HR Management & Compliance

Holiday Familiarity … At What Point Do Managers Lose Respect?

During the holidays, traditional lines of workplace authority become blurred, and respect for management authority can be the victim. Here are some do’s and don’ts to maintain it … at holiday time and anytime.

Holiday season is here, and we all know what that means, don’t we? Why, you can hear the strains of “Silver Bells” wafting over the workplace P.A. system, right now—that, plus the sound of corks popping and plastic cups being lifted at holiday parties.

We all know what that means, too. Once again, we face the question of just how friendly managers should get with their employees. At what point … or after how many drinks … do workers start to lose respect for the people they’re supposed to follow into business battle each day?

This question has added relevance since the publication of a recent study by the Reason Foundation, a libertarian group, and The Journal of Labor Research. The study reported that those who drink with workmates actually advance in business. They generate more charisma, enlarge their circle of contacts, and, in the end, make between 10 and 14 percent more money than those whose elbows remain unbent when with co-workers.

The prevailing attitude, however, seems to be that if you need to drink with others in the workplace, extreme moderation is the watchword. “People tend to have looser lips if they’ve had a few drinks,” says Jennifer Sullivan of CareerBuilder.com. “You can get yourself into trouble.”

Right and Wrong Turns on the Road to Respect

Authors Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio, in their book, The Girl’s Guide to Starting Your Own Business, and others, too, have generated a list of do’s and don’ts to maintain worker respect for their leaders, not only at holiday time, but all the time. A few of these suggestions:

–Set a Good Example in Your Workplace Behaviors. Don’t come late and leave early, or you can expect your workers to do the same.

–Never Ask Workers to Do Personal Errands. That’s not what they’re paid for, and it creates ill will toward the boss. How would you feel if your boss asked you to “run around the corner and pick out a present for my better half, would you?”?

–Keep Your Personal Life Personal, and vice versa. Workers don’t need to hear your personal phone conversations. (Say anything embarrassing and it’ll be around the office at the speed of light!) You’re also not a repository for their problems at home or in the dating world. Serious domestic problems should be taken to HR, where employee assistance programs and referrals to professional resources are often available.

–Stay Out of Emotional Territory. Conversations with workers, no matter how heated or important the subject matter, should always be calm, reasonable, and businesslike. And if the subject is criticism, talks should always be conducted in private. Nothing kills respect faster than the feeling that the boss is out of control.

–Don’t Be so Self-Important That You Can’t Help Out. When the crunch is on and a big project is due, join in and do some of the heavy lifting. Having workers see you in the trenches alongside them will build both their morale and their pride in you as a leader.

–Take the Hit if Something Goes Wrong. Nothing costs a manager respect more than passing the buck to workers. The captain is always responsible for everything that happens on the ship.

–Let Your Workers Do Their Work. Managing is one thing, interfering is quite another. Don’t be like the owner of a small factory in Connecticut whose workers bought him a ticket for a tour of the world. Why? He was doing everyone’s jobs for them and it was the only way to get him out of their hair!

“Guide, cajole, pester,” say Friedman and Yorio. “Don’t suffocate.”

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