These are the most common roots of workplace drama
Whether it’s inauthentic leaders or lack of transparency, these issues can cause drama in your workplace to fester and lead to a hostile work environment
Source | www.fastcompany.com | PATTI PEREZ
Chances are, you encounter drama at work regularly. My guess is that if you had a nickel every time someone asked for advice because they’d been “harassed at work” or they had to deal with an employee who is “gaming the system,” you’d have lots of nickels.
The skills required to address these situations vary, but regardless of where the drama falls on the intensity spectrum, you need to do everything in your power to manage if not eliminate it. That starts with recognizing its root causes. Any of these eight examples—not to mention a combination of them—has the potential to devastate your company.
1. INAUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP
A lack of authenticity creates or perpetuates a belief that management is hypocritical and that they only talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. In this environment, employees lose enthusiasm for their jobs, passion for what the company represents, and, most dangerously, they lose trust.
2. NO CONSISTENCY WHEN IT COMES TO PROBLEM-SOLVING
A lack of authenticity leads to inconsistency, usually seen in the form of the failure to implement solutions in an evenhanded way. Over time, this creates actual unfairness and also creates a perception of a lack of workplace justice.
3. PERSISTENT CONFUSION AS TO WHETHER SOMETHING IS UNFAIR OR ILLEGAL
Repeated inconsistency in dealing with conflict (e.g., ignoring misconduct, conducting sham investigations into claims of wrongdoing, uneven distribution of consequences when misconduct is proven) not only leads to the erosion of trust, but it also increases the probability that employees will perceive any level of misconduct not only as unfair but also as illegal.
