Blog

Frontline Supervisor: Substance Abuse and the Workplace

Q. One of our reputable employees was hospitalized and later shared his story of addiction to heroin. I was floored. The employee never showed any symptoms and didn’t look anything like a street person. There was an absenteeism problem, but I never dreamed it was drugs. Is this rare?

Frontline Supervisor: Employee Morale & Motivation

Q. My employee does not like her job, but she is good at it. I don’t have another position for her, and she doesn’t want to quit. Her morale is not very good. Sometimes her attitude is poor. Is there a way to help her feel more joy in her position?

Frontline Supervisor: Becoming a Better Manager

Q. My boss called me a stress-monger after some of my employees complained about my hard-charging style. I am not as bad as these employees have made me out to be. If others get stressed because I push them to excel, why is that my problem?

Frontline Supervisor: Alcohol & Your Employees

Q. I will be confronting my employee about the smell of alcohol on his breath in accordance with our reasonable suspicion policy. Can you offer any quick tips prior to my meeting?

Frontline Supervisor: Stress and the Workplace

Q. Every workplace is different, so specific strategies for managing stress vary, but what should we focus on as managers to help employees reduce stress? How do we come up with a list of things to try?

What You Can Do About Workplace Bullying

Have you ever encountered a bully in your workplace? If so, you are not alone.  “Workplace Bullying,” actually a term borrowed from the British and introduced to Americans in 1997 by the Workplace Bullying Institute, has been defined as malicious abusive conduct. It is a non-physical form of workplace violence. Bullying involves deliberate wrongdoing and undermines work. 

Frontline Supervisor: How to Deal with Downsizing

Q. How can I support employees who remain after downsizing? Many relationships were lost, and grief and anger exist. Will this situation eventually right itself? Perhaps I should make myself scarce because I represent management, the target of their anger.

Frontline Supervisor: Performance Appraisals

Q. Some of my employees have not had performance evaluations in several years, including some of my more difficult workers with attitude problems. I'm sure some connection exists between the lack of an evaluation and their behavior, but shouldn't self-control reign in mature workers?

Frontline Supervisor: Effective Documentation

Q. How can I be better at documentation? I’ve been criticized for not sticking to the facts when I write, but if one of my employees demonstrates a continual pattern of conflict with others, I would say the “facts” are that the employee has a conflict-ridden personality.

Frontline Supervisor: Employees’ Health Problems

Q. I suspect that an employee has an eating disorder, but it’s not affecting her performance. Still, I’m concerned about her well-being. Is my suspicion sufficient to make a supervisor referral to BJC EAP?

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