Which of the 7 Deadly Sins Are Your Managers Committing

Managers, managers, managers. Why can’t they just follow your policies and your practices? Wishful thinking. Here are seven deadly sins that your managers are probably committing right now, down the hall.

Sin 1. Lust

Sexual harassment continues to be a problem in the workplace. And it’s often worse when it’s a manager and a subordinate. Perhaps the most difficult challenge in training managers and supervisors about harassment is getting across the idea that what matters is the attitude of the receiver of the harassment, not the deliverer. Managers think they can excuse their improper behavior with “I was just kidding” or “Can’t she take a joke?” but if the victim was offended, and especially if he or she asked for the behavior to stop, there’s a problem.

Even if the victim seems to be going along with the behavior, he or she will likely claim in court something along the lines of “I had to go along with it—I have small children to feed.”

When training about sexual harassment, don’t forget other types of harassment, for example:

·         Religious

·         Race

·         National Origin

Of course, one joke about religion or race probably doesn’t rise to the level of illegal harassment, but it does rise to the level of inappropriateness in the workplace. And consider this scenario: You fired someone for poor performance, and there’s little documentation. The person says, “No, you fired me because of my religion.” Now that joke about religion is a strong piece of evidence against you.

Sin 2. Wrath

Anger isn’t appropriate in the workplace. Employees are sure to do things that make managers angry (ask for leave at the busiest time of the year, complain about the manager to the EEOC, for example), but the reaction must be controlled.

Shouting in public “You’re fired“ or “How could you be so stupid?” or “Don’t you care about the team?” is never the way to respond to employees.

·         It’s not good for morale.

·         It encourages people to sue.

·         It doesn’t play well in court.

Sin 3. Gluttony

Managers just keep taking on more and more, thinking, “I’m the manager. I can do this. I can solve this.” But eventually, they can’t, and critical duties fall through the cracks.

Sin 4. Pride

“No employee of mine is going to get away with that!” That’s a typical manager’s reaction when one of his or her employees makes a claim of discrimination, or refuses to work because of a perceived safety issue, or complains of harassment. And it’s an understandable reaction.

But it’s also evidence for a charge of retaliation. From that moment on, take any action against that employee—termination, demotion, change to another job, failure to promote, the list goes on and on—and that person can cry, “Retaliation!” and the beginnings of a case are already there.

Sin 5. Envy

Envy makes managers do things that aren’t appropriate for the company. For example:

·         Empire building. Trying to add more positions that aren’t important for the company to achieve its goals.

·         Copycatting. The other department head has a French-speaking assistant; I want a French-speaking assistant. Or, the other department head just reorganized, I’d better reorganize too.

 Sin 6. Greed

One way managers and supervisors show the sin of greed is in their quest for information about peoples’ lives. This starts in the interview with questions about:

·         Child care

·         Family plans

·         Church

·         Health

·         Age

·         And any number of other non-job-related questions

These questions are often asked innocently, but they all can cause problems if there’s a lawsuit. The court will assume that you asked the question because you wanted to use the answer in making your hiring decision.

Say you ask a woman about her plans for a family or need for child care, and then hire a man who wasn’t asked the questions. The woman sues, and the court wants to know, why did you ask that question?

And then there’s the over-eager prying into employees’ health issues. As they say, “You can’t unring the bell.” If you later want to take action against the employee, there will be a certain amount of protection around him or her. You may be accused of discrimination on the basis of a disability.

Sin 7. Sloth

We don’t know any HR pros who aren’t busy, and we’d be reluctant to accuse any of sloth. But we do know many who have put basic upkeep chores on the back burner. From hiring to firing, HR’s never easy, and in a small department, it’s just that much tougher.

Bonus Sin: Power

Managers think they can just fire at-will employees for any reason or no reason, but that’s dangerous.

Source: Hr Daily Advisor