The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us At Work and at Home

You can decide for yourself whether or not this is surprising to you.

If you’ve come across motivation-hygiene theory, some of the ideas of Buckminster Fuller, or intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, some of the concepts will be somewhat familiar; but the video comes at this from the perspective of economics, rather than psychology.

The presentation also illustrates how higher pay actually leads to a reduction in performance.  And that bad things can result from this.

I have some personal opinions about remuneration which includes a high proportion of performance-related pay, precisely because of the short-termism I have witnessed in some such circumstances.  But take a look and make up your own mind.

The video presentation walks through these concepts in a fun and clear way, and I’m sure you’ll find it well worth the 10½ minutes it takes to watch.

Enjoy!

When we fail to do something we are expected to do, we almost always have an excuse for it. That’s just how our habit acts. But we have a choice to change that for good.

Despite what you may have heard – when we fail to achieve goals or to do something we are expected to do, we almost always have an excuse for it. Instead of trying to persevere in finding ways to continue achieving a goal, some of us resort to excuses.

Why?

To avoid pain. Excuses. The best medicine.

But you should not use excuses for not becoming successful! That’s self-destructive.

Whenever we look at a “handicap”, we almost always look on the negative side only. It’s about time we take a look at the positive side of it. The positive side may be the difficult side, but it’s the one worth looking into. It’s the side that is going to lead us to excel in life.

Handicap can appeared in many forms — Physical handicap, mentally handicap, emotional handicap, financial handicap, etc.

It your handicap is financial, then the more reason you have to rise above your present status. And if your financial status limits your educational attainment to improve your life, do you really think that you cannot get the education you want? Make use of libraries. Come up with creative ideas to improve your life and you will find it.

If you are emotionally disturbed with negative thoughts, it is like you are sitting on a chair with wobbling legs. Try sitting on a chair with sturdy legs; meaning, look at the bright, positive side of life. Put aside negativity and start thinking positively. The only one who can stop you is yourself.

If you always have a lot of excuses, you should strive more to overcome them because you’ll be able to double the achievement. Where the odds are greater, the prize gets much bigger. After all the efforts you have exerted, the prize of success shall be a well-deserved one.

Make sure you have full control of your life. You should have no problem managing the things you can control. Don’t let ‘excuses’ to control your decisions.

Accept things you cannot control the way they are, if you cannot do without them. If you can do without them, leave them and divert your attention to something else that will make your life more meaningful. Never pick on something you cannot control and turn it into ‘excuses’ that will block your success.

So what’s your excuse for not being successful?

We provide thousands of self improvement articles and videos at successandlife.com where you can also submit yours to be read and watched.

In addition to that, we also have a personal improvement blog where Patric shares his personal success secrets and strategies regularly.

One of the areas to which I insist we allocate sufficient focus with a new coaching client, is  the importance of the “why” in setting any career or workplace goal.

Indeed, the head of an international training organisation I spoke with recently says, “When you know WHY, the HOW will follow.”

So make sure you brainstorm your big objective.

What is it you’re trying to accomplish, professionally  (and personally)?  At this step, we’re trying to get to your highest-level goal, so when you name something, ask yourself, “WHY?”

For instance, if you say, “I want to feel more appreciated at work,” then ask yourself, “Why?” You may answer, “Because I think I’ll be more successful in an environment where I feel valued.” Though that may seem like a logical endpoint, don’t stop there. You need to go further.

Next, ask yourself WHY you want to be more successful, and you’ll soon find that there are a variety of possible motivators. You may hear yourself say something like this:

• Because I KNOW this department can be so much more effective and I can contribute to that.
• Because I want to acquire enough money and experience to fund a start-up of my own in the future.
• Because I’m feeling stifled now, and I want to fulfil my potential.
• Because I know the new product we’re developing will be the best in the marketplace.
• Because I want to earn more money to pay off debt and provide my family with greater security.
• Because I want to become the CEO one day and I know I have that capability.
• Because I want to be able to develop and use my strongest skills more.

Each one of these higher-level objectives is slightly different, and is going to result in a slightly different goal or path to success. Knowing your “WHY” helps you determine your “HOW.”

Keep going until you get to the logical endpoint, state each goal in well-specified, quantifiable terms and you ill find achieving them much easier!

Corporate awards are commonly given to top employees inside companies. If you would like to recognize workers within your company, it’s best to undoubtedly think about establishing an award ceremony to your business. This article will briefly focus on a couple of primary info about company awards today. Many companies have realized that employee satisfaction is often elevated when workers feel that the work they’re performing is being acknowledged by their superiors. Additionally, corporations and entire industries have witnessed will increase in productivity when employees are recognized for their efficiency whereas on the job.

Because of this, corporate awards are rising in popularity. Increasingly firms are beginning to realize that their staff are merely on the lookout for a small amount of recognition for the exhausting work they do every day. If you own a company though, you are doubtless involved concerning the expenses which can be associated to establishing an award ceremony. If you’re working with a budget, you should buy cheap trophies and awards in order to keep your costs down. There are additionally many trophies being produced as we speak which might be very expensive and effectively designed as well. You may buy customize trophies with the intention to lower the price of awards, or you maybuild a customized trophies so as to enhance the worth of an award in the eyes of your employees.

You can too buy awards that are made out of many various materials. Some awards in the marketplace at present are merely made out of plastic though. These awards are the most cost effective products on the market today. Since these awards are reasonably priced, many firms purchase these merchandise in an effort to recognize numerous employees within their organization.

Some firms are simply in search of a method to acknowledge their star workers though. If you want to only acknowledge your best employees, it’s best to look into some of the customized awards and different refined trophies which might be on the market today. Among the most expensive trophies on the market today are made out of crystal. Crystal awards are sometimes the perfect awards out there for firms that wish to recognize star employees, as a result of they’re usually the most fascinating awards accessible within the eyes of staff in general.

To make these expensive awards even more helpful in the eyes of employees, you can customize them with the name of the people you are rewarding. You can even add the brand of your company to those products with a view to make the award much more special as well. Also, these awards can be carved in quite a lot of different ways so as to characterize stars, sailboats, or practically some other sort of object in the world. Even organizations on a price range can reward their workers for the hard work they do for the organization on a daily basis. An awards ceremony can immediately improve employee satisfaction inside an organization, while also growing worker productivity
in the future as well.

Understanding Your Strengths and Values: Key to Finding Your Passion at Work

Knowing yourself and feeling confident about yourself helps a lot in finding your passion at work. This begins with accurate understanding of your strengths and values – it’s what makes you feel good about yourself. The process starts by evaluating the factors that molded your personality – family, experiences, education, and trainings. Majority of your strengths and values can be determined even at young age. Some are product of your parents’ upbringing while some are product of unfulfilled needs you try to reinforce as you grow mature. Knowing your top top-five strengths and values gives you a template by which you measure choices in your career and personal life. Being successful at work means you can freely use all of these strengths as well as fulfill your values.

When your act is not reflected with your strengths and values, what do you feel? Useless and powerless? You fail when you find yourself in a work that tells so little about your values, your thought and feelings. When you are in this kind of situation, you feel tied up in a routine that is too far from your own personality. You will usually feel bored and unfulfilled. You don’t look forward to exciting and adventurous days. You feel trapped and always wish for vacations, days off and lunch breaks. Regardless of how much money you make, when you deny your thoughts and feelings – your work is difficult and boring.

The best time to determine your strengths and values are when you are honest and direct. By accepting your feelings you reveal so much of your potentials and possibilities in life. It is also important to become proud of yourself. Some people hide their true strengths out of fear of rejection. Your power lies in your uniqueness and powerful people are confident about their self even if it’s about negative or positive one. To find your passion at work you must resist the urge of comparing yourself to others as it limits your choices and career development.

Your hobbies and interests tell so much about your strengths and values. We take pleasures in the things we do such as reading, gardening and traveling. The things you do naturally and effortlessly motivate and empower you. Pleasurable experiences are either academic or non-academic. When you enjoy yourself doing something, your personal strengths are clearly manifested. Remind yourself of the times you feel so happy at work? What are the values and strengths that were so evident from you?

Values change over time but there are some that remains imbedded in our personality. These values reflect what you think is good and worthwhile. Of all human activities, work has the potential of fulfilling your personal values and defines your career choices. When you are true to yourself and passionate with your values you are most likely to find yourself in the work you love and enjoy. Most of your values are evident in the things you do and say. While there are some that comes into the open under certain circumstances.

Now that you have assessed your strengths and values, you already can determine your parameter when looking for new employer or job. Make sure the values and strengths you have are in line with your job or employer. In finding your passion at work it is important to be able to fully share the values and strengths important to you.
John Eaglefeather Authors http://www.eaglefeather-writng-club.com

          Managers are those groups of employees who are at the first level of line management.   As the rank and file employees answer directly to them, the managers have the greatest influence on how the employees behave and how positive their attitudes are toward the company they are working for.    The employees’ perception of the company and how important they perceive their own roles in the company are vital to the success of the business.

          This is the exact reason why managers should have the right “ people skills ” to be able to effectively motivate the staff and deal with difficult problems.    The managers must serve as the guide of the staff  so every employee would have a someone to look up to and turn to  for coaching and support and for questions that they might have for their career development and work efficiency.    Thus, a manager must be a good leader and also a follower of company rules to serve as a model for his subordinates.

          The culture in the business and good staff management  are powerful forces that affect staff retention.    It is to be remembered that employees who feel good about themselves and are satisfied of their roles  and their contribution to the business are going to reflect this in the way they help push the company forward.    In much the same way that improper people management  can also force the workers to resign.    Thus, it is of utmost importance that managers have the knowledge on how to motivate, guide and oversee his staff.

          Since managers are in the frontlines dealing directly with the staff and faced with various issues,  for example, poor work ethics, various customer complaints, bad performance, low work productivity, etc., they must know exactly how to handle these problems, take appropriate action, and cope with stress at the end of the day.

          Statistics show that almost two out of three employees who do not show up for work is not physically ill.   Unscheduled absences are one of the major causes of low productivity.   This is most often due to lack of firm staff policies and want of  good staff discipline.  

          For most companies,  dealing with staff absenteeism is upon the frontline managers.   This is because it is the immediate supervisors or frontline managers who are most aware of the circumstances surrounding the absence of their subordinates.    Also, the managers are in the best position to be aware of the problem as soon as it starts and also in the position to very well identify its causes.   Therefore, their active involvement in the company’s absence policy and disciplinary procedures  is vital to the effectiveness and success of these policies.

           It is, however, unfortunate that most managers are not very well trained in managing absenteeism in the workplace.   They have been left on their own and without any means to carry out the often unpopular task of identifying, confronting and resolving frequent absence abuse.

          To ensure that supervisors and frontline managers are comfortable and competent in their role of managing absenteeism, they need to have the full support of senior management.    Everybody must be aware of the different objectives of the absence policy.    If there are misunderstandings between departments, the policy is bound to lose its effectiveness.

          To provide more consistency, supervisors should be trained in their responsibilities about managing absenteeism, advised how to conduct effective return-to-work interviews,  and educated in the imposition of disciplinary sanctions if the need arises.

          Managing absenteeism requires a firm company policy.    But, above everything else, it must have a “Plan B” is ever the problem persists.   It must ensure that the work is appropriately covered during the term of the employee’s absence.    A reliever should be assigned in order to cover the work so as not to hinder productivity.

          Importantly, critical actions must be taken to instill to the employees that absence abuse will not be tolerated and there are appropriate sanctions for these unjustified absences.  Some of the usual policies and absenteeism deterrents can be:

•  Having an absence policy in written form which provisions are made known to all the employees;
•  Confirming from the employee’s household when  the employee phones in sick for the day.  This will require a visit to the employee’s domicile.
•  Having a detailed record of absences which specifies the cause of the absence, medical record form the physician, days of absence, date of return and the like;
•  Identifying the diverse patterns of absences and the possible causes of these;
•  Conducting a thorough interview when the employee gets back; and
•  Imposing disciplinary sanctions if there is a need to do so.

 Team building exercises have now become a superb way to increase staff morale recently. Along with ensuring the labour pool enjoy a fantastic day or 2 of fun and excitement, the advantages to managers and company owners are two-fold. First, a well-run activity will help to activate a powerful ethos of togetherness at work or factory, and 2nd, they give a great insight into which delegates are likely to be natural leaders.

Off-site activities are often a great chance for everyone to let their hair down ; most people are completely different when they are away from the work environment. It is rarely straightforward to see the genuine person underneath the mask, and it surprises some to see that team building exercises frequently see the meek inheriting the spotlight. Those shrinking violets can turn out to be perfect management material of the future.
 
 There is a confusing array of activities available these days – to suit every size of group – as well as each budget. Some teams could benefit from adrenaline-packed out of doors games, while others might prefer something a little more desk-based and cerebral. There are even weekend package deal available, which can mix a mixture of the two.

A driving experience might be the ideal way to offer a tiny competition among your team. The banter that results is not only great fun, it also gets things going among the whole group. There’s nothing quite like enjoying an action-packed few hours at the wheel of an off-road automobile, careering over the rough, muddy hills of a consultant course. Quad bikes are also popular , as are rally cars.

 When talking about team building, Scotland is the ideal location. Wonderful locations take full advantage of the region’s classic landscape, and the indoor facilities provide all you need to keep a group entertained and refreshed. Their experts can advise on which activities would most closely match your staff, and can organise a tailor-made event that may surprise and delight every member.

Make tracks to Scotland for your next team building activity ; it’s the perfect place to supply a amazing time for everybody.     

This may seem like a great spoiler; but certainly, there is no such thing as a hard and fast rule when it comes to leadership. Every organization, circumstance, and leader calls for different courses of action. What is to be considered as “good” leadership depends on various factors such that what could be “good” leadership in one instance could be “bad” leadership in another.

Nevertheless, you need not fret if you are seeking ways to improve your leadership. There are generally accepted principles that when studied and applied, are believed to be helpful in improving ones leadership skills. These are given below and it’s all up to you to decide on whether these tips could be appropriately applied to your particular situation whether you’re running a business, organizing a school play, or governing a country.

Self-Esteem. People become more willing to work if they feel important. Effective leaders help their organizations members develop their self-esteem. You can do this by paying more attention to them and expressing your genuine interest in their opinions every time you converse. When it is well deserved, give your member a tap on the shoulder to show that his efforts are well appreciated. The key here is in being sincere and in expressing your appreciation through the littlest gestures.

Planning. Members of an organization are more able to adapt to changes if there is a specific plan of action laid out. Planning is crucial in effective leadership because it provides the organization with a concrete direction and identifiable means to achieve its goals. As a leader, you should initiate planning and exert effort in communicating those plans as clearly as possible to your members. This will strengthen your members decision-making skills and would allow for effective delegation.

Motivation. A highly motivating work environment is undoubtedly a productive one. The organization benefits the most when its members are continuously motivated to work for and with it. There are many ways by which you, as a leader, can motivate your members. You can provide deserving members with public recognition even through a simple mention of their names and accomplishments. Offering challenges that allows your members to grow, and in a way show-off, is a brilliant to motivate them to be more competitive. You can hand out incentives such as bonuses, free stuff, or promotions to high-performing members so that your members will have something to look forward to in exchange for a job well done. One of the most important ways to motivate, however, is through leading by example. How you work, lead, and carry yourself hugely affects how much people would want to work with you.

Delegation. You can’t do everything by yourself. The best leaders can effectively delegate tasks, giving them more time to plan and supervise. Usually, leaders fail to delegate effectively because they fear their subordinates would do badly at a job that they could have done much better. Do not succumb to that pitfall. Your members will definitely make mistakes, but so will you. The thing to remember here is that you should always make sure that you communicate the things that you want done clearly and that you allow your subordinates to be accountable for the consequences of their action.

Empowerment. This actually relates to delegation. Making your members accountable and responsible for their actions empowers them. It makes them feel greater self-respect; and in the long-run, it would allow them, working with accountability, to  develop creativity and become better workers.

These five principles self-esteem, planning, motivation, delegation, and empowerment are all important in improving your leadership skills. But these are not enough. The success of your leadership will ultimately depend on the way you recognize your organizations needs and how you can adapt your leadership style to those needs. In the same way that you would evaluate your members performance, also evaluate and reflect on yours. Only you can tell what “good” leadership is for your organization. Likewise, it’s only you who can determine how you can become a “good” leader.

Article Source: http://www.bestmanagementarticles.com

About the Author: Abbas Abedi–Attain immediate stress relief and permanent stress management skills.Download my FREE stress management system, consisting of a 77 page ebook and 7 mp3s. Visit: http://InstantStressManagement.com

“Employee Engagement”… is the new Buzz Word(s) of the day. A recent “Google” search reflects over 800,000 potential hits on sites offering wisdom or potential surveys on Employee Engagement especially for Gen X and Gen Y employees.

Before a reflection and sharing data on the new Present Environment, and Future Ramifications, allow me a moment to reflect on the past… Many of us in Senior Leadership positions have suggested that our employees are our greatest asset. In many organizations, it may be a case of words speaking louder than actions.

Leaders of the Past

I think most Leaders would subjectively agree that employees are more likely to produce in an environment where they are generally satisfied and comfortable. But many Leaders often fall short on two major assumptions. First, we have a tendency to define “satisfied” in traditional terms of financial compensation/benefits, and second, we have a tendency to interpret employee perceptions through “our” traditional frames of reference. Maybe it is not your fault, or even to be expected as we are all products of our traditional cultures. But concepts such as “Trust” and “Feeling Valued” by employees are clearly replacing pure money as catalysts for dis-engagement and turnover. Many Leaders just don’t recognize or understand the shift in employee values because it forces us to change the way we perceive our organizational effectiveness.

But perhaps most importantly, historically it has been really difficult to quantify any correlation between workplace environment and financial return. And since we have been trained over the last 75 years to judge success based on ROI, and the efficiency of the “process,” if we cannot measure the return on people engagement, it becomes a good idea, but ultimately, a low priority. Traditional Management Theory, taught most of us, “measure it, or dismiss it…” Thus training budgets are usually the first to be cut, especially training for critical soft skills, Leadership, and I am not even going to discuss senior management’s “old school” perception of training related to Culture.

All of that is changing, and changing fast. The statistical data is overwhelming. Recent research led by Gallop (Q12) and many other quality surveys, including those by ISR, are changing the priority of workplace environment, especially an environment where the employees feel as though they are “Engaged” in the Mission. I believe this can be a tremendous future advantage companies or organizations with the courage and foresight to look inside their organizations for a long term sustainable competitive advantage.

So how do we define this Buzz around Employee Engagement? ISR Global Research Director Patrick Kulesa defines Employee Engagement as: “Committed, Believe in the Values of the Company, Feel Pride in their Employer and Go the Extra Mile – and Business Results.”…

In short, engaged employees feel as though they are truly valued at work. Engaged employees feel as though they directly contribute towards the Mission, and enthusiastically communicate the value of their organization. Recent data reflects the transformation from warm and fuzzy directly to the bottom line. But understanding the radically different set of values of today’s employees is a necessary catalyst for engagement success.

Leaders of the Present

For those Leaders looking for support data: 2005 ISR Study (over 600,000 employees worldwide) revealed that those organizations with High Employee Engagement realized a 5.75% difference in operating margin and a 3.44% difference in net profit margin versus low engagement companies. The Gallop research reflects only 29% of the three million surveyed employees felt engaged, 55% not engaged, and 16% actively not engaged via an interview with Co-Author Curt Coffman, First Break All the Rules. Gallop estimates that this last 16% of actively not engaged employees cost the American Economy over $ 350 Million per year in lost productivity.

There are two critical potential danger signals for Leaders of today. First, of the 55% that are not engaged, they are typically not negative towards the organization in any way, almost a sleeping danger or cultural liability. And secondly, national statistics reflect a direct correlation between the length of time an employee spends with an organization and being more likely to become not engaged. For many of us, we are never as excited as we are in our first week of work. We join our organizations believing we can make a difference in the lives of our customers and co-workers. Then in some most companies, over time we feel less valued, or as though we have less of an active role in contributing to the value related principals that attracted us in the first place and then our engagement declines.

Author Leigh Branham suggests, “According to more than 80% of employees, it’s not that there’s greener grass on the other side of the fence; it’s the preponderance of negative factors in their current workplaces-from poor management practices to toxic workplace cultures-that essentially push them toward the door.” Or in fact Cultures that move employees lower on the engagement scale. As many seemingly successful companies have lifetime employees, we cannot assume that they remain engaged in our “Holy Grail”, Customer Service, or dedication to the Mission, either internally or externally.

Engagement Test

In addition to investing in employee satisfaction surveys (highly recommended considering the national data) to measure employee engagement, I might suggest another test. What if we were to look at the five most significant ideas in the last year, that moved our Teams ahead of the curve in terms of “Improving the Lives of Clients or Co-Workers,” (internally as well as externally)? How many of those five ideas came from within our organizations? How many of those five ideas originated from “engaged” hourly employees striving to make a difference in the Service-Centric or Mission-Driven Culture? Can you identify five?

Future Leaders

The most effective way to engage employees is to involve each of them in the culture. Leaders need to be consistently talking and listening about Service Values and Service Missions to employees offering them an opportunity to share ways in which they contributed towards the Mission, then acknowledge and reward or recognize them. This is what author John Kotter (Leading Change) refers to by continuing to build the coalition, and celebrating short term wins.

But most critically, it is imperative for Leaders to “Walk the Walk.” Actions speak far louder than words when leading by example. I am encouraging Leaders to look in the mirror when it comes to consistency in programs, incentives, and engagement as it  directly contributes to the Service Mission. In my hundreds of interviews with Managers and Employees, I am often drawn to the “inconsistencies” identified by employees that have yet to be recognized by Leadership. If you ask and listen, they will share… These inconsistencies can be a significant cancer to any potential cultural shift to increased employee engagement.

The rules of Leadership are changing rapidly, not simply evolving. The powerful contribution to the bottom line and conduit for growth that is a direct result of Employee Engagement critical for all of us in the future. Engaged employees will create more loyal Customers and Employees, creating more opportunities for growth.

Many of us in Senior Leadership positions have suggested that our employees are our greatest asset. I encourage you to find new ways to engage your employees in the effort to live your “Holy Grail” and put actions way ahead of simple words.

Michael Muetzel

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Muetzel

Author of They’re Not Aloof…Just Generation X, Unlock the Mysteries to Today’s Human Capital Management

Mike Muetzel is a nationally recognized Author, Keynote Speaker and Leadership expert. His work has been featured in the national media including, The Associated Press, Bloomberg Television, Boardroom Magazine, The Manager’s Intelligence Report, The IBM Small Business Advocate, and The Boston Globe to name a few.

He is often referenced as a national expert on the unique characteristics of today’s employees. He has an extensive corporate background including nine years with Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation where he sat on the Executive Committee. His prestigious clients include Fed Ex Freight, Kohler, Hilton Hotels, Motorola, Wyndham, Keebler and The Federal Aviation Administration among others. In addition, he is a former member of the faculty at Clayton State University, School of Business. University. In the words of Best Selling Author Ken Blanchard, “Mike understands what will make companies tick in the future, it’s about maximizing the potential of your people…”    Visit http://www.unlockthemysteries.com

Given that most of our time is spent at work and the fact that we’re social beings, it’s inevitable that we establish social relationships which may well end up in romance.

The question to be asked is, when Cupid shoots his arrow in your direction do you need to duck and dive to prevent your employer from growling at you or can you get weak at the knees, giggle a little and embrace the relationship with your boss sitting back and giving you the thumbs up?

What exactly are the reasons for employers either embracing or pooh-poohing employees who succumb to that delightful, irresistible emotion called love?

According to an article published in “People Management” magazine (pg 18), 11 Feb 2010 entitled “A Match made in Heaven or Hell” Tim Smedley offers the following answers:

The employer has one of two choices. Firstly, to enforce policy banning relationships within the workplace solely to protect the organisation from being subject to breech of confidentiality within various departments or divisions, accusations of favouritism and a host of other complicated management and HR issues.

The second option is to take a more relaxed approach to a very natural emotion and to give people the space to be themselves while at the same time respecting the values and boundaries within the organisation.

Smedley points out that there is a place for the implementation of policies banning relationships. Examples of this would be where romantic liaisons compromise the ethical barriers between traders and analysts giving one the leverage to influence the others decision. Another example would be the enforcement of policy when employees engage in the work environment in countries and cultures which forbid relationships outside of marriage.

Generally speaking though, organisations that do enforce policy banning relationships do so because of the numerous problems caused as a result of relationships in the workplace. Such an instance may be a boss who is in relationship with a subordinate. This relationship tends to fuel accusations of favouritism and can damage the morale of other employees which leads to gossip, lack of trust etc.

A particularly difficult situation is when one partner works in HR and is exposed to various confidential complications within the workplace yet can not share any of this information with his or her partner. Preventing such complications arising in the workplace may seem like the answer to the employer hence the ban, however, human beings will be human beings and will generally take the relationship under cover which brings a whole new set of deceptive complications.

In his article, Smedley quotes employment lawyer Roger Byard, of Cripps Harries Hall, as saying: “Any employment tribunal asked to consider the lawfulness of such a policy would be highly likely to find it in breach of the right to a private life, protected by Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998”. He goes on to say that having a no-relationship policy would not provide protection against claims arising out of relationship breakdown such as issues of harassment, discrimination and unfair dismissal.

Byard advice to the employer is to steer away from prescriptive policies which suppress human nature. He suggests that employers take a mature approach to the relationship recognising that relationships will naturally form within the working environment.

Perhaps having a few balloons, some red roses and a broad smile on a love struck employees face is not so bad and may go a long way to cheering the office up.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…