Leaders LettersA Leadership Resource Edition 8. Summer 2009

Great Boss? Great Health!by Melanie Joy Douglas, Monster.ca

A study done by the Finnish Institute of

Occupational Health suggests that fair bosses have

a beneficial effect on the health of their

employees.

The results showed that employees who felt they

were being treated fairly by their bosses took sick leave

much less frequently than those who felt they were treated

in an unfair manner. Moreover, the psychological stress of

employees of “just” bosses was less than half of the stress

reported by those working for an “unjust” boss.

The study further concluded that: The risk of

psychological stress was 50-70% lower in workplaces

managed in a just manner than in those that were not.

Long-term sick leaves were 20-30% lower at

workplaces with fair treatment than at those that were

experienced as unfair.

Fair bosses actually decreased a woman’s risk of

long sick leaves by roughly a third, and those of men by

about a fifth.

According to Mika Kivimaki, a Professor at the

University of Helsinki, people do consider themselves

more healthy at workplaces that are managed fairly

However, the terms “fair” and “unfair,” “just” and

“unjust” can be open to subjective interpretations. How

can fairness be measured? In the study, the bosses’

fairness (in behavior and decision making) was gauged by

the employees’ responses to questions assessing the

bosses’:

• Impartiality in their treatment of people

• Ability to listen to their employees

• Friendliness

• Polite behavior

• Trustworthiness

• Respect for employees’ rights

• Consistency of decision-making

• Encouragement of employee expression and individual

opinions

• Effort to back up decisions with accurate information

• Willingness to cancel or change decisions which had proven

unsuccessful

PAGH Supervisor OffersEmployee’s Feedback

Hats Off A Great Way to MotivateLuanne Gallant, Human Resource Manager

The recently distributed Hats Off cards are a great way to

recognize employees not only during Public Service Week

but throughout the year.

Program Supervisor Shirley MacQuaid (right) meets withYouth Worker Karrie MacDougall (left) both of the ProvincialAdolescent Group Home. Shirley met her 2008/09 PDP target bycreating a PDP schedule, sharing it with employees, and stayingcommitted to it. A copy of the PDP tool and policy can be found inThe Managers Toolbox or on the DSSS public shared drive.

Red, Green, Yellow or Blue...Which Are You?

Recently, some members of the Seniors Leaders

Group (pictured above) had their Insights

Discovery Color Profile completed and in the

process, each learned more about their leadership style.

“Awesome” and “powerful” is how Deputy Minister

Sharon Cameron describes the group process. “It was as

much fun as it was challenging. We were required to

consider our leadership strengths and weaknesses and

where we fit as a team. We learned a lot about ourselves

and others that should make us better at adapting our

leadership style to build strong teams, ” said Deputy

Sharon.

Each profile is unique and offers in-depth analysis

about each leader’s preferences. The profile assigns each

person a dominant color energy, and three less dominant

color energies. Common preferences are assigned to each

color energy like Cool Blue (cautious, precise and

deliberate), Fiery Red (competitive, demanding and

determined), Sunshine Yellow (sociable, dynamic, and

demonstrative) and Earth Green (caring, encouraging

and sharing). The profiles are scientifically valid and are

designed to provide participants with awareness of their

work and decision making style as well as the best way to

communicate, adapt and connect with others based on the

color energy preferences of each.

Congratulations to Luanne Gallant, Human Resource

Manager for Social Services and Seniors who completed

an intensive training to receive her Insights Discovery

Facilitator certificate.

Motivational Management Florence Stone, The Manager's Question & Answer Book

The key to using recognition is in making it part of

your daily routine. Good managers remember to

recognize employees. Great managers do it every

day. They maintain a "to do list" to which they add the

names of the people who report to them who deserve

recognition. They use voice mail not only to assign tasks

but to leave employees messages praising them for a job

well done. They keep a stack of note cards on their desk,

where they can't ignore them. At the end of the day, they

take a minute to write thank-you notes to any employee

who made a difference that day.

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 DSSS public shared drive. For

information and feedback contact 569-7568.

BACK (left to right): Stefani Arduini, Faye Martin, Kathryn Dickson, Luanne Gallant, Rhea Jenkins, Faye Campbell, Pat MacDonald,Vicki Francis, Catherine Freeze, Wendy McCourt, Lorne Clow, Sonya Cobb. FRONT (left to right): Jennifer Burgess, Vernon MacIntyre,Carrie Keizer, Albert Adegbemo, Sharon Cameron, Rona Brown.