In about a week's time, depending on where you live, millions of trick-or-treaters will scatter into local neighborhoods in search of candy and fun with their friends and family in celebration of Halloween. Some of that lot will no doubt travel to work with Mom or Dad to increase their sugary booty. An added benefit will be the good cheer and stress relief that these costumed youngsters will bring to the workplaces they visit.
Today we searched for news about workplaces and Halloween. We found some interesting tidbits:
This article published last week in New Jersey's Asbury Park Press makes the case to use the holiday as an opportunity to curb obesity among children by handing out such non-edible treats as "plastic worms and spiders for boys and colorful hair barrettes and bows, ribbons and costume jewelry for girls." Of course, since most people at home or in the workplace will still offer candy, the article promotes the spirit of giving back by suggesting that parents ask their kids to choose the candy treats they most want and giving the remainder to a good cause – which might include a stash for the office.
Another Halloween-and-workplace themed article is this press release by global workforce solutions provider Adecco, which finds that – big surprise – workers are most frightened by their bosses, followed by the company president/CEO. Perhaps even less surprising – but still certainly frightening when it comes to retention, morale and productivity – 60 percent of the over 2,400 adults that Adecco surveyed in late September 2007 who are scared by a part of their job are afraid of making a mistake. And, the survey finds, nearly half of those whose job requires them to communicate with others and are scared of something at work are afraid of saying the wrong thing at work.
Adecco's Chief Career Officer, Bernadette Kenny, gives some tried and true guidance on how employees can manage their fear: Assess the situation to determine if it can be managed by the individual employee or if it lends itself to assistance by HR. However, Kenny and the Adecco release do not address the underlying cause of this fear: Engaging the firm's board, senior management and/or an outside consultant to examine and possibly change the behavior of the CEO and/or middle to senior managers.
Getting fear out of the workplace starts with the culture as it relates to the organization's mission and values. Incidentally, stay tuned to our Ask An Expert section in December 2007, when we'll give tips and strategies to rid your workplace of fear – or at least get a good start along that path.
Is there anything that you do in your home for Halloween that translates to your workplace, such as bringing excess sweets into the office? And how is the actual holiday handled at your office? Does everyone dress up and is it more formal, or is it treated (no pun intended) as informal and optional? Please let us know by clicking "Add your thoughts" below.
Here's to a safe and fun Halloween!
— Winning Workplaces, October 24, 2007 | Add your thoughts
Comments:
Thank you for the interesting spin on Halloween and discussing how fear is part of the workplace.
To fix this problem, a company would first need to recognize workers are afraid of management. Then it would need to have the goal of changing to a happier work environment. Too often, this isn't going to happen unless there's a crisis affecting revenues or public image, and even a crisis doesn't guarantee a change.
If a company wanted to have happy and productive employees, a first step could be to have workers take anonymous surveys asking about emotional reactions to bosses. The results would give a broad idea of how employees felt. Large numbers indicating fear would tell management it needs to change some practices and communications.
Human resource and change management professionals can help a company transform into a good place to work. "Changing the Culture at British Airways" is a Harvard Business School Case that shows how one company went from "bloody awful" to one with very satisfied customers and employees. For $6.95 any company can get some valuable clues on how to improve by reading the British Airways case.
On a personal level, one thing an employee can do is lessen the internal sensation of fear and other unwanted feelings. In "Instant Emotional Healing", Peter Lambrou and George Pratt tell how to neutralize bad feelings in minutes, without anyone else's help. In this writer’s opinion, this is the best self-help book ever written.
An employee can also take a proactive approach to leaving a bad company, by sharpening resumes, cover letters, job search strategies and other tools that will enable them to move on to a better employer.
— Mary Brophy, October 25, 2007