An interesting piece of research on what Australian employees think of GPS tracking in the workplace published by the mobile time sheet application company TSheets. While the sample size is not enormous (500 respondents), there are some interesting results that show differences between perceptions and reality. Of those who had not been tracked, 47% said they viewed…

The art of avoiding and resolving workplace conflict – Some practical measures for managers Mary Parker Follett famously described management as “…the art of getting things done through people.” The choice of the word art, not science, serves as a reminder that avoiding and resolving workplace conflict, surely a component of great management, is a similar…

Beware of focusing on personality and presentation Increasingly popular recruitment practices that focus on candidates’ personality and presentation carry greater discrimination risks, HR specialists warn. Most employers are now familiar with the concept of unconscious bias, but Australian Human Resources Professionals (AHRP) psychologist and international facilitator Glenda May says she is “really anxious” about emerging…

Around Australia, and indeed the world, workplaces are experiencing great change. As the number of mobile workers increases and companies downsize, internal dynamics are also changing. Engagement amongst employees is also waning. In 2016 a study by Aon Hewitt found that around 8 percent of employees are ‘workplace prisoners’ – employees who stay on at…

How widespread is Affinity bias and Stereotype bias in your workplace? James Judge and Glenda May suggest these forms of unconscious bias might be doing more damage than you’re aware of! As we strive for equality and diversity in our workplaces, it becomes even more critical to understand the impact of unconscious bias in the…

A measure all organisations should implement to better manage workplace conflict is to have: concise grievance policies and processes, written in plain language, that are regularly updated, and emphasise a range of options and stages in the handling of conflict. The setting of timeframes, defined roles and proper procedural fairness considerations are also critical from…

The latest annual State of the Service report from the Australian Public Service Commission found that 1 in 6 APS workers had been bullied or harassed in the 2015-2016 year, with the worst perpetrators being colleagues or senior personnel. Verbal abuse was the most commonly reported form of harassment or bullying, followed closely by interference…

Who hasn’t struggled at some stage with challenging relationships in the workplace? It could be your boss, a subordinate or even someone from another area of your organisation that you have to work with to get a specific project completed. When you consider that most of us spend around 50% of our waking hours at…

As part of our commitment to keeping leaders abreast of topical issues impacting on the world of work, we are presenting a session on the Workplace Implications of Family Violence at the ACT office of the Australian Institute of Management (AIM) on Tuesday 13th of September. Domestic and family violence is a significant and ongoing…

We were approached by an organisation planning the graduated return to work of a senior staff member after an absence of around half a year. This absence was brought about because of a psychological injury that the employee had sustained at work. Psychological injuries are some of the most prevalent, lengthy and expensive to resolve.…