The First Facility Management Blog

Is body odor protected by freedom of religion?
Which restroom should a trans-sexual use?
May the receptionist moonlight as a stripper?
Can I wear the same outfit to work every day?
Is it still sexual harassment if I take advantage of it?

While it may surprise you to learn about some of the strangest HR questions, it won’t surprise you to find out that there’s someone making a living out of providing answers to these questions. John Putzier, M.S., SPHR, author of Weirdos in the Workplace! The New Normal…Thriving in The Age of the Individual, published by Financial Times Prentice Hall, points out, “The workplace is a microcosm of society, and as goes the world, so goes the workplace. We have moved from the Age of the Organization Man (the 50s and 60s) when people were “normal,” to the Age of Diversity (the 70s and 80s) defined by law, to the Age of the New Economy (the 90s) when new workers thought they could have it all, to the Age of the Individual (going on right now) where it’s every man (and woman) for him/herself.

Chapters in the book include:

• Walking Art
• Carpal Tunnel Crapola
• Pets are People Too
• Helen the Hypochondriac
• Long Live the Confederacy
• Feng Shui Phoebe

The book also offers tools, techniques, and organizational change ideas for organizations in search of weirdness solutions.

To order a copy of Weirdos in the Workplace, click this link.

Should employers be legally responsible for creating a “bully-free” workplace? Or do anti-bullying laws require employers to accomplish the impossible? The question has critical implications for employers, who can find themselves on the losing end of lawsuits for failing to control their employees’ words and actions. In an age where people are looking to the government to pass more and more laws as a way of dealing with this growing problem, some U.S. psychology experts say it boils down to personal responsibility instead.

However, a recent ruling in the U.K. suggests otherwise. British citizen Helen Green recently won a judgment of £800,000 (approximately $1,600,000) against her employer, Deutsche Bank, because she felt bullied by a few coworkers. As Justice Owen declared, she had been subjected to a “relentless campaign of mean and spiteful behavior designed to cause her distress.”

In the U.S., state legislatures are now being urged to consider similar legislation that would make employers responsible for an employee’s bullying of a co-worker. This trend has triggered a response from nationally certified school psychologist Israel “Izzy” Kalman.

Kalman explains the absurdity of anti-bullying laws and shows how victims can easily solve their own problems by changing their attitude. Kalman differs with the American Psychological Association (APA), which he says is promoting a victim mentality and encouraging the creation of “emotional welfare state” in which the government is responsible for personal happiness and safety.

Calling the APA’s stand “anti-psychology,” Kalman explains that psychology is supposed to teach people to be resilient and handle problems, instead of being victims who need society to solve their problems for them. Kalman, author of
BULLIES TO BUDDIES: How to Turn Your Enemies Into Friends, has developed a quick, powerful method for teaching people how to ensure they are never victims. For more information on Kalman and his work, call (866) 983-1333.