Part Three of a Three-Part Series The conclusion of this series on integrating our work and personal lives focuses on the changing nature of work—when we work, how we work, and how others around us deal with it. Part One of the series was What is Work Life Integration? and Part Two was Work Team…
Personal Boundaries
The Snowball Effect: When Small Workplace Offenses Grow Out of Control
In my blog post, Avoid Snappy Comebacks with Snarky Comments, I advised workplace professionals to resist the urge to lob snarky retorts in response to a co-worker who’d just dished up the same. Human Resources executive Jay Kuhns remarked, “Small comments can turn into big problems so quickly. Great advice, Jennifer. ” Jay’s comment brought…
How to Deal with People Who Suck
People are programmed to help each other out. Social psychologists call this socialized behavior reciprocity and it’s evident in all human civilizations. In the United States, we have familiar phrases to describe this aspect of human behavior: “he gave as good as he got”, “one good turn deserves another”, and “you scratch my back, I’ll…
Just Not With Their Ears
The following post is written by one of my mentors Sarah Gutek, a former Human Resources Executive. It’s a delight to have her contribute to The People Equation. Does this scenario sound somewhat familiar? You’re getting ready to go into a staff meeting when Esther from accounting reminds you to make a big point to…
Boundaries of Fearlessness
In his book Linchpin Seth Godin draws a distinction between the words fearless and reckless. Fearless people, he says, are “unafraid of things one shouldn’t be afraid of.” They push through any imagined “threat” to make a presentation to a difficult customer or conduct a challenging conversation with an underperforming employee. On the other hand,…