Same Sex Marriage in the Workplace

Without addressing the social, moral or religious arguments, the topic of same sex marriage has direct and indirect consequences to employers. 

As more states pass legislation recognizing same sex marriage, it is imperative that employers understand the law, as well as implement its provisions in a timely and accurate manner.  In some cases, the legislation may be as broad as prohibiting discrimination in the terms and conditions of employment when it comes to an employee’s civil union status or sexual preference.  In other cases, it could mean offering the same benefits to same sex partners as are offered to individuals who are legally married.

But there are other areas that employers must address when it comes to same sex marriage.  For example, some individuals in your workplace may not approve of, or support, same sex marriage and may vocalize their opinions openly.  These comments may be offensive to individuals who are involved in a same sex marriage as well as to others who support same sex marriage in general.  As a result, the employer may need to address complaints of hostile work environment, harassment, discrimination and unprofessional conduct or other violations of company policy.  If the comments include threats, company policies prohibiting violence in the workplace may also be implicated.

To minimize these issues, the employer should proactively provide diversity training to all employees and emphasize the need to respect others.  Employers should openly discuss any changes to federal or state law regarding same sex marriage and its impact on the workplace as well as the employer’s and each employee’s obligation to comply with the law.  A discussion on the consequences for violating the law and/or company policy should also be addressed.

Finally, it is important for the employer to review its internal policies and procedures and identify areas that may not provide the same rights or protections to individuals in same sex marriage compared to individuals who are legally married.  Once these areas are identified, the employer should identify if they are legally required to or otherwise want to offer the same rights and protections to both groups.

This article should not be construed as legal advice.

Innovative Approaches to Working Together

A tall woman in a soft pink blazer opened the front door to the office and proceeded down the hallway toward her desk.  As she passed by a co-worker’s office space, she asked if the files she had requested were completed and on her desk.  The co-worker rolled his eyes and answered that he was still working on it.  The woman stopped and turned toward the gentleman that gave her such a crass answer.  She replied with an icy tone and continued toward her office…

Do you find that your work group or department is not working together as well as they should be?  Do you see personality differences among your employees that are negatively impacting the work environment?  Is there an inability by your employees to manage conflict effectively?

If you answered “yes” or even “sometimes” to any of these statements, your team may benefit from professional intervention.  There are consultants and organizations that can assist your team in learning to appreciate the differences in each individual and work together to resolve differences.

One such approach is to conduct a 360-degree profile of each person.  This process involves each employee completing a self-questionnaire about their work preferences, beliefs and approaches to working on various work-related issues.  The questionnaire is then completed by the employee’s direct supervisor, and a pre-determined anonymous number of peers and direct reports, thereby giving the employee a 360-degree picture of how they are perceived by others in the organization. 

A second approach involves having everyone in the team answer the same set of questions involving how they approach different work situations.  The results are then summarized on a quadrant and assigned a color.  For example, a person identified as the color “yellow” may exhibit personalities that are passive or easy-going, while a person identified as the color “red” may exhibit personalities that are more dominant or controlling.  By understanding the personalities of a coworker, one can hopefully better understand why individuals act the way they do.

A third approach involves the completion of a questionnaire based on how an individual would react in different situations, such as dealing with an aggressive employee or a difficult employee.  The results then identify if the individual is prone to conflict avoidance, conflict resolution, and so on.  By better understanding how one deals with conflict, an individual can take appropriate action to resolve conflict in a more effective manner.

While each of these approaches involves different questions and results, they are all focused on helping individuals be more productive and effective in the workplace.  However, taking the assessment and understanding the results is but the first step.  For these assessments to be worthwhile, the individual must also take action to build on their strengths and overcome their development areas.

This article should not be construed as legal advice.