Accountability in the Post-Truth Workplace Part 4

The Grievance Pause

If you read Part 3 of this series, we looked at how to manage your own physical reactions when an employee uses defensive tactics. But what happens when conversational moves fail, and the employee decides to escalate the situation?

Sometimes, when held to a standard, an employee will file a formal complaint. They might claim you are creating a “hostile work environment,” bullying them, or targeting them.

Before we look at how to manage this, we need to acknowledge an objective truth: sometimes, workplace complaints are entirely real. Bad management and unfair treatment happen every day. Because you cannot read minds, you cannot let your personal feelings decide if a claim is true or false. You have to respect the process and pause to look at the facts.