CHAPTER 2Individual Appearance and Uncomfortable Workplace Dilemmas

This chapter isn’t meant to be disrespectful, inappropriate, or in any way irreverent. It’s just that these all-too-common workplace issues often get short shrift in the press because they’re simply too uncomfortable to deal with. The path of least resistance is avoidance, and managers often steer clear of confrontation—especially if they hope that the problem will simply disappear. But what are your responsibilities to your immediate subordinates and to the rest of the company when it comes to uncomfortable workplace situations? More important, what do you say to fix the problem without insulting or embarrassing the individual involved?

You’ve probably seen one of these variations ...

Get 101 Tough Conversations to Have with Employees: A Manager’s Guide to Addressing Performance, Conduct, and Discipline Challenges now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.