EVIL HR LADY
DILEMMA OF THE MONTH
Should I Suspend a Manager Accused of Bullying ?
BY Suzanne Lucas
ILLUSTRATION : JOHN CHASE
An employee had performance issues so human resources and the manager put the employee on a 90-day performance improvement plan . But two days before it ended , the employee accused the manager of being a bully . In the past , we would meet with the employee to hear their allegations but take no action against the manager while we investigated . Our new policy is to put the manager on administrative leave . An investigation found the manager did nothing wrong , but the manager complained of being treated as guilty and as not receiving support . Coworkers believed the manager was guilty because they had been placed on leave . How should we navigate accusations ?
My first piece of advice : Change your policy .
Yes , you should investigate every complaint , but your policy should not be to suspend every accused person . You ’ ve already seen how that can backfire . In your situation , a failing employee used your policy as a way to bully the manager .
What you need is a policy that is flexible and looks at the whole situation . Sometimes you will want to suspend the person while you
26 comstocksmag . com | October 2021