Last week I had the absolute pleasure of attending NASHRM’S 2024 Spring Workshop supporting my team member Lorrie Coffey. She gave an energizing presentation on Handling Toxicity in the Workplace, complete with getting knocked upside the head with a Horizon Point lightbulb stress ball. So, what does a toxic workplace look like? Let’s open the door and expose toxic workplace cultures. Lorrie started off by giving the definition of toxic and said that it’s an extremely harsh, malicious or harmful quality. She went on to give examples from social media of people talking about their current workplaces. One employee said,
This week we have a very special guest blogger, Cassie Shropshire, with the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS)! This year made the 33rd anniversary of The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The act is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in everyday life activities. The ADA guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to enjoy employment opportunities, purchase goods and services, and participate in state and local government programs. Just four years after the ADA was signed into law, the Alabama Legislature created a state agency that would be
I recently attended the first Reentry Leader Conference held in Birmingham along with Mary Ila and Emily. It was a great opportunity to hear from leaders around the state on what employers can do to help those who are justice involved become gainfully employed. As part of the conference, we heard success stories from employers who had programs to employ those coming out of the system. As employers struggle to find talent due to the extremely low unemployment rate, as Governor Ivey stated last week, we need to move to focus attention on the labor participation rate and getting people
Who among us has not needed a second chance in life? Have you been extended that grace? In my life I have been given chance after chance and have needed that opportunity to fail and to learn from those failures. When prisoners are released they are told that they cannot carry a fire arm and will not be eligible to vote but most times are not warned of the invisible barriers that exist in finding a job, housing or transportation. For example, you are good enough to buy a car but you cannot sell cars for a career. You must
I recently read an article by the Huntsville Business Journal about adaptive leadership, and I immediately sent it to everyone on the HPC team. I thought, “This is what we’re always talking about!! The HBJ gets it!!” We truly believe that leadership behaviors rooted in CODE have significantly higher impact, and we’re seeing this play out in a big way with one of our clients. Four years ago, a client asked us to explore gender equality in their organization. This included analysis of leadership demographics, a comprehensive survey to all employees, and focus group discussions. During the study, some challenges