Benefits and Employee Morale

So here is the story.  Just had surgery - unexpected -  and I let my boss know this.  They said "Don't worry about it"....meaning, that my pay would stay in place as my salary would just continue.  OK.  I'm good with that!  I can work from my laptop at home while I recover, not as many hours, but still able to contribute - great!  I'll stay in the loop and it won't be so hard to get back into the swing of things when I am fully recovered. Heck, I even sent the weekly report from my hospital bed.

Two days later, by UPS, an envelope arrives. Inside the envelope are application documents for Short Term Disability - meaning that, my pay will be 70%.  After communicating with my boss and our HR Manager, I was told that for sure, that would be the case.  I made sure at this point that my boss understood that I would not be responding to any emails and focusing instead on recovery.  She agreed with that.

Working with the Benefits Team in the Home Office was quite laughable. (In fact, I am still waiting for a return phone call from a voicemail that I left 2 weeks ago - the message stated that they would return my call 'at their convenience'. I guess it has not yet been convenient to call  - we'll talk about this more in another post.)  Needless to say, the stress involved with dealing with this office would be enough to cause a nervous breakdown or set back my recovery.  I finally got all the paperwork - 2 sets of forms - filled out, signed by the doctor, faxed over (because they don't take emails!!!! (even hospitals have WI-FI)) and found someone to tell me they received everything. Whew! 

Now, just because I like to understand everything - especially how and when I will be paid because my family likes to eat dinner everyday, I contacted the Payroll Department.  They pulled up my information quite quickly and immediately told me that I was covered for 100% pay for 13 weeks!!!!  I was surprised - to say the least. Now, she did tell me that it would show up on the pay stub as 70% + a 30% top up. When asked why, she stated it was because I was senior management.

NO ON KNEW THIS!

Can you imagine that?  After all the stress and worry.  After going back and forth with HR and my boss, no one took the time to find out the exact details and relay the information to me.  You would have thought they would know their own benefits package...if simply for the sake of recruiting top talent. 

Lesson:  if you are the leader, know the benefits or at least find out as you go along and make the life of your team members easier when going through hardships.

Lesson:  if you are the HR Manager, know the benefits and differences at every level. Period. That is your JOB!

Your Health at Work

What does your health mean to your leader?
Is your health an extension of your work?
Or is your health what it is because of your work?

Most leaders should understand that a healthy employee can actually focus and concentrate better, can be more productive and creative in problem-solving and even spend more time working than when they are ill. Makes sense right?

Well, not to this leader. They would prefer that you take a 2 hour conference call from your sick bed even if you feel so ill that you do not remember the call later. Or even worse, host a meeting that makes you miss your long-awaited specialist appointment without any regard for the ongoing health issue you are facing.


Talk about eliminating positive morale, and making you want to work only the hours that are stated on the paycheque.

What to do? Let the leader know about your appointments as soon as they are made and book the time off. This way, the leader will have the note on their calendar as well, and hopefully they will not book a meeting at the same time.


Also,when you are ill, delegate calls and appointments (if needed) to someone on your team to take care of them. This will provide your team members with an opportunity to grow and your leader with someone to take that conference call.

Eat the Elephant

Wow! The big project is here. It has so many steps that you cannot see the top rung. It is so big that it looks like it is the size of an elephant. How do you manage? How do you get your head around it? How do you get your team through this? One step at a time. Just like eating an elephant – one bite at a time.


What does that mean exactly? Well, don’t....

• Push the project onto one person without providing detailed expectations – give instructions and review each step of the project regularly

• Set unrealistic expectations for completion – determine the timeline that makes sense by including key stakeholders in the planning process

• Take away resources to complete each part – payroll, time, people – it’s work, plan in advance to spend the resources

• Put too many pieces of the project in motion – there should be an order or process to follow.

Eat the elephant one bite at a time. It really is the only way.

Energy Zapper or Sapper

Are you plugged in?  Is your energy operating on high?  Or are you missing part of the connection?

How your leader responds to this is important.  You want to have high energy and perform and optimum levels because you love your job and what it does for people.  Sadly your leader is an energy sapper - sucks away the energy as opposed to an energy zapper - giving you energy to move forward, be creative and innovative with your solutions and project development.

What to do?  Let them know.  Try to identify for them what they are doing to sap the energy from you.  Let them know what inspires you and gives you energy to perform at your peak.  Leaders are human and can need a hand understanding what works best for you - let them know.  They will thank you in the end!

The Leader in Survival Mode

Here is the leader.  Stuck in the jungle, where it is survival of the fittest.
You are hoping that your leader is the fittest...but unfortunately, on this blog, they are not.
They are in survival mode.
That means that you are the feast.....the one that gets 'sold down the river' or 'fed to the lions' or simply 'hung out to dry'.  This leader, mouth wide open, is always looking for a scapegoat so that they can go about their business unscathed.
What to do?  Make sure that you take notes of conversations, including dates and outcomes  - you need to protect yourself - sort of like camouflage.  Also, where possible, copy the leader's boss on things that are of interest, especially where you know the cc:  started at the beginning of the email chain.  Lastly, always be respectful of the leader - no matter what, they still have your fate in their hands.

How to Survive Poor Leadership

If you haven't already downloaded it from the blog page, here is the link to get your FREE copy of

5 Keys to Surviving Poor Leadership.

Click here to get it today!

Then come back here and give us some feedback - your thoughts, ideas and experiences can help others survive too!

How Not to Inspire Others

1. Take their ideas for your own, do not give credit
2. Check up on schedule and agenda daily or more frequently
3. Miss including someone in a key conversation and then ask for their feedback
4. Make sure that permission is asked for every step along the way through a project
5. Fail to plan for succession
6. Tell people they are on the high-potential list and fail to provide them with anything to develop their potential any further
7. Never recognize performance
8. Contradict everything
9. Be ambiguous describing required results or potential consequences
10. Squelch creativity and risk-taking

If you do any of these, or think you do, it's time to connect with a Professional Success Coach to develop your leadership skills.  Connect with Coach Lora Crestan for more details and a complimentary coaching session. Click here.