About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

59 Fed. Probation 40 (1995)
Discipline with Dignity: A Positive Approach for Managers

handle is hein.journals/fedpro59 and id is 216 raw text is: Discipline With Dignity: A Positive Approach for Managers By PETER M. WITrENBERG Assistant Chief, Office of Congressional Affairs, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Washington, DC EVERAL YEARS ago while performing my du- ties as human resource manager at a medium- security prison, I recommended to my supervisors that an employee be terminated from his position as correctional officer. He had been in the position approximately 3 years and was considered a competent employee. My recommendation was based on information discovered in the course of the em- ployee's pre-employment background investigation. My supervisors concurred with my recommenda- tion, and after the disciplinary processes were com- plete, the warden of the facility terminated the employee. The employee appealed the decision, and the case was accepted by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), which is responsible for adjudicating such matters. The MSPB held a hearing, listened to witnesses, reviewed the disciplinary action file, and ultimately ruled in favor of the agency. The termina- tion of the employee was upheld. Shortly thereafter, the former employee committed suicide. Over the years I have thought of that employee often. I have replayed in my mind the circumstances surrounding my recommendation to terminate his em- ployment and have asked myself if, given the same set of facts, I would have made a similar decision today. The answer is yes. The recommendation was based on a reasonable interpretation of the facts, and the war- den agreed with that recommendation only after he had made an extensive review of the evidence. Addi- tionally, the fact that the MSPB found in favor of the agency supports the conclusion that the removal ac- tion was warranted and justified. The above example clearly reflects, in my mind at least, the consequences that managers must deal with when handling an employee disciplinary action (or other action that could have a negative impact on the career of the employee). Supervisors, managers, and resource staff get paid to make tough decisions-deci- sions that often lead to disciplinary action against staff members. That's part of the job. However, during the years I was in human resources I met some supervi- sors and managers whose first inclination is to ham- mer the employee for some transgression. These managers had not realized the impact that they would have on the employee and, by extension, the em- ployee's family. We have all read the horror stories of employees (and former employees) returning to the workplace and VoL 59, No. 3 exacting a terrible vengeance against managers and coworkers. The December 13, 1993, edition of U.S. News and World Report reported that the number of violent incidents in the workplace during 1992 was 111,000; that 750 deaths resulted due to those inci- dents; and that the annual cost of such violence to employers was $4.2 billion. The magazine listed the most common characteristics of an at-risk work en- vironment: chronic labor-management disputes, a high number of grievances, a high level of overtime requests, a high number of stressed personnel, and an authoritarian management approach. Workers responding violently to a bad work environ- ment or situation 'may be mentally ill or may be lashing out at a situation that they feel they have lost control of. They may feel they have no other course of action available to them. No matter what the reason, somewhere in the process, something terrible has gone wrong. I view the responses that an employee may have to a disciplinary action in the same way that Dr. Elisa- beth Kubler-Ross views a person's response to the knowledge that he or she is dying. Dr. Kubler-Ross lists the following stages an individual moves through when facing death: 1. Denial 2. Anger 3. Bargaining 4. Depression 5. Acceptance Employees may have similar feelings when confronted by such an overwhelming crisis as a job termination, and management officials must be sensitive to these emotions. This article focuses on how to prepare an employee for a disciplinary action (or other bad news such as - losing a promotion opportunity) and how to afford the employee a level of dignity during the disciplinary process. As a former human resource manager who has often been in the uncomfortable position of break- ing the bad news to an employee, I have observed reactions from staff members that range from fuming quietly to being almost catatonic to accepting the news in good humor. Obviously, each employee is different. However, managers should expect the worst and be prepared to defuse negative reactions that accompany most employee disciplinary decisions.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most