Trying to make a difference in the ongoing drama of elation, disappointment, achievement, loss, bravery and stress that occurs at the intersection of professional and personal life.
Bad bosses are an unwelcome, but all too common, feature of the American workplace. Work environments have an abundance of stressors, but having a bad boss may be the worst…. [more]
It’s not a shocker to learn that a blog with a name like stress.health.business. (inaugurated in 2012) has featured more posts about stress than any other topic. However, you may… [more]
We tend to focus on resolving conflicts and not on what happens much farther upstream. Forget about resolving conflict, what about those of us who have a hard time facing… [more]
I can’t cite a source for the widely circulated statistic that “ten percent of conflicts are caused by a difference of opinion and 90% are caused by tone of voice”… [more]
We spend a high percentage of our waking hours interacting with our work colleagues. Conventional wisdom has it that coworkers don’t have to like each other; they just need to… [more]
Usually when we speak and think about tolerance and compassion for those with Asperger’s Disorder, it is in the context of children at school. Educators and parents emphasize the many… [more]
One of the most valuable classes I took as an undergraduate college student was a debate class. The professor took the time to uncover beliefs that we felt strongly about. … [more]
Many organizations try to boost employee productivity by using traditional analytic approaches which focus on strategic planning, goal setting and process efficiency measures. These methods reflect the belief that better… [more]
What happens when you have a winning product and/or business strategy but your managers have poor people skills? Lost opportunity is what happens. Failure to capitalize is what happens. Your… [more]
A new research study from Stanford University and the Harvard Business School has named workplace stress as a contributor to at least 120,000 deaths a year and up to $190… [more]
The current Market Basket saga features product and customer shortages but there certainly is no lack of compelling story lines and business lessons here. The intricate melodrama of the Demoulas’… [more]
“When one aged Zen master was asked to relate his biography, he exclaimed, “Just one mistake after another!” from Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das. The experience of… [more]
There is nothing better than an impending disaster to clarify the distinction between the essential and the trivial. When total annihilation is on the horizon no one is wasting any… [more]
“Anger impedes our ability to be happy, because anger and happiness are incompatible” -Unknown Anger is a combustible emotion which leaves a trail of regret in its wake. The inappropriate… [more]
I met Steve Mellor in the mid-1980’s when he was a young HR professional and I was a green EAP consultant. We bonded immediately as allies and comrades learning to… [more]
Let’s begin with the iconic image of Tom Hanks as the exasperated coach of a woman’s baseball team in the movie A League of Their Own, declaring “There’s no crying… [more]
The year was 1971, my first as a school psychologist in Michigan’s Willow Run School District. On April 3, the eve of the third anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King… [more]
I am concerned about the escalating lack of civility that surrounds us in our everyday life. Incivility at work has many different forms. We see everything from the gossiping coworker… [more]
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” More than ninety heads… [more]
“Some people come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same.” Franz Peter Schubert Today’s post is the third in a series. Part 1… [more]
Of the 21.5 million veterans in the United States, 9.1 million are currently in the workforce. According to government estimates, one million service members will be leaving active duty over… [more]
It’s that time of year again. The season of family gatherings, work festivities and vivid memories is upon us with all its promises, demands, traditions and expectations. In the spirit… [more]
At around 9 am this past Friday (8/24) Jeffrey Johnson shot and killed his former coworker, Steven Ercolino, at the Hazan Import Co. in New York City. Minutes later the… [more]
In the midst of the Olympic competition I received a request to help a company create a more respectful workplace. As is usually the case when we get a request… [more]