The Great Debate UK
Redundant redundancy terms?
-Owen Morgan is the commercial director of HR consultancy Penna. The views expressed are his own.-
As the pace of change in the public sector increases, the government is starting to reveal additional information around how it plans to deal with the funding crisis that the sector faces.
Amongst a range of controversial plans, one issue has recently caused particular consternation — the revelation that the Government plans to limit the generous redundancy terms offered to some civil servants.
While some of those in the private sector applaud the initiative, asking “why should private sector workers see their taxes go to funding severance packages that are far in excess of what they could ever expect to receive”, those directly affected are, unsurprisingly, up-in-arms.
Unions threaten industrial action and those tasked with implementing the change perceive they have just been handed another difficult issue that makes their work even more challenging. For those workers who are seeing their redundancy terms altered it’s likely to lead to increasing pressure at a time when many will be fearful regarding what the future holds.
So what can be done? How can the government navigate these proposals through the statute books whilst still retaining a motivated, loyal and performance-driven public sector, something that will be of key importance when we emerge from the restructuring phase?
Equally, how can public-sector staff who are likely to lose their roles be treated sensitively and with due care during what, for anyone, is a very difficult time.
Leaders inspire, they never bully
- Jonathan Perks is managing director of board and executive coaching at Penna. The opinions expressed are his own.-
The issues which surround bullying in the workplace, linked to the allegations surrounding Prime Minister Gordon Brown, provide a timely reminder of what good leadership is really about. But firstly it’s important to remind ourselves as to what behaviours constitute bullying and this definition sums it up nicely: “persistent, offensive, abusive, intimidating, or insulting behaviour, abuse of power, or unfair penal sanctions which makes the recipient feel upset, threatened, humiliated, or vulnerable, which undermines their self-confidence and which may cause them to suffer stress.”
The psychology behind why people may bully in the workplace is complex and varies from person to person. In some cases the bully feels inadequate, or insecure, and therefore seeks to take out their aggression on others by ridiculing, belittling, ignoring and creating a sense of fear for their targeted victim. Sadly some workplace environments reward and encourage such behaviour, especially when it’s linked to financial targets and incentives.
The bully is often in utter denial that they are bullying (they may have convinced themselves that they are just being robust and a strong manager and this is normal way to treat underperformers or weaker people).
There are a number of ways to protect yourself from bullying and potentially turn the situation around into a positive. The first one is to have the courage to be assertive by naming and refusing to accept toxic, bullying behaviour. Another approach is to use the teaching of nonviolent communication (NVC) in a way that is assertive, without being antagonising, and gives an element of choice to you and the bully. Very simply, this would involve a conversation as follows: “when you say A, it makes me feel B, the consequences are C and my request of you in future is D.” Bullies often use positional power and so their victims feel inadequate and unable to respond for fear of losing their jobs. This is where confidential help lines (which must remain truly confidential) can help individuals and give them coping strategies. A further approach is to go to someone in authority or HR and make a formal request for support.
An organisation or culture which is well led by inspirational leaders has the lowest incidences of bullying. It’s not acceptable to collude with the recent political apologists for bullying, since it is a sign of psychological flaws and unhealthy, dysfunctional behaviour. The finest leaders remain calm in the storm, listen and understand the staff and yet are equally courageous and firm enough to have difficult conversations with people about poor performance. Inspirational leaders invoke a powerful sense of trust and those who work for them willingly contribute discretionary life energy to help the organisation succeed. These finest leaders also have the courage to challenge bullying behaviour in their peers and other leaders and act as role models.
In some of macho organisations a bully’s toxic behaviour is sometimes condoned, provided they bring in lots of revenue and profits. This is not sustainable and individuals must understand the consequences of their behaviour and learn healthy, alternative ways of motivating the staff which are highly effective – executive coaching can help with this. Firstly an executive coach can measure and understand what motivates the bully and their level of emotional intelligence (ability to cope effectively with life and others) and help and develop it so that they inspire others, rather than intimidate them in a culture of fear. Remember “those who can, do, those who can’t, bully”.
