How to Handle Tough Situations at Work

Every day of their working lives managers face situations which call upon their skills, experience and judgement in making decisions. Some of these decisions are relatively straightforward, but others are less savoury. These decisions inevitably involve people: Should I and how do I confront a poor performer? How do I counsel someone who has just had a major trauma at home? How do I cope with a bully? Can I, should I, how do I fire someone? Most books for managers shy away from the unsavoury areas of discipline and traditionally the first port of call for advice has been the HR Department. How to Handle Tough Situations tackles difficult situations at work head-on. Readers will learn how to cope with problems at work so that they stay on the right side of the law, and act in the best interests of all parties wherever possible. It contains a tools, principles and techniques to help managers handle difficult workplace situations competently and professionally.

Tough Situations 1: Your team * The team is worried about threatened redundancies. * You've been told you have to make redundancies in your department. Who should it be, and how should you do it? * One of your top people is threatening to leave, and you can't afford to lose them. * You've got nowhere to promote a star performer, but you don't want to lose them. * You need to promote one person but you have several good candidates in your team. * You have several candidates for promotion within your team but you want to give the job to an outsider. * One of your team is very disgruntled at being passed over for promotion. * Your team is trying really hard but there's no money available for pay rises this year. * You inherit a team of people who are hostile to you. * Your team complain that they don't like your management style. * The team is very hostile to senior management. * Your team has to work with outsiders. * You have to guide the team through major change. * The team is badly overstretched. * Your team is split over a controversial policy issue. * There's a status battle within your team. * There is a personality clash within your team. * You have to handle an aggressive team meeting. * Rumours and gossip are damaging morale and performance. * You have to keep the team happy through an office move. * There's a crisis and you have to manage the team through it. * You have to deal with a system failure (computer crash, switchboard failure etc). * The team is demoralised after a failure. * The team is demoralised because business is bad generally. * You have to give bad news to the team. * You have to break bad news to an individual team member. * One of your team is suffering badly from work related stress. * One of your team is going through a personal crisis. * Someone in the team is diagnosed with HIV. * Someone in the team is seriously ill or dies. * A top performer suddenly goes off form. * A team member's absenteeism is getting worse. * One of your team members is underperforming mildly. You don't want to discipline them, but you need them to improve. * One of your team resigns impulsively. * A weak member of the team is convinced they are really good at the job. * A team member does the job fine, but they don't get on with the rest of the department. * Someone is good but in the wrong job. * A member of staff seems impossible to motivate. * Someone on the team has a persistently negative attitude. * You decide your really don't like one of your team. * You realise you've hired a complete nutter. * You're asked to give a reference for someone you believe is a complete nutter. * One of your team is in disgrace. * Someone on your team is having an affair. * You need to sack someone. * One of your team has made a mistake which has cost the company millions of pounds. * Someone on your team repeatedly bends the rules. * You have to discipline a team member who is also a friend. * Someone on your team is drinking heavily. * One of your team loses their driving licence, which they need to do the job. * It seems one of your team has been stealing. * You find one of your team is on the fiddle. * You discover one of your team members has a dodgy police record. * You discover one of your team gave false qualifications/false references when they got the job. 2: Your managers * You think your boss is rubbish. * You don't like your boss. * The boss is picking on you personally. * Your boss is prejudiced against you. * Your boss expects you to be a workaholic but you have family commitments and can't keep working late. * Your boss seems to think you're permanently on call. * Your boss is having a tough time at home or work and is taking it out on you. * Your boss is having a tough time at home or work and bursts into tears in front of you. * Your boss takes credit for your ideas. * Your boss blames you for their mistake. * You think your boss has made a major mistake. * You think your boss is about to make a major mistake. * Y

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