Respect  in  the  Workplace  

Vance  Daniels,  SPHR  G&A  Partners  

Session  Objec=ves  

•  Dealing  with  interpersonal  conflict  in  the  workplace  

•  Recognizing  and  repor=ng  harassment  &  discrimina=on  

•  How  to  handle  harassment  &  discrimina=on  claims  

Sources  of  Conflict  

•  Poor  Communica=on  •  Difference  in  Values  •  Differing  Interests  •  Personality  Clashes  •  Poor  Performance    •  Bias/Stereotypes  

Poll  Ques=on  

Have  you  personally  experienced  a  conflict  with  a  co-­‐worker?    

Addressing  Conflict  

•  Avoidance  •  Collabora=on  •  Compromise  •  Compe=ng    •  Backing  Down  

Conflict  Resolu=on  

•  Address  the  issue  face  to  face  •  Iden=fy  the  conflict  •  Iden=fy  the  best  possible  outcome  •  Let  both  sides  speak  •  Provide  solu=ons  • What  solu=ons  will  work  for  both  par=es  •   What’s  the  way  forward  

Example  of  Workplace  Conflict  Jonathan  thinks  his  supervisor,  Sue,  is  not  giving  him  good  leads  for  his  sales  job.  He  thinks  she  is  trying  to  push  him  out.  He  starts  publicly  cri=cizing  her  management  abili=es  and  saying  she  is  causing  sales  revenue  to  fall.    

Conflict  in  the  Workplace  

Examples  of  Conflict  

•  There  is  con=nual  conflict  between  Accoun=ng  and  Sales.  Accoun=ng  accuses  sales  of  not  comple=ng  all  the  paperwork.  Sales  feels  the  paperwork  is  cumbersome  and  not  necessary.    

• Race    • Color  • Na=onal  origin  • Religion  • Gender/Pregnancy  • Age  • Disability  • Gene=c  informa=on  

Harassment  &  Discrimina=on    

Harassment  and  the  Law  

•  Unwanted,  unwelcomed  and  uninvited  behavior  that  demeans,  threatens  or  offends  the  vic=m  and  results  in  a  hos=le  environment  for  the  vic=m.  

Harassment  and  the  Law  

Harassment  

• Offensive  jokes  • Slurs/Insults  • Physical  assault/Threats  

• In=mida=on  • Offensive  objects  or  pictures  

Harassment  

•  EEOC  Employer  Compliance  Manual:  

•  “…Title  VII  is  not  a  general  civility  code,  and  does  not  render  all  insensi=ve  or  offensive  comments,  pe^y  slights,  and  annoyances  illegal.  O_and  or  isolated  incidents  (unless  extremely  serious)  will  not  rise  to  the  level  of  illegality.”  

Ø If  it  is  not  illegal,  is  it  okay?  

Is  This  Harassment?    

A  co-­‐worker  con=nually  impersonates  an  employees  accent  Is  this  harassment?    

A  Buddhist  employee  discusses  medita=on  techniques  with  a  curious    co-­‐worker  in  the  lunch  room.  Is  this  harassment?    

A  42-­‐yr-­‐old  con=nually  teases  a  64-­‐yr-­‐old  about  receiving  senior  ci=zen  discounts.    Is  this  harassment?    

NO

YES

YES

Is  This  Harassment?    

A  female  employee  expresses  concerns,  and  her  manager  jokingly  says  “don’t  be  a  girl  about  it”        Is  this  harassment?    When  some  co-­‐workers  go  out  to  lunch  they  don’t  invite  a  minority  employee.    Is  this  harassment?    

An  employee  is  having  a  bad  day  and  his  supervisor  asks  if  he  has  taken  his  medica=on.                                                                                                              Is  this  harassment?    

YES

NO

YES

Sexual  Harassment  

• Conduct  of  a  sexual  nature  that  is:  • Unwelcome  • Harmful  • Offensive  

 

Tangible  Employment  Ac=on  

•  Tangible  employment  ac0on  (Quid  Pro  Quo)  •  Hiring,  Firing  •  Promo0ons  •  Discipline  •  Compensa0on  

•  Automa=c  liability  if  tangible  employment  ac=on  occurred  

Tangible  Employment  Ac=on  

Hos=le  Work  Environment    

Examples  include:  •  Sexually  explicit  pictures,  calendars,  graffi=,  or  objects  •  Regularly:  

• Using  dirty  words  • Making  sexual  jokes  • Using  obscene  gestures  • Making  rude  comments  of  a  sexual  nature  

Who’s  Affected?  •  Those  who  commit  acts  of  sexual  harassment,  include:  •  Employees  at  any  level  •  Clients  or  customers  •  Members  of  the    same  gender  

Who  Can  be  Affected?  

Who’s  Affected?  (cont.)  •  Those  who  experience  harassment,  include:  •  Direct  targets  •  Bystanders  and  witnesses  

Who  Can  be  Affected?    

Is  This  Sexual  Harassment?  

An  employee  asks  a  co-­‐worker  for  a  date.  Is  this  sexual  harassment?  

An  employee  is  asked  by  her  supervisor  to  talk  about  her  raise  aher  hours  at  a  roman=c  restaurant.  Is  this  sexual  harassment?  

An  employee  brings  a  sexually  explicit  gag  gih  to  work  for  a  co-­‐worker’s  birthday  present.  Is  this  sexual  harassment?  

YES

YES

NO

Preven=on:  What  can  You  Do?  

•  Consider  your  own  ac=ons      •  could  you  be  making  someone  

uncomfortable?  •  ...even  uninten=onally?  

•  Report  harassment  promptly  •  Support  vic=ms  •  Cooperate  with  inves=ga=ons  

•  Retalia=on  is  not  tolerated  •  Follow  Policies  

Repor=ng  Harassment  

•  Supervisor  •  Management  •  Human  Resources  •  G&A  Partners  •  Don’t  wait!  

Supervisor  Role  

•  A  supervisor  is  an  agent  of  the  company  in  terms  of  his  or  her:  •  Knowledge  –    What  you  know….or  should  have  known  

•  Statements  •  Ac=ons    

Discrimina=on-­‐  What  Is  Prohibited?    

• Organiza=ons  can’t  discriminate  in:  •  Recrui=ng,  hiring,  and  tes=ng  •  Firing  •  Promo=ons,  transfers,  layoffs,  recalls  •  Discipline  •  Training  and  appren=ceship  programs  •  Compensa=on  and  benefits  

Discrimina=on  -­‐  What  Is  Prohibited?  

•  Basing  employment  decisions  on  anything  other  than  an  individual’s  qualifica=ons  and  abili=es  

•  Applying  different  standards  to  different  individuals  

•  Allowing  or  engaging  in  harassment  •  Retalia=ng  against  individuals  for  engaging  in  protected  ac=vi=es  

Discrimina=on  

•  Inten=onal  discrimina=on  

•  Uninten=onal  discrimina=on  

•  Adverse  impact  

Handling  Complaints  

•  Encourage  repor=ng  •  Confiden=ality  •  Respond  to  all  complaints  

•  Allow  employees  to  bypass  the  normal  chain  of  command  

•  Contact  Human  Resources  

Poll  Ques=on  

Does  your  office  have  a  formal  policy  in  place  so  that  employees  can  safely  lodge  complaints?  

Taking  Correc=ve  Ac=on    

•  Correct  the  effects  of  the  harassment/discrimina=on    •  Adverse  Ac=on    

•  Follow  up  to  make    sure  the  problem    is  solved  

•  Retalia=on  is  prohibited  

HRCI  Cer3fica3on  Credits:    "This  webinar  has  been  pre-­‐cer=fied  for  1  hour  of  general  recer=fica=on  credit  toward  PHR,  SPHR  and  GPHR  recer=fica=on  through  the  HR  Cer=fica=on  Ins=tute.      We  will  send  out  a  confirma3on  e-­‐mail  with  the  Program  ID  code  to  note  on  your  HRCI  recer3fica3on  applica3on  form  to  everyone  who  is  confirmed  as  aCended  and  watched  the  live  version  of  this  webinar.  

The  use  of  this  seal  is  not  an  endorsement  by  the  HR  Cer=fica=on  Ins=tute  of  the  quality  of  the  program.    It  means  that  this  program  has  met  the  HR  Cer=fica=on  Ins=tute's  criteria  to  be  pre-­‐approved  for  recer=fica=on  credit."  

QUESTIONS?  G&A  Partners  

info@gnapartners.com  (800)  253-­‐8562  

*This webinar has been recorded and will be posted on the G&A website by Friday