ARTICLE ARCHIVE
Steps To Security:
How The Best Managers And Employees Keep Their Jobs
Separating The Little Stuff From The Big Stuff
By Connie Podesta
Doctors and staff alike should keep their personal lives personal. In most cases staff members should not bring their personal problems into the office. In times of stress people tell secrets that they would not ordinarily tell. Employees who share too much of their private lives will be faced with two consequences: 1.) You will get advice you don't want, and 2.) people may use your confession against you.
There are situations, however, when the employee should go to the doctor or office manager. A death in the family, divorce or illness may temporarily hinder work performance. Efficiency slides, phone calls aren't returned and interaction with patients and fellow employees is short or strained. In this case, the personal problem is traumatic enough to affect work and management needs to know. Communicating about these problems can help resolve the short-term effects on your work.
Management Or Therapist?
The entire office staff needs to keep in mind that office managers and doctors are usually not qualified or even licensed to give psychological advice. Lending an ear or acting as a sounding board is one thing, but friendly counseling in serious matters is dangerous territory in a professional medical office. We live in a litigious society and lawsuits are very common. It seems as if everyone is suing someone. It is unbelievable to me the kind of personal advice managers are giving to employees. They are being legally careless.
Doctors and office managers should keep a list of available resources to help employees with personal matters.
An Age Of Victims
During the 1940s, 50s and early 60s, businesses were based upon a hierarchical model. This was a "Do what you are told to do!" top-down management era. Job satisfaction and happiness were not considered rights and you were supposed to work and go about your life without complaining.
Later on in the 1960s, the credo, "If it feels good, do it!" came along and the workplace began to change. The focus was on the individual, with practically a disregard for other people. During this decade and the one that followed, businesses strove to make their employees happy. We went from one extreme to the other.
Despite the efforts of business management, by the early 1980s most employees described themselves as unhappy at work. If they had to stay even 10 minutes later than usual, they became angry. As a result, consumers became dissatisfied with the way they were being treated by these unhappy workers.
The business world's solution to the growing consumer dissatisfaction was to bring in "experts" to train employees how to treat others politely. Paying an employee to learn basic manners and respect for others does not sit well with me, and I look forward to the end of the Age of Victims. You can distinguish yourself from the complaining mob by embracing etiquette and ethics. When two employees have the same technical ability, the one who is most professional and courteous is the one who survives.
Evaluation And Excuses
Management's biggest weakness, is a lack of courage to appropriately, consistently and fairly evaluate the people under their leadership. An employee should know where they stand at any given minute, not just once a year.
One of two things will happen when proper evaluations are done: 1.) remediation—an employee will be coached and trained to become more productive, or 2.) termination—an employee is determined to be inadequate and the record of evaluations provide the documentation to justify letting this employee go.
It is a poor excuse to keep a poorly performing employee because you cannot fire them. The law simply requires proof and documentation of just cause and due process. An employer who can't fire someone is a manager who has not done a consistent job of documentation in a way that will stand up in court.
Communication being a two-way street, employees who are unsure of their responsibilities need to ask management for clarification. Too often employees choose to learn by osmosis or go through the motions without having a clear understanding of what is expected of them.
Connie Podesta, MS, LPC, CSP, is the Director of the Interpersonal Skills Department of Building the Power Practice. She was an educator for 15 years at all levels from junior high to major universities. She has served as Director of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Director of Staff Relations at a large community hospital. Ms. Podesta conducts workshops and training seminars for health care organizations and is a popular speaker at major dental seminars throughout the country. For more information or to schedule a speaking engagement, call 972-596-5501.
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