Category: Tips for Success

We’ve all had the experience of dealing with people who exhibit personal characteristics such as playing favorites, displaying abusive behavior, micromanaging tasks, procrastinating continuously, or using sarcasm frequently. Now, imagine you have to deal with a boss who has one or more of these characteristics. Having to deal with a manager who is never satisfied can lead to employee anxiety, pressure, depression, and an overall feeling of negativity in the workplace. Employers and employees are being asked to do more with fewer resources, often resulting in conflict.

Conflicts between employee and employer are inevitable, says Ramon Greenwood, head career coach at CommonSenseAtWork.com. If you are a get-things-done employee, sooner or later you will come into conflict with your boss or supervisor as you move ahead on your career path. The same sort of assertiveness and confidence that can lead you to career success has helped your boss earn his/her position. But sometimes conflicts cross the line and can prove hazardous to your health or your career, if not handled with common sense.

Here are some more specific situations you may have encountered at work:

Your boss:

• frequently loses his/her temper, maybe even to the point of abusiveness
• makes outrageous demands, like expecting you to work all weekend
• continually asks you to pick up his/her dry cleaning or do other chores
• grumbles when you need to use vacation time
• takes credit for your work
• never provides positive feedback
• favors certain employees and grants them special privileges.

Saying “no” or speaking up to the boss is very difficult for some employees. They fear it will ruin their relationship, appear disrespectful, or even cost them their job. So they avoid outright conflict, while simmering with resentment or anger. But with the right strategies, it’s possible to be candid and respectful at the same time.

• Let your boss know you care about his/her interests.If you have a problem with your boss assigning extra work, say “no” diplomatically: “I’m afraid the additional assignments may be affecting the quality of my work.”

• Focus on what you can do. If your boss makes an unreasonable demand, instead of saying “no,” offer, “Would you like me to cover your phone calls while you are out of the office instead?”

• Use the criticism as an opening for a discussion of interests, goals and solutions to problems, and ask for advice. A boss who criticizes your work probably has an idea of how it should be done and improved.

• Avoid derogatory labels. It’s impossible to change someone’s personality; especially a difficult one. Don’t label your boss a jerk; just accept that this is your boss and try to find a constructive way to work with this person.

• Examine your own performance and ask if you are doing everything right, before you blame or attack your boss.

• Look for allies. If others share your concern about an abusive boss, their support gives you additional persuasion power. An interdepartmental alliance may work to bring about positive change.

• Have a Plan B. If these strategies do not result in successful negotiation with your boss and if your job has become extremely stressful, have an “out” ready. Plan B would probably mean having an actual job offer with another employer in hand. An alternative plan empowers you with the ability to walk away, should the situation not change.

You don’t have to make your boss your friend, or even like this person. You do need to carry out instructions dutifully as a subordinate, just as you would expect your boss to be professional and fulfill his/her responsibilities as a supervisor. The best strategy is to remain professional and get the job done.

To Ban or Not to Ban? That is the Question.

Should job seekers today be posting their resumes on social media sites? Yes! Career professionals today agree that with careful account management and discretion about content, sites such as LinkedIn offer an extremely productive tool for professional networking. According to a new study conducted by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com, 45 percent of employers questioned are using social networks to screen job candidates. So where is the debate?

The hot topic these days is the debate among business professionals about whether organizations should allow their employees to have access to social media during working hours. Skeptics argue that allowing employees to use social media would negatively affect the company’s productivity level by wasting time and money. They also have concerns about network security, inappropriate use and legal issues.

Let’s look at the issue from a different angle. What arguments are there in favor of a company allowing its employees to use social media at work?

First, the reality is that social media are here to stay. According to Ken Burbary, Vice President and Group Director at Digitas, there are 600+million users on Facebook in 2011. A study of more than 1,000 business professionals by People-OnTheGo found that two-thirds of top management and three-quarters of marketing and sales managers regularly check LinkedIn as a part of their business and networking.

Security company FaceTime Communications asked over 500 IT managers and employees about their internet and social media habits at work. The survey revealed that 79% of workers use Facebook, LinkedIn or YouTube at work for business reasons. Of those reasons, 54% cited professional networking, 25% said they use these sites for research and 52% said for learning about their colleagues.

Social networking sites can keep businesses current on events, trends and opportunities in ways that traditional communication cannot. A related advantage is branding. The more a business networks within social media community sites, the more its brand is going to come to the attention of others. Social networking is a low cost way to advertise, promote and publicize products and services to a large number of visitors.

Furthermore, social media can solve problems quickly and efficiently because employees have a larger database of information. Social media take peer-to-peer collaboration to a much higher level. Finally when a business is able to stay abreast of current and future trends, it can attract social media-savvy employees and retain the top talent.

With all of these advantages, it doesn’t make sense to turn back the clock. But employers must acknowledge and address valid concerns about the possible negative impact of using social media at work. They can do this by setting appropriate policies, communicating them clearly to employees, and providing training in using social media sites responsibly and effectively.

If you have an opinion about the use of social media in the workplace, you are not alone. Thanks to social media tools, every web user now has a voice he or she can use to share, seek, recommend and complain. At the very least, businesses cannot ignore social media; at best, they will find ways to use this technology to their benefit.