Workplace Issues

Let’s face it: When a new editor-in-chief or anyone at the top of the food chain comes into play, there’s likely to be a reorganization. Or maybe it’s year-end and the powers that be decide it’s time to shake things up a bit. Whatever the reason, reorganizations are not uncommon in the workplace. In fact, they’re practically inevitable.

According to a piece on Forbes, there are a few survival tips when things get turned around without your control. For starters, Ron Ashkenas explains the sense of confusion and disequilibrium is par for the course. In the piece, he writes:

“Imagine if someone suddenly rearranged the clothes in your closet: You’d probably feel disoriented or uncomfortable when you went to find something. It’s the same with reorganizations: The established patterns for getting things done have been rearranged. You have to develop new routines, adjust to a revised cast of characters, and even deal with “survivor’s guilt” if any of your colleagues lost jobs or were moved elsewhere. So the starting point for moving forward is to remember that the distress is normal, and your colleagues are probably experiencing those feelings as well.”

So, now that you realize discomfort is a given, the key component is figuring out where you not only fit into the new structure but how you can be successful in it. For instance, maybe the social media team was reduced so now you’re responsible for posting all of your pieces to Twitter and Facebook. Although it may create an additional daily few tasks, just think of the way you may rethink the way you create headlines to make them clickable and user-friendly.

For the last tip, Ashkenas points out taking a view of the new organization. As per the piece, he writes, “Often when the structure changes, key processes need to be rewired. Consider this as an opportunity to influence others in your value chain so that the entire end-to-end process becomes more effective.”

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Tsk, tsk, tsk. A new study published by the International Journal of Obesity shows starting salary among other items were negatively impacted when women were viewed as obese.

Only women were included in the study; according to a study published in 2007, they were 16 times more likely than men to report weight discrimination in the workplace!

As pointed out by TIME, researchers gave participants a stack of resumes with photos attached of each applicant. Photos represented before and after pics related to weight loss surgery. When women were considered obese, their starting salary, leadership potential as well as selection of candidate for the job were all negatively impacted.

In addition, researchers revealed that people who were confident with their own body type were more harsh and responded more negatively to overweight candidates.

Lead researcher Kerry O’Brien, told TIME, “The higher participants rated their own physical attractiveness and the importance of physical appearance, the greater the prejudice and discrimination.”

Looking to resign soon? While you should always leave on good terms, according to a recent survey conducted by OfficeTeam, a few people gave bizarre reasons to leave which made us chuckle. Instead of just saying the norm like leaving to pursue another opportunity, one employee said he was joining the circus while another said “she lost her cell phone too many times at work.”

The survey also revealed someone quit to participate in a reality show and someone else said it was his routine to switch jobs every six months.

The survey is based on telephone interviews with 1,300 senior managers at companies in the U.S. and Canada with more than 20 or more employees.

Some people were simply honest in their approach. Here are a few other examples:

They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression but what happens when you’re already in the door on a new job and made a blunder right off the bat?

According to The New York Post’s “Go to Greg” column, Greg Giangrande advises, “empty suits and lazy people who don’t pull their weight” will naturally develop a poor reputation. But, what if you’re not one of those guys or gals and simply didn’t step up to the plate on one little task? After all, we all make mistakes, right?

The chief human resources officer at Dow Jones says in this case “the only thing you can do is demonstrate a new, proactive and productive work ethic that is equal to that of your peers.”

Considering you’re still new on the job, people’s thoughts of you haven’t been cemented just yet so there will be plenty of opportunities to redeem yourself with outstanding work to shed that initial impression. He adds in the piece, “Own and apologize for all of your mistakes, and chalk them up to a newbie’s anxiety — say that what they’ve seen is not the real you and tell them you’d like a fresh start.”

Buyer beware: If poor performance continues on project after project, there won’t be many opportunities to prove everyone wrong and offer up another excuse.

Ah, workplace friendships. We know them all too well. You spend every waking hour of every work day with your cubicle mates and chat at the water cooler so at some point the lines between friends and co-workers may begin to look a little bit blurry.

According to Lindsay Olson, blogger at U.S. News & World Report, it’s important to keep your business and personal lives separate. She writes in the piece, “Keep your personal chat reserved for your breaks and after work. You want your other co-workers to still take you seriously as a professional, and getting too chummy on the job might get in the way.”

Next, it’s important to go slow. Trust is a big factor here and for a friendship to blossom and work out outside the office, you’ll need to slowly let the other person into your life. Need proof? She writes, “So you don’t want to embarrass yourself (i.e., going overboard on Tequila Tuesdays) or reveal too much about your personal life (maybe you’re thinking about a career change) and have it come back to bite you.”

Although it’s rewarding to forge friendships at the office and certainly infuses the day with more fun, it’s important to remember why you’re there. As in the whole paycheck thing. Don’t let friendships thwart you from focusing on the job, your numero uno goal of each day.

As hard as it may be too resist, one of the ultimate ways to maintain boundaries is to resist complaining about your boss. In the piece she writes, “It’s almost a natural instinct to complain about work to a friend, but realize that a workplace friend makes that a treacherous path to travel. If he or she is friends with or connected to your boss, your venting may cause problems for you in your department.”

Negativity never serves any good anyway, especially if you end up transferring to another department or it gets out of hand. Just like gossip.

Lastly, it’s important to keep boundaries intact. Not all friendships work out (similar to how budding office romances may fizzle); remaining focused on your work situation will instill much needed distance between you and your colleague. Her advice? “Socialize with friends outside of work to balance out the time you spend with your work friends.”

In other words, tell people to talk to the hand.

Saying “yes” to every request that crosses your in-box isn’t only distracting, it creates more work and morphs you into a people pleaser. You’ll spread yourself too thin and find it harder and harder to ultimately push back.

According to a piece published on CareerBliss, there are a few effective ways to tactfully shut the door. First, it’s important to be straightforward and incorporate the word with a regret. Christine Durst, co-founder of RatRaceRebellion and Staffcentrix suggested to the site, “I’m sorry, but I’m just not able to fit that into my schedule.”

Secondly, stay strong and don’t fall into guilt trips! When colleagues lay it on thick they’re swamped or will be out of the office, keep in mind you have deadlines upon deadlines that are quickly approaching. Be prepared for a sob story or two. Sure, their reasons may be warranted and there are certainly times to say “yes” but when it gets repetitive and you’re getting frequent requests, there comes a time to put your foot down.

For another tip, as indicated in the piece, don’t say “maybe.” This word is wishy-washy and lives in the land of gray. Instead, use this as an opportunity to demonstrate your assertiveness with a “no.” No maybes, ‘k?

As for another strategy, in particular as it relates to pushing back to your boss, offer a solution. If your boss just assigned you an extra piece that’s due Tuesday and you’re already crunched with two other pieces, by all means you can say something like, “I can get this done but something else will have to slide. Is there any way another piece I’m working on can have an extension?”

This way, you look like you’re trying to accommodate the request while pointing out it’s not feasible to fit it into your already full workload.

Always tell the truth. In life, in job searching, in everything.

By now you may have heard that Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson allegedly beefed up his resume with both a computer science degree and accounting degree even though he graduated with an accounting degree from Stonehill College. The matter is the resume was falsified and now his integrity is at stake.

Yahoo referred to the mistake as an “inadvertent error” and their board hired outside counsel to review the false statement. Regardless of the outcome, it seems the damage has already been done.

Here’s the thing about fudging a resume, no matter how big or small: It will come back to haunt you at some point. Background checks are in place for a reason and although this wasn’t caught initially, it eventually surfaced. Whatever you do in the job search process, if there’s anything to be learned from all of this, is to always tell the truth. Always be above board — whether it’s a degree, job title, length of employment, employer. Always, always, always.

John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement firm told CNN an “exhaustive” process isn’t always going to capture everything right down to the degree.

One falsification in your career may not seem like a big deal similar to telling someone an innocent little, white lie but in addition to catching up to you, it may inevitably be difficult to escape and in the end. Plus, the initial lie may eventually seem irrelevant to your accomplishments other than tarnishing your integrity. Forever.

The questions speak for themselves: Does the fact that he doesn’t really have a computer science degree impact his role as CEO? Not really. Does the fact that it was falsified reflect his integrity and reputation as a CEO? That would be a resounding yes.

Challenger pointed out in the piece: ”Yahoo hired him for what he’s done in the past five, 10 years. It doesn’t really matter for someone at this point in his career what he did at 22.”

He added, “He may have felt at some point in his career that he needed an extra something — and then he couldn’t get rid of it.”

Here’s an interesting predicament for you. An internal job posting looks enticing so you throw your hat into the ring and go for it! But alas, you don’t end up getting it. Now your boss treats you differently, knows you’re looking to leave and with review time coming up (not to mention salary increases, if any), you’re wondering if you’ll get left in the dust.

According to yesterday’s New York Post, Gregory Giangrande writes, “You first have to analyze how much of this, if any is you projecting….I’ve seen employees fearful of even attempting to transfer out of unwarranted concern, and others who created a self-fulfilling prophecy by acting differently themselves, causing their boss to have a negative reaction, then blaming their boss for reacting to their actions.”

Although certain bosses will certainly be peeved, the key to handling this situation with finesse is having a good old-fashioned honest conversation. He indicates in the piece, “Prevention is the best medicine, so ideally you’d have an open, honest conversation before the process starts.”

That said, after the interview process if things don’t go as planned, the chief human resources officer for Dow Jones recommends ongoing conversations to leverage this situation as a “catalyst for a talk about how to expand your current job. And a reassuring word that it’s not personal and you remain committed never hurts.”

We’ve all been there, right? One colleague completely rubs you the wrong way in the newsroom and as much as you want to put your best foot forward and wear that faux smile, it gets draining (not to mention old).

Thanks to the Harvard Business Review there are three strategies to deal with that irritable colleague without telling him or her to talk to the hand.

For starters, you can focus on the things you can change, not the things you can’t. You can’t change their behavior or thoughts but you can certainly change your own.

Second, it may be tempting to confide in your editor, your colleague in the photo department or a friend in graphics. Don’t do it. According to HBR, “emotions are contagious, so complaining about a co-worker can bring everyone down.” Not only that, talking poorly about someone else may inevitably be a poor reflection on you. Take it out at the gym instead. Find a positive outlet to let off some steam that doesn’t involve giving into the negativity.

Lastly, and in a surprising move, the last tip involves working together. Sure, it may go against the grain of your automatic reaction to avoid the person altogether but the piece points out you may become more empathetic as a result. “You might discover reasons for his behavior: Stress at home, pressure from boss, etc.”

It’s that time of year again! Tomorrow marks the annual workplace field trip for parents and their kids: Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.

According to the official site for the event, tomorrow will mark its 20th anniversary as 37 million kids and parents participate in the day! The site also points out this year’s theme encompasses marking the milestone anniversary through education, empowerment, and experience.

And don’t let the word “our” fool you — even if you don’t have kids of your own, the program encourages inviting other children to participate such as a niece, nephew or neighbor. They don’t necessarily have to be your own offspring to participate and benefit from the experience.

Carolyn McKecuen, president of the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day Foundation, explained to Forbes,  “All daughters and sons should be able to take part in the program. Your child might not want to go to your workplace every year for 10 years in a row. In that case, ask a friend or neighbor or family member who has a job your child is interested in if they would take him or her to work.”

As for the day’s events itself and making the most of it, some companies may have a committee and workplace coordinator to strategically create workshops, office tours, and panels broken down by age group. If the day isn’t specifically structured, parents may want to speak with their children ahead of time to let them know what to expect in terms of shadowing them at their desk, how to introduce themselves to their colleagues, and make observations of the office environment.

In fact, McKeceun suggested to Forbes that parents hold a 20-minute meeting at the end of the day to recap and ask their child about what they learned. “Ask them to write a couple of sentences on what they’ll share with their class the next day. Give them examples or ideas if they need help with their reflection.”

But what if you — um, don’t exactly like your job? What if your kids have no interest in your job whatsoever?

Don’t force them to follow in your footsteps for the day. “A lot of kids don’t necessarily want to follow in their parents’ footsteps,” McKecuen told Forbes. “If that’s the case, have a friend or family member bring your child to his or her workplace.”