romance have succeeded in establishing hostile work environment discrimination based on favoritism.
In response to this situation many companies have implemented nonfraternization policies designed to prevent or discourage workplace romances. Unfortunately, the author finds that most companies with such policies do a poor job communicating their expectations. The issue is colored by the fact that employers generally prefer not to chaperone their employees. Employees, on the other hand, view employer monitoring of their personal relationships as an invasion of privacy. More importantly, notes the author, research shows that outright dating bans simply don’t work. (more…)
February 1st, 2009 in Design, Office Management No Comments
Working Around The Water Cooler; Research Findings Suggest Socialization As Critical To High Performance As ‘Heads-Down Work.’
[This article is the first of a two-part series based on findings from the 2008 Gensler Workplace Survey.]
In the current knowledge economy, both individual and team efforts are used to drive business performance, with success arising from intangibles such as ideas, innovation and employee engagement. This article looks at the 2008 Gensler Workplace Survey, conducted in the U.S. and the UK and explores its insights about how people work, the amount of time they spend in specific work modes and how critical each mode is to productivity and job performance.
The article identifies four work modes that employees engage in:
- Focus. The ability to devote uninterrupted effort (thinking analyzing, creating, producing) to a particular task or project. Average 48 percent of employee time.
- Collaborate. Working with others to plan, strategize, problem-solve, create. Average 32 percent of employee time.
- Learn. Concept-exploration, memorization, discovery and reflecting. Average 6 percent of employee time.
- Socialize. Plays a critical role in fostering the social networks that move knowledge through an organization to create innovation. Helps to create common values, collegiality. Average 6 percent of employee time.
(more…)
October 16th, 2008 in Culture, Office Management No Comments
Culture Conquers (Almost) All – Even In A Retention-Challenged Industry.
Corporate culture can make the difference between organizational success and failure. This article takes a look at the culture-building efforts of a firm ranked fourth in the 2007 list of the “25 Best Small Companies to Work For in America” by the Great Places to Work Institute. This company, a mid-size CPA firm with three offices in Arizona had had a phenomenal growth rate of nearly 20 percent per year over the past six years with a profit margin of over 40 percent and an enviable 90 percent retention rate for the staff. (more…)
September 25th, 2008 in Office Management No Comments
Most organizations’ anti-harassment policies follow federal guidelines that prohibit verbal or physical workplace conduct if it:
- Is based on sex, race or another statutorily protected characteristic;
- Is unwelcome; and
- Causes tangible job harm or a hostile work environment.
The author notes recent survey results that find that employees are more likely to make inappropriate remarks when in the presence of those least likely to take personal offense. This puts many workplace actions or remarks outside the realm of the anti-harassment statutes, since they are not overtly “unwelcome”, nor do they inherently cause “job harm” or a “hostile work environment.” (more…)
