With the ADA Amendments Act  (ADAAA) signed into law in January 2009, most health conditions that you can dream up can now be considered a disability.  I never thought I qualified under the ADA until the exhaustive list of “major life activities” was released.  New additions include sleeping, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and the operation of a major bodily function, including but not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine and reproductive functions.  These were all additional activities to supplement those in the original ADA (i.e., walking, speaking, breathing, hearing).

So what are employers to do?  Do they cease disciplinary action whenever an employee brings up a medical condition?  Do they ignore performance deficiencies, attendance and behavioral issues?  The answer is yes and yes.  Unfortunately.  At least in my experience managers tend to feel this is a legal landmine and they would prefer avoidance.  Rather than beginning the dialogue and attempting accommodation, the employee now has a get out of jail free card for whenever there is a problem during their employment relationship.

Accommodation only has to be “reasonable” under the ADAAA, so an employer doesn’t have to deal with the employee who shouts obscenities at customers (Tourette Syndrome), the employee who steals (Kleptomania Disorder), or the employee who no longer wants to work night shift, because it interferes with their circadian rhythms (Shift Work Sleep Disorder).

Yes, I’ve heard all of the above scenarios.   Employers who haven’t yet trained their managers on the provisions of the ADAAA are running the legal risk that managers will connect impairment or a perceived impairment to an employment decision.  Educating managers in terms of their role in accommodation under the ADA will help well meaning managers learn to keep quiet about any perceived disabilities and to attempt accommodation when presented with an employee with a disability.  They will also know when to pick up the phone and get some professional assistance (yes, I mean HR).  Personally, I automatically assume that those who don’t use subject-verb agreement have a condition.

Successful negotiators (and managers) focus on the “it” which represents the crux of the conversation.  They don’t allow people to drift aimlessly from topic to topic without any apparent purpose.   Think of the employee who begins criticizing their own co-workers because they are being called to the carpet due to issues with attendance and punctuality.  It’s much easier to talk about Suzie’s attitude or James’ habitual lateness than focusing on one’s own issues.   Accountability sucks.  I get it.  Really, I do.

I find that as an HR professional, we often are unable to apply some of our own knowledge and skills to our own actions and behaviors either professionally or personally.  We counsel and advise managers to tread territory that we hope to never face in our own professional careers.  Honestly, its easier to tell someone how to handle an employee issue if you don’t have to communicate the message directly.  The manager is the medium, and we are often simply the coach helping the team to victory.  I on the other hand, not only apply my skills and expertise in my work life, it also seems to permeate my personal life.  The good news is that at least I don’t suffer from a dual workplace/home persona (which I’ll blog about later).  The bad news, is that I should probably draw the line somewhere.  I don’t think that commission hungry furniture salesmen who sell furniture at 400% markup is the place to start though, so I’ll have to rethink my approach in other circumstances that do not involve a financial impact.  So what is the “it” of this post?  Well, to sum it up, negotiations skills are highly valuable in many settings.  The Land of Bullshit is a crazy place that we go all to often.  And we should always strive to get to the “it” in our personal and professional lives but we should carefully consider our approach given the circumstances.

With the economy in the toilet, many folks have gotten a cruel wake up call.  Those workers who survived on luxuries such as overtime, bonuses, and generous merit increases are now struggling to pay their car notes, mortgages, and other numerous bills.  What I can’t understand is why people feel that they can determine what type of home they can afford based on their salary with overtime.  I’m all for individual accountability and I am amazed at how many people have fallen into this trap.  I’m a bit of a quasi social liberal (except when it comes to unions and handouts) but I’m not one out there blaming the lenders for people’s poor judgment and decision making.  Even before the economy took a nosedive, my husband and I made a conscious effort to buy a home back in 2004 that was far less than what mortgage lenders said we could afford.  We ran through every scenario including going from a dual-earner household to a one-earner household and put together our budget.  We never put together a budget and said, well if I get a new job and pay out my vacation time and then go to another company make 40k more a year, we can swing this.

Companies are now struggling to make their budgets and the first thing to go when business is not booming is unnecessary overtime.  The gravy train is over.  Now people are forced with the prospects of finding a second or third job, when finding even one job right now is a privilege.  Hopefully Americans will learn some tough lessons, similar to what the Baby Boomers learned in the 70s and 80s.  My message to those who blame their employer for cutting unnecessary overtime and implementing more efficient and lean processes, is to suck it up.  Honestly, if you’ve still got your job, you’re doing better than 13.2 million Americans. It’s not going away anytime soon and I’m sure you’ve learned a very important and difficult lesson in the process.

This is reason #4,232 that I plan to drive my paid off 2002 Jetta into the ground.  Figure out what you need, stop living in excess, and bring your own lunch.

I always tell people that you can choose how you approach your day, every day.  Even if yesterday was the most miserable day at work and everything went wrong, the next day, you can choose to start fresh (with a smile) and put that positive energy towards building and cultivating relationships in your current field, profession or job as you call it.

Sure we can all sit and daydream about “dream jobs” and the ultimate opportunity, but in the real world, we work for a living.  We don’t do it for free, and if we’re getting a competitive wage for what we are doing, we should be more than gracious.  There are a lot of individuals out there who are working well below their skill set just to make ends meet, and if you’re going to be miserable about your job, there is a positive person out there who would happily take your seat. Remember, we’re all replaceable, no matter what you think.

The great takeaway from this message is, sure, you can truly “fake it” but there is a saying “fake it until you make it.”  I think its kind of what jr. executives do until they become successful in their roles because many of them take positions far beyond their initial expertise.  If you go to work and put on a smiling face and a positive attitude, it is infectious.  Now I’m not telling everyone to go in and end up with the nickname “bubbles” due to your new shiny outlook on your work/life.  However, you must think about what is most important to you and those you impact, and now more than ever.

The economy is causing many employers to think harder about expenditures and everyone is being asked to do more with less and to work smarter.  While this understandably adds an increasing level of stress on an already burdened workforce, moaning and griping about it never made anything better.  I commented yesterday on a co-worker who looks absolutely miserable every time I see her.  She is one of the most pleasant people I’ve ever met and she seems to be very negative about her day to day work.  It really affects how she is perceived by other managers and leadership within the organization, and it may potentially cloud their judgment of an otherwise stellar employee.

Consider how you can make an impact, positively.  These are the rules I live by:

1.  You can choose your attitude, every day.  Choose wisely.
2.  Use the 10-5 rule.  Make eye contact and smile within 10 feet of co-workers you encounter, and say hello within 5 feet.
3.  You can’t change other people’s behaviors, but you can change how you respond to their behaviors (either positive or negatively).
4.  Stop dwelling on things you can’t change or impact, instead, putting your energies towards the influence that you do have, and build on that.

Eventually you will find that it will impact your relationships with others and your overall happiness at work.  Food for thought.  Now I have to go get my lunch! The CNN video (and my inspiration for this post) is below.

1. Stop using illegal drugs (yes that includes weed folks). It sounds so simple, but I know many young people (21-35) who pass pre-employment drug tests and think that now that they are employed and random drug testing is illegal (in CT without reasonable suspicion), that they are free to use illegal drugs, including illegally obtained prescription drugs, once they are done.  You don’t want to be the “one who has a urine bag fall out of his pants leg as he’s going in for his/her drug test.”  It’s just not worth it.
2. Get in shape.  There’s nothing worse than an employee who has what my old roommate used to refer to as “civil service ass spread” when applying for a job.  This refers to the phenomenon that happens when healthy people take sedentary jobs. Take care of your health, eat well, and lose weight, if necessary.   Let’s face it, in today’s competitive market, you want to look and feel your best if you are faced with job loss.  It’s a confidence killer and no matter what people say, lookism is alive and well.  While you’re at it, get a fresh haircut, make a visit to the dentist and get some white strips to bleach out those coffee and wine stains.
3. Update your resume now! This is a world of worker complacency.  Smart individuals update their resume every year or so to ensure that their experience and accomplishments are captured.  Many others wait until they receive official news and while in panic mode, struggle to put together a resume that captures who they are as an employee.  Get a copy of your job description, if necessary, and your performance reviews that list your accomplishments and send it to your home.   This will be helpful, especially if you aren’t really sure what you do.  You laugh, but it happens.  Get your resume DONE, have it reviewed by someone (or several folks) that you trust.  And when you do your resume, list accomplishments, not job duties.  For professional and managers, no one really cares about the minutiae involved in your day to day transactional work.
4. Network in your field of expertise.  If you haven’t been to a professional networking meeting in 5 years, you might think that now might not be the time to go, but the opposite is true.  It’s best to network when you STILL have a job.  Networking is near useless when you’re surrounded by a group of folks who are all in transition.  Network and seek out those who are still employed or those who are influential in your field.  Network online AND offline.
5. Review job postings in your field to see whether there is a demand in your area/region.  If not, consider other ways to market your skills and customize a resume that will help you move into another arena.    Analytical ability, project management, and problem solving are examples of skills that are needed in many fields.  Many employers are willing to hire someone with a different set of skills if they feel that demonstrate the competencies required for success in the job.

If you do make it through layoffs, you have done a good exercise and you have more time to continue with networking and bettering your health.  If you get laid off, think of it this way, at least you have your health!  You also are far ahead of the game when it comes to beginning your job search and have already made some of those key connections.   Oh and if you are laid off and given a decent severance, don’t postpone looking for a job until severance money has run out.  The economic outlook likely isn’t going to be any better in 6 months than it is today.  Start now and if you get a job early, you’ll have extra money to put towards your savings, bills, or most importantly, your family.