Workplace jerks are dangerous to your health. Long-term exposure to psychological mistreatment at the hands of a jerk or bully typically leads to a number of harmful medical conditions, according to the Workplace Bullying Institute, an organization dedicated to the eradication of workplace bullying.

Nausea, tremors of the hands and lips, feeling uncoordinated, chills and profuse sweating, gastrointestinal disorders, rapid heart-beat, rapid breathing and increased blood pressure, chest pain, uncontrollable crying, and headaches are some of the stress symptoms one may experience when subjected to the health-harming treatment of a workplace jerk, according to research by the institute.

If faced with a workplace jerk or bully over a long-term basis, an employee’s prognosis is not good, especially if that jerk is their boss.  Some of the resulting physical conditions experienced by targets include hypertension, heart attacks, post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, neurotransmitter disruption, immunological impairment leading to more frequent infections, fibromyalgia, diabetes, skin disorders, and finally, suicide.

Despite all these horrible side effects of jerks in the workplace, it is not illegal to act like a jerk at work, unless the behavior is related to sexual harassment. Too many organizational leaders are willing to allow inhumane behavior, which leads to toxic company cultures where employees work only to earn a paycheck as opposed to building a great life where they enjoy their career. There are a number of reasons for this, including: (1) employers do not know how to confront the office jerk, (2) leaders are afraid of the jerk, (3) the top leader is a jerk, (4) organizations believe the jerk, even with all his/her flaws, is considered indispensable, and (5) managers consider the jerk’s target a weak person who deserves such treatment.

CEO’s rarely see the jerk’s behavior, because bullies are very clever in their approach. Those who engage in psychological violence are experts at causing fear down the corporate ladder while massaging egos up the ladder in order to protect their own career.

Why should a CEO adopt and model a Jerk-Free Workplace? Jerks make you sick and the resulting medical care, absenteeism and presenteeism, lost productivity, employee turnover, and poor public relations exposure is extremely expensive. To counteract employer-provided health costs, there has been an increasing movement to champion healthy workplaces by encouraging exercise, good nutrition and wellness education. Since improved employee health leads to lower health care costs and increased business performance, many organizations are willing to make substantial investments in wellness programs, as well as provide financial incentives to healthy employees.

But before building that onsite gym, subsidizing health club memberships or installing a comprehensive wellness program, the CEO should first take action on behalf of the company’s employees by implementing a Jerk-Free Workplace. It is doubtful exercising, nutrition and wellness education will nullify the compounding, daily effects of jerks who routinely mistreat their targets in the workplace.

There are a growing number of employers who see the advantages of creating civil work environments with rules of engagement where jerk behavior is not allowed. These companies typically require each employee and leader to sign a code of conduct. Jerks are expelled if they do not change their ways. Some organizations have even publicly adopted and publicized their Jerk-Free Workplace status.

I predict there will be a growing trend of employers adopting the Jerk-Free Workplace model because it makes solid business sense and ultimately, it is the right thing to do.

Kevin Kennemer is president of The People Group, a consulting firm committed to improving employee lives, business performance and society through positive people practices. Kevin is also a board member of Tulsa CASA and OKEthics. Kennemer may be contacted at kevin@thepeoplegroupllc.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A TULSA COMPANY IS ELIMINATING JERKS/STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE

TULSA, OKLA. (June 2009) — As Road Science, LLC™ embarks on its new beginning in the road paving industry, the company has become an early adopter of the “Jerk-Free Workplace” with the help of The People Group, LLC, a Tulsa company specializing in positive people practices consulting. Adopting this policy adds Road Science to a short list of only 15 companies in the United States, and the first in Tulsa, who have made a commitment to establishing a jerk-free and bully-free work environment.

According to the employee experience brochure, “Road Science is committed to providing all Team Members a healthy and safe work environment,” and labels bullish behavior as “unacceptable, because it breaches principles of equality and fairness.” Kevin Kennemer, founder and partner of The People Group, holds a passionate view on the importance of operating a workplace free of incivility and bullying. Kennemer said, “jerks can be high performers, but create problems. By Road Science adopting an intolerance to bullying, it will prevent harmful workplace issues, and allow the company to provide, undoubtedly, the best work environment in Tulsa.”

In addition to providing a positive work environment, The People Group and Road Science hope to prevent health-harming issues that are a product of continuous psychological mistreatment and result from being subjected to bullying. Stress-related illnesses can cause employees to withdraw from their peers, friends and family, and can also cause performance on the job to suffer, ultimately, leading to a negative impact on the entire organization.

Brian Majeska, Chief Operating Officer at Road Science, commented, “our management team believes that extraordinary businesses care about three people: the teammate, the customer, the owner. Today, one of our primary focuses is the teammate; each other. Any success we achieve in the future will be based on the environment we are creating today; an ethical environment of trust, belief, collaboration and innovation.

Through this partnership, The People Group is able to provide positive people practice strategies to Road Science in order to attract and retain the best talent through innovative compensation and benefits, as well as a revolutionary, healthy and attractive work environment.

For more information about enacting a Jerk-Free and Bully-Free work environment, please contact The People Group at 888.797.9992.

Road Science, LLC is the leading technology company for the road paving industry. The company focuses on developing long-term business relationships with contractors, manufacturers and agencies. With a team of nearly 100 professionals, Road Science specializes in differentiated products and services for contractors and asphalt manufacturers, as well as assists agencies in creating greater value by protecting and re-using pavements.

www.roadsciencellc.com

The People Group, LLC was founded on the premise that positive people practices are primarily the missing component of average performing companies. Founder Kevin Kennemer, a Tulsa, Okla., native, has twenty years of valuable people practices experience and was formerly the chief human resource officer of an international energy company that rose from obscurity to #5 on Forbes list of largest privately help companies, and was known for their great work environment.

www.thepeoplegroupllc.com

Media Contacts:

Amy Chiconas
Road Science, LLC
Office 918.524.7100
achiconas@roadsciencellc.com

Kevin Kennemer
The People Group, LLC
Office 888.797.9992
kevin@thepeoplegroupllc.com

While attending a Great Place to Work Institute annual conference an organizational consultant told the story of a client who prominently displayed posters throughout their offices with the message, “Our valued employees are always treated with trust and respect.”   Yet the consultant noticed employees underwent exhaustive and intrusive security searches when entering and exiting the offices each day.  It was obvious the employer did not really trust their people.  The consultant observed the employees were quite uncomfortable with the invasive nature of the security process.

Considered a highly unusual practice for a civilian organization with very little security concerns, the consultant questioned the leaders about the conflicting message of “trust and respect” while employees were subjected to daily body searches. The organization stopped the security searches.

Avoid Conflicting Messages

In this case, the leaders were oblivious to the conflicting message of building trust and the ongoing practice of their security measures. That’s why business leaders should carefully consider the environment they want to create for their employees.  A well planned and executed people strategy will help you avoid these big, hairy contradictory messages that create barriers between employees and management.

Since corporate culture flows down from the top, determine in advance what message you want your employees to receive through your leadership team’s actions.

People Strategy is Mission Critical

When preparing your business plan, seriously consider the people strategy component of your enterprise.  People strategy is as important as your marketing strategy or finance statements. Many CEO’s will boast in their annual reports, “Our people are our most important asset” because that is what a CEO is expected to say in print or on camera.  But in reality do most CEO’s develop a Great Workplace strategy where employees are treated as whole persons and where leaders are measured on their soft skills? Based on the vast numbers of unhappy, unfulfilled, disengaged and burnt out American workers across this great nation, my educated guess is a resounding “no!”

A business owner should seriously consider their written and unwritten people strategies and make room for this subject in their business plan, whether you have ten or ten-thousand employees.  Even solo-practitioners rely on other people, including business associates, partners, affiliates, vendors, and other professionals, to accomplish their goals.  A well-developed people strategy is critically important to any businesses long-term viability.

Most Successful People Like People

First of all, it helps if you like people. To some leaders, overseeing people is like dealing with the IRS: they avoid them at all cost.  I cannot count the times leaders have told me they hate dealing with people issues.  However, many leaders allow the people component of their business to be formulated by chance.  It is difficult to succeed in business if you don’t like people.  It is not a good idea to outsource your people function to uncaring, unattached outsiders.  Even if you outsource merely the transaction components of human resource management, a leader cannot outsource the employee relations component without disastrous consequences.

If business leaders are not involved in corporate life, the company’s culture becomes a process of evolution, mutation, and happenstance in an uncaring environment.  These are great ingredients for stirring up a prison riot, but not such a great way to develop a great working environment.

Sometimes the temptation is to ignore people problems altogether and hope the problems magically disappear.  However, poor decision-making, or lack of decision-making, can lead to a toxic work environment and a multitude of people issues.

Positive People Practice Questions

When developing or evaluating your business plan, ask and answer the following Positive People Practice (also known as P3) questions when creating a People Strategy section in your business plan:

• Company Culture - Every company has one and no two are alike.  What type company culture do you want for your enterprise?  The culture will typically mirror the personality of a strong leader or CEO. It is good to establish in writing the foundation of the company’s personality.
• Flexibility - How flexible will your company be with employees?  Will you automatically say “no” to reasonable requests or seriously consider and evaluate employee requests for work/life flexibility?  Flexible employers are known to be more productive and profitable.
• Results Only – Are you prepared to base employee performance on results rather than the outdated practices of brown-nosing and face time?
• How Results Happen – How results happen are as important as the results. Will employees and leaders be accountable for their behavior in getting work accomplished?  Make sure results at any cost is not condoned by your leadership.
• Telecommuting – Will employees have the flexibility to work away from the office as long as they get their work done on time and with the quality expected? Today’s technological advances have made telecommuting a practical solution for a number of positions.
• Recruiting by Cultural Fit – Will you carefully screen each new hire to determine if they will live and work according to your company culture? Potential new leaders should also be subjected to a culture fit analysis since this is where many problems crop up.
• Dress Code - How are employees expected to dress for work? Business, business casual, casual, beach attire? Make sure leaders dress like your employees too.  Opportunity seeking leaders will be tempted to dress up in a dress down environment to gain a psychological advantage over other employees.
• Corporate Values - What are the values and guiding principles of your organization?  These guidelines communicate a great message to job applicants and help existing employees and leaders make decisions when faced with difficult circumstances?
• Code of Conduct - How are employees and leaders expected to act during the work week?  What is considered acceptable or unacceptable behavior? Is business ethics taken seriously?
• Jerk-Free Workplace – Will you consider instituting an anti-bullying and jerk-free workplace policy where workplace terrorists are terminated after one official warning? Unfortunately the incivility of our society is creeping into the workplace and business leaders need to stop hiring jerks at work.

Seriously consider these people strategy issues when developing your business plan and your chances of outlasting, outperforming and outmaneuvering the competition will increase exponentially.