THERE IS A HELL! - - - IT IS CALLED RETAIL RETAIL – DEAD END CAREER? | Page 6
RETAIL – DEAD END CAREER?
Employee of the Month: A social taboo for teens and young adults. Veteran retail
associates see it as a popularity contest. It's time to put the antiquated idea in the
grave.
Lunch with the Manager: Ghezz? Are you kidding me? Most people don't want to
have lunch with their manager. It's awkward at best.
Inadequate Monetary Rewards: Hard-sell UK£2,000 in videos and you'll get UK£5
in cold, hard cash! Here's a tip: if an employee would willingly pay you the amount of
the reward to not participate, you should think about it some more.
Using humour to harass, belittle, and dominate - Just Kidding!
Having a sense of humour and knowing when levity will increase morale are important
leadership qualities. Using "humour" to establish dominance or belittle others are not
leadership qualities.
Saying, "Just kidding!" or laughing does not transform toxic communication into something
good. Here are some topics that managers shouldn't joke about:
An associate's appearance
Calling in sick.
Personal relationships.
Inability to perform well.
An embarrassing circumstance.
Anything to do with sex, ethnicity, politics, or religion.
Once again, saying "Just kidding!" does not make it all better.
Using humour to establish dominance puts a manager on the same level as a dog trying to
climb to the top of a pack. Comments such as "So... ha, ha... I guess you don't want to work
here anymore because you're always late! Ha, ha!" are put-downs, demoralizing, and will
result in an immediate loss of credibility.
Sarcasm is awesome. It allows witty, intelligent people to express themselves at the expense
of the unimaginative and self-important. Managers should never be sarcastic towards their
employees. Sarcasm should be saved for the manager's boss, such as the district manager. I
can respect that. But never, ever, should managers use sarcasm on an associate under
his/her charge.
How does a manager know that he's gone too far with humour? That's easy: If you can tell
the "joke" to an eight-year-old without hurting his feelings, then it's probably okay.
How does a manager know he's using "humour" to establish dominance? That's easy, too. I
call it the "f*** off" test. If you make a joke and the employee tells you to f*** off, then
you've gone too far. Since most employees won't tell a boss to f*** off, here's some other
ways they say it:
Silence.
Breaking eye contact.
Leaving.
Refusing to converse other than necessary communication.
Stapling a two-week's notice to your forehead.
Just kidding!
dodie ste®eo p®odu©tion ™
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