Now, we don’t need to tell you that it’s inadvisable to badmouth your employer on social networks. It’s about as subtle as writing “I hate my job” on your forehead and even if it doesn’t get you in trouble, it certainly won’t single you out as an ideal candidate for promotion.

Under normal circumstances I would argue that, assuming a company has a proper social media policy in place, bringing your employers into disrepute in any way is enough to warrant at least a warning, at worst a dismissal.

However, as more context began to emerge I found myself, oddly, disagreeing with myself. While I still think Mr. Rowat was beyond foolish for posting anything negative about work on Facebook, let’s examine what he actually said. Having come back from holiday to find that work had not been done to a high standard, he grumbled:

“”Had a great day back at work after my hols who am I kidding!! Back to the shambles that is work.”

For a start, Mr. Rowat didn’t mention the company by name. To add to this, at the time of writing a quick search shows he has fewer than 100 Facebook friends – and he posted this to his private wall. While his comments may have been inappropriate, did they really constitute the “gross misconduct” for which he was sacked?

The plot thickens. As it transpires, David Rowat has cancer of the lymph nodes. He had worked at Argos for thirteen years, and even met his wife (who is also in ill health) there.  Facts that the media was all too quick to pick up on.

The story soon became a tabloid’s dream. An extremely unwell man, fired for having an ill-advised yet probably harmless moan on Facebook about a bad day at work, a story of company loyalty being paid back with callousness – you couldn’t make it up.

I’m not an expert in employment law – and I understand that social media needs to be used carefully and that companies need to stick to their policies in order for them to be effective.

But overall, what has caused the company more damage? The poorly thought out ramblings of someone fed up with a bad day at work? Or the business that fired a loyal employee with cancer and a family to support? You decide.

Mean managers have always been portrayed in popular culture from characters such as Scrooge, to David Brent (cringingly bad, but more through incompetence than nastiness) and Basil Fawlty. While complaining about supervisors and co-workers is a favourite pastime for many employees!

Horrible bosses however are not only fictitious but a reality for some people. And they’re not so funny when they’re in the office down the hall! So when your manager is malicious, cruel, or just plain old incompetent, how do you cope?

Here are my top tips:

Talk to your employer

Open communication in the work place is vital. You need to talk to your superior and clearly explain what you need from them in terms of direction, feedback and support. Be polite and focus on your needs rather than telling them (or implying) they are bad at what they do (which is counterproductive and won’t help you meet your goals).

Document your work

Keep track of your accomplishments and of compliments you get from co-workers or clients and record the significance of these. You can demonstrate these achievements and make your manager aware of your successes. In turn if things do turn sour you have evidence to showcase your abilities and achievements to potential employers.

Unintentional

While some of the things your supervisor does may make you unhappy, it might not be what they intended. Until proven otherwise, assume that they mean well and are simply unaware of the effects of their actions.

Do it sooner rather than later

If you have a bad relationship with your boss it’s essential that you do something about it as soon as possible. If not, it can have a drastic effect on morale. It can be tempting to wait; thinking that it might get better on its own, or that your manager might be promoted, transferred or leave the business. This may not ever happen and the problem could escalate or you will grow increasingly unhappy. Don’t wait, act on it sooner rather than later.

Don’t be a victim

Don’t become the victim indefinitely. If you have truly tried to make the relationship work, raise your grievance with higher management. If that complaint falls on deaf ears it might be time to move on! If you do part ways with your manager, remember not to burn your bridges. You might be tempted to “unload,” given that you have nothing left to lose but you should fight that temptation and try to be gracious. Besides, you never know if you might run into that boss again later in your career.

I was listening, as usual, to the Radio4 Today programme the other day as I was getting ready for work.  I had risen with a feeling of positive anticipation for the business year ahead.  We’d had to work harder than ever in 2010 but our turnover and profit were up on 09 and our work pipeline was looking good with a number of new retained contracts being signed.  And then on comes the grim reaper himself  Robert Peston ( who I am convinced really works for the CIPD).  There then  ensued a diatribe of  depressing predictions – pay squeezes, pay freezes, job losses, VAT rises, unemployment increases. Then I came into work and read the cheery  CIPD Annual Barometer Forecast and wondered if we should all just go home. I am so bloody bored of it all.

And do you know what? This sort of endless  banging on and on about the negative just breeds a what’s the point attitude.  I know personally of at least three graduates with good degrees who think it’s pointless looking for a job because they feel there arent any.  Makes my blood boil!

Yes it’s tough out there but what are we supposed to do – just go back to bed and put our heads under the covers?  

And then a little ray of sunshine  poured into my black day – another prediction and this time positive – and from a group of people who hopefully do really have their  fingers on the pulse – and the evidence at their fingertips –  the holders of the purse strings – Finance Directors. 

I recently spent the day with Twenty Recruitment at a vision and values day they were holding for their most recent hires.  I have to say it was really refreshing to see a recruitment firm not just talking the talk and paying lip service to the notion of values – but really living them. The firm has three values Life’s Short; Be Eclectic and Crystal Clear. Through the facilitator Rafe Offer, a marketing and branding expert, the new consultants talked about how those values related to themselves, their clients and their candidates.  

 Looking at  ’Life’s Short’ drove a discussion around daring to be different, embracing change, and being brave enough to take calculated risks. ‘Crystal Clear threw up phrases such as transparency, honesty, no spin and clear objectives; while ‘Be Eclectic’ explored ideas such as ‘there is no box’, solutions driven, differentiation and ‘there’s no such thing as a problem – only an opportunity for a solution’.

Then the real fun began with role plays where consultants had to pitch to clients and potential employees – and integrate some of the ideas around the values. I had great fun playing a client!

OK, I hear you say.  So what stops the consultants enjoying their day away from the office and then forgetting all about values when they walk out of the door?  Well, because how they live the values in the business is part of their performance appraisal – and it’s also linked to their bonus.  There was a great discussion around how the consultants felt that they could be judged around those values with some real measurable metrics.  And what’s more – to ensure that there isn’t a disconnect between how the values are perceived internally – and how they are perceived externally – there is going to be ongoing research with clients and candidates around whether the values are being demonstrated.

Recruitment is an industry where sometimes the egos of the founders can suffocate any attempt at creativity or originality.  It was great to see a company where the employees are really driving the vision and the values.

So what do you think?  Comments welcome!

We’ve all been sitting at our desks well into the evening trying to finish bits and pieces and plenty of people work well over seven hours every day whether it be in the office, or at home . Does this mean they are destined for health problems? Possibly they are but there are plenty of other activities that we undertake that are equally as bad – smoking, drinking and even eating that can also contribute to heart – related illness.

This got me thinking – was this just another study undertaken by health professionals attempting to scaremonger us or should organisations take note of this and encourage their employees to not do overtime or if they do, in moderation?

Let’s look at the recruitment sector where a typical consultant works from 8am-6pm – that’s already a nine hour day (if we suppose that people actually take a full lunch break these days!) before any overtime is started! Going by this study all recruiters are faced with the prospect of health issues! I tend to believe that we simply cannot go about life worrying about every snappy headline we see telling us that something we are doing in life is going to result in future health issues – if we did our lives would be somewhat nonexistent!

I for one am not about to demand from my employer that I never work longer than a seven hour day and I suspect most organisations will take this study with a pinch of salt!

Now here’s a debate.  Should recruiters be rewarded solely on their billings? Should big billers be promoted into senior roles bcause they are big billers? Are big billers always the best managers? 

Of course recruitment is a performance driven culture – that’s a given – but disengaged employees, managed by poor leaders, are far more likely to underperform.

If the recruitment industry wants to be taken seriously in terms of offering career paths and career development then shouldn’t the sector be looking at being a bit more innovative in terms of their reward strategies and bigging up their employer brand? And won’t that ensure that your staff become rounded business professionals, proud of who they work for, and not merely motivated by the size of their pay packet?

Now before you all start shouting I know that some of you already do this.  In fact, technical and engineering recruiter CBSbutler is a shining example of just what can be achieved if you are brave enough to really raise the bar.

Managing Director David Leyshon introduced a new performance management system that links 40% of a quarterly bonus to behaviours such as self development, drive for results, teamwork, problem solving, customer focus, and organizing & planning. The result? A 25% increase in sales since the scheme was introduced together with significantly better delivery across all key business indicators. 

David believes that the building of talented workforces and lasting customer relationships is absolutely key in driving competitive advantage.  And that sustainable business success can only be achieved through competent managers who haven’t been promoted just because they are the biggest billers.  Consequently, he feels that if you ‘performance manage’ and reward everyone solely by ‘hard’ figures, then that can foster harmful practices and mindsets.  It will undoubtedly also compromise values – creating management headaches together with the promotion of acute personal greed at the expense of teamwork and professionalism.  If you link financial rewards to behaviours, you end up with a much more engaged and co-operative workforce who will deliver performance across all areas and not just next month’s targets.

The lack of sophistication in managing performance within the recruitment sector has been to the detriment of building sustainable and quality operations because of the overwhelming emphasis on short term results. Behaviour linked reward schemes ensure a holistic approach is taken to developing and harnessing talent- isn’t that the key to future success?