Rainn Wilson (Dwight) has been all over the place lately promoting his new movie and the new season of The Office. One of his more interesting appearances in the media was a Business Week article in which he was interviewed about “office jobs from hell.” It was interesting to learn that Rainn used to work at an insurance broker’s office and as an assistant to the assistant special events coordinator at a charity before becoming famous.
Rainn talked about the cruelty of fluorescent lights (suggesting that we send prisoners of war to a 60-hour workweek at an insurance company in Omaha) and a particularly “toxic” boss he had. Oddly, Rainn raised a good point, not about bear attacks like his alter ego Dwight would do, but about the dangers of a poisonous environment at work.
We’ve dealt with people at the office whose attitude and actions have led to an unhappy, or even intolerable situation. These circumstances are tough to deal with because often there is no single act or event that is in violation of any company practice or procedure. I don’t need to tell you that these situations never end well. So, as HR professionals, we need to intervene and address the problem.
What can we do? Well, start by talking to the individuals and getting the problem out in the open. If a manager is part of the problem, ensure that she or he is aware of the problem and the risks of having a hostile environment and/or disgruntled employees. Facilitate a solution if the problem can’t be resolved by a simple clearing of the air. Use your people skills, and point out that the folks involved probably have more in common than they realize.
If that doesn’t work, maybe you should heed Rainn’s advice and just give up. Move to Phoenix and take up real estate. It’s lovely this time of year.
OK, maybe not all of Rainn’s points were good. Or his movie. (Seriously, you want to talk about toxic . . .).
