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| Welcome | Welcome to the February 2007 edition of the Credential Check Examiner! This month we look at what employers should know about mental illness, domestic violence in the workplace, and the biology of a violent mind.
As always, please feel free to reply with your comments and suggestions!
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| The Importance of Automated Distribution: Who Should Review and Respond to Employee-Reported Workplace Misconduct?
| Organizations are often unsure of whom and how many people should be managing employee concerns, which can result in a delayed response from the organization. Who should be seeing and responding to employee reports of misconduct, fraud, employee relations, or other inappropriate behavior that occurs in the workplace? Your response may be “depending on the nature of the report,” which still presumes that someone must review incoming reports and then circulate the reports to the appropriate responders.
A logical choice would be to have a lower level manager or administrative assistant perform this “review-and-distribution” function. Alternatively, you might have “everyone” review “everything” - meaning all possible responders would see all submissions. No problem, right?
Not exactly! There are two prevailing concerns to consider – confidentiality and timeliness. Reporting workplace misconduct should be process-driven for consistent application of policies and procedures, it should allow for anonymity of the reporting party, and above all, it should be confidential. The ability to review issues for a company-wide impact, activity trends, and indicators of more serious behavior, in addition to detailed analysis, investigation, and implementation of resulting decisions, typically rests with upper management . . . and by that, we mean upper, upper management. The more levels of an organization that have access to submitted reports may mean more people have knowledge of the issues raised, without the necessary means to take action.
The second concern is timeliness. As soon as a new person is inserted into the process, the process naturally slows down. If those who are designated to receive and distribute reports are focused on other work, tied up in meetings, away on business or on vacation, what happens to the triage process? Without an automated distribution system, valuable response time can be wasted in the triage/review process before reported incidents are delivered to those who can investigate and take action.
What is the solution? Ensure that the reporting system your organization has in place can automatically distribute reports to individuals who have been pre-determined to handle various incident types for specific locations. The faster a report can get from the reporting employee to someone who can investigate and take action, the more efficient and effective your process will be and the more satisfied your employees will feel.
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| What Employers Should Know about Mental Illness
|  Mental illness, specifically depression, is the leading cause of disability worldwide. A report to President George W. Bush from the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health in 2003 revealed that mental illness costs U.S. businesses $63 billion—yes, billion—in lost productivity annually. Therefore, employers should have a vested interest in promoting a psychologically healthy workplace and take meaningful measures to raise awareness among their workforce. In fact, according to the American Psychological Association, organizations who focus on the creation of a work environment that fosters mental wellbeing reap rewards for doing so: improved quality, performance, and productivity; reduced absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover; fewer accidents and injuries; enhanced ability to attract and retain top-quality employees; improved customer service and satisfaction; and lower healthcare costs.
So what can an employer do to enhance the mental wellbeing of its workforce? The American Psychological Association suggests the following:
- Provide employees an opportunity for meaningful involvement. Consider establishing a platform upon which employees can voice concerns, participate in decision making, and contribute to company improvement. Many organizations have found success in implementing improvement committees comprised, in part, of employee representatives.
- Assist employees in establishing a reasonable work-life balance. Organizations that allow flexible work schedules, provide or facilitate childcare, and make benefits available to family members see improved employee wellbeing, lower turnover, and increase loyalty among their employees. Be sure to recognize that your employees have responsibilities and interests outside of your doors.
- Invest in your employees’ personal and professional development. Your organization can only benefit from helping employees become stronger and more knowledgeable in the work they do for you. Consider providing financial assistance for continuing education or tuition. Establish internal training courses designed to help your employees strengthen existing skills and develop new ones. Pave paths to leadership positions.
- Make health and safety a priority. An environment free of physical threats and dangers cannot be understated. Make a commitment to evaluate the safety and security features of your workplace regularly, and don’t forget to provide adequate safety training appropriate to your workplace. Provide health benefits that have value to your employees.
- Reward and recognize your employees for a job well done, both individually and collectively. Clearly, monetary rewards tend to motivate employees. However, don’t forget that providing competitive health benefits, acknowledging employee milestones, and distributing employee rewards also contribute to employee feelings of appreciation, loyalty, and motivation.
Keep in mind that there is no single approach that will fit within all organizations. Tailor your program to fit the culture and demands of your business.
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| | Employee Hotlines Often Result in Incomplete Information | Many organizations have adopted an employee hotline system as a best practice to provide insight into workplace misconduct, as well as to reduce risk and protect employees and company assets alike. Unfortunately, many hotline systems, whether managed internally or managed by a third party provider, are not sufficiently designed to provide the critical data that an organization needs to determine the appropriate course of action upon receiving a report. Statistically, less than 50% of employees who file a hotline concern check back into their report for follow up questions from their organization (assuming that they have the ability to do so in the first place). If the employee chooses to remain anonymous, the design and operation of the hotline system becomes paramount. For example, a very likely scenario with many hotlines is as follows: Your organization receives a report that is missing pertinent information, i.e. who, what, when, where, how, number of times, etc. The employee has elected to remain anonymous and has not checked back in to answer the follow-up questions. Your organization is still obligated to conduct a good faith investigation and mitigate the incident to reduce the likelihood of ongoing losses and litigation. Critical data is missing and you cannot get these pertinent questions answered. What do you do? Lack of crucial information when conducting a good faith investigation places your organization at a much higher level of vulnerability, increasing your risk for significant loss in the event of litigation. When you become aware of an incident, delayed or otherwise inappropriate action to further prevent objectionable behavior will very likely contribute to increased liability and potential damages, whether monetary or otherwise. In other words, without critical data for timely remediation to ease employee duress, the meter on damages is still running. When implementing an employee hotline or selecting an outside provider, careful consideration must be given to what information is obtained from the reporting employee. Simply setting up a voicemail box or text field on the company intranet to receive reports (as many companies choose to do), these methods will likely lead to receiving reports without sufficient information. A good framework and starting point for your organization is to be certain your internal system or your outside provider for employee concerns requires the information that you deem critical to conduct a good faith investigation without the ability to ask follow up questions. The potential risk to your organization’s bottom line with an inefficient hotline method is difficult to overstate. top
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| | Domestic Violence in the Workplace |  Domestic violence, also referred to as intimate partner violence, has long been considered a private issue, contained within the abuser and victim’s home, separate and hidden from the workplace. Many employers operate under the belief that what happens at home stays at home and that they have no business intruding on the private lives of their employees. Although this belief has been a common thread throughout the business world, studies show that the reality of domestic violence in the workplace is contrary to popular belief. The American Institute on Domestic Violence reports that lost earnings and lost productivity, stemming from intimate partner violence, account for close to $1.8 billion yearly. Additionally: - Victims of intimate partner violence lose approximately 8 million days of paid work each year
- 96% of victims reported experiencing problems at work due to abuse
- 74% are harassed by their abuser while at work
But the impact of domestic violence does not stop with the primary victim of the abuse. Coworkers often become responsible for picking up the slack, if and when an abuse victim’s performance declines. Fellow employees may also begin to experience fear and concern for the victim, as well as for their own safety. This fear can be distracting and ultimately lead to problems with overall job performance.
The pervasive effect that domestic violence can have on an organization has prompted numerous employers to adopt specific policies related to domestic violence, safety, and victim assistance. Many states have also implemented victims’ rights laws pertaining to domestic violence and employment rights. Companies should be knowledgeable about the legislation in their state and ensure, as appropriate, that it is incorporated into any new or existing policies.
Workplace violence is a hot topic, but all too often domestic violence is overlooked or altogether ignored. Organizations that educate themselves and take a proactive approach to the growing presence of domestic violence in the workplace, are not only protecting their employees, they are also protecting the productivity and earnings of their business.
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| | The Biology of the Violent Mind |  Violent atrocities perpetrated by humans have puzzled us for centuries. The debate of nature (genetic contributors) versus nurture (environmental contributors) has generated controversy within even the most neutral of professions. Science now speculates that violence does not occur from a single cause but rather a combustive combination of environmental and biological factors. Neglect and abuse, among other psychological and physical traumas, have the potential of damaging one’s development, leaving him/her vulnerable to emotional and behavioral instabilities. These environmental vulnerabilities, in combination with biological factors, may lead to aggressive and inappropriate behavior. Social speculation tends to look for external causes in an attempt to explain these horrible acts. Perhaps it is easier to rationalize such behavior if it is caused by someone or something else, instead of resulting from internal forces. We cannot, however, ignore these biological contributors. When studying violent individuals, neuroscientists and psychologists have found anatomical and physiological differences in the brain regions that regulate emotions: the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex. It is hypothesized that miscommunications between these two regions lead to deficiencies in emotional control and impulse control, characteristics that often culminate in reactive, violent behavior. This theory, however, is unable to explain the horrific acts perpetrated by psychopaths. Known for their lack of empathy, as well as their calculated preparation, psychopaths need full functioning of the frontal brain region to facilitate long term planning of their egregious acts. Science speculates that although these individuals demonstrate intact impulse control, dysfunctions in the emotional and reward system of the brain has an adverse effect on socialization, resulting in emotional impairments (to include lack of empathy and guilt). Other biological risks are present. While women are more prone to indirect, clandestine types of aggression, men are more prone to engage in overt acts of violence. It is hypothesized that testosterone, the male sex hormone, is linked to increased levels of aggressiveness. Testosterone, in combination with low levels of serotonin (an inhibitory, fear-reducing substance in the brain), have been linked to impulsive and antisocial acts in men. This neurochemistry, in combination with poor environmental factors, can often be a recipe for violence. While violence is not limited to males, there is a scarcity of research focusing on female violent offenders based, simply, on the rarity of these types of aggressors. It is evident more research needs to be conducted with women to better understand violence from a cross-gendered perspective. What can we learn from this research and subsequent hypotheses? Does this research suggest that children reared in disruptive and abusive homes inherently become violent, that men will egregiously act out, that individuals with prefrontal malfunctioning will be involved in a violent livelihood, or that abnormalities in the emotional and reward system of the brain will produce psychopaths? Not necessarily. We must remember that predicting and understanding violence is not an exact science and is subject to many variables; contextual, environmental and biological. At the very least this research continues to provide hypotheses for better understanding the unimaginable. Source (in part): Strueber, D. Lueck, M, & Roth, M. (2007). The Violent Mind, Scientific American Mind, January 2007 top
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| | Todd’s Tips: Increased Profitability Through Better Hiring | In a survey conducted by Ward Howell Inc, and published in the Wall Street Journal, 501 business executives said 17% of job applicant’s misrepresentatives their job qualifications and 9% had inflated their salaries. These types of “resume puffery” are becoming more and more prevalent in candidate driven marketplace. While candidates have more and more job options than ever before, an employer must be diligent in investigating the resume facts from the resume fictions, and not fall in love with a candidate simply based upon their resume. Suggested tools include comprehensive job references, a thorough behavioral interview, a battery of applicant screening tools through Credential Check Corporation and a clause inserted into your application that indicates that than any misrepresentations by the candidate during the hiring process, even discovered after being hired, can result in immediate termination. Here’s hoping all of your hires are “A” players! Todd Palmer President, Diversified Industrial Staffing top
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| | Contact Information | If you are interested in obtaining additional information about these articles or the services offered by Credential Check Corporation, please contact one of the following individuals:
Thank you! We'll see you next month!
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