Willa M. Bruce – författare

Written for human resources managers and executives, this book takes a pragmatic approach to a problem all organizations face, but is often neglected in management handbooks: what to do about the problem employee? As the author notes at the outset, problem employees constitute from ten to twenty percent of the workforce, yet usually require as much as eighty percent of a manager's time. This volume provides a practical guide on how to both reduce the numbers of problem employees in an organization and decrease the time required to manage them. Bruce calls for a proactive approach toward the problem employee and demonstrates field-tested methodologies for dealing with a variety of problem workplace behaviors. Particular emphasis is given to the techniques of Performance Monitoring, a technique based on Reality Therapy. Bruce also offers an extensive discussion of the advantages and limitations of Employee Assistance Programs and explains in detail legal issues associated with employee discharge for undesirable behavior.The author begins by defining the problem employee and offering examples of typical problem employee response patterns. She goes on to offer a theoretical explanation of the causes of problem behavior in the workplace and demonstrates why traditional remedies generally do not improve performance. Two chapters introduce effective methods for dealing with the problem employee. Performance Monitoring is discussed in detail, as are methods for dealing with particular types of problem employees, such as substance abusers, those involved in family crises, and employees with health-related problems. Turning to situations that require outside help, Bruce provides a step-by-step procedure for both establishing an Employee Assistance Program and utilizing an existing one. Directions for training supervisors to handle problem employees are provided. Because the experience of managing a problem employee can be an extremely difficult one, Bruce provides a technique for helping the manager reduce stress, understand transition, and formulate a personal plan to survive the impact of the problem employee. Finally, Bruce explains the legal rights of the employee, the supervisor, and the organization, presents relevant court decisions, and shows the manager how to work within the law when employee discharge becomes the only option.

As increasing numbers of women enter the workforce, it has become more and more common to find husbands and wives who are both committed to careers in the public sector. This book offers the first detailed analysis of this important new segment of the workforce. Based on extensive surveys, it presents a comprehensive profile of public sector career couples and explores solutions to common problems faced by human resource managers in this field.The authors first examine dual-career couples as a segment of the workforce, the lifestyles of these couples, and the challenges they face in work and family life. Current management practices in the public sector are carefully considered, with special attention to the recruitment and retention of dual-career couples in the face of prevailing anti-nepotism policies. In addition to providing guidance on legislative issues and judicial policies that affect the employment of dual-career couples, the authors develop a model of interpersonal and management skills for integrating dual-career couples into the workplace. Finally, strategies for resolving policy obstacles are suggested. A valuable tool for human resources professionals, this book will also be of interest in the areas of labor relations, public administration, and policy studies.

Work provides daily meaning as well as daily bread, according to Studs Terkel. Yet work is not always a place where one feels satisfied. In order to attract and retain qualified employees in the up-coming tight labor market, companies will have to recognize that people are their most important asset. Using original research, this book describes what employees want and need from their working environment to maximize their satisfaction and their performance. It assists the reader to deal with employees as unique individuals whose personal needs for self-actualization can be integrated with organizational performance needs.The book begins with a summary of the conventional wisdom on job satisfaction and performance and a description of what constitutes good work. Bruce and Blackburn introduce their readers to the workplace complexities created by cultural diversity, mature workers, and women employees. They explain the effect of culture on behavior and why the traditional means to foster job satisfaction and performance are necessary but insufficient for managing diversity. They give advice on how to meet the challenges presented by changing environmental and technological trends. They teach how to manage when family demands on both men and women spill over onto the organization, and they describe the emerging conviction that, for many, those in a work setting are family for one another. They provide specific instructions for conducting and utilizing training programs. In the belief that people accept what they help to create, they explain the utility of participation at different organizational levels and some different approaches to participative planning and decision making, including Total Quality Management. They report on interviews with employees from a cross-section of jobs in different organizations to assist the reader to understand how employees perceive the reality of work; and they provide appendices containing training outlines, guidelines for preventing and addressing sexual harassment complaints, and forms to utilize in organizing a participative planning process. Breir book is an important resource for managers, executives, consultants, and students who seek to understand how the changing nature of the workforce is affecting job satisfaction and performance; and who want to act on behalf of their organization and their employees. It is useful for managers in the private sector, as well as those who work for government and not-for-profit organizations.