Before
it's too Late
Whether it’s the desire for a promotion,
unsatisfactory salary and benefits or frustrating
workplace politics, we all have our reasons for wanting
to leave a company. A recent survey conducted by The
Nierenberg Group, in conjunction with New York
University’s Management Institute, asked 900
working professionals what it would take for them to
reconsider staying at a job they planned to leave.
Results show there was no one response that
dominated the poll. However, 24 percent would stay if
there were more opportunities for advancement. An
increase in salary and benefits would persuade 22
percent, while better recognition of contributions would
make 20 percent reconsider. Change in management and
making the job more exciting came in last with 17 percent
each.
Creator of the survey Andrea Nierenberg says,
“The results tell us that when people have reached
the ‘end of their rope’ at a job, there is no
easy fix from management to keep them.”
It is important for employers to recognize
the need to monitor the effectiveness of their training
and incentive programs by making them equitable, yet
flexible. In addition, employees need to speak up about
their dissatisfaction before it’s too late in their
minds.
Desk Rage
It has sparked countless debates across the country,
it’s plastered over prime-time television, famous
musicians preach it over the radio waves and now
it’s invading your office: violence.
Cramped office quarters, one of the most
recent after-effects of the economic boom of the last
decade, are now taking the blame for a new phenomenon,
“desk rage.” According to a recent article in
the Wall Street Journal, a survey completed by the Marlin
Co., North Haven, Conn., reported that, “forty-two
percent of office workers said they had jobs in an office
where yelling and verbal abuse happened
frequently.”
While recounting the details of the latest
shouting match or fistfight may provide just the
entertainment needed to fire-up Monday water
cooler-conversations, it is important to make sure these
situations don’t elevate out of control. Several
tell-tale signs can help to tip you off that a coworker
may be approaching dangerous levels of anxiety. Experts
recommend watching for employees that frequently come to
work late or not at all. Those who feel they can’t
get a break at work will give themselves one instead.
Colleagues who obsess over insignificant matters may also
pose a potential problem. This may show they can no
longer handle the “big picture.”
Good Employee, Bad
Manager
What do you do when an ultra-talented employee turns out
to be a mediocre manager? You don’t want to lose
the employee’s talent; after all, he or she was
promoted to a managerial position for a reason. But you
can’t let other employees suffer under the power of
a micromanager. So where’s the answer that makes
everyone happy?
According to a recent article in the Wall
Street Journal, this situation can turn into quite a
balancing act. On the one hand, you want to avoid hurting
the manager’s feelings. On the other, you have to
make sure the situation is handled. So, do you tell the
manager about the level of incompetence, or do you sugar
coat the situation by offering an alternative,
non-managerial position with improved compensation,
benefits, etc.?
Several professionals who have dealt with
this have similar resolutions. The best first-step
involves monitoring the situation. Once a problem spot is
identified, let the manager know there is a potential
problem and you plan to watch for improvements in style.
Be careful not to come off as insulting. This could hurt
your relationship with an otherwise valuable employee. If
no progress is noted within a month or so, don’t
criticize the manager; just let him or her know that they
aren’t fitting into the position. Find a position
that better utilizes their proven skills and offer it as
a replacement. Remember, it’s possible your
struggling manager is as discouraged as you and will
breathe a sigh of relief in the new position.
One Number for
All
Do you feel like you’re adding a new number to your
business card every year? Several years ago we added fax
numbers, then came e-mail addresses and next we all got
cell phones. We now have four or five addresses at which
our colleagues can reach us. A new innovation may allow
us to erase all other numbers and leave just one—a
phone number.
The idea called “Enum” is working
its way into the Internet and (according to the Wall
Street Journal), promises to let us send e-mails, simply
by using the recipient’s phone number.
The system will convert a telephone number
into a unique Internet address, which would have an entry
to the Internet’s domain-name service. This would
make corporate connections through cyberspace virtually
free.
With the new concept of tapping the Internet
from cell phones or attaching e-mails to faxes, this is
another way of saving money with cheap Internet phone
calls. It sounds simple, but Enum will require support
from Internet and phone companies.
Some are skeptical of the system. Mike
O’Dell, the chief scientist at WorldCom’s
UU-Net unit, feels it is dangerous to tap into the
Internet’s phone book. “The fastest way to
kill the domain-name service is to overload it with
things it wasn’t designed to do,” he says.
“And if it breaks, the Internet is
down.”
Whether or not the program catches on, it
serves as a reminder that the evolution of the Internet
continues on, despite the recent dot-com
downfall.
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