Incivility - Leaders Letters February 2010

Leaders Letter A Leadership Resource

Edition 11. February 2010

Incivility: The Molehill that Can Cause a Mountain of Work-Related Problems: Part I Reprinted from: Safe Supervisor, August 2009

hile many companies have strict policies in place to deal with employees who harass or bully co-workers, those policies often fail to recognize and address small acts of incivility that can hurt a workplace.

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Winter Wellness 2010 Healthy Pot Luck and Recipe Exchange: Support your staff while we share a healthy meal and create some Olympic spirit!

“It’s things like not saying good morning, ignoring or excluding someone or gossiping. Most organizations don’t deal with it at all. It becomes a culture (of disrespect) and poisons the workplace,”says Sharon Bar-David, (www.sharonbadavid.com) a Torontobased motivational speaker/trainer specializing in workplace respect issues.

Submitted by: Jennifer Burgess

In her experience in working with a variety of workplaces, Bar-David estimates that eight out of 10 managers do not know how to identify and adequately respond to problem behavior that is respect related.

We’re inviting Community Services, Seniors and Labour staff to work together to organize healthy pot luck meals at your worksites. Planning and enjoying a meal together may boost mid-winter morale and strengthen ties between staff members. And we know that positive relationships at work help us manage stress better both at work and in our personal life. So please support your staff as they plan for the Winter Wellness 2010 Healthy Pot Luck and Recipe Exchange.

“My assertion is that when organizations, supervisors and managers don’t address the little incivilities, what they will see is exponential growth in incivility and even more importantly, more harassment situations,” she says.

Bar-David says when the person exhibiting inappropriate and unprofessional behavior is in a position of authority, one in four workers on the receiving end responds by reducing his or her work effort and one in two contemplate changing jobs.

Bar-David says companies that ignore harassment and bullying behavior face a number of negative consequences, including: Reduced productivity; Increased absenteeism when victims of bullying or harassment call in sick or take stress leaves and; Greater potential for workplace injuries or fatalities.

PEI Public Service has a policy for the Prevention and Resolution of Harassment in the Workplace (7.01 of the Public Service Commission’s Human Resource Policy and Procedures Manual.)

Community Services, Seniors and Labour regularly takes part in student career fairs to raise the profile of social service careers and attract more young people to pursue training in social service careers. Above: Dental Hygienist Chantel Cahill, Dental Assistant Kathy Lelacheur, Youth W orker Raymond M cAdam-Young and Social W orker Jill Hume (missing from photo) discussed the challenges and rewards of their careers with more than 100 students at a career fair in Charlottetown held in December.

What engages employees the most or, The Ten C’s of employee engagement

By Gerard H. Seijits and Dan Crim Connect: Leaders must show that they value employees. Employee engagement is a direct reflection of how employees feel about their relationship with the boss. Employees look at whether organizations and their leaders walk the talk when they proclaim that, “Our employees are our most valuable asset.”

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Career: Leaders should provide challenging and meaningful work with opportunities for career advancement. Good leaders challenge employees; but at the same time, they must instill the confidence that the challenges can be met. Not giving people the knowledge and tools to be successful is unethical and demotivating; it is also likely to lead to stress, frustration, and, ultimately, lack of engagement.

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Clarity: Leaders must communicate a clear vision.

People want to understand the vision that senior leadership has for the organization, and the goals that leaders or departmental heads have for the division, unit, or team.

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Convey: ...good leaders clarify their expectations about employees and provide feedback on their functioning in the organization. Good leaders work daily to improve the skills of their people and create small wins that help the team, unit, or organization perform at its best.

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Congratulate: Surveys show that, over and over, employees feed that they receive immediate feedback when their performance is poor, or below expectations. These same employees also report that praise and recognition for strong performance is much less common. Exceptional leaders give recognition, and they do so a lot; they coach and convey.

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Contribute: People want to know that their input matters and that they are contributing to the organization’s success in a meaningful way.

Control: Employees value control over the flow and pace of their jobs and leaders can create opportunities for employees to exercise this control.

Are leaders flexible and attuned to the needs of the employees as well as the organization? Do leaders involve employees in decision-making, particularly when employees will be directly affected by the decision?

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Collaborate: Studies show that, when employees work in teams and have the trust and cooperation of

their team members, they outperform individuals and teams which lack good relationships. Great leaders are team builders.

Credibility: Leaders should strive to maintain a company’s reputation and demonstrate high ethical standards. People want to be proud of their jobs, their performance, and their organization.

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Confidence: Good leaders help create confidence in a company by being exemplars of high ethical and performance standards.

A Message From The Deputy Submitted by Sharon Cameron t’s an exciting time as our Department reinvents itself with a new name and welcomes new faces including Minister Janice Sherry and new colleagues from Labor and the Women's Interministerial Secretariat. While I am excitedly anticipating the next year, I acknowledge there will be challenges ahead.

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Take time to enjoy our Winter Wellness Challenge with a Healthy Potluck and Recipe exchange; be mindful of work and home life balance; eat a balanced diet; engage in moderate exercise most days of the week and every now and than watch a funny movie. Put yourself and your staff in a healthy frame of mind.

Finally, the Olympics are upon us, a chance to celebrate being a Canadian. It’s a chance to rally around our athletes as we all cheer for Gold. It can also be a chance to cheer on your staff and offer meaningful feedback. This year, please schedule PDP’s with staff and be part of a personal discussion about their strengths. Help them to identify areas where they can improve and connect improvements to their career development. They will thank you for it.

Leaders Letters are produced by the Human Resource Team of the Corporate and Finance Division. They are distributed to members of the Senior Leaders Group and posted to the CSSL public shared drive. For information and feedback contact 569-7568.