Set Goals to Achieve New Year's Resolution 

As usual, I’ve made a New Years resolution to deal with conflict more constructively. In the past, I’ve done okay with the small stuff, but as soon as the first big conflict rears its ugly head I’m afraid it will be back to business as usual. What can I do to increase my chances of success?  More...

I'd be Satisfied with Peace at Work 

Peace on earth would be terrific but I’d be satisfied with peace at work. My coworkers and I are often at odds with each other and there’s a lot of back-biting, gossiping and complaining. I know I’m only one person, but I’d like to stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution. Where can I begin?   More...

Gifts that Keep on Giving   

As usual, the holiday season has brought out the good will and good cheer of the people in our workplace. While I know it’s too much to expect that we can maintain this level of congeniality year round, I’m looking for ideas to carry at least some of that spirit forward into the New Year.  More...

Do I Have to Hug my Coworker? 

Everyone in my workplace is supportive and caring.  A teammate experienced a difficult personal situation so everyone rallied to help her through it.  She’s now decided that a daily bear-hug from everyone will keep her healthy.  Because this was uncomfortable for some of the men, they’re all off limits but we women are fair game.  I’m an affectionate, caring person but being obligated to engage in a tight, sometimes painful, embrace every morning, whether I feel like it or not, is a problem for me.  I don’t want to be rude, so I’ve made myself conveniently unavailable during her usual hug time to avoid the discomfort whenever possible. The other women are okay with the daily hugfest but I’m thinking it just doesn’t belong in the workplace.  More... 

Ease the Pressure of the Season...  

The holiday season has traditionally been a festive time in our workplace, with the usual decorations, gift-giving, good food and good cheer. Something’s different this year. The complaining started when gift collections were being organized. Along with the concerns about finances, there’s been grumbling about who has off when and tension over whether we should be saying Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. Holiday celebrations have been a way to add fun and caring to the work environment but all the griping is having the opposite effect. Should we just pull the plug on holiday activities?    More...

Help Supervisor Support Improved Relationship 

I’m about to go crazy. My co-worker and I had big problems with one another for a long time but we worked things out in mediation. Since then, we’ve been working well together and even joke around a little. Now our problem is our supervisor. He can’t seem to get that we’ve resolved our differences. He’s hyper-vigilant about our interactions with each other, often intervening when there isn’t a problem and trying to get us to rehash stuff we resolved in mediation. How can we get him to keep his nose out of our relationship?  More

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