tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/human-resource-management-21069/articleshuman resource management – The Conversation2024-03-12T03:36:25Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2107112024-03-12T03:36:25Z2024-03-12T03:36:25ZEver been on a lousy leadership course? Good leadership training needs these 5 ingredients<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540320/original/file-20230801-231213-d9k81i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C24%2C5396%2C3578&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many of us have done leadership training for work, come back to the office and thought: “That was a huge waste of time”. Or returned with the best of intentions but realised, six months on, we never actually used any of skills we learned on the course.</p>
<p>So, what makes leadership development programs effective?</p>
<p>We spent months researching leadership and management courses, in an effort to develop a new way of thinking about it.</p>
<p>Our new paper, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-024-02758-3.epdf?sharing_token=sKxlLUA0iJ4nRmcoZHpbXlxOt48VBPO10Uv7D6sAgHv9LUpB7i5nu80IKOTUUs3zxv_tLRgvTVzLR6vIJdOLneWt1bM1m1JWcWYIrtDJTjRbeQDJapcu2SdNEymvpn_8N1lu6l6vRCLFtobXz5kH1YtxpIIG4n42AcyWx_yfZqg%3D">Humanities & Social Sciences Communications</a>, argues there are five key ingredients needed to make leadership training worthwhile.</p>
<p>So, what do managers need to know before spending money and time on sending their staff off to leadership training?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/3-things-we-need-to-get-right-to-ensure-online-professional-development-works-164785">3 things we need to get right to ensure online professional development works</a>
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<h2>1. The employee must want to be there</h2>
<p>Effective leaders are self-motivated learners. Basically, if the staff member isn’t motivated, they won’t learn. So there is no point in managers sending unwilling staff members off to leadership training.</p>
<p>Our research suggests staff need to self-nominate for leadership development courses. Those who put their hand up to this kind of training will be intrinsically motivated learners.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547664/original/file-20230912-17-dkcdd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman looks bored at work." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547664/original/file-20230912-17-dkcdd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547664/original/file-20230912-17-dkcdd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547664/original/file-20230912-17-dkcdd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547664/original/file-20230912-17-dkcdd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547664/original/file-20230912-17-dkcdd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547664/original/file-20230912-17-dkcdd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547664/original/file-20230912-17-dkcdd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">There is no point sending a staff member to leadership training if they don’t want to be there.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>2. Managers need to let staff use their new leadership skills at work</h2>
<p>Many leadership courses give guidance on how to approach certain challenges at work, such as managing conflict or leading a change process.</p>
<p>But this guidance is of little value if the staff member doing the training can’t practise their newfound skills.</p>
<p>Managers need to ensure the skills staff members learn at training can be applied and practised. That means giving your staff the time, opportunities and support to use what they learned at leadership training. </p>
<p>Managers need to give their staff who have done leadership training the opportunity to take on new challenges at work in a psychologically safe context (staff will also need their regular workload reduced so they can do this new work). </p>
<p>For example, the leadership program could run concurrently with a workplace change such as implementing a new system or process. The person doing the leadership training could be supported by their boss to take carriage of this implementation.</p>
<h2>3. Managers need to cultivate a continuous learning mindset</h2>
<p>Effective learning at work requires a combination of skills. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>self-awareness about one’s learning style</p></li>
<li><p>being open to new learning methods and technologies</p></li>
<li><p>being able to change the way you do things at work when new opportunities arise</p></li>
<li><p>being able to regularly reflect on learning experiences, successes and failures. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>In practice, this means managers need to treat leadership training not as a one-off but as part of a broader culture of learning at work.</p>
<p>Managers can support this culture of learning this by, for example, having monthly meetings at which staff can talk openly and constructively about what’s worked lately, what hasn’t, and why. Managers can also ensure staff are given adequate training on new technologies, so they feel more confident about technological change at work.</p>
<p>Managers may also want to find ways to offer different types of learning opportunities at work. Some staff members will thrive in a group work environment; others will prefer to study a manual themselves, watch an instructional video or do a short online course.</p>
<p>If managers cultivate a culture of continuous learning at work, it means that when staff go off to leadership training, they will be more able to absorb and apply the lessons.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547667/original/file-20230912-21-tzi7ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Staff members sit round a table and discuss work." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547667/original/file-20230912-21-tzi7ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547667/original/file-20230912-21-tzi7ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547667/original/file-20230912-21-tzi7ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547667/original/file-20230912-21-tzi7ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547667/original/file-20230912-21-tzi7ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547667/original/file-20230912-21-tzi7ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547667/original/file-20230912-21-tzi7ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Do you have a culture of constructive feedback at work?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>4. Managers need to ensure training is delivered by good facilitators</h2>
<p>A crucial feature of leadership training is ensuring there is a high-quality facilitator.</p>
<p>A good course facilitator doesn’t just give a lecture and then answer questions. They also help participants find appropriate applied learning projects, help them learn self-reflection skills, and provide coaching and feedback.</p>
<p>They also play a crucial role in supporting individual and group learning. </p>
<p>In practice, this means managers need to do some due diligence before sending staff off to a leadership training course. </p>
<p>That might involve reading reviews, getting feedback from people who have already done the course, and carefully checking the credentials of the facilitator.</p>
<h2>5. Organisations need both individual leaders and collective leadership</h2>
<p>Successful organisations don’t just have good individual leaders. They also need collective leadership. That means developing a culture at work that values:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>learning</p></li>
<li><p>innovation</p></li>
<li><p>being adaptable</p></li>
<li><p>being able to deal with continuous change. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Managers can foster this culture of collective leadership at work by facilitating honest, safe conversations about innovation and change.</p>
<p>It means making all staff aware it’s everyone’s job to identify ways the organisation can improve, rather than just relying on one or two leaders. </p>
<p>It’s crucial managers find leadership training courses that can embed this message into their training.</p>
<p>Change is all around us, whether that’s climate change, economic change or technological change with the development of AI. The workplaces that will survive and thrive in this era of rapid change are those that take skills development seriously. </p>
<p>Treating leadership training as a box-ticking exercise won’t cut it. Good leadership training is crucial to developing good leadership, but managers need to make sure the course is actually worth it in the first place.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/elon-musks-hardcore-management-style-a-case-study-in-what-not-to-do-194999">Elon Musk's 'hardcore' management style: a case study in what not to do</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210711/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ros Cameron is a fellow of AHRI Australian Human Resources Institute.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gregory Harper does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Every done leadership training for work, come back to the office and thought: ‘That was a huge waste of time’?Gregory Harper, Pro Vice Chancellor, Centre for Organisational Change and Agility, Torrens University AustraliaRos Cameron, Professor and Director, Centre for Organisational Change and Agility, Torrens University AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1883542022-08-08T20:02:49Z2022-08-08T20:02:49ZEddie Betts’ camp saga highlights a motivational industry rife with weird, harmful ideas<p>Former AFL star Eddie Betts’ revelations about the 2018 Adelaide Crows training camp, which left him feeling like he had been brainwashed and sapped his passion for football, raises all sorts of questions.</p>
<p>But the most obvious is how could the Crows’ management, running an elite organisation with a team that had made the grand final the year before, treat its most valuable assets – its players – so badly? </p>
<p>Who decided the bullying and abusive behaviour that reportedly traumatised individuals and <a href="https://amp.abc.net.au/article/101307908">fractured the team</a> was a good idea?</p>
<p>We can’t answer that. But as academics with experience in the “motivational industry”, we’re not all that shocked such things occurred.</p>
<p>The market for programs and processes to improve individual and organisational performance is huge, and with it comes faddish ideas with little or no basis in evidence.</p>
<h2>A shattering experience</h2>
<p>Betts’ account of the 2018 training camp, in his recently published autobiography <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Boy-from-Boomerang-Crescent/Eddie-Betts/9781761102394">The Boy from Boomerang Crescent</a>, describes scenes of humiliation, misappropriation of Indigenous cultural practices and an emphasis on toxic aspects of masculinity.</p>
<p>The four-day preseason camp followed Adelaide making the 2017 AFL grand final but being trounced by the Richmond Tigers.</p>
<p>Betts describes being blindfolded, led onto a bus with papered-over windows and taken to a random location with Richmond’s club song (“Tigerland”) being played loudly over and over again. </p>
<p>He says there were criticism sessions in which “counsellors” yelled taunts at him about personal matters he believed he had disclosed in confidence:</p>
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<p>I was exhausted, drained and distressed about the details being shared. Another camp-dude jumped on my back and started to berate me about my mother, something so deeply personal that I was absolutely shattered to hear it come out of his mouth.</p>
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<p>The experience clearly left a lasting impression. Betts says his performance and relationship with his family suffered.</p>
<p>His account is disturbing. Equally concerning is how easily these kinds of inappropriate, confrontational and ethically dubious experiences occur in the name of “training” and “motivation”.</p>
<h2>A tough idea with no evidential basis</h2>
<p>As industry-engaged academics, we are experienced in developing, implementing and evaluating training and interventions that build <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/52BF223994E9C91321B8FC5DD4E14CFD/S1833367219000531a.pdf/div-class-title-building-capacity-in-the-healthcare-sector-a-strengths-based-approach-for-increasing-employees-well-being-and-organisational-resilience-div.pdf">psychological capital, resilience and wellbeing</a>. </p>
<p>We can only presume the rationale for the training camp was to develop greater mental toughness. </p>
<p>But while it might be a commonly held belief that placing people in highly stressful and emotionally confronting circumstances will help them “sink or swim” and “face their fears”, the evidence shows this is not helpful. Indeed, it has the potential to be very harmful. </p>
<p>The brain is a highly efficient learning machine. It uses emotions (the automatic deployment of chemicals in the brain as a response to stimuli) to “bake in” memories – and, for that matter, skills. </p>
<p>When external stimuli trigger negative emotions, this leads to a “flight, fight or freeze” response. Long after the trigger and experience, the emotional and physiological reaction to the memory can remain. </p>
<p>This is called trauma. As described by Martin Seligman - often referred to as the “father of positive psychology” - if that trauma isn’t resolved it can lead to anxiety and depression, and even <a href="https://hbr.org/2011/04/building-resilience">post-traumatic stress disorder</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-complex-ptsd-and-how-does-it-relate-to-past-abuse-and-trauma-172497">What is complex PTSD and how does it relate to past abuse and trauma?</a>
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<h2>The time and place for ‘post-traumatic growth’</h2>
<p>Decades of research in the field of psychology has led to the general understanding that there are times when it is appropriate for people to face emotionally confronting circumstances, particularly childhood experiences, that may have had a defining impact on a person’s behaviour or cognition. </p>
<p>However, there are very strict guidelines and protocols as to when and under what conditions this occurs. In Australia this is governed by the <a href="https://www.psychologyboard.gov.au/">Psychology Board of Australia</a> and underpinned by the <a href="https://www.nhpo.gov.au/legislation">Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act</a>. </p>
<p>In brief, such confrontation should only occur when a qualified and registered practitioner believes the person they are treating feels safe and supported, so the emotional and physiological reaction can occur in a contained way. When this occurs, it is called “<a href="https://hbr.org/2020/07/growth-after-trauma">post-traumatic growth</a>” – and it must be done by a dedicated expert practitioner.</p>
<p>There are no circumstances under which an organisation, or those acting on behalf of it, should deliberately subject its employees to experiences that have the potential to be emotionally traumatic. </p>
<p>Indeed, Australia’s work health and safety regulations are increasingly making employers legally responsible for “<a href="https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/managing-health-and-safety/mental-health/psychosocial-hazards">psycho-social hazards</a>” – anything that could cause psychological harm – at work. This includes aggressive, bullying behaviour and exposure to <a href="https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/managing-health-and-safety/mental-health/psychosocial-hazards/traumatic-events-or-materials">traumatic events</a>.</p>
<p>In some workplaces, exposure to emotionally confronting events is unavoidable.
Examples include aged-care and health-care workers who regularly have to confront human frailty and death; paramedics who have to attend car accidents; and police officers who are exposed to the very worst of human nature. Particularly for paramedics and police, substantial organisational resources are deployed to help mitigate the impact of exposure to trauma – although, sometimes, they can still fall through the cracks.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/team-building-exercises-can-be-a-waste-of-time-you-achieve-more-by-getting-personal-119601">Team-building exercises can be a waste of time. You achieve more by getting personal</a>
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<h2>All workplaces should be safe and respectful</h2>
<p>The idea of provoking trauma for some organisational benefit is wrong. Do not ever believe that any good is done by doing harm. There is no evidence to support this.</p>
<p>Helping someone to achieve personal growth requires standard <a href="https://mhfa.com.au/about/our-activities/what-we-do-mental-health-first-aid">mental-health first-aid skills</a>: listening; giving support and information; and encouraging them to seek appropriate professional help.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-hope-can-keep-you-healthier-and-happier-132507">How hope can keep you healthier and happier</a>
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<p>Betts’ reported experience is a reminder that engagements with colleagues, managers, subordinates, customers and clients at work should always be safe and respectful. </p>
<p>Deliberately exposing someone to an emotionally confronting situation is only likely to harm their ability to perform.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188354/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The research conducted by Ben Farr-Wharton has received funding from several sources over the last decade. Sources include: the Australian Army, Ramsay Health Care, Dept. Treasury and Finance (Tas), Humanitas Hospital, the Dept. of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Dept. of Water and Environmental Regulation (WA), Sydney Water, and the Centre for Work, Health and Safety (NSW).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The research conducted by Matthew J. Xerri has received funding from several sources over the last decade. Sources include the Australian Army and Ramsay Health Care.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yvonne Brunetto receives funding from Ramsay Health Pty, Ltd, Queensland and NSW Health departments, Wesley Mission Queensland, McKenzie Aged Care Pty Ltd, Australian Army, Centre for Work, Health and Safety (NSW Govt) and Erasmus UN Funding.</span></em></p>The idea of provoking trauma for organisational benefit is profoundly wrong.Ben Farr-Wharton, Associate Dean of Management, Edith Cowan UniversityMatthew Xerri, Senior Lecturer in Human Resources, Griffith UniversityYvonne Brunetto, Professor of Management and HRM, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1255192019-11-06T12:39:16Z2019-11-06T12:39:16ZWhy Uber Works will probably be great for businesses but not for gig economy workers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300447/original/file-20191106-12495-1aa2kyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The new Uber Works app.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ascannio / Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Uber is still best known as a ride-hailing platform but it has been branching out into other industries. Food (Uber eats), electric scooters and bicycles (Jump), and now shift work with the launch of Uber Works. It is being trialled <a href="https://www.uber.com/blog/chicago/uberworks/">in Chicago</a>, with plans to launch elsewhere soon, and enables casual workers such as cleaners, bar staff and warehouse workers to find work. </p>
<p>Uber emphasises its unique “technology-first approach” to linking gig workers with jobs will lead to a more efficient marketplace. The app allows people to find shifts without having to re-enter their credentials every time they look for a new job. Uber expects this to provide a faster and easier way for businesses to connect with workers while also offering more information on available work opportunities, thus improving the experience for both workers and businesses.</p>
<p>Many people around the world use staffing agencies to find work. Yet the status quo is not ideal – for workers or for businesses. Workers face rigid schedules and imperfect information about where they can find shift work and how much they can expect to earn. Businesses struggle to find suitable staff to address unexpected labour shortages.</p>
<p>Uber’s new app may well help businesses reduce their scheduling problems and address seasonal work shortages. But whether it will improve the experience of workers is less clear.</p>
<h2>Algorithms vs autonomy</h2>
<p>Job platforms like Uber Works use algorithms to match businesses with workers. The algorithm instantly identifies and offers work to people once they have agreed to the terms and conditions mentioned in the app, created their profile and uploaded relevant documentation such as a proof of identity.</p>
<p>This digital management falls within the broader framework of the gig economy, which has <a href="https://theconversation.com/ken-loachs-new-film-on-the-gig-economy-tells-exactly-the-same-story-as-our-research-125743">disrupted our traditional notions of work</a>. Under this system, workers are hired to complete tasks or hyper-flexible “gigs” within a short period of time. But there is little commitment between workers and their employers. </p>
<p>Gig workers are frequently classified as “independent contractors” which means that businesses that hire them for gigs do not bear any costs related to employment benefits or insurance. Debates on the gig economy range from <a href="https://theconversation.com/flexible-work-how-the-gig-economy-benefits-some-more-than-others-67865">the</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-gig-economy-gives-a-mental-health-boost-to-workers-new-research-120924">positive</a>, with its emphasis on the autonomy and flexibility it gives workers, to <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-idea-of-good-work-in-a-gig-economy-remains-a-distant-ideal-92117">the</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/not-lovin-it-how-insecure-work-creates-insecure-lifestyles-for-the-poorest-in-society-82726">negative</a>, with critics seeing it as a means of cutting costs and subverting employment laws.</p>
<p>There are fundamental differences between working as an employee in an organisation and being a gig economy worker, which shape the psychological experience of gig workers. On the positive side, gig workers have higher levels of autonomy and independence at work. In fact, several gig workers cite the higher level of autonomy as the main reason they chose this form of work over a full-time job. </p>
<p>This autonomy is <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-low-pay-workforce-when-seven-jobs-just-isnt-enough-106979">not absolute, however</a>. Gig workers are bound by the contracts they enter into as well as the demands imposed on them by customers, clients and markets. Within the gig economy, workers typically lack the minimum safety nets that are afforded to full-time employees and are solely responsible for their own economic survival. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300455/original/file-20191106-12474-17nxkjm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300455/original/file-20191106-12474-17nxkjm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300455/original/file-20191106-12474-17nxkjm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300455/original/file-20191106-12474-17nxkjm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300455/original/file-20191106-12474-17nxkjm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300455/original/file-20191106-12474-17nxkjm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300455/original/file-20191106-12474-17nxkjm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Multitasking: gig economy work can be stressful.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/stressed-desperate-businessman-working-his-office-778064218?src=937a1c6b-628b-4d69-ae8e-b3aee1f72020-1-0">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>In fact, getting your gigs from an app passes the responsibility of employment almost entirely onto individual workers, based on the view that these workers are independent, self-employed contractors. This can be overwhelming for gig workers as they face several risks and uncertainties in ensuring a stable income. Financial instability and job insecurity are thus a major source of stress for gig workers given the freelance and transient nature of their jobs. </p>
<h2>Reciprocity reneged</h2>
<p>The fragmented nature of getting work through apps, with their reliance on algorithms to control, monitor and manage workers, also erodes the principle of reciprocity found in traditional employment relationships. When you are getting work through a faceless app, you are subject to stringent control mechanisms where you have little say in how work is assigned, completed or appraised. This is very different from the reciprocal relationships seen in traditional employment which offer stable career paths and job security to workers in return for their effort and commitment.</p>
<p>Algorithmic management is extremely common within work apps. Self-learning algorithms are given the responsibility for making decisions regarding the management of workers, thereby limiting human input into areas that typically fell under the purview of human resource managers. This approach effectively disregards the interpersonal and emotional aspects of people management. </p>
<p>Plus, workers can feel exploited by organisations as they are under constant <a href="https://theconversation.com/uber-in-london-firm-must-value-its-drivers-as-well-as-its-customers-84621">monitoring by apps and their customers</a>. If you receive a poor rating, you can face the risk of being barred from obtaining future work opportunities. And often there is excessive reliance on simplistic measures of performance – someone clicks a number of stars, without giving any feedback. There’s little scope for understanding the nuances of individual behaviour at work.</p>
<p>This shift towards increasingly precarious employment raises questions of how our continually evolving labour markers will impact the well-being of workers. The nature of gig work calls for a system of social support. Businesses need efficient systems to meet their demands. But people need emotional support so they can deal with the unique challenges of the gig economy, including the sense of isolation involved in this work, as well as the precarity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125519/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shainaz Firfiray does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Uber Works is the next step in the evolution of the gig economy.Shainaz Firfiray, Associate Professor of Organisation and Human Resource Management, Warwick Business School, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1220972019-10-28T13:07:49Z2019-10-28T13:07:49ZMaking employees feel welcome and valued can pay off – especially for nonprofits<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298367/original/file-20191023-119429-1vxpbgw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6148%2C2258&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Employee satisfaction rises when it's OK to be your true self at work.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/diverse-group-people-working-together-concept-300362036">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Before I began to study and teach how to shape <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GF_MYkEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">workplace relationships</a>, I was a social worker. For about six years, I worked at a variety of nonprofits that served the needs of people with substance use problems, adolescents with mental health challenges and children who had been abused.</p>
<p>At every job, I noticed a pattern. All my colleagues felt unappreciated and wanted to quit. </p>
<p>As a scholar, I’ve learned that this dynamic isn’t unusual. Whether they are hospitals, museums, food pantries, churches or environmental groups, all nonprofits constantly struggle to attract and retain qualified staff. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21368">Research I’ve conducted</a> suggests that when employees feel valued and that their colleagues and bosses appreciate them, talented staff members become more likely to stick around.</p>
<h2>Feeling appreciated</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.nonprofithr.com/2017-nep-survey-new/">national survey</a> of 420 nonprofit organizations conducted in 2017, 28% of nonprofits said the top challenge they faced was hiring qualified staff, and 81% of nonprofits said they can’t get the staff they do hire to stay.</p>
<p>This same survey indicated that nonprofits may not do enough to address these problems. Two out of three had no systematic way to recruit qualified staff and vet new hires. And four out of five did little to encourage employees to stick around, such as helping them feel valued by expressing appreciation for the unique talents they bring to the workplace, or giving them raises and paying salaries commensurate with their skills and experience. </p>
<p>In addition, the top three <a href="https://www.nonprofithr.com/2019talentpriorities/">reasons employees give for leaving nonprofits</a>, according to the results of a different survey, are dissatisfaction with their career opportunities, compensation and benefits and workplace culture – or what it feels like to work there.</p>
<p>These results suggest that salaries – which <a href="https://www.payscale.com/data/nonprofit-pay-cut">can be lower in nonprofits</a> than in comparable private-sector jobs – are not the only factor that makes it hard to keep talented people on board.</p>
<h2>Making workplaces inclusive</h2>
<p>To get a clearer view of how this works, I recently completed a study regarding how managers at hospitals can <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/nml.21368">improve employee performance through greater inclusivity</a>.</p>
<p>Inclusion, a term that generally refers to <a href="https://ideal.com/diversity-and-inclusion/">making all people feel welcome</a> regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and disabilities, is also about helping employees feel appreciated as unique individuals and helping them feel valued as key members of their team. </p>
<p>Characteristics such as your childhood economic status, where you went to school, your current neighborhood or political views may have an effect on how comfortable and accepted you feel on the job.</p>
<p>More than half of all <a href="https://ccss.jhu.edu/2019-nonprofit-employment-report/">nonprofit jobs are in the health care field</a>. And even though nonprofit hospitals generally pay their workers better than other nonprofits, they also have trouble hiring and retaining qualified staff, according to the 2018 <a href="https://nff.org/surveydata">State of the Nonprofit Sector</a> survey.</p>
<p>As I explained in an article published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15427854">Nonprofit Management & Leadership</a> academic journal, when hospital managers and top leaders helped employees feel more included, they became more committed to stay and felt better about their performance.</p>
<h2>Adopting best practices</h2>
<p>Results from my hospital study and other research suggest that there are several things employers can do to create an inclusive workplace. Not only does this approach make good business sense, it is also the right thing to do by valuing all employees as human beings.</p>
<p>Here are some <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0899764019829834">practices I recommend</a> for employers based on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21368">my research</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li>Engage all employees to weigh in on important work-related decision-making.<br></li>
<li>Express appreciation for feedback given from employees of all job positions, not just when suggestions come from managers or leaders. </li>
<li>Treat each employee as a unique individual, offering coaching, feedback and opportunities that build on their own talents.</li>
<li>Communicate a shared sense of purpose and inspire a collective vision of the future.</li>
</ul>
<p>And making workplaces more inclusive may be the key to making not just <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23303131.2016.1138915">nonprofit jobs more desirable</a>, but any kind of workplace – including those in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1059601119839858">private</a> and <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1080/23303131.2016.1138915">public</a> sectors.</p>
<p>[ <em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122097/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kim Brimhall received funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality, Grant/Award Number: 1R36HS024650-01</span></em></p>Salaries are not the only factor making it hard to keep talented people on board.Kim Brimhall, Assistant Professor of Social Work, Binghamton University, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1099622019-02-05T13:42:50Z2019-02-05T13:42:50ZFake qualifications are on the rise. How universities can manage the risk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254910/original/file-20190122-100261-1h9681y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Fake credentials are becoming more common in South Africa. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Fake credentials have become a global problem. The National Student Clearinghouse, a US NGO that offers a degree verification service, reports that falsified academic credentials are a <a href="https://nscverifications.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CostOfAcademicFraud.pdf">serious, prevalent and ever-increasing problem</a>. In 2015 the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/20/opinion/a-rising-tide-of-bogus-degrees.html">New York Times</a> reported on a billion-dollar industry consisting of 3 300 “diploma mills”. These were fake universities that sold certificates for all levels of degrees, worldwide.</p>
<p>Buying totally fake academic certificates is only part of the problem. Those who have degrees may falsify their academic transcripts. This is made easier by the availability of sophisticated technology. Higher education is highly sought-after and provides a measure of status and <a href="http://opensaldru.uct.ac.za/handle/11090/884">improved job prospects</a>. So some working professionals may not be able to resist the temptation of adding or altering a qualification on their CVs. </p>
<p>Fake credentials are becoming more common in South Africa. In 2018, the country saw a <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/shock-increase-in-fake-credentials-18264458">sharp increase</a> in the number of fraudulent qualifications reported to regulatory bodies such as the South African Qualifications Authority. Higher Education Minister Naledi Pandor revealed that the number of reported cases spiked from just 37 in 2011/12 to 982 in the 2017/18 financial year. </p>
<p>This only represents the number of fake credentials reported. The real number may be much higher. This poses a serious problem for universities and employers. It undermines their legitimacy and reputation and robs honest candidates of opportunities for further education or employment.</p>
<p>Fortunately, there are steps that universities and employers can take to protect themselves. These include the use of verification systems, reference checking and competency-based interviews.</p>
<h2>Implications</h2>
<p>For universities, fake qualifications pose <a href="https://studentclearinghouse.info/onestop/wp-content/uploads/CostOfAcademicFraud.pdf">a reputational risk</a> – within other academic institutions and in the workplace. If postgraduate students manage to gain entry on a falsified transcript, their performance will be below standard. Future applicants from that university may be disadvantaged by association.</p>
<p>This also poses a risk to university selection criteria data and policy, as it damages the validity of using prior academic records as a predictor of success.</p>
<p>Another consequence is that fraudulent qualifications may increase the tendency for institutions to hire their own – accepting more students from their own institution for further study, or employment, rather than recruiting from further afield. That’s because students who’ve already been trained by the institution are more easily verified and represent a known entity.</p>
<p>For employers, hiring those who have falsified their qualifications or lied on their CVs can lead to costly exposure to legal action, high staff turnover, lost revenue and public reputational damage which may take years to repair. </p>
<p>For example, in 2012 it was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/19/business/the-undoing-of-scott-thompson-at-yahoo-common-sense.html">discovered that Scott Thompson</a>, the then CEO of Yahoo, had not earned the computer science degree he claimed. Instead, he had a degree in accounting. <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB120908803557643829">Herbalife’s CEO, Gregory Probert</a>, was forced to resign in 2008 after it emerged that he did not have the MBA he claimed to.</p>
<h2>Checks and balances</h2>
<p>The University of Cape Town, where we work and conduct research, checks the validity of every undergraduate applicant’s school-leaving certificate. Postgraduate applicants must undergo rigorous selection processes. If falsified documentation is discovered, the application is rejected; in some instances, an enquiry or disciplinary process follows.</p>
<p>This approach is available to all universities in the country. South Africa is ahead of the curve when it comes to the ability to verify qualifications. It boasts a fully-automated, centralised online degree verification system, called <a href="https://www.mie.co.za/">MiE</a>. This was the first commercial background screening company of its kind worldwide. </p>
<p>The system links higher education institutions to a centralised database where third party queries may be fielded. The service verifies Grade 12 certificates and checks tertiary qualifications. These include short courses, diplomas and degrees, which are checked directly with local and global institutions. The system also checks whether an academic institution is accredited by the relevant governing body.</p>
<p>For employers, and universities who are also large employers, it is imperative to follow due diligence and check references. Developing collegial relationships across institutions and other organisations can facilitate the due diligence process. Employers must do their homework online as well: check candidates’ online presence and across social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook.</p>
<p>In addition, a competency-based interview can go a long way in alerting interviewers to what may be a falsified qualification. Use the interview process to look for depth of knowledge across the applicant’s field.</p>
<p>Finally, when in doubt, don’t appoint. Additionally, have the courage not to appoint straight away. Even if someone appears to tick all the boxes, there is still a responsibility for due diligence. Re-advertise and continue the search to find other applicants when doubts arise. Taking extra time and care to properly vet qualifications, references and CVs will pay dividends in the long run.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109962/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suki Goodman receives funding from: I have been a recipient of an NRF grant in the past.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Linda Ronnie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fraudulent academic qualifications have increased dramatically in South Africa.Linda Ronnie, Associate Professor, University of Cape TownSuki Goodman, Associate professor, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1051382018-10-18T01:46:24Z2018-10-18T01:46:24ZHow to make work menopause-friendly: don’t think of it as a problem to be managed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241167/original/file-20181018-41135-zcq1jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Stressful work environments can exacerbate menopausal symptoms. Women who enjoy higher levels of support, on the other hand, report lower levels of menopausal symptoms.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/ij3DVxU7qbc">rawpixel / Unsplash </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For many, menopause conjures up feelings of embarrassment, hot flushes, mood swings and sleep disturbance. It doesn’t usually conjure up thoughts about the workplace.</p>
<p>Yet menopause at work is fast becoming a target of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/menopause-transition-effects-on-womens-economic-participation">government</a> and organisational concern. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-why-do-women-go-through-menopause-14820">Explainer: why do women go through menopause?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Some employers think menopause hurts productivity and is therefore a reason to avoid employing older women. But not every woman experiences menopausal transition the same way and it is wrong to assume it will always have a negative impact on work. </p>
<p>How work cultures deal with it plays a big part in how it affects both the individual and the organisation. </p>
<h2>Cultural influences</h2>
<p>Since 2013, we have undertaken <a href="https://womenworkandthemenopause.com/">surveys</a>, <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0018726718767739">interviews</a>, focus groups and discussions with line managers in organisations about women, work and the menopause.</p>
<p>We have found the frequency and severity of menopausal symptoms affect how women feel engaged, satisfied by and committed to their work.</p>
<p>Features of the workplace culture and managerial styles may accentuate or mitigate these. For example, stressful work environments can exacerbate menopausal symptoms. Women who enjoy higher levels of support, on the other hand, report lower levels of menopausal symptoms. </p>
<p>It is important to remember that for some women menopause will present significant and long-term health episodes and may be covered under <a href="https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/a-new-approach-to-disability-in-the-workplace">disability discrimination employment laws</a>. </p>
<p>Respondents also stressed that menopause is part of a broader “time of life” when many women feel energised, more free from caring responsibilities and ready to go in terms of their career. </p>
<p>Women entering their fifties reported higher levels of mental health. This is significant considering the <a href="https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/get-involved/get-your-workplace-involved/employer-pledge">mental health epidemic</a> affecting today’s organisations.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, older women are often invisible, overlooked or subject to “gendered ageism” – the intersection of sexist and ageist stereotypes or attitudes.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-silent-career-killer-heres-what-workplaces-can-do-about-menopause-98860">A silent career killer – here's what workplaces can do about menopause</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Simply put, even though these women might have the skills and capacities that workplaces need, they are not thought of as candidates for leadership roles. </p>
<h2>Practical steps</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.maturitas.org/article/S0378-5122(15)30090-6/fulltext">We suggest</a> there are a number of practical steps employers can take to create menopause-friendly workplaces. </p>
<p>Fans and easy access to temperature control were a common recommendation from our research. Women also appreciated the ability to work flexibly or from home during extreme weather or times when they were experiencing symptoms such as excessive bleeding.</p>
<p>Information about menopause – for both men and women – should be part of organisational health and wellness agendas. For time-poor employees, the workplace is an important place to access health knowledge and resources. Organisations should connect with important evidence-based advice, such as from the <a href="https://www.menopause.org.au/">Australasian Menopause Society</a> or <a href="https://jeanhailes.org.au/">Jean Hailes</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-shift-in-social-attitudes-can-make-menopause-a-positive-experience-46742">A shift in social attitudes can make menopause a positive experience</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Managerial systems should put menopause on the workplace agenda rather than considering it only when it becomes an “issue” or “problem”. Including menopause in occupational health and safety and human resource policies can also challenge hidden biases. </p>
<p>Finally, line management training is vital. All too often how menopause is dealt with in the workplace comes down to a supervisor’s personal experience and understanding. When managerial responses remain ad hoc and unpredictable, it is not surprising that <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/0167482X.2017.1327520">60% of women</a> feel unable to discuss their menopausal symptoms with their line manager.</p>
<h2>Don’t manage menopause</h2>
<p>These steps are not just about alleviating symptoms. They are about avoiding signalling that women of a certain age are an inconvenience or less valued as employees. </p>
<p>So want to know the best way to support menopause in the workplace? </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Provide ways to start the conversation in a positive way. </p></li>
<li><p>Encourage open and honest communication that does not automatically lead to discussion of performance.</p></li>
<li><p>Think about proactive practical steps that can accommodate symptoms.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>It is about enabling a positive and productive work environment for those going through menopause, not “managing” menopause and its symptoms as a problem. </p>
<h2>Experience and potential</h2>
<p>Overwhelmingly we came away from talking to respondents with the feeling they were highly resilient. They spoke of ways to counter perceived forgetfulness or the effects of sleep deprivation they thought might be related to their menopause. </p>
<p>They also had a lifetime of experiences and resources to draw on in terms of proactively and creatively negotiating the multiple demands of life and work.</p>
<p>Women do not want workplaces to manage their menopause. What they want is an enabling environment that supports them through the menopausal transition. Part of this is recognising older women as a valuable cohort of the workforce who are full of potential.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105138/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathleen Riach receives funding from the Department of Health. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gavin Jack receives funding from Department of Health. </span></em></p>Menopause at work is about creating a supportive environment for women, not managing menopause.Kathleen Riach, Associate Professor in Management, Monash UniversityGavin Jack, Professor, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/990592018-07-02T16:08:40Z2018-07-02T16:08:40ZThis man was fired by a computer – real AI could have saved him<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225688/original/file-20180702-116135-2yu8e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ibrahim Diallo was allegedly fired by a machine. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44561838">Recent news reports</a> relayed the escalating frustration he felt as his security pass stopped working, his computer system login was disabled, and finally he was frogmarched from the building by security personnel. His managers were unable to offer an explanation, and powerless to overrule the system. </p>
<p>Some might think this was a taste of things to come as artificial intelligence is given more power over our lives. Personally, I drew the opposite conclusion. Diallo was sacked because a previous manager hadn’t renewed his contract on the new computer system and various automated systems then clicked into action. The problems were not caused by AI, but by its absence.</p>
<p>The systems displayed no knowledge-based intelligence, meaning they didn’t have a model designed to encapsulate knowledge (such as human resources expertise) in the form of rules, text and logical links. Equally, the systems showed no computational intelligence – the ability to learn from datasets – such as recognising the factors that might lead to dismissal. In fact, it seems that Diallo was fired as a result of an old-fashioned and poorly designed system triggered by a human error. AI is certainly not to blame – and it may be the solution.</p>
<p>The conclusion I would draw from this experience is that some human resources functions are ripe for automation by AI, especially as, in this case, dumb automation has shown itself to be so inflexible and ineffective. Most large organisations will have a personnel handbook that can be coded up as an automated, expert system with explicit rules and models. Many companies have created such systems in a range of domains that involve specialist knowledge, not just in human resources.</p>
<p>But a more practical AI system could use a mix of techniques to make it smarter. The way the rules should be applied to the nuances of real situations might be learned from the company’s HR records, in the same way common law legal systems like England’s use precedents set by previous cases. The system could revise its reasoning as more evidence became available in any given case using what’s known as “<a href="http://www.statisticalengineering.com/bayesian.htm">Bayesian updating</a>”. An AI concept called “<a href="http://www.tutorialspoint.com/artificial_intelligence/artificial_intelligence_fuzzy_logic_systems.htm">fuzzy logic</a>” could interpret situations that aren’t black and white, applying evidence and conclusions in varying degrees to avoid the kind of stark decision-making that led to Diallo’s dismissal.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225729/original/file-20180702-116129-eneh0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225729/original/file-20180702-116129-eneh0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225729/original/file-20180702-116129-eneh0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225729/original/file-20180702-116129-eneh0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225729/original/file-20180702-116129-eneh0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225729/original/file-20180702-116129-eneh0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225729/original/file-20180702-116129-eneh0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">No more ‘computer says no’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-desperate-stressed-african-american-business-1104896705?src=ux6yxYkoU7_kMcezhHuS3A-1-69">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The need for several approaches is sometimes overlooked in the current wave of overenthusiasm for <a href="https://machinelearningmastery.com/what-is-deep-learning/">“deep learning” algorithms</a>, complex artificial neural networks inspired by the human brain that can recognise patterns in large datasets. As that is all they can do, some experts <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/technology/deep-learning-artificial-intelligence.html">are now arguing</a> for a more balanced approach. Deep learning algorithms are great at pattern recognition, but they certainly do not show deep understanding.</p>
<p>Using AI in this way would likely reduce errors and, when they did occur, the system could develop and share the lessons with corresponding AI in other companies so that similar mistakes are avoided in the future. That is something that can’t be said for human solutions. A good human manager will learn from his or her mistakes, but the next manager is likely to repeat the same errors.</p>
<p>So, what are the downsides? One of the most striking aspects of Diallo’s experience is the lack of humanity shown. A decision was made, albeit in error, but not communicated or explained. An AI may make fewer mistakes, but would it be any better at communicating its decisions? I think the answer is probably not.</p>
<p>Losing your job and livelihood is a stressful and emotional moment for anyone but the most frivolous employees. It is a moment when sensitivity and understanding are required. So, I for one would certainly find human contact essential, no matter how convincing the AI chatbot. </p>
<p>A sacked employee may feel that they have been wronged and may wish to challenge the decision through a tribunal. That situation raises the question of who was responsible for the original decision and who will defend it in law. Now is surely the moment to address the legal and ethical questions posed by the rise of AI, while it is still in its infancy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99059/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adrian Hopgood is an affiliated professor at the University of Liege. He has previously received research funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).</span></em></p>Smarter AI could save us from computers’ stupid decisions.Adrian Hopgood, Professor of Intelligent Systems and Director of Future & Emerging Technologies, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/873522017-11-14T23:12:33Z2017-11-14T23:12:33ZHow the ‘yes’ vote will impact workers and HR<p>The conclusive “yes” outcome is great news for millions of Australians and the <a href="http://www.australianmarriageequality.org/open-letter-of-support/">841 corporations</a> that support marriage equality. However, the struggle continues to build inclusive workplaces in which all staff feel valued and that they belong. </p>
<p>The marriage equality debate has also created a realisation of the importance of spreading awareness of LGBTIQ+ issues in order to gain support from others and achieve equality. <a href="https://www.dca.org.au/opinion-pieces/if-you-dont-believe-marriage-equality-its-time-change-your-stripes">Allies</a> have been integral to LGBTIQ+ people throughout this debate, and hopefully, the “yes” outcome will empower more LGBTIQ+ individuals to be out at work. </p>
<p>However, the marriage equality debate has been <a href="https://www.prideinclusionprograms.com.au/content/uploads/2017/08/Marriage_Equality_Resource_PID_A4_Final.pdf">an intensely personal and often exhausting time for LGBTIQ+ individuals and allies</a>. The “respectful debate” we were promised was instead characterised by homophobic and transphobic <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/vote-no-to-fags-outbreak-of-homophobic-violence-vandalism-in-samesex-marriage-campaign-20170925-gyo9ri.html">incidents</a> that have caused <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/samesex-survey-leaves-an-enduring-pain-for-lgbti-people-20171102-gzdeq4.html">enduring pain for LGBTIQ+ people</a>, at least in the short term. </p>
<p>What’s worse, for many LGBTIQ+ people, coming out at work still represents a <a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1016/S0742-7301%2804%2923002-X">risk to their career and relationships with colleagues</a>. The fear of coming out will still persist for many LGBTIQ+ individuals and workers. </p>
<h2>Impacts of coming out still costly for some workers</h2>
<p>Legal recognition of same-sex marriage would certainly enhance the visibility of LGBTIQ+ individuals in our communities. In Canada, the number of people who <a href="http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/as-sa/97-553/p4-eng.cfm">reported being in a same-sex relationship surged by a third</a> after same-sex marriage was legalised. </p>
<p>However, the fear of coming out has shown to be costly to <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-01068-018">the quality of work-life</a> and <a href="http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.91.11.1869">well-being</a> of LGBTIQ+ workers. Moreover, their employers also suffer <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2243189">financially</a> through <a href="http://www.outnowconsulting.com/market-reports/lgbt-diversity-show-me-the-business-case-report.aspx">staff turnover</a> and <a href="https://research-doc.credit-suisse.com/docView?document_id=x695480&serialid=u0qj22TwXJAwyF%2FreBXW%2FeSFdVyYwRIZQGZP1IAumTo%3D">negative reactions from shareholders</a>.</p>
<p>LGBTIQ+ people who have spent years not disclosing <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001879117300829">their relationships</a> and/or <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001879117300817">family</a> at work may also experience psychological strains which have an effect on work, family conflict, job satisfaction, and family satisfaction. </p>
<p>For those who are empowered to come out, their workplace may not be a safe space, particularly in <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/661653?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">remote areas</a> and in <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0001839215576401">occupations</a> where discrimination towards LGBTIQ+ workers is still prevalent. </p>
<p>The “yes” outcome is not just a victory for LGBTIQ+ people; it is a victory for equality. Looking at diversity and inclusion policies through the lens of LGBTIQ-inclusion has a number of benefits to a wide range of groups in the workplace. </p>
<h2>Creating organisational change</h2>
<p>The debate about marriage equality should be catalyst for organisations to look at their internal policies and practices to make them more inclusive. Inclusion isn’t a zero-sum game, it is <a href="https://www.dca.org.au/research/project/building-inclusion-evidence-based-model-inclusive-leadership">good for business</a> and <a href="http://amj.aom.org/content/56/6/1754.abstract">all employees</a>. </p>
<p>First, organisations should focus on creating an inclusive culture is beneficial to both LGBTIQ and non-LGBTIQ workers. And one of the simplest ways for organisations to build an inclusive culture is through the language they use. </p>
<p>Inclusive language enables a diversity of people (such as those of different ages, cultures and genders) to <a href="https://www.dca.org.au/research/project/wordsatwork-building-inclusion-through-power-language">feel valued and respected and able to contribute their talents to drive organisational performance</a>. Simply thinking about the language we all use when addressing staff, customers and other stakeholders, asking about partners for example, can go a long way to making LGBTIQ+ and non-LGBTIQ+ workers feel included.</p>
<p>An appropriate use of language is also critical in respectful dialogue between workers when addressing delicate issues such as same-sex marriage. Thus, organisational policies also need to address the appropriate use of language in formal and informal dialogue at work, particularly <a href="http://www.hrmonline.com.au/section/featured/politics-work-line-free-speech-hate-speech/">drawing a fine line between free speech and hate speech</a>. </p>
<p>Second, a recognition of same-sex relationships provides an opportunity for revisiting and updating policies relating to partnerships and families such as parental leave policies. Prior to this conversation, same-sex relationships and ‘rainbow families’ may not have been commonly discussed in the workplace. And this invisibility might be reflected in workplace policies. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/leave/maternity-and-parental-leave/paid-parental-leave">current</a> government-funded programs only makes the birth mother the primary carer by default. This policy for example could be inclusive to LGBTIQ families by making it gender neutral. </p>
<p>Introducing gender neutrality to parental leave policies also means dads in heterosexual couples can spend precious time with their newborn babies. In fact, many <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/wgea-newsroom/moving-towards-gender-balanced-parental-leave-policies">leading Australian companies</a> already provide paid parental leave to the primary carer no matter the gender of the parent. And this has a huge benefit for workforce <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/59bfeb20-3cdf-11e5-bbd1-b37bc06f590c">gender equality</a> in terms of load sharing when it comes to child-rearing and household chores. </p>
<p>The same can be said for workplace flexibility. When <a href="https://www.liv.asn.au/PDF/LIJ/April-LIJ-LGBTI-story">Tony Wood</a> (a partner at a leading law firm) became a dad, he helped to pioneer workplace flexibility for other dads in his legal firm. The more men who access workplace flexibility, the better for <a href="https://www.dca.org.au/research/project/men-get-flexible">parents of both genders</a> in heterosexual families.</p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>As society becomes more diverse and inclusive, organisations need to ensure that their policies and practices catch up with these progressive changes. </p>
<p>The new era of marriage equality means organisations need to become more inclusive of both LGBTIQ+ workers and their issues in order to attract and retain top talent. Equally important, LGBTIQ-inclusion makes the organisation more inclusive for everyone. </p>
<hr>
<p><em><a href="https://www.dca.org.au/about-dca/our-team">Cathy Brown</a> contributed to this article. She is the Policy and Research Manager at <a href="https://www.dca.org.au/">Diversity Council Australia</a>, an Authorised Marriage Celebrant, and a member of the Australian Labour Party.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87352/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Raymond Trau has served as an expert panellist and academic/research adviser for the Diversity Council of Australia and Pride in Diversity (a national not-for-profit organisation that supports employers with their LGBTI inclusion strategies and programs). Diversity Council Australia (DCA) is the only independent, not-for-profit workplace diversity advisor to business in Australia. DCA’s income is generated from membership fees, sponsorships and services to businesses.</span></em></p>The yes vote in the marriage equality postal survey will have broad reaching implications - including into LGBTIQ+ policies in the workplace.Raymond Trau, Lecturer, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/811722017-07-18T20:06:41Z2017-07-18T20:06:41ZWhere the boundaries lie in workplace relationships<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178612/original/file-20170718-8196-14vmit4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The fact is that romance will kindle at work, but there are things employers and employees can and should do to manage these situations.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In recent weeks two prominent news stories have highlighted workplace romances blowing up into costly public scandals. The <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/nsw/NSWSC/2017/952.html">romantic relationship between</a> CEO of Seven West Media, Tim Worner, and former executive assistant Amber Harrison, sparked an ugly legal brawl and left in its wake claims of bullying, breaches of contract and confidentiality and a corporate giant using its might to protect its own. More recently, two male AFL executives were publicly shamed and resigned <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-14/senior-afl-executives-resign-for-workplace-and-personal-matters/8709266">after affairs</a> with lower-ranked female staff. </p>
<p>The tone of the coverage of both cases suggests that sexual relationships between colleagues are an aberration. But the opposite is true: workplaces are where many relationships begin. <a href="https://www.ahri.com.au/resources/hrmonthly/2014/hrmonthly-february-2014">According to Relationships Australia</a>, in the 35 to 50 age group, 40% of people met their partner at work. </p>
<p>The gap between this reality and our public attitudes to workplace relationships reflects a high level of anxiety and confusion about the boundary between work and personal matters. The fact is that romance will kindle at work, but there are things employers and employees can and should do to manage these situations.</p>
<h2>The laws around workplace relationships</h2>
<p>Employers’ right to regulate their employees’ out of work conduct remains a contested legal question. However, one thing is clear: it depends a lot on where the relationship takes place.</p>
<p>One example is the case <a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/decisionssigned/html/2015fwc3156.htm">Keenan versus Leighton Boral Amey Joint Venture</a>, brought to the Fair Work Commission in 2015. The commission found the employee, who engaged in “aberrant” behaviour, was unfairly dismissed, as some of the more serious incidents in question occurred beyond the temporal and physical boundaries of the workplace. </p>
<p>If the conduct had occurred in a work setting, the employer would have been vicariously liable for employee behaviour that breached sexual harassment policies. A key factor in this case was that the employer directed employees to follow their policies at the work function. So the employees decided to leave the venue altogether and continue drinking, outside of what was deemed to be the workplace.</p>
<p>Employers can’t expect to assert the right to take action against employees who they think have misbehaved, if they don’t set out rules on employee conduct in the first place. This is the reason workplaces have clear policies on relationships. </p>
<p>A good example of this can be found in the relevant part of the Australian Public Service Commission <a href="http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications-and-media/current-publications/aps-values-and-code-of-conduct-in-practice/the-workplace">values and code of conduct</a>. This outlines examples of acceptable workplace behaviour as well as defining what is “related to work” and laying out the responsibilities of employers and employees.</p>
<p>If employers don’t have these policies, potential conflict of interest can arise. For example, if two workers are in a romantic relationship and one is performance appraising or deciding on the promotion of the other, then there is a clear case of perceived bias. This can result in inaccurate assessments and can result in other workers feeling aggrieved.</p>
<p>A sticking point in work policies on relationships is the consequences for non-compliance. It’s not legally set in stone whether an employer can dismiss an employee for failing to disclose a relationship with a colleague – but if the employee is dishonest when challenged about it, it could be grounds for dismissal. </p>
<p>In the Fair Work Commission case <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/FWC/2015/2087.html">Mihalopoulos versus Westpac Banking Corporation</a>, the employer’s policy required employees to disclose romantic relationships between employees. When the employee in question was asked by the employer about the relationship, he lied. </p>
<p>The Fair Work Commission found that the employee’s failure to disclose the relationship, especially when combined with his dishonesty in lying to his manager about the affair on two separate occasions, constituted a valid reason for the applicant’s dismissal. </p>
<p>So the best approach for employees considering a relationship with a colleague is to separate the romantic advance from the workplace. Conduct that would be considered lawful outside the workplace can actually be subject a variety of laws if it occurs in a work setting.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81172/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Harpur does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Faced with the reality that romance will kindle at work, here are some things employers and employees can do to manage these situations.Paul Harpur, Senior Lecturer, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/803222017-07-04T03:26:59Z2017-07-04T03:26:59ZDoing away with the annual performance review? More feedback isn’t necessarily better<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176565/original/file-20170703-32591-sh20gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Businesses are considering making the change from a formal review to regular feedback. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/19410710528/in/photolist-vzfXYU-Tkp5HK-inNwmk-4ajt81-nHqLWZ-4BYB7z-2ZXhym-pCbEDE-6UTpWn-kUnmpK-iFYHo-GwLiE-r7YVTj-9q9qRG-Pj8hgo-7XLS4C-9o5Knq-9o5G9j-9o2EKZ-4srdeK-deDuYd-R6EiVL-UMP2SY-6zTybH-9PTQgQ-R6Ej65-4sk2s2-dQfQog-bpSodX-aud5Kh-2iRqPw-nKip3r-gSPac-9NZyt-8kmdBF-6E3E9-rqesnq-pbqEuo-5ysykT-rba4dj-71AWN8-4DxFqM-qKqH8Q-2oWuJ-iCmVKN-6bVyCs-3pHVNv-aPWRR-auaDG6-atJvUu">www.shutterstock.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For many employees the end of the financial year signals performance review time. The dreaded time of the year when they sit down with their supervisor and receive feedback on their performance over the previous 12 months.</p>
<p>In Australia and the US, <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/10/the-performance-management-revolution">businesses are reconsidering</a> this traditional approach to managing employee performance. Managers are worried the traditional approach is resource intensive, emphasises employee evaluation over development and tends to be retrospective. Feedback delivered after an event, can leave employees with an inaccurate assessment of their <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2670698">performance</a>.</p>
<p>Employees vary in their views on the frequency of feedback. One <a href="https://www.tinypulse.com/blog/difference-in-perception-between-generations">survey</a> found that baby boomers prefer less frequent feedback while millennials prefer more. Experienced workers know the job so see no value in feedback. Younger workers feel <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3052988/heres-what-millennials-want-from-their-performance-reviews">blindsided</a> by feedback that comes but once a year.</p>
<p>An alternative would be to <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/10/the-performance-management-revolution">drop traditional performance reviews</a> and implement regular feedback sessions with employees - maybe twice yearly, quarterly, monthly or even weekly.</p>
<p>One <a href="http://mrbartonmaths.com/resourcesnew/8.%20Research/Marking%20and%20Feedback/The%20effects%20of%20feedback%20interventions.pdf">study</a> found that feedback interventions (both positive and negative feedback) resulted in lower performance in over one third of cases examined. Another <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1987-02683-001">study</a> suggests that feedback without any consequences won’t be effective. This study reported that when feedback was used alone, it produced consistent improvements in performance in only 28% of the cases examined.</p>
<h2>Feedback, maybe just not constantly</h2>
<p>The argument for increasing the frequency of feedback is that it will provide more timely information that employees can use to learn and be more effective. This is particularly the case when it’s tied to events in the workplace. One <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/59f3/a052b4b5187a91cb9b8d0813e23f3dffbc03.pdf">study</a>
found that more frequent feedback improves employee learning and task performance. </p>
<p>A subsequent <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597811000513">study</a> also found that increasing the frequency of feedback had a positive effect on learning and performance but only up to a point.</p>
<p>It gets to a point where feedback can be overwhelming for employees, where its too much to process and respond to. This can actually reduce employee learning and performance. The challenge is to find the sweet spot between too much and too little feedback.</p>
<h2>The sweet spot</h2>
<p>The impact of more frequent feedback will depend partly on its content. Feedback can be positive or negative. Positive feedback makes employees feel <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11596809">pleasant and proud</a> as it is consistent with an employee’s <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1980.tb02351.x/full">self-image</a>. </p>
<p>Some managers prefer to point out things that need to change in the way their employees work - that’s negative feedback. And it’s pretty risky for managers: <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2731691">researchers report</a> that 98% of managers experienced some form of aggression by employees as a result of providing negative feedback. </p>
<p>So what’s also important in giving feedback is the way it’s delivered. Feedback needs to be clear and relevant. Both supervisors and subordinates need to feel comfortable asking for and giving feedback as part of a relationship of trust between <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1754-9434.2011.01315.x/abstract">them</a>. </p>
<p>Feedback runs both ways! The quality of the feedback sessions also <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013164403258440">reflects a manager’s effectiveness</a>. When managers give feedback in a considerate manner, employees are more likely to feel that they are treated fairly by their <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25546265">supervisor</a>.</p>
<h2>The delivery</h2>
<p>To avoid the unpleasantness of the awkward annual chat, managers could try facilitating feedback <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0893318914524060">electronically</a>. This allows supervisors and employees to compose, edit, and process messages carefully, thereby improving the quality of the communication process. In fact, managers prefer sending negative feedback electronically, as it avoids the discomfort of communicating bad news <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2000.tb00763.x/abstract">face to face</a>.</p>
<p>A new market has developed for apps and software that facilitate instant feedback from workplace <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2015/08/26/employee-feedback-is-the-killer-app-a-new-market-emerges/#56bbc2d85edf">colleagues</a>. For example, American multinational General Electric is piloting <a href="http://qz.com/428813/ge-performance-review-strategy-shift/">an app called PD@GE</a> to let people post notes of encouragement, advice or criticism under categories like “insight,” “consider” and “continue.”</p>
<p>Making the change to an informal performance management system based on regular feedback is going to be a challenge for Australian organisations. Currently <a href="http://www.afr.com/leadership/the-six-steps-to-getting-more-from-feedback-20140212-kbh6i#ixzz4lMSVPvpl">only 36%</a> of managers complete appraisals thoroughly and on time. Companies that have increased the frequency of feedback, do so after upping the training of their <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/10/the-performance-management-revolution">managers.</a> </p>
<p>Managers need to develop skills in identifying the causes of performance, distinguishing between systematic versus isolated performance issues, collecting and evaluating data and communicating with employees. It’s a big step up from the traditional ticking of a box agreeing to a statement about an employees’ performance.</p>
<p>Increasing the frequency of performance feedback is not a quick fix to the problems that are associated with performance reviews. Organisations need to think through the implications for training of managers and preferences of employees in order to make a successful change in their approach to performance management.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80322/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Brown receives funding from the ARC. </span></em></p>Finding the feedback balance is hard. Millennials are seeking more feedback while baby boomers tend to want to get on with the job.Michelle Brown, Professor, Human Resource Management, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/734182017-02-23T02:01:48Z2017-02-23T02:01:48ZUber’s dismissive treatment of employee’s sexism claims is all too typical<p>Uber has suffered a spate of bad publicity in recent days after allegations of harassment and discrimination from a former software engineer. </p>
<p>In a blog post, Susan Fowler <a href="https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber">described</a> being propositioned by her supervisor within weeks of starting her job.
She complained to the human resources (HR) team. According to Fowler, the supervisor received a “warning and a stern talking-to” but no other discipline at the time because he was a strong performer and it was his “first offense.” Uber then offered her a choice: Transfer to another team or stay and risk a retaliatory performance review from the harasser. </p>
<p>Fowler also described a larger pattern of harassment, discrimination and retaliation. Others reported being harassed by the same manager, apparently contradicting what HR told her. Fowler’s performance review was downgraded, making her ineligible for a subsidized graduate program. When Fowler asked a director about “dwindling” representation of women in the division, he attributed it to their failure to step up and be better engineers. When Uber ordered leather jackets for engineers, they were ordered only for men. Apparently, there weren’t enough women to qualify for a bulk discount.</p>
<p>Fowler complained repeatedly. HR responded with escalating indifference, ultimately suggesting that Fowler herself was the problem. </p>
<p>After Fowler’s post went viral, Uber sought to distance itself from the incident and <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/uber-eric-holder-to-investigate-sexual-harassment-235223">hired</a> former Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate. CEO Travis Kalanick <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/19/uber-ceo-travis-kalanick-says-orders-urgent-investigation-after-allegation-of-harassment-gender-bias-at-company.html">issued a response</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“What she describes is abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Fowler’s story – which Uber neither confirmed nor denied – is not unique in the tech sector, where women remain underrepresented. Women make up only <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/27/women-in-tech_n_6955940.html">12 percent of engineers</a>. These women face substantial <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8655598674229196978&q=built+in+headwinds&hl=en&as_sdt=6,38">headwinds</a>. In a <a href="https://www.elephantinthevalley.com/">survey</a> of women in the tech sector, 84 percent reported being told they were “too aggressive” and 59 percent said they were offered fewer opportunities than male counterparts. The majority also reported receiving unwanted sexual advances. And of those that reported the harassment, 60 percent were unhappy with the company’s response. </p>
<p>The Uber story provides a window into how companies have developed HR infrastructure to address anti-discrimination laws. These structures occupy a marginalized status within organizations. </p>
<p>As I learned while working as an employment lawyer at a large law firm, legal mandates rarely disrupt business objectives. Instead, they are largely viewed as an inconvenience delegated to HR. That explains, for example, why the CEO learned about Fowler’s allegations <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/business/uber-sexual-harassment-investigation.html?_r=0">only after they went viral</a>.</p>
<h2>Symbolic structures</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/titlevii.cfm">Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act</a> safeguards an employee’s right to equal opportunity in the workplace. </p>
<p>It initially protected an employee against discrimination in hiring, pay, promotion and termination. Courts later expanded definitions of discrimination to <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14616838878214701501&q=meritor&hl=en&as_sdt=6,38">include harassment</a>. Title VII also protects employees from <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6815686592442149051&q=burlington+norther&hl=en&as_sdt=6,38">retaliation</a> for complaining about discrimination or harassment. </p>
<p>As sociologist Lauren Edelman documents in a recent <a href="http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo24550454.html">book</a>, employers responded to civil rights laws by setting up complaint processes for employees. She argues that these processes are less focused on meaningfully assuring equal opportunity and more about creating the appearance of compliance. </p>
<h2>The ‘first bite is free’</h2>
<p>According to Edelman, <a href="http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo24550454.html">courts have become complicit</a> in this development, crediting employers for superficial procedures without assessing whether they actually work.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court’s decision in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15103611360542350644&q=faragher+v.+city+of+boca+raton&hl=en&as_sdt=6,38">Faragher v. City of Boca Raton</a> is a case in point. The case gives employers a defense in harassment cases if they took reasonable measures to prevent and correct harassment and the victim unreasonably failed to make use of internal complaint mechanisms. </p>
<p>However, courts don’t require employers to do very much to satisfy the defense. Merely adopting and distributing a policy <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=267088">gets an employer credit,</a> as does adopting an investigation process. Courts do not require employers to take strong disciplinary action against the harasser. Rather, they need only take action <a href="http://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/upitt61&section=22">reasonably calculated</a> to stop the harassment – even if it does not. </p>
<p>In theory, a plaintiff would still have a viable claim if they used the employer’s complaint procedure. But <a href="http://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/upitt61&section=22">one empirical study</a> found that even short delays in reporting the harassment can be considered “unreasonable” on the victim’s part. So if a victim waits a few months to report the harassment, and the employer goes through the motions of investigating and responding, the victim may be out of luck.</p>
<p>This doesn’t give employers much of an incentive to crack down on harassment. As one scholar observed, it essentially allows employers to escape liability for a harasser’s first offense. In other words, the “<a href="http://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/upitt61&section=22">first bite is free</a>.” </p>
<p>This helps to explain Uber’s underwhelming response to Fowler’s initial complaint. Uber wasn’t really on the hook for the “first report” and did not have a strong incentive to punish the harasser. For Fowler’s harasser, that meant a “warning and a stern talking-to.”</p>
<h2>It’s just a ‘business decision’</h2>
<p>Lauren Edelman’s <a href="http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo24550454.html">research</a> also documented a tendency among HR and lawyers to characterize civil rights obligations as “legal risks.” </p>
<p>This is consistent with how I talked to employers when I worked as an employment lawyer. I offered advice on “legal risks” while they were tasked with making “business decisions” on how to proceed.</p>
<p>However, this frame ultimately treats legal rules as one of many factors to take into account (or ignore) when employers make important decisions. </p>
<p>Consider Fowler’s situation. Uber evidently considered Fowler’s harasser to be an economically valuable employee that might be difficult to replace. Transferring the harasser to another team or terminating his employment likely would have been costly. By contrast, offering Fowler a transfer seemed a cheaper alternative, notwithstanding its effect on Fowler and the increased litigation risk. </p>
<p>When framed as a business decision, companies have a tendency to displace the victim of the harassment to preserve the profits associated with a high-flying harasser.</p>
<h2>Swatting mosquitoes while ignoring the termites</h2>
<p>Fowler’s allegations of sexual harassment <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/uber-s-handling-susan-fowler-scandal-will-determine-it-fate-n723596">have received</a> <a href="http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/02/susan-fowler-alleges-sexual-discrimination-against-uber.html">a lot</a> of <a href="http://www.recode.net/2017/2/21/14673658/uber-travis-kalanick-susan-fowler-diversity-sexual-harassment">press attention</a>, but in many ways her allegations of systemic discrimination and retaliation were more troubling. </p>
<p>The director’s comment that women weren’t stepping up. The altered performance evaluation that cost Fowler a spot at grad school. The leather jackets. </p>
<p>HR was even less responsive to these complaints than to the harassment allegations and blamed the problem on Fowler herself. Why? They may not have believed her. But HR may have been limited in its capacity to fix the underlying problem. Yes, it could have paid for the leather jackets, addressed the doctored performance evaluations or scolded the director for his sexist comment.</p>
<p>But HR, on its own, is poorly situated to fix a business culture that is indifferent to (or in denial about) offering meaningful opportunities for advancement to women or other minorities in the workplace. As political scientist Frank Dobbin <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8909.html">has argued</a>, human resources professionals have long struggled to establish their legitimacy within organizations. They are rarely the locus of power within corporations, which instead resides in revenue-generating departments like engineering and sales, and in the executives that preside over the business. </p>
<p>HR advises. Business decides.</p>
<h2>Rooting out discrimination</h2>
<p>Business leaders make a Faustian bargain when they outsource civil rights compliance to HR and lawyers. They gain credible symbols of compliance. But they also lose touch with a business identity that includes doing right by their employees. As Mary Gentile argues in her book, “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Y7yrKBVflgkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=giving+voice+to+values&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjb_IiHnqTSAhVJ8mMKHU36A7wQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=giving%20voice%20to%20values&f=false">Giving Voice to Values</a>,” we lose touch with our shared values when we define work roles too narrowly.</p>
<p>In retrospect, Uber’s decision to side with the harasser over Fowler was a bad business move. All the bad press has reinforced existing narratives of Uber as a <a href="https://www.recode.net/2016/4/25/11586386/uber-driver-tips-settlement">bad</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/business/delete-uber.html">actor</a>. But the decision was also – to use a word that has fallen out of favor in the business vernacular – wrong. </p>
<p>Until business leaders view themselves as guardians of civil rights, those rights will continue to be framed as a tax on profits rather than important values to uphold.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73418/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth C. Tippett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The escalating indifference with which Uber allegedly reacted to a software engineer’s harassment claims is the norm in the corporate world, where enforcing civil rights laws is seen as a tax on profits.Elizabeth C. Tippett, Assistant Professor, School of Law, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/480992015-10-29T19:29:55Z2015-10-29T19:29:55ZHR – who even needs it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99933/original/image-20151028-21081-p3nh2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The other H word.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">duncan c/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/3c7f1e40-a03e-11e2-88b6-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3ogt1C4Kd">Management fads</a> are fun, and one that keeps resurfacing is <a href="https://hbr.org/2015/07/why-we-love-to-hate-hr-and-what-hr-can-do-about-it">hating on HR</a> — aka Human Resources. </p>
<p>We can all think of times when HR has caused us a special kind of pain and suffering — payroll screw-ups, pointless performance reviews, unintelligible procedures, anyone? It makes sense that you can’t spell “hurt” without “H” and “R”, and when we see the anti-HR mobs baying for blood, it’s easy to pick up a placard and/or blunt object and join in the fun. </p>
<p>There’s a swag of anecdotal “evidence” claiming that HR is no good, despite <a href="http://amj.aom.org/content/55/6/1264.short">legitimate research that says otherwise</a>, so let’s <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304819004579489603299910562">get rid of HR</a>!</p>
<p>The problem with all this passionate HR-hating is that “HR” is not just a department or group of numbskulls sitting on the ninth floor of the building with the fancy offices.</p>
<p>HR involves a <a href="http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072934255/information_center_view0/index.html">wide range of activities</a>, including hiring, pay, performance management, and employee relations - all of which are essential to running organisations that rely on people to do work. </p>
<p>So, we might say that we should get rid of the HR <em>people</em>, but somebody will still have to fill the HR <em>function</em>. Who’s going to do this?</p>
<h2>HR by line managers</h2>
<p>The first obvious candidate to replace HR is the line managers. They know the people (they are the people), so who’d be better at doing “people” stuff? HR is, after all, the easy job — something anyone can pick up, right? Developing policy and practice around industrial relations, occupational health and safety, and diversity management, among other things, will easily fit into their newly expanded job description.</p>
<p>But hang on: that actually sounds a little complicated. What’s more, <a href="http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/cwl-survey-results">a poll conducted in early 2014</a> by the <a href="http://www.workplaceleadership.com.au/">Centre for Workplace Leadership</a> found 75% of employees surveyed felt they <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australian-workplaces-need-much-better-leaders-23354">needed better leaders</a>. So, maybe our line managers aren’t the ones we’d choose to do HR. In fact, maybe we should just get rid of them, too. They can go play the pokies with the HR people we just fired.</p>
<h2>HR by senior managers</h2>
<p>Second possible candidate: Conventional wisdom has it that <a href="https://hbr.org/2012/07/why-hr-still-isnt-a-strategic-partner">HR is supposed to be a “strategic partner”</a>, so let’s just get senior managers to do it!</p>
<p>Of course, we know that senior managers aren’t usually representative of “the people”, in terms of <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/Stats_at_a_Glance.pdf">gender</a>, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/12/talking-about-a-bamboo-ceiling-to-tackle-discrimination-is-wrong">race/ethnicity</a>, or even <a href="https://hbr.org/2011/03/the-new-path-to-the-c-suite">job experience</a>. So, maybe we shouldn’t trust the “old boys” in the C-suite to represent our interests when they do HR. </p>
<h2>Do-It-Yourself HR</h2>
<p>Candidate three: If you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself…er…in self-managed teams! </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99936/original/image-20151028-21106-1t9p26o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99936/original/image-20151028-21106-1t9p26o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99936/original/image-20151028-21106-1t9p26o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99936/original/image-20151028-21106-1t9p26o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99936/original/image-20151028-21106-1t9p26o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99936/original/image-20151028-21106-1t9p26o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99936/original/image-20151028-21106-1t9p26o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>So, with the surplus of time in your workday, go ahead and log in to your favourite HR information system (SAP? Oracle? Wait, don’t tell us…Workday? You’re such a hipster), and get cracking on your new HR responsibilities. Conduct your peer evaluations, consult with the team about promotions and pay raises, and resolve interpersonal grievances. </p>
<p>Of course, if you already have a full workload and can’t invest a decent chunk of time into getting your head around this stuff, HR might quickly deteriorate and fall apart. And you have to be careful about letting HR deteriorate, because when that happens, people start calling for your resignation (see above). </p>
<h2>Outsourcing HR</h2>
<p>Option four: Does it feel dirty to say outsourcing? Pay someone else to do your HR and you’re good to go. Of course, if we’re paying someone else to do it <em>all</em>, <a href="http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/making-the-hr-outsourcing-decision/">it could get expensive</a>. </p>
<p>And remember that question we asked earlier about the representativeness of the people making “people” decisions? If outsourcing’s your pick, you can throw that “representation” idea out the ninth floor window. </p>
<h2>HR by a group of competent specialists</h2>
<p>Okay, so what’s left? </p>
<p>Perhaps it would be worthwhile to have competent staff <em>within</em> the organisation working on the HR stuff. They might have their own department, but they’d be accessible to everybody throughout the organisation, from top to bottom. This would ensure that they were in touch with “the people”, as well as the strategy of the organisation. What’s more, because there’s a variety of HR stuff that needs to be done, we’d even need <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053482215000054">different types of professionals with different skill sets to work in this group</a>.</p>
<h2>Wait…what?</h2>
<p>Did we just end up with a HR department? Yep. The problem with HR does not just belong to HR; it belongs to all of us. Get rid of your HR department (or even <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/dont-throw-out-the-baby-with-the-bathwater-on-performance-reviews-20150730-giniod.html">some part of HR</a>), and you’ll still be left with some very real HR challenges. </p>
<p>The future business environment is uncertain, technology is ever-changing, jobs are exceedingly complex, and the workforce is increasingly diverse. People leading and working in organisations need to be more thoughtful in building and supporting <a href="http://apj.sagepub.com/content/42/2/132.abstract">good HR systems</a>, and we must realise it takes a highly skilled group of <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1748-8583.12015/abstract">HR professionals to deal with all of the complexity and tensions</a> of our world.</p>
<p>We need to define HR the way we define finance, marketing, or operations —- as an integral function of any medium to large organisation, not as some group of blockheads that, by the way, you have hired and failed to develop (you nitwit). HR people need to be competent in HR. It’d also be nice if they <a href="http://aum.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/01/19/0312896214546055.abstract">could navigate organisational politics</a>. The HR department is not a dumping ground for leftover talent. It must be filled with the best and brightest, and you must invest in their development -— just like everywhere else in the organisation.</p>
<p>The role of HR is just as dynamic as are the business environment and workplace, and the study of HR is not a “settled” science. But there’s a lot that we do already know, and it’s not likely to be found in faddish anti-HR rants. If you want to weigh the true value of HR, start reading about legitimate HR research in journals like the <a href="http://aom.org/journals/">Academy of Management’s publications</a>, the <a href="http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/apl/">Journal of Applied Psychology</a>, the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291467-8543">British Journal of Industrial Relations</a>, or <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/%28ISSN%291099-050X">Human Resource Management</a>. Get involved in legitimate studies by qualified researchers, not anecdotal moaning by fad-pushers.</p>
<p>HR is not beyond reproach, with its reality sometimes <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-005X.2012.00285.x/abstract">falling short of its rhetoric</a>. Our <a href="http://jom.sagepub.com/content/39/6/1637.abstract">perceptions of HR do matter</a>, and HR professionals should explore <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1748-8583.12028/abstract">ways to improve the credibility of their own work</a>.</p>
<p>But, that said, we all need to think about HR as we think about everything else. Have you ever seriously said, “Let’s get rid of finance,” or “operations”, or “marketing”? Saying “Let’s get rid of HR” is just as absurd, so stop being such a hater and show HR some love and commitment. After all, you can’t spell “heart” without “H” and “R”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48099/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jesse E. Olsen is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Workplace Leadership, which has been co-funded by the Commonwealth Government and The University of Melbourne.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andreas Pekarek does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Before you go hating HR, ask yourself: what are the alternatives?Jesse E. Olsen, Research Fellow at the Centre for Workplace Leadership, Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of MelbourneAndreas Pekarek, Lecturer in Management, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.