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Do Employees Have the Right to Work from Home?

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At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, global workforces experienced a sudden and forced shift into remote work. That experience dramatically shifted expectations and realities for office jobs around the world. Over the last few years, workers have often expressed a preference for working remotely, and in many cases successfully continued to negotiate work from home arrangements as labour market shortages gave employees negotiating power. However, more recent shifts in the economy have resulted in less labour shortages in certain industries, and employers are now increasingly requesting that workers return into the office, at least on part-time basis. This shift was recently highlighted in August 2023 when numerous media outlets reported that even Zoom Videoconferencing requested some of its workers attend the office at least two times per week.[1] This article will explore the rights of both employers and employees when it comes to remote work.

Download Full Article (PDF): Do Employees Have the Right to Work From Home

 

Footnote

[1] Goldberg, Emma. “Even Zoom is Making People Return to the Office.” The New York Times. August 7, 2023. Retrieved online: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/07/business/zoom-return-to-office.html

 

 

4 Principles to Build Trust Between Union and Management

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Trust … a feeling that is often hard to describe in words. We all know what it feels like when we trust someone, and conversely when we feel we are trusted. It becomes more complex when we consider trust in our personal lives vs trust in our work lives. What I have learned over my career is that there should not be a difference between the two – that to be most effective in the workplace (and be trusted) we need to follow the same simple principles that we do at home. In this article, I will focus on how leaders in organizations can effectively build trust with their union leadership and representatives; from my experience in the corporate world, many management leaders struggle with how to do this effectively.

To break it down into parts, I will focus on the principles I have learned to follow when working with unions to build trust in different organizations.

  1. Be authentic in ALL interactions with your union representatives.
  2. Treat the union like employees (as a matter of fact – they are!), not like cost-incurring burdens.
  3. Learn with your union leaders.
  4. Communicate always – don’t wait until it is time to bargain to start working through problems.

1. Be Authentic

This sounds obvious, right? It isn’t. I have coached so many leaders in different organizations on how to communicate and act when dealing with their unions. Leaders often lose their authenticity because they are afraid of saying ‘too much,’ or revealing secrets the union ‘shouldn’t know.’ Being authentic doesn’t mean you have to divulge everything. It means coming across as real, and open. It means ditching the ‘Tiger Suit’ to quote my earliest career mentor Peter Edwards. From my experience, many company leaders still feel it is a big act where they have to put on the tiger suits and let out the big intimidating roars. Put away the suit and try taking the authenticity approach. Don’t just act like you care, CARE.

2. Treat the Union like Employees

Union members are (as a matter of fact) employees. So often the way union employees are talked about in companies can be very divisive and biased. The difference between union and management employees is of course the collective agreement that lays out the terms and conditions of employment, represented by the union team. When leaders make an honest effort at the very top to speak about unionized employees like they are first and foremost employees of the company, it is amazing how this can cascade down through the organization. When a union is continuously spoken about as a cost burden, it can absolutely be heard and felt by those employees in the union. It is tough to quantify the cost that is avoided when leaders can genuinely treat union members as employees first.

3. Learn WITH your Union Leaders

To help build trust and the relationship with union leadership, it can be effective to invite them to share learning experiences. I have experienced this in two different organizations, where sharing the learning you are offering to your management leaders with your union leaders in the same room, can go along way (ie: Queens University Managing Unionized Environments program). Don’t feel you have to limit this to learning events. Invite union leadership and representatives to the table more often where you otherwise wouldn’t. It does wonders for developing relationships and trust.

4. Communicate Always

Communication is the foundation to all of the above. But it is still worth a call-out on its own. I have seen many leaders avoid great opportunities to proactively communicate with union leadership for a variety of reasons. It is far more effective when it is time to bargain if management has had open communication and frequent communication with union leaders. Set up mechanisms to deal with issues as they come in hopes of resolving them early. In my experience when this has been religiously followed, trust naturally is built which makes everything easier from a business perspective. It is no different than communicating with out-of-scope employees or your family at home. Remember – when you think you have communicated clearly and enough – you haven’t.

Trust is about relationships. The biggest downfall I have seen in organizations is leaders not taking the time to want to genuinely build the relationship, which then in turn, builds trust.

 

About the Author

Kathy McCrum is an accomplished HR professional that has worked in a unionized environment throughout her 22-year career. She started her career working for Canadian Pacific Railway where she first was introduced to the labour relations environment.  She held various management/leadership positions. Kathy moved into executive leadership when she made the industry change to heavy equipment. She became VP, HR and Safety for a Caterpillar equipment dealership in Saskatchewan. Following this opportunity, Kathy was brought to the Coop Refinery Complex (FCL) where she led the HR/LR department. She was able to get involved in bargaining for the company, as well as participate in many labour relations learning events that helped shape her approach. In 2017, Kathy moved on to become a member of the SaskPower executive team and was appointed Executive VP HR and Safety. Again, she worked closely with the different union organizations and built relationships and trust.  Most recently Kathy worked very closely with the WestJet pilots union (ALPA) as well as led the airports union to their first ever labour agreement. She is passionate in her beliefs that relationships and trust drive all of it. Whether you work with a union or not, you need to know how to, and honestly be genuine in your interactions with people if you want to be successful.  Currently she is the Executive VP at Trican (an oil and gas well services company).

5 Benefits to Growing Your Team’s Emotional Effectiveness

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In the post-pandemic hybrid world, people are craving reconnection. They are looking to rebuild trust in organizations that look and function differently than they did just a few years ago. Leaders of teams know they must foster new ways of connection among their teams. Growing your leadership team’s emotional intelligence is key to building a connection and managing the increasingly diverse needs of employees, while creating a healthy and engaged organization.

This quote now holds meaning for teams at work:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
   – Margaret Mead, Cultural anthropologist

For the thoughtful, committed teams I have worked with recently, I have observed them having a tremendous experience with each other when they focused on identifying their own level of emotional intelligence, and working to gain an understanding of their own trust-growth opportunities. Then they can leverage trust to have conversations that strengthen their commitment on the team.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is a set of emotional and social skills that collectively establish how well we:

  • Perceive and express ourselves
  • Develop and maintain social relationships
  • Cope with challenges
  • Use emotional information in an effective and meaningful way (2012, Multi-Health Systems Inc.)

To learn more about emotional intelligence, and the importance of it to leaders, please see my previous article:  Emotional Intelligence: How Leaders Can Use it to Their Advantage

5 Benefits to Growing Your Team’s Emotional Effectiveness

In the Queen’s IRC custom “Building Team Trust with Emotional Intelligence” program, leadership teams learn about emotional intelligence, and they explore how that relates to different levels of trust from individual, team, and organizational perspectives.

Below are 5 benefits to teams experiencing this program together. They are highlighted with some of the emotional intelligences:

  1. Understanding Emotional Reactions and Triggers as a Team
    There is value in the group learning together about emotional intelligence when they realize that they aren’t alone in learning how to become more emotionally effective. For example, Emotional Self-Awareness is one of the emotional intelligences that the team benefits from talking about. If a team is able to understand emotional reactions and triggers, then they can benefit from sharpening this understanding. If there is any tension in the team, it could be because there are moments of unawareness of how emotions are impacting the group. The team could put these emotions to positive use instead of being derailed by them.
    “We are similar in our journeys, but sometimes you can feel alone at work.” – team member
  2. Leveraging Empathy
    Training all leaders together creates space for people to step out of their departmental box. All levels of leadership participate including supervisors, managers and the CEO. This program is a customized way to promote open communication and collaboration, which often results in them getting to know each other better. One of the best emotional intelligences to leverage is Empathy, where they get to spend time understanding and appreciating how each other feels. For teams that have a lower score for empathy, it may be beneficial to think about how to ensure group consensus is reached before carrying out a decision; this is especially helpful during times where individuals’ worries or concerns take over instead of gaining an understanding of how decisions can be made that would beneficial everyone. Trust is strengthened in the team as they use empathy as a regular tool to be gaining insights into each other’s perspectives.
    “I experienced growth as a collective and individually…  Helped me to not just think of me, but to think of the team.” – team member
  3. Using Reality Testing
    By experiencing the build of a Trust Fit Plan, the team co-creates solutions to using emotional intelligence to their collective advantage.  Reality Testing is one of the emotional intelligences used by teams who want to honestly rebuild and repair trust. Reality testing is about remaining objective and seeing things as they really are, versus seeing things the way you want to see them. (2012, Multi-Health Systems Inc.)   Teams that can view situations from an objective stay point do strengthen their decision-making ability; however, during stressful times, emotions can impact how realistic they are in approaching challenges. When teams focus on accurately assessing a situation and understanding why the reasons occurred, trust becomes a stronger characteristic of the team.
    “There are opportunities to rebuild together now.” – team member
  4. Building Confidence and Trust
    Team members say they have more confidence in the group after sharing and participating in the discussions. They express feeling ready to do the work that needs to be done by making trust a part of their regular conversations – in other words, this program helps teams to look forward. By doing this work together, it helps teams to identify how to be more emotionally effective with each other, which can result in them finding new ways to do the work. Optimism is an emotional intelligence that teams leverage in order to see the best in people, and it helps to remain hopeful about the future despite challenges and issues. Conflict can be a natural result of diversity, so teams that leverage diversity make better decisions and create more trustworthy workplaces.
    “So much wisdom in this group. Now, I would trust you all in a decision. Ready to embrace a new way of working with each other.” – team member
  5. Developing Interpersonal Trust
    One participant said that this opportunity to be vulnerable in the group during the program was key to her learning experience. During the program, there are many small group break out discussions where team members can openly explore how the organization facilitates trust with their stakeholders too – the program looks outside of the organization’s walls so that teams can see themselves as a collective group who are co-creating for their customers, clients and the public in general. The emotional intelligence at play here is interpersonal relationships which is about creating relationships based on mutual respect and trust. This takes time. This 2-day program fully dedicates the time to learn way more about each other than a normal work environment permits; this is one of the most common elements teams build into their Trust Fit Plans: time and space to stay connected.
    “Free of judgement to learn in this space that is fully dedicated to team trust”. – team member 

Building Team Trust with Emotional Intelligence

This two-day custom program is based on our open enrollment Building Trust in the Workplace program. While many parts of the open program are also included when running in-house training, running custom training for your internal leadership team provides the opportunity for building trust and learning together as a team. Some of the highlights of the program are:

  • Prior to the program, each team member completes a confidential self-assessment online survey.
  • During the program, we explore the different emotional intelligences and participants receive their Individual EI Leadership Self-Assessment report.
  • We share a Group Profile – this provides a lens through which to interpret emotional intelligence (EI) results in a team or group setting. (It combines scores of individual self-assessments which is helpful to learn how they contribute to the collective EI of the team.)
  • Participants diagnose their organization’s current state, and collaborate to design a “Trust Fitness Plan” for their team by using the emotional intelligences.

Phases of Strengthening Team Emotional Effectiveness

As teams work together to strengthen their emotional effectiveness, they will follow these phases:

  1. They learn the Concept of emotional intelligence.
  2. They start to Experiment with the concepts by imaging saying or doing something differently.
  3. After the program, they have an Experience by trying it out and actually saying or do something differently.
  4. They Reflect and think about what it was like having that experience: How did you feel? What did you notice in the other person? Impact? Outcome?
  5. Repeat the phases like a fitness rep. The phases of learning constantly repeat, just like our actions for healthy living, like taking a fitness class. We don’t check off the fitness box and say “well, I exercised, so I am done doing that forever.”  The analogy to fitness is the foundation of the Trust Fit Plan where the team EI repetitions are embedded into how they work together.

For more information on a custom “Building Team Trust with Emotional Intelligence” program, please contact cathy.sheldrick@queensu.ca or find more information on our website: Customized Training

About the Author

Linda Allen-HardistyLinda Allen-Hardisty is an organizational development professional (Queens IRC OD Certificate), an executive coach (ICF PCC professional designation), a team coach (EMCC Global Accreditation), and a Forbes Coaches Council contributing member. She’s built a reputation as a vibrant, contemporary voice in the business world by blending her grounding in OD with a practical approach to addressing organizational challenges and opportunities. With a Masters of Education from the University of Regina, Linda’s uniqueness is that, prior to private practice, she fulfilled corporate leadership roles including the Director of Organizational Development in a company listed on the Hewitt Top 50 Employers in Canada and became the first Manager of Strategy and Performance for a municipal government undertaking cultural transformation. Over her 20-year OD career, she has helped many leaders – from corporate executives to entrepreneurs – improve their personal and professional success. She is a sought-after facilitator and advisor for executive development, strategy and change, team effectiveness, and emotional intelligence.

Linda is the lead facilitator for the Queen’s IRC Building Trust in the Workplace program, which runs in cities across Canada and virtually. She facilitates custom programs with a wide variety of organizations, including union groups, government organizations and private companies.

Back to the Collective Bargaining Table

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The pandemic upended many things about our lives, both in our personal lives and in our workplaces. Collective bargaining was no different. Early in the pandemic, bargaining almost ground to a halt while everyone waited to see what was going to happen; we turned our attention to remote work, vaccine mandates and accommodations. Eventually, we had agreements expiring and had to bargain. Some parties rolled agreements over with little change for a year, hoping it would be over by then. It wasn’t. We have all had to face the reality that we have to negotiate, we have to address important issues, and we have to find a way to do that.

We started bargaining virtually. Zoom, Teams and Webex became important tools, and to our surprise, agreements were reached and it worked. Somehow. It wasn’t our first choice, but we found a way.

Now, with governments everywhere reducing or removing restrictions, it appears that we’re heading back to bargaining in person. At a real table instead of a virtual one. But even if we’re planning in-person negotiations in the near future, we’re not returning to “normal” – that’s still a ways off. We will need to transition, effectively, from a flat screen to sitting across from each other, in three dimensions, for the first time in a few years.

Here are some ideas and considerations to help with that transition.

1.    Plan the bargaining process, jointly, well in advance

In addition to the best practices about establishing ground rules for bargaining, such as data sharing, exchange of proposals, scope of bargaining, etc., there should be clear and detailed agreements around the health and safety of the process specific to COVID. Regardless of anyone’s views of vaccines and mask mandates, many of us have lived with some level of fear and concern of being in a room with other people. That isn’t going to disappear overnight. The more clarity everyone has about the process, how it will be run, what the safety protocols are, the more everyone can relax and focus on why we’re here – negotiating a collective agreement. Establishing the process clearly is best done jointly, and best done weeks before the parties are at the table. This should include clarity on:

  • Location and layout: Where will we meet? How large will the main room be? Will we be socially distancing, and if so, how? Do we need masks for walking in the halls or into the room? How long will joint sessions be? Is there good ventilation in the rooms we’ll be using?
  • Other protocols: In addition to these basic but important questions, what are the protocols we can all agree to if someone appears to have symptoms? What will happen if someone has come into contact with a person who then tests positive? What are we committing to disclose?

The more clarity all parties have around what to expect and what has been agreed, the more productive the bargaining process will be. Bargaining effectively requires focus, and only by first addressing health and safety logistics clearly and directly will everyone be able to focus on the negotiations themselves.

2.    At the table, make extra effort to keep all parties engaged

To make sure everyone stays focused on the issues, each party should make sure they are engaging both their own team members, as well as the other team’s members, effectively. This can be accomplished in a number of ways:

  • First, make sure your own team is paying attention and contributing. This is best done by giving each team member specific duties or activities, such as presenting information on an issue that affects their work area, responding to the other party’s presentation, and using their knowledge and expertise actively at the table. Many chief negotiators seem to live in fear of their own team participating, afraid they may say something “wrong”. We all need to get over this. Accessing the knowledge and experience of our team brings far more benefits than risks. As we sit together at a real table after so much time in isolation, this type of engagement is even more important.
  • Secondly, ask both parties to commit to open discussion and dialogue on every issue. To do this, create “dialogue time” on each issue where parties agree no commitments are or can be made. Use this time for free-wheeling ideas and solutions to be put on the table without fear of committing to anything. The more open dialogue the parties can have, the more engaged everyone will be. And you’ll get far better outcomes, as well.
  • Finally, take more breaks. Do not stay at the table for hours and hours at a time. Meet jointly, address and have open dialogue on a couple of issues, then break for a short time and return. This pattern of shorter joint sessions (perhaps either side of an hour) at the table, then caucus for half an hour, then back to plenary, is a good way to keep energy, focus and momentum in the negotiations. It will help everyone relax into the process, and to build and strengthen their bargaining muscles quickly.

3. Expect unusual responses

The fact is, we’re all a little bit twitchy, a bit jumpy, when it comes to suddenly working face-to-face after all this time in some form of distance and isolation. That’s normal. Our resources for social interactions are depleted. This means that someone, likely more than one person, will react out of proportion to something that happens during bargaining. They will feel the pressure and lose their temper over something, large or small. They will make an inappropriate comment. They will dig their heels in on a seemingly unimportant item. Expect this, and give everyone some of the benefit of the doubt. Instead of reacting equally over the top, take a breath.

Assume best intentions as much as you can. Stop and respectfully name what you see happening. Give them some space to reflect and think about what’s going on for them. Help them prevent the issue or behaviour from escalating. Believe me, you will also need some of that coming back the other way, too!

4. When negotiations are over, do a joint debrief with the other team

This is a best practice that successful parties do anyway, pandemic or not. But now, it takes on an added layer of importance. After a deal is reached and ratified, spend an hour or two with both bargaining teams and talk openly about what worked in the process, and what didn’t work. Discuss what took place and share perspectives.

Take the time to write this all down, capture it, so next round both parties have clear ideas on how to make the bargaining even more effective at the table. This will not only help both teams see the process from the other’s perspective, it will also improve the implementation of the deal just reached. And it will minimize negative assumptions that are often the cause of ongoing friction in the union-management relationship.

Summary

We have an amazing opportunity to take a hard look at how we have bargained in the past, and how we can actually “build bargaining back better”. We have the chance to negotiate better, to use this as a fresh start to actually improve how we bargain. We should never let a good crisis go to waste, as they say, when we have the opportunity to make this important process better all the way round.

About the Author

Gary FurlongGary Furlong has extensive experience in labour mediation, alternative dispute resolution, negotiation, and conflict resolution.  Gary is past president of the ADR Institute of Ontario, is a Chartered Mediator (C. Med.) and holds his Master of Laws (ADR) from Osgoode Hall Law School.  He is the author of The Conflict Resolution Toolbox, John Wiley and Sons, Second Edition 2020; the co-author of BrainFishing: A Practice Guide to Questioning Skills, FriesenPress 2018; and The Sports Playbook, Routledge, 2018. Gary has delivered collective bargaining negotiation skills training for both management and union bargaining teams, bringing a strong focus of effective and collaborative skills to both parties. Gary specializes in leading joint bargaining training for intact negotiation teams just prior to negotiations, with a focus on helping parties maximize joint gains at the table. He also conducts relationship building interventions to strengthen day-to-day union-management effectiveness away from bargaining.

Gary Furlong is the lead facilitator for the Queen’s IRC Negotiation Skills and Managing Unionized Environments programs.

COVID-19 Vaccinations and Workplace Rights: 2022 Case Law Update

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Overview

Last year, there was much discussion on whether or not employers could legally implement mandatory vaccination policies in Canada. In the first part of 2021, COVID-19 vaccines were not readily available to all Canadians, and most employers had not implanted mandatory vaccination policies yet. By August 2021, most Canadian adults had been given the opportunity to become fully vaccinated. In this context, on August 13, 2021, the Federal Government of Canada announced the requirement for all federal public servants to be fully vaccinated by the end of September 2021. The Federal Government also instituted mandatory vaccination requirements for all employees in the federally regulated air, rail and marine transportation sectors by October 2021, while at the same time, requiring vaccination to travel by air or train effective November 2021. After the Federal government took the lead, many Canadian employers followed suit, and there was a rapid influx of mandatory vaccination policies implemented throughout the country in both public and private sectors (including unionized and non-unionized workforces).

There are now several Canadian labour arbitration decisions that consider whether or not mandatory vaccination policies in the unionized context are reasonable and justified. To date, most of these decisions have held that mandatory vaccination policies are reasonable and justified, illustrating an overwhelming consensus that employers can legally implement significant health and safety protections in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, not all policies have been upheld in arbitral law. For instance, in one circumstance a labour arbitrator found a mandatory policy to be unreasonable given that workers could perform work remotely, and other measures (such as testing) could be effective in the absence of vaccination. In all circumstances the context of the workplace, along with the alternative mechanisms in the related policy, will be considered when evaluating the reasonableness of a particular policy.

This article will provide a case law update regarding the legality of vaccination policies in Canadian workplaces, updating a previous article written prior to the emergence of these decisions. While these recent decisions are directly relevant for unionized workplaces, the principles set out are useful for all employers, as the courts may consider similar principles when evaluating mandatory vaccination policies in relevant matters (such as wrongful dismissal claims arising out of the implementation of such policies). The current case law suggests that employers can implement protections against COVID-19 in the workplace, but such protections must be reasonable, balanced and relevant to the particular workplace. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers must continually consider the ongoing changes in public health direction as well as case law, as matters have continued to evolve and change quickly throughout the last two years, and so should each employers’ approach relating to health and safety measures (including mandatory vaccination policies).

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Five Superpowers Every Manager Needs

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Five Superpowers Every Manager NeedsDo you remember the day you became a manager? You were told, “Congratulations, you’re a manager, you start next week! Let us know what you need, and your assistant will have your keys and access card waiting for you.”

Did that amount of support turn you into a respected and effective manager overnight? Probably not. The sad reality is that many new managers do not receive the training, coaching and support they require to excel in their role as people leaders. Learning the ropes for measuring metrics, updating the team schedule, and filing reports on time is administratively important but only part of the managerial picture. Real success comes from mastering the five management superpowers, which are all about navigating human relationships. It does not matter what company you work for, how long you have been a manager, nor what your title is.  These management skills are required to build healthier relationships and increase productivity.

In this article, I will illuminate the five managerial superpowers, why they are important and provide tips for implementing each one.

Think of them as slices of a pie. You wouldn’t bring a housewarming pie that is missing a slice or two, would you? Nor would you want to be a manager who is a few slices short of a superpower pie.

Manager Superpower #1: Know the WAY

Who Are You? Before you can do anything well—communicate, solve problems or be a mentor—you must know who you are. Self-awareness is the first part of being an effective and respected manager. By knowing who you are and your default position for approaching situations, you can work through your limitations and double down on effective strategies.

People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.
  – John Maxwell

To know the WAY, ask yourself these questions (and answer them):

  • What’s my communication style when I’m calm?
  • What’s my communication style when I’m feeling stressed?
  • What’s my understanding of emotional intelligence?
  • How do my emotions influence others? And in what way?
  • What’s my leadership style and does it work? For example, are you an open-door policy person? Do you sit around the table with your team or stand at the front of the table? Do you yell at people in front of others or address individual concerns in private? These are difficult questions to face but answering them shows you the WAY.

Communication skills support all five managerial superpowers so use these communication best practices often:

  • Be brief but specific.
  • Communicate in a positive manner.
  • Express yourself calmly.
  • Engage in active listening.
  • Acknowledge what the other person says without disagreeing.

Manager Superpower #2: Manage Transitions Effectively

Businessman Robert C. Gallagher once said, “Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.” So true! In a workplace context, managers are expected to manage change and transitions even when (and especially when) team members are resistant to the change. Even good change is stressful, and your team will remember how you supported them through change, for better or for worse.

Tips for managing transitions effectively:

  • Understand your own reactions to change. For example, are you overwhelmed by change? Or does it hardly faze you? How flexible and adaptable are you?
  • Communicate clearly and often with employees affected by the change.
  • Listen to employee concerns about the change.
  • Help your team understand why the change is happening and what’s expected of them before, during and after the change.
  • Be strategic, anticipate issues and create a plan for handling them.
  • Manage your own change-related stress so you don’t inadvertently transfer your stress to your team.

As a manager, the first transition to manage is always your own transition into a new role and team. When you become a manager, there are so many unknowns, especially if you’re new to the organization. What happened with the other manager? How were the relationships with the team? Good? Bad? It is important to remember that you and your new team are making the transition together and you are not all starting at the same place. Some people will be thrilled you are there while others will be unhappy about their previous manager’s departure. It can also be difficult to transition from a team member to the team leader. Using the tips above can help you manage these types of transitions.

Manager Superpower #3: Take Ownership

Employees crave leadership so take ownership of your role and your responsibilities as a leader right away. Employees take cues from you, including your emotions and attitudes, which sets the stage for the team culture. How do you want to influence your team? With positivity, enthusiasm and integrity? Or some other way?

Simple ways to take ownership as a manager:

  • Be passionate about your job and enjoy it (or get a new one).
  • Learn about your company’s strategic initiatives and share that information with your team. Too many managers avoid sharing relevant information with their team. This is a wasted opportunity as sharing knowledge builds trust which creates strong relationships.
  • Set standards for team performance and behaviours and help people achieve them.
  • Be or become an effective communicator.
  • Balance the needs of your organization with the needs of your team and make this tightrope act visible to your team (within reason).
  • Be proactive about your own personal and professional development by working with a coach and/or mentor.

If you don’t take ownership of your role, who will?

Manager Superpower #4: Managing Conflict

Self-aware managers know how they deal with conflict and are open to exploring the results they get. Managing conflict is often difficult because most people don’t like it. But it’s the managerial superpower that makes the difference between a good day and developing an ulcer. How do you deal with conflict and what are your typical results? Does your approach generally help or hinder conflict situations? These questions are essential for managers to consider.

There are five styles of conflict management. While it is tempting to label them as the proverbial good or bad, they can all be right—or wrong—depending on the situation.

The five styles of conflict management:

  • Accommodating – You put the other person’s needs before your own.
  • Avoiding – You evade the conflict and hope it goes away on its own.
  • Compromising – You attempt to find a solution that partially pleases everyone involved.
  • Collaborating – You attempt to find a solution that meets everyone’s needs.
  • Competing – You stand firm and don’t consider anyone else’s perspective.

Though some of these styles sound harsh and unproductive, an effective manager knows when to use each of them. For example, a competing conflict management style is appropriate when deciding on workplace safety or compliance protocols. There is no room for compromise when it comes to staying on the right side of the law and avoiding a harassment or worker’s compensation lawsuit.

Employees seem to hate the avoidance style of conflict resolution the most because it assaults people’s ingrained idea of fairness. When someone observes you seeing, hearing and saying nothing about something that’s obvious to everyone else, it kills the team spirit. Of course, sometimes, you must resolve things in a way that looks unfair, such as providing accommodations for one team member. This is yet another reason to develop strong communication skills: they help you navigate tricky situations as logically and transparently as possible.

If you’re uncomfortable with conflict, your conflict resolution skills probably need improvement. That’s okay but you must get help as soon as possible because this is such an important (and common) part of management. Always know, your employees are always watching you. Having poor conflict resolution skills is possibly the fastest way to lose the respect of your team.

Remember the responsibility for developing skills ultimately rests on your shoulders. To increase your conflict management skills, find and use all the resources available to you, including books, internal courses and mentors, or outside professional development. I promise that you will have many opportunities to use the conflict management skills you learn!

Manager Superpower #5: Managing People and Personalities

The first four managerial superpowers are about managing yourself and potentially difficult situations. Now it’s time to talk about the final managerial superpower that brings everything together: managing people effectively. If you don’t have this superpower, your other superpowers won’t be as effective as they could be. (Going back to the pie analogy, you need all the slices to make a whole pie.)

Here are my five tips for managing people effectively:

  1. Know your people – Go beyond names and get to know your team member’s strengths, challenges and career aspirations. When you know your team, you can add value by making connections and helping your people go where they want to go.
  2. Be a supportive coach – Create opportunities for the team to see you as a sounding board and someone who can facilitate career growth and transitions. Coaching allows you to use your listening and observational skills to help your employees optimize their performance and reach their goals.
  3. Provide training and development – Develop a team culture that values training and development opportunities by staying positive about continuous learning. Never frame training as a punishment or your team will quickly devalue any training you provide. Work with the Human Resources team to bring relevant opportunities to your team (and if the budget is tight, consider train-the-trainer sessions).
  4. Be kind – In a world of increased uncertainty, it’s extra important to be kind. When we are stressed or in a hurry, it is easy to forget the niceties that make human interaction meaningful. Kindness also means checking in on people. Is anyone struggling? Are people getting what they need? Skilled managers are kind even when firmness is required.
  5. Look after yourself – Being a manager is rewarding but nobody ever said it was easy! Self-care is rejuvenating and we can only tend to others if we tend to ourselves. Put your hobbies in your calendar and enjoy them. Disconnect from work regularly. Go for a long walk. Create your own professional development plan and work towards it. Taking care of your mental, physical and spiritual needs enhances your life and helps you be a more effective manager.

Leaders reveal themselves through their behaviour. You do not have to be a manager to be a leader, but to be a respected and effective manager, you must be a great leader. By learning and mastering the five managerial superpowers, you will be the best manager you can be.

To learn these managerial superpowers, consider looking into courses such as Building Trust in the Workplace and Managing Unionized Environments.

 

About the Author

Filomena LofrancoFilomena Lofranco is an energetic senior executive with more than 20 years of human resource, finance, and leadership experience in the public sector. Through her countless leadership roles, she has steered the planning and execution of various specialized programs and projects. She has been instrumental in staff development and in driving successful results across a wide range of cross functional teams. Filomena has a proven track record for being passionate about promoting and inspiring a workplace culture that supports physical, psychological, and emotional well-being for all staff and stakeholders.

 

Further Reading

I highly recommend these two books to increase your managerial superpowers:

Reference List

Amaresan, S. (2021, June 9). 5 Conflict Management Styles for Every Personality Type. HubSpot Blog. https://blog.hubspot.com/service/conflict-management-styles 

Bridges, W., & Bridges, S. (2017). Managing transitions: making the most of change (4th ed.). Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

Furlong, G. T., & Harrison, J. (2018). BrainFishing: a practice guide to questioning skills. FriesenPress.

Goodreads. (n.d.). Robert C. Gallagher Quotes (Author of The Express). Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/180697.Robert_C_Gallagher

COVID-19 Vaccinations and Workplace Rights

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Covid-19 vaccinations and Workplace RightsOverview

More than one year ago the COVID-19 pandemic shut down most of the world. Such shutdowns gravely impacted many businesses, and otherwise shifted the landscape of working life for businesses that could legally remain open by providing working from home arrangements (when possible) or by requiring significant protective measures (for essential services). Although there is much speculation regarding how the pandemic might permanently shift working life for some sectors over the coming years (including more work from home positions), the reality is, many jobs can only be performed in person and some employers may prefer their staff attend the workplace for various reasons (such as increased productivity, improved morale, building relationships, and other reasons).

As the Canadian government attempts to ramp up its vaccination efforts, limited vaccine supplies, combined with vaccination hesitancy, have slowed the process. At the same time, Canadian public health officers have recently declared that we are in the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and most recently we are seeing an increase of younger patients hospitalized, gravely ill or even dying as a result of contracting COVID-19. Unfortunately, many of these patients include essential workers (like teachers and factory workers) who may have contracted COVID-19 from workplace exposure.

In this context, Canadian employers must consider what measures can legally be taken to protect their workplace. Employers may be considering various measures such as: social distancing, personal protective equipment (“PPE”) and vaccination requirements. At the same time, some employees may have strong opinions or views on why they do not wish to get vaccinated. Other workers may have religious reasons or health related issues that preclude them from getting vaccinated. With all of these considerations, many employers and employees alike want to know their legal rights relating to the imposition of workplace vaccination rules. Balancing COVID-19 protections with workers’ rights is a difficult and unprecedented circumstance that many employers will face in the coming months. This article will discuss legal issues and considerations relating to implementing requirements or policies around COVID-19 vaccinations in Canadian workplaces and other related solutions to consider when trying to protect the workplace from a COVID-19 outbreak.

Please see the updated version of this article, published on Feb 10, 2022: COVID-19 Vaccinations and Workplace Rights: 2022 Case Law Update 

The Myth of Body Language as a Credibility Assessor

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The Myth of Body Language as a Credibility AssessorWorkplace investigators and human resource professionals should be cautious of relying on the body language of a witness to evaluate their credibility during an investigation.

Fact-finding investigations, especially in cases of harassment, at times turn into an evaluation of one person’s version of events versus another’s, or as some call it, the “he said, she said” dilemma. In these cases, assessing the credibility of the two parties may be the easiest way the investigator can come to any defensible determination relative to credibility. When making a judgement on credibility, evaluating a person’s body language can be tempting and is often supported by many human resource professionals and workplace investigators in Canada. However, the empirical research shows that relying on body language is not a helpful method for evaluating credibility.

To clarify, body language, in the context of this article, includes both verbal cues (speech hesitations, stuttering, voice pitch, and inflections) and non-verbal cues (no eye contact or eye movement in certain directions, fidgeting, and overall nervousness).

What does the research say?

Body language is often referred to in investigation reports when credibility is being determined by the investigator. However, the link between honesty/dishonesty and body language is tenuous. Meta-analyses and experimental studies in the field of deception detection found that neither verbal nor non-verbal cues act as reliable predictors of deception. In other words, there is no conclusive evidence to warrant investigators relying on body language when making judgements on a person’s credibility.

Specifically, Bond and DePaulo (2006) conducted a meta-analysis regarding body language as a predictor of deceitful behaviour and found no relation between the two. In a separate meta-analysis conducted by Sporer and Schwandt (2007), twelve observable behaviours, including eye blinking, gaze aversion, postural shifts, hand movements, etc., were reviewed, and none were found to be correlated with deception. Three additional studies conducted by Wiseman et al. (2012) evaluated whether eye movement is a useful predictor of lying, with all three concluding it was not a useful predictor at all.

Lastly, in the book Talking to Strangers (2019), author Malcolm Gladwell concludes we are not skilled at “reading” others. He quotes a study based on over 550,000 arraignment hearings in New York City between 2008 and 2013. Of these 550,000 hearings, New York City judges released slightly more than 400,000 defendants on bail. A computer program released 400,000 defendants based on the same information that the judges had, including the defendant’s record, age, and what happened the last time the defendant was released. This study pitted man against machine – who would make the better decisions?

Interestingly, the defendants that the computer released were 25% less likely to commit another criminal offense while on bail than those actually released by the judges. The one difference was the judges saw the defendants and factored their impression of the defendants into their decision making. This result is significant and further supports the conclusion that we lack the skills necessary to accurately “read” another person’s body language.

The above studies indicate that body language is not a reliable predictor of honesty/ dishonesty and cannot be relied on to determine the credibility of a witness in a workplace investigation. Non-verbal cues such as eye contact, foot movement, and fidgeting and verbal cues such as speech errors and longer response times do not hold up as indicators of deception.

Why is this research important?

Research shows that relying on body language to assess credibility can be a flawed approach and that body language provides no greater predictive power of honesty/dishonesty than chance. When interviewing a person whose body language suggests that they are being dishonest, ask yourself, where is that assumption coming from? Is dishonesty the best explanation for their behaviour or are other factors at play?

There can be many reasons for certain body language to appear from a witness during a workplace investigation, but why does it appear? Most Canadians will not be involved in a workplace investigation during the course of their careers. When someone finds themselves involved in one, it is only natural for them to be nervous or fearful of the process. This anxiety about the investigative process may explain why some witnesses may appear less than truthful to the investigator when what they actually are is nervous.

Conclusion

It is tempting to believe we can tell when someone is not being honest. We sometimes infer the dissonance in their mind must be somehow reflected in their body. The reality is simpler yet more inconvenient: It is difficult to determine what other people are thinking, and there is little we can do to change this. Workplace investigators are, therefore, charged with sorting through the ambiguity to come to a well-reasoned assessment of the facts.

Relying on an evidence-based practice is paramount to building defensible conclusions. For reliable predictors of honesty/dishonesty, look to more concrete factors such as the following:

Determining the Plausibility of the Witness’s Story
Does the version of events offered by the witness make sense? Does the story “hang together” given the circumstances surrounding the event that they describe? Is the story consistent with what a reasonable person would see as normal in that situation?

Does the Witness have Motive?
Does the witness have any motivation for the investigator to believe their version of events? Are they motivated to lie to the investigator? Typically, if a witness has no motivation to lie about their story, they are likely more reliable.

Can the Witness’s Story be Corroborated?
Is the witness’s version of events corroborated by others? Is the witness’s story coherent with the versions offered by others interviewed? Having corroborating evidence is powerful and can go a long way in determining a witness’s credibility.

What is the Past Record of the Witness?
Reviewing the past record of a witness can be a helpful way to assess the possibility that the witness may attempt to mislead the investigator. This may include reviewing the witness’s disciplinary record for situations where their credibility may have been called into question.

In the final analysis, the evidence is clear – we must not rely on body language to assess credibility. Rather, workplace investigators must be diligent and earnest in relying on facts over feelings, beware of our biases, and to be ready to challenge our assumptions about people.

About the Author

Devan Corrigan
Devan J. Corrigan is the Founder and Principal of Corrigan HR Consulting which provides consultancy services in the area of human resources and labour relations. He is often called upon to conduct workplace investigations in both the provincial and federal jurisdictions. Devan holds an Honours degree in Psychology from Saint Mary’s University and a Master of Industrial Relations from Queen’s University.

 

 

References

Bond, C.F., & DePaulo, B.M. (2006). Accuracy of deception judgements. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10(3), 214–234.

Gladwell, M. (2019). Talking to strangers: What we should know about the people we don’t know. Little, Brown and Company.Sporer,

S.L., & Schwandt, B. (2007). Moderators of nonverbal indicators of deception: A meta-analytic synthesis. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 13(1), 1–34.

Wiseman, R., Watt, C., ten Brinke, L., Porter, S., Couper, S. L., et al. (2012). The eyes don’t have it: Lie detection and neuro-linguistic programming. PLOS One, 7(7), e40259. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0040259

 

Best Practices for Returning to the Workplace

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Best Practices for Returning to the WorkplaceThere are many unanswered questions about Canadian workplaces as we look toward reopening offices. The well-established principles and guidelines that employers, unions and employees have followed for many years will certainly help navigate this process. That said, this pandemic takes us into new and uniquely uncharted waters that may well shift some or all of these principles as we move forward. This article will look at the frameworks in place today, as well as best practices for boldly going where few workplaces have gone before.

Management Rights

An important principle is the idea of management rights, in both union and non-union workplaces. Following this principle, employers, for example, have the right to determine work location – remote, in-office, or a mix. In most collective agreements, for example, the management rights clause typically allows management to set all aspects of the work and workplace, unless specific language has been negotiated in the collective agreement. In non-union workplaces, this right can only be constrained by language in individual employment contracts.

This is, of course, not a blanket right – employers cannot violate employment standards legislation or labour laws, nor use this right in any way that is arbitrary, discriminatory, or done in bad faith. Practically speaking, however, if the employer decides they want the workforce to return from remote work to working in the office, they have a right to this.

It would be a mistake, however, for employers to focus too heavily on these rights as a way to make effective decisions for the organization. As a famous saying goes, “Just because you have the right to do something does not make it the right thing to do.” In addition, this right comes along with some significant obligations.

Embracing Emotions in the Workplace

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Embracing Emotions in the WorkplaceDuring one of our Strategies for Workplace Conflicts programs, a participant commented that she told her staff that she didn’t “DO emotion!” I really appreciated her forthright statement which led to a valuable discussion about the place of emotion in the workplace. How do we handle the expression of emotion? Are emotions welcome or not? How do we handle an emotional outburst in a meeting or deal with strong negative emotions between two co-workers in conflict? How do we deal with our own emotions?

Emotions are part of being human. We are wired to feel. Many of us are not in close touch with our feelings, often because of our upbringing. Are you familiar with the phrase “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all!”? Emotions can spring up suddenly and may pass just as quickly. Yet, if they are not dealt with, they may fester and intensify.

Consider your workplaces during the pandemic. Can you name some of the emotions that you are experiencing? What about your employees or team members? I’m guessing that fear, frustration, loneliness, grief, and exhaustion may be present. There may also be some positive emotions such as relief (from avoiding long commutes for example).

In this article I’m suggesting something that may seem counter intuitive. Rather than avoiding or squelching the expression of these emotions, try leaning in and welcoming them into your workplace.

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