Is My Bias Showing? (Moving from Woke-ish to Woke)
That part of my career spent in HR has been filled with new learning about people. All kinds of people. One thing I have come to learn is that there is a huge difference between understanding something about another person’s experience and feeling what they feel. I can’t know how they feel about certain things […]
Fine, Be a Bigot
It’s not often our parents suggest we are anything less than authentic but from time to time back in my teenage years, my mom would tell me, “Heather, you may be the devil’s spawn but for God’s sake, quit acting like it!” She was, of course, suggesting that I present a kinder, more gentler me. Perhaps […]
Turns Out, There Is Political Discrimination and Harassment Too
There Is Political Discrimination and Harassment Too Seven or so years ago, I was asked to teach a course for a client regarding discrimination and harassment prevention. They had offices outside of Alaska so I researched EEO issues in those states in order to update my workbook materials. My research quickly revealed an addition to my list […]
Workplace Safety Depends on Relationships
“It is not unsafe work conditions that we should worry about, it is unsafe behavior.” Safety It is often the red-headed stepchild of Human Resource programs, and for those organizations who aren’t knee deep in OSHA, CFRs and Safety Manuals, safety is typically something to be whispered about, like cancer or adultery. (Be honest, you just […]
HR Learning From Healthcare
My wife underwent surgery recently. This provided me the chance to spend days at a time hanging out in a hospital. My intention was to be present to meet my wife’s needs in any way. I couldn’t help but watch everything that was happening there with keen interest. Their procedures and processes piqued my interest, […]
There Are Levels To This… A Word on Employee Relations
I wonder at times if companies understand or care about the risk employee issues pose to the organization. I have worked in organizations where nothing got settled at the company level and they were happy to pay people off. I have also worked for organizations that had a heart attack when the most benign concerns […]
