HR Pointers

Employee stress has been at an all-time high recently and that may not change any time soon. I think that for most of us, it’s been a day by day process of coping with things as they come, with some days being easier or harder than others. The normal day in and day out has its’ own challenges, but the challenges we’ve experienced and have yet to in 2020 are of epic proportions and of course something we weren’t prepared for. How do you handle it when employees start to crash and burn?

Have you ever had the job interview from hell? I have, and it changed the way I look at interviewing forever, whether I’m the one doing the interviewing or the one in the hot seat being interviewed. Here’s what happened.

Since the beginning of 2020, the world of work has changed dramatically….a bit of an understatement - but what an incredible pivot for a lot of businesses! There’s been a lot of creativity and acceptance for new ways to work and places to work from. Undoubtedly there are some businesses that due to their nature don’t have the option of changing the way they operate but for many, business found a way to carry on.

At any given time, you probably have a squeaky wheel in your midst. An employee that has devoted themselves to making life difficult – their life, your life and undoubtedly their co-worker’s lives. Most of the time, these folks are marginal performers – they do just enough not to lose their jobs but are not always dependable. They may have “toes on the line” attendance issues, barely escaping termination by a hair. At the same time, they typically will have an issue they are unhappy about that at any moment could be escalated – not necessarily because there is merit to it, but the perception is there. If that isn’t the case, they will attach themselves to someone else’s issue and stir the pot there just to keep that disgruntled energy boiling. Ringing any bells?