More Job Losses Reported – Who Will You Hire?

As job loss reports continue to climb many valuable people are out of work. Small businesses owners have an opportunity to select some great talent at a great value. Of course, some would argue that the best choices are those who are still employed. This idea assumes of course that organizations have retained the best talent and dismissed those who are not as valuable. Who would you hire?

U.S. Job Losses Mount - Conflict Increases

As U.S. job losses continue to mount, so does workplace conflict. Informal surveys have indicated that many experts believe workplace conflict continues to increase during difficult economic times. Some would perhaps argue the opposite. While our workplaces continue to be shattered by the economic downturn many employees will avoid expressing conflict or may suppress conflict feelings. Employers sometimes believe that this is good, noting that workers have stopped “whining” and are “getting back to business.” In one sense this may be true, but the consequences of conflict suppression are far more detrimental to the future of the organization. Employees who are suppressing conflict will tend to stop being team players, will avoid communication efforts, and may even purposely sabotage others pursuits of relationship building or production and service efforts. During these times it is often difficult to detect conflict situations at first glance, while we may feel a sense of teamwork (some whining has stopped) a far worse case scenario is occurring. When employees express conflict it is much easier for business leaders to recognize and take appropriate action. How is the conflict climate at your workplace?