Tag Archives | respect

An example of gender-based stereotyping

By on January 25, 2012 in Our Blog

We know gender-based stereotypes persist, right?  At least that’s what statistics suggest.  A mere 3.6% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women.  When it comes to Fortune 501-1000 companies, women represent 3.5% of the CEOs.  And, women continue to earn $0.81 for every dollar a man makes.  These numbers do not necessarily translate into discrimination.  It could be, for example, that women typically don’t negotiate their starting salaries, while men do.  But something seems to be going on, and claims of gender discrimination in the workplace certainly show no signs of abatement.

A friend of mine traveled to Chicago last weekend.  There was a major winter storm going on and the plane actually turned back to Cleveland three times before eventually landing safely at O’Hare.  Passengers were understandably anxious.  The normally 45 minute flight took about five hours in total, including a couple of de-icing episodes.  My friend relayed that the pilot happened to be a woman.  She overheard a few male passengers loudly complain to the flight attendants (also female) about the pilot’s gender.  ”Why is a woman flying this plane?” one demanded to know.  One flight attendant in particular defended her sistren, claiming she was one of the airline’s top pilots.  Sure enough, when it came time to land, the pilot maneuvered the plane so expertly that my friend did not even realize they had touched down.  As the passengers exited the plane, many stopped to thank the pilot for her good work, including the obstreperous male passenger, who apologized for his remarks.

What do I make of this anecdote?  Stereotypes persist, whether subtle or overt.  The best way to deal with them is head on.  In other words, train: respect in the workplace training is a great investment, as it raises awareness in an engaging, non-threatening way.

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Managing 101: Sometimes employees just need to be heard

By on September 28, 2011 in Our Blog

In a training session I conducted earlier this week an employee interrupted the introduction to say, quite loudly, that he was upset with something his manager said on the way to the presentation.  Despite requests to table the issue for later, the employee became extremely agitated, raised his voice, and insisted on having his say.  He did finally settle down after I threatened to send him out of the training room, and the “respect in the workplace” session proceeded as planned.

The next day I saw another manager who had witnessed the incident.  She told me that after the session, when the employees were back at work, she approached the employee and asked how he was doing.  He started to gripe again, but just for a moment.  Then he looked up at the manager and said “thank you; I really appreciate your asking.”  She asked if he was having a bad day; he replied he was.  He again thanked her and went back to work.  Problem solved.

The lesson?  Sometimes employees just need to be heard.  My training session was not the appropriate forum for this employee, but a savvy manager found a way to make a connection.  And it worked.

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“You’re Jewish? Well I bet you’re ok anyway.”

By on September 20, 2011 in Our Blog

I was conducting a “respect in the workplace” training session for a client yesterday.  An employee who showed up early greeted me with this doozy.  Was I offended?  Not at all.  The employee, who had some kind of a mental disability, meant no harm at all.  He was perfectly friendly, going out of his way to greet each person who walked into the room.  I always advise employees not to make comments about protected categories of co-workers (such as religion).  An employee referencing someone’s religion is almost always a very bad idea.  Sometimes, though, context matters.  In this situation, this was no time to get offended.  Instead, I tried to gently suggest that such a conversation was not a good idea.  Then, I crossed my fingers and hoped he learned something from my presentation.

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Respect in the Workplace: Legally Required (and does it really matter)?

By on August 11, 2009 in Our Blog

In yesterday’s Ohio Employer’s Law Blog, Jon Hyman discussed a recent Ohio case, Hidy Motors v. Scheaffer, in which an appellate court sent an age harassment claim back to trial, overturning the trial court’s summary dismissal of the case.  The plaintiff, a 67-year old salesman, was repeatedly referred to as “old man” by his supervisor.  In particular, he was subjected to the following comments:

  • When the general manager would walk behind Sheaffer he would repeatedly say, “Come on old man, pick up your feet.”
  • After Sheaffer told the general manager that a couple wanted to go home and think about buying a car, the general manager told him, “Come on old man, get your f****** head out of your f****** ass and go out there and slam them.”
  • Referring to Sheaffer, the general manager directed another sales person to help the “old man” close a deal.
  • In discussing a disagreement over a sales bonus, the general manager told Sheaffer, “Old man, I don’t give a f*** what you think. That’s the way it is going to be.”
  • After a child spilled some water on the floor, the general manager told Sheaffer, “I’ve heard that’s what happens when you get your age – you can’t control yourself.”

Jon Hyman’s take on the case was that the above comments may well have constituted bullying and a poor management style, but they most likely did not rise to the level of illegal harassment, despite the court’s ruling.  He may well be right.  But to me, this case offers employers an opportunity to ask themselves a different question.  What kind of workplace do they want and will they tolerate?  Illegal or not, a high-level employee teasing a subordinate about his age in what can only be described as a mean-spirited fashion (who among us would laugh if teased by our boss about our bladder control?), should simply not be accepted in the workplace.  

Our advice?  Create a culture of respect.  Do this by having strong anti-harassment and discrimination policies, training on them, and publicizing a complaint procedure.  At the end of the day, employers should not be worrying about whether certain conduct is illegal or simply obnoxious.  They should be focusing on the business at hand.

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