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The Next Day at... VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 MARCH 28, 2008

This issue is a bit lengthy as we introduce our cast of characters. However, as all those with HR IN THIS ISSUE: responsibilities know, background information is critical.

A Description of all relevant characters. Our Main Characters

N E X T W E E K : Michael Scott: Michael is the kind-hearted Regional Manager of Scranton. Born and raised in Scranton, he has no prospect of advancing or moving elsewhere. Michael thinks of himself as a friend first, boss A Summary of the to date. second and “probably an entertainer/comedian third”. In his constant search for friendship and approval, Mi- chael can be socially awkward. Often entirely inept and insensitive to even basic HR issues, Michael has a knack for coming through when it counts, thus keeping his job safe for now.

Dwight K. Schrute: Dwight is the eccentric Assistant to the Regional Manager (though he considers himself the Assistant Regional Manager). Dwight is passionate about paper, and is one of Scranton’s top salesmen. He lives on a beet farm and is a voluntary Sherriff’s Deputy on the weekends. Despite his know-it-all mentality, Dwight is actually naïve and often easily tormented by co-worker . For some time, Dwight was ro- mantically linked to co-worker . However, that relationship came to an abrupt end when he killed her cat.

Jim Halpert: Jim is a young, intelligent salesman who seems capable of bigger things, and yet stuck in his Dun- der Mifflin tracks. Jim has always had feelings for Pam, the office secretary, his perfect match. However, for two seasons Pam was engaged to another man. When Jim laid his feelings on the line, Pam rejected him, prompting his transfer to the Stamford branch. After settling into his new life, the Stamford branch was shut down, and he was forced to move back to Scranton – where a now single Pam awaited. After some time, the inevitable hap- pened and they began dating BUT WITHOUT RUINING THE SHOW.

Pam Beesly: Pam is the office secretary. Keenly aware of Michael’s shortcomings, often looks after him though he may not know it. For a long time, she was engaged to Roy, a Dunder Mifflin Warehouse worker. All the while though, she felt a deep connection to Jim. When she off her engagement with Roy, she was able to explore her own interests, including art and graphic design, before she began dating Jim.

The Supporting Cast : Michael’s former boss at Corporate. A : Once a wet behind the ears “temp” tryst with Michael turned into a full blown relationship, in Scranton, Ryan completed his MBA and shot requiring the two to file a “love contract” with the through the ranks at Dunder Mifflin to replace Jan as Company before Jan lost her job due to increasingly Michael’s boss at Corporate. He recently intro- erratic behavior. After filing a failed sex harassment duced “” a web-based evolu- , Jan moved into Michael’s condo, where she tion of the Company that strikes fear into the hearts spends most days watching TV in her pajamas. of old-school salesmen like Michael and Dwight.

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The Supporting Cast (continued from page 1)

Andy Bernard: Andy is a give as gifts, so she is forced to him the “fun-police” and once salesman. He is the office kiss shop at the American Girl proclaimed, “ up – constantly complimenting store, where she buys clothes is everything that is wrong Michael or anyone else he designed for large colonial with the paper industry.” perceives to have authority. dolls. She was romantically Andy recently underwent an- involved with Dwight (though ger management training after few in the office knew about : Kelly is a cus- an Office outburst. He likes to it), but that ended when tomer service rep. She is quite remind everyone that he went Dwight euthanized her cat talkative – she drives her co- to Cornell, where he sang in Sprinkles by putting it in her workers crazy covering such the a cappella group, “Here freezer. topics as dating and celebrity Comes Treble.” . She used to be roman- tically involved with Ryan, but Oscar Martinez: Oscar is that ended when Ryan had the : Stanley another accountant. After opportunity to move on to Hudson is another sales repre- being involuntarily “outed” by bigger and better things (at sentative. As one of the only Michael, Oscar apparently Dunder Mifflin, of course). African Americans in the Of- threatened to sue the Com- fice, Stanley is often subjected pany. The lawsuit never mate- to inappropriate remarks by rialized, as the Company gave : Meredith Michael. While he clearly does him some paid vacation and a works in the purchasing de- not enjoy his job, Stanley is Company vehicle in exchange partment. She seems to have a there for one reason and one for a release. bit of an alcohol problem, al- T H E N E X T ways sneaking in extra drinks reason only: to earn a living. D A Y A T . . . at Company functions. Mere-

T H E O F F I C E : Kevin is also dith suffered a serious injury Phyllis Lapin: Phyllis is the an accountant. He is perhaps when run over in the parking final sales representative in best known as the drummer lot by none other than Michael Scranton. She has known Mi- and lead singer of his band Scott. chael since high school. It “Scrantonicity.” They have would be a healthy competi- never actually played in public, tion to determine who is less narrowly missing their big : Creed bright – Michael or Phyllis. She break when the be- “works” in quality assurance. recently married Bob Vance, of tween Pam and Roy (their first While it’s not clear exactly Vance Refrigeration. gig) was canceled. what he does, one thing is clear: he will do whatever he must to survive including lying Angela Martin: Angela is an Toby Flenderson: Toby is and stealing. A product of the accountant. To say she is the Director of HR. His soft 60s, Creed is the oldest em- merely uptight would kind. spoken (and legally compliant) ployee at the Office, and is She finds the clothes at Baby approach is all but obliterated afraid of being “phased out.” Gap are often too flashy to by Michael who derisively calls

Well, there you have it, the ensemble which will spur us all on to new heights of HR compliance. Next week we will send out a brief update covering recent happenings on the show so we will all be ready to join this illustrious crew in full swing for their April 10th premier. The Next Day at... The Office I N T H I S VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 APRIL 7, 2008 ISSUE:

A recap of season four thus far Season Four So Far... Season Four opened with a doning a Dunder Mifflin and more disconsolate from bang back in September as charity run and heading off being dumped by Angela. N E X T Michael ran over Meredith in together in one vehicle You may recall that Dwight WEEK: the Company parking lot. clearly kissing before they killed Angela’s cat Sprinkles. A review of The entire crew visited drive away. They instantly Sprinkles was beginning to the April Meredith in the Hospital. admitted to their now con- get old. Rather than let her 10th episode Dwight thought it might be summated relationship. age gracefully, Dwight, while appropriate to pull the plug babysitting for Sprinkles, Other major developments on her (despite only suffer- decided it would be more in Season Four include ing pelvic injuries) because humane to place Sprinkles in Ryan’s introduction of the the amount of electricity the freezer where she website Dunder Mifflin Infin- which could be saved by kill- clawed apart Angela’s ity. Believing he is a cool as ing her would power a small food before dying an oblivi- his new title, he brought fan for two days. ously horrible death. Need- Pam into the creation of the less to say, Angela has not We also learned that Ryan website graphics to possibly forgiven Dwight. Making (a temp for several seasons ignite a romance with her. matters worse, Angela has in the Scranton office) has Pam shut Ryan down saying caught the eye of Andy who been promoted to Corpo- “I am dating Jim.” This has has been mak- rate and now is Michael’s been a run- ing a serious boss. Michael handled this ning gag as “play” for her, typically well stating that Ryan has “hit” including an Ryan is simply a “little fish in on two other office serenade a big pond whereas back in women in the with two Scranton, I am still top dog show in prior It seems that Andy has joining him in a fairly large pond. So who seasons and on convinced Angela to over a speaker- is the real boss – the dog or each occasion “Take a Chance” on him phone to sing a fish?” was told that ABBA’s “Take A Chance On they were already dating The opening episode also Me.” Remarkably, Angela Jim. saw Pam and Jim confronted seemed impressed. with footage of their aban- Dwight has become more

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Season Four So Far... (continued from page 1)

Creed, ever aware of his boyfriend, has been run- of her among co-workers. own age and overly con- ning up expenses far in Of course, the case fell cerned with Ryan’s youth excess of his pay grade to completely apart at that as the new Corporate ex- maintain appearances. He juncture but Michael kept ecutive, has lobbied for is on the verge of bank- his job due to his unfalter- “Red Bull” to be put into ruptcy but cannot admit ing loyalty to Dunder Mif- the vending machine and this to Jan. flin has taken to using such As a sign of her instability, If you had any difficulty terms as “later skater” to Jan pursued a sexual har- following the above sum- appear hip. assment lawsuit against mary, don’t worry. This One other major theme of Dunder Mifflin. In part, show is not linear in na- the Season has been Jan’s she alleged Michael Scott ture and when joining the departure from Dunder was the harasser. At his new shows on Thursday Mifflin and her torrid affair deposition, and under April 10th at 9 pm on NBC, with Michael culminating pressure to “do the right you will find yourself in a breast augmentation thing” by corporate execu- quickly at after just (for Jan – not Michael) and tives, Michael confessed to one episode.

T H E N E X T moving in with him. Mi- sleeping with Jan and pass- D A Y A T chael, ever the chivalristic ing around a topless photo T H E O F F I C E

Trivia

This week we bring you the first installment of trivia! While only pride is at stake, we hope you enjoy!

Question: What is the name of the bar that the co-workers often visit?

Richard’s Pour Answer: The Next Day at... The Office VOLUME 1, ISSUE 3 APRIL 11, 2008 I N T H I S ISSUE: A recap of Dinner “Dinner Party” from Well, most of you must have been struck by the For those of you who have been watching over the Thursday, April 10. irony that virtually all of last night’s episode of The past year, it might have occurred to you that Mi- Office took place outside the office. Still, a number chael could have filed a sexual harassment suit Trivia of legal, human resource and office politics issues against Jan when she was his boss. Of course, the emerged. fact that he is still living with her is good and strong evidence that the affair has always been “voluntary Let’s start with the office politics and Michael’s se- N E X T and welcome.” However, if he were to break it off WEEK: lection process for invitees to his dinner party. Mi- right now, he might have a argument that Jan chael has always viewed himself as wanting to be A review of has a pattern or practice of sexually harassing subor- part of the “in-crowd” (his friendship with Dwight the April 17th dinates. One couldn’t help but notice Jan’s rather notwithstanding) and thus consistently aligns himself episode dream-like trance while gyrating to the re- with Jim and Pam. While certainly no one (other corded by Hunter, her former assistant. A few in- than Dwight) actually wanted to be invited to Mi- terrogatories and a quick deposition would likely chael and Jan’s for dinner, Phyllis, Stanley, Creed reveal Jan’s history of sexual relations with subordi- and the rest of the excluded Scranton crew perhaps nates at Dunder Mifflin. felt left out. On the flip side, Jim and Pam appeared tortured by the invite and would have preferred to Well, that is about it for last night’s episode – admit- be part of the “out-crowd.” tedly a tough one for those new to the show. Sources tell me that we will be returning back into On the legal front, since Jim, Pam, Angela and Andy the Scranton Branch office week which should were obviously “compelled” to attend the dinner, it provide more fertile ground for identifying issues. could be viewed as a Dunder Mifflin sponsored event. Fortunately, no one became overly drunk and had an accident on the way home (despite the obvious need to consume mass quantities of wine to Trivia endure the ongoing soap opera that is Michael Scott If you’ve read the first few issues of and Jan’s relationship). “The Next Day at the Office,” this should be an easy one! Also of concern, there were a number of references throughout the show regarding Michael’s alleged Question: What was the name of Andy relationship with Pam. Though Pam adamantly Bernard’s college a cappella group? denied this by registering complete disgust at the thought of it (Jan was not offended), Michael’s false

references to an office romance with Pam are none-

theless in violation of the sexual harassment policy. Treble Comes Here Answer: The Next Day at... The Office I N T H I S VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4 APRIL 18, 2008 ISSUE: A recap of The last night’s episode Thank goodness we were back “in” The Office adjacent to the building. But once others were this week. Michael was in rare form, despondent forced to a satellite lot, the issue crested. Staff over leaving Jan last week and depressed over understand that top executives may earn more N E X T “losing” the model from the chair ad. Also, last or receive some additional compensation-related WEEK: night’s allusion to “the five families” had to be the benefits than others. However, when creating A review of best Godfather reference of the last fifteen years differences in non-monetary areas, staff may feel the April (you have to think back to Tom Hanks in You’ve Got like second-class citizens because they are so 24th episode Mail for a better application of Godfather dialog). obviously being treated as second-class citizens.

Michael’s legal offenses last night were almost Yet, from this potentially disastrous setup too numerous to list, but here are just a few: 1) came Michael’s one move of brilliance. Though requiring his subordinates to set him up on dates; his motives were unpure, he designated Kevin 2) insulting the physical appearance of those candi- and Andy to handle the issue including authoriz- dates (Phyllis’ large friend); 3) calling Oscar “Oscar ing them to meet with “the five families.” Unlike Meyer Weiner Lover”; and, 4) asking Pam if her Michael, a good manager actually recognizes friend was “hot”, just to name a few. occasions where he or she can challenge staff with a new task or responsibility and empower Despite Michael’s obvious failings, he had one them to problem solve. While both Kevin and positive human resources moment (albeit due to Andy were scared to meet with the rest of “the his intended neglect of the issue at hand). Clearly five families,” the outcome could not have been the Dunder Mifflin crew was upset over the parking more perfect – they got their parking spots back lot situation – a construction crew was parking in (in great part due to “cool guy” Paul’s quick in- their spots, forcing them to park tervention). The satisfaction on at a satellite lot and walk to work. Kevin’s face after “winning one” (Depending on the health and told the whole story. conditioning of the character, the walk ranged from 10 to 30 min- It is a lesson for all of us -- utes). seek out opportunities and give staff a chance to prove what they Michael had no sympathy for Even Tom Hanks would have been can accomplish. Not only will you his subordinates since he has a proud of last night’s Godfather end up with more satisfied em- designated spot immediately next reference. ployees, but you will have a more to the front door of the building. Hence, our first skilled cadre of individuals to rely upon when human resource lesson – do not so obviously distin- substantial issues confront your organization. guish between staff via company benefits or ameni- ties. Michael’s preferred parking meant little when all 20 of the spots were in a small lot immediately The Next Day at... The Office I N T H I S VOLUME 1, ISSUE 5 APRIL 25, 2008 ISSUE:

A recap of Season 4, Episode 11 last night’s episode We have to start this week by talking about the brace the web system since they get nothing from peanut-butter-hair massage. We cannot identify any it - - and actually lose if it succeeds. pertinent issues from a legal or HR perspective, but Let us not forget (as the Dunder Mifflin crew N E X T we are comfortable saying it was weird. Perhaps did) Hank the security guard. From an HR stand- WEEK: most disturbing was the fact that this appeared to be point, maybe we could all take a lesson from the a routine occurrence for Michael and Dwight. A review of fact that almost nobody knew Hank's name (though the May 1st Now for some substance. Lets talk about the they were close with their guesses: Evan, Eddie, episode Saturday work assignment. No one likes to work late Edgar, and Elliot). For any office to succeed, it is or on Saturdays - - NO ONE. After all, you are tram- important for everyone to know each other’s pling on your employees' free time. So, if it has to be names, regardless of job titles or responsibilities. done, managers are going to have to "sell it" with Maybe the group would have gotten out of the very clear and pressing business needs. Last night, parking lot a little bit earlier if they knew Hank’s Ryan failed miserably on all fronts in requiring the name (by the way, Hank will never show up to help Saturday work. them again since no one bothered to call and tell him they got out). Ryan wanted the salespeople to enter their sales into the computer to “pretend the website made As for Ryan’s behavior at the Prerogative Club sales” that in fact the employees had made. Accord- – can anybody say “reasonable suspicion drug test- ing to Ryan, this would increase the legitimacy of the ing”? Notwithstanding the twitching and nervous site (which seemed necessary after some early behavior, the mere fact that he greeted Michael “hiccups” including a social networking offshoot which and Dwight with excitement (and hugs) was enough was infiltrated by stalkers and pornography - - we to arouse suspicion that he was on something. could do a whole issue on computer security). Ryan More seriously, it does raise real concerns regard- also managed to ignore Stanley's concern that forcing ing what, if anything, Michael and Dwight might say him and other salespeople to register sales through to corporate about Ryan's activities away from the website directly undercut their commissions. work.

Ryan could have done this much better. Perhaps if Finally, what can we say about Toby Flender- salespeople received commissions for web sales, the son? His quick caress of Pam’s knee may have been team might support introducing their clients to the explained by exhaustion, or he might be on medica- website. While Ryan hinted that this might be possi- tion which simply wore out at that late hour (which By: ble in the future, the launch date of Dunder Mifflin may or may not mitigate his actions). Regardless, as Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo Infinity “2.0” is still “TBD.” the HR person responsible for handling sexual har- assment complaints, the bar for measuring his be- To paraphrase Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, havior is set very high. (Footnote: Jim gets two de- “show me your compensation system, and I will pre- merits for taking no immediate action against dict the behavior of your employees.” Under the someone groping his girlfriend’s leg!). We will have current structure, there is for the Dunder to see if this has any repercussions in the weeks to Mifflin sales crew to use, promote or otherwise em- come. The Next Day at... The Office I N T H I S VOLUME 1, ISSUE 6 MAY 2, 2008 ISSUE:

A recap of Season 4, Episode 12 last night’s Did I Stutter? episode It only took four seasons, didn’t get it because he is with the other African- Trivia but Michael and Stanley fi- “so white.” Next, Michael American working in the nally had it out last night. sat down with Dwight and office (the offensiveness of For those of you new to the desperately tried to deter- such stereotypes is self- show, Stanley has always mine if anyone else could evident). Nonetheless, the been somewhat contemptu- discipline Stanley. Once Stanley situation needed to N E X T WEEK: ous of Michael and his outra- again, Michael’s desire to be be dealt with (though a geous, racially discrimina- liked by everyone interfered mock discharge also was not A review of tory and generally insensi- with his ability to effectively the best way to go). the May 8th episode tive behavior. Being a fairly and efficiently run the office. Ultimately, Michael did mature gentleman, Stanley In all fairness to Michael, at least one thing well – he has been able to stifle his many managers, even good talked with Stanley, and he comments over the past managers, have great diffi- asked an insightful question several seasons. culty confronting an em- – why are you treating In last night’s “Energize” ployee who has developed (“picking on”) me like this? meeting, it finally came to a into a problem. Concededly, A good manager will at- head. When asked by Mi- most managers would not tempt to understand the chael for some input, then approach the only motivation of an employee Stanley refused to partici- other African-American who is struggling/ pate and when asked again, working in the building and demonstrating insubordi- he remarked “DID I STUT- inquire about his gang his- nate or argumentative be- TER?” in a very loud voice tory to find out how to deal havior. Stanley, in a most and insubordinate tone. Of forthright manner, explained course, Michael was his complete disrespect for as to how to handle this Michael’s management style By: situation. When Toby ap- and every decision he has Richard D. Landau proached him and asked made over the last ten Michael L. Abitabilo how he would address it, years. Most managers could ’s former vehicle Michael tried to convince is the subject of this week’s not and should not live with Toby that Stanley was just trivia question, on page 2! such a response. Certainly “joking” and that Toby just there are times when an

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Did I Stutter? (continued from page 1)

employee and a manager formal warning without on Jim’s relationship with just do not get along. any documentation or Pam. With that in mind, it Unless the manager is su- specifics to articulate Jim’s would be interesting if Jim pervising in an inappropri- failings. That is not to stay considered pursuing a re- ate or discriminatory fash- that Ryan did not have a taliation claim for engag- ion (i.e., like Michael few good points to make. ing in lawful “outside ac- Scott), serious considera- Jim does seem to spend a tivities” – dating Pam. We tion should be given to lot of time on office pranks shall see. whether that employee and hanging out at the Speaking of Jim dating can continue in the organi- reception desk with Pam. Pam, another demerit for zation or (at a minimum) Conceivably his sales could Jim this week as he failed should be transferred out be much higher if he was to say a word when Kevin from under that manager. more focused on his work. told Pam that her glasses However, Ryan presented Perhaps we can’t were “kind of a turn on” no details to suggest that blame Michael for his ap- and asked her to speak Jim’s sales were below proach when you consider “librarian” to him. Jim is those expected by the how his supervisor Ryan now 0 for 2 in defending Company or those of his delivered discipline to Jim his girlfriend’s honor. T H E N E X T compatriots. Additionally, last night. First, Ryan suck- D A Y A T Toby’s participation in the ered Jim with a question T H E O F F I C E discipline smacks of unfa- about the Eagles and then vorable treatment based proceeded to give him a Trivia

Trivia returns this week with a tough one. We all know attention to detail is important. If you paid close enough attention to last night’s episode, the answer to this question was readily apparent.

Question: What model year was the Nissan Xterra that Andy Bernard sold

to ?

2001 Answer: The Next Day at... The Office VOLUME 1, ISSUE 7 MAY 9, 2008 I N T H I S ISSUE: Season 4, Episode 13 A recap of last night’s Did you ever get the feeling that when you leave tions, while speaking of diversity, still tend to pre- episode the office, no work gets done? It is not just a feeling sent only white males when holding themselves out at Dunder Mifflin – it is a reality. Things are to the public. This ignores the population at large enough when Michael is actually in the office, but the and can send a not so subtle message that the or- N E X T moment he leaves (to allegedly conduct business), ganization only values one type of individual. Ironi- WEEK: everything comes to a complete and utter standstill. cally, Michael (again probably without any intent) A review of The Scranton office barely has any leadership – let brought some of his best staff members: Pam, who the Season alone a hierarchy of command. Somewhere along is loyal, honest and diligent in her work; Oscar, who the line, however, it might be nice to establish what truly does know accounting; and, Daryl, who not is supposed to happen when Michael is “on the road.” only gets done in the warehouse, but under- stands that a good presentation (wearing a suit and Ironically, many offices operate very similar to tie) never hurts when you are trying to recruit new the Scranton branch – there is virtually no clear cut staff. If Michael actually allowed these individuals to person in charge when the manager is out for the “sell” Dunder Mifflin to the interns, it is likely they day. This does not mean or assume that all employ- may have snagged one or two. ees will immediately revolt – walk out of work like Stanley did despite empty threats by Dwight -- but Finally, as to Jim’s golf outing, this serves as a productivity can deteriorate quickly. Even a mere good example as to how to best deploy an organiza- ten minutes spent designating an individual to handle tion’s resources in pursuing new business. Jim was some basic aspects of office business can have a sig- motivated to reclaim an old client and had the skills nificant effect on ensuring the work of the day gets to do it – persistence, a decent golf game and toler- done. ance for his guest’s lousy bunker shots. As for Kevin and Andy, they should have been left at the office to Of course, for the Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton deal with their gambling problem and general lack crew, their best hope for true leadership was at the of sales skills, respectively. job fair. Selecting any of those high schoolers to run the office might be an upgrade over Michael Scott. Next week is the season finale. Personally, I am As is Michael’s usual trend, he manages to get one hoping for a Jim wedding proposal to Pam and her thing right each show. Last night it was his selection rejection while she professes her love for Michael of Dunder Mifflin staff to attend the job fair. Likely instead. Perhaps reconciliation between Dwight By: without any intent, Michael ended up bringing a and Angela is also in the making. We will all have to Richard D. Landau rather diverse group to seek out interns. While wait and see. Michael L. Abitabilo many organizations talk about promoting diversity, [Side Note: Jim earns one dating merit point for Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton office actually has accom- kissing Pam after snagging the account, or yet an- plished this. (Of course, the cast could represent a other demerit if you feel the kiss undermined Pam’s blatant attempt by the networks to attract people credibility in the office – it’s your call.] from all ages, nationalities, races and colors, but we will try not to be so cynical). Too many organiza- The Next Day at... The Office I N T H I S VOLUME 1, ISSUE 8 MAY 16, 2008 ISSUE:

A recap of Season 4, Episode 14 the season , Toby finale “Hazing is a great way person Holly (or Holigram productive and successful is Trivia to make a new employee as dubbed by Michael Scott). entirely dependent on the co- feel that they are not wel- Toby helpfully pointed out workers around them and come or liked” – Dwight where the files were and their willingness to accept the Schrute, Assistant to the gave Holly the names of the new individual, truly assist Regional Manager (May 15, employees (or at least some them and demonstrate how 2008). of them) that she would be things work in the organiza- working alongside. Along tion. Given the high turnover New employee hazing is with this meager introduc- rate for introductory employ- certainly not new. Many tion, Holly initially was ees, a stronger focus on ensur- organizations from Mom- treated with outward hostil- ing new people are welcomed and-Pop stores to the high- ity by Michael – who hates well could really pay off. est profile companies in anyone from HR for being America have informal new part of the fun police – and employee introductions. overall non-excitement by Many are quite positive – the everyone except Kevin, who welcoming lunch – but there figured this was his newest are many hurdles a new em- and best opportunity to get ployee faces on their first lucky. day, first week and first As discussed on page 2, you month which most organiza- Consider the following – might want to check with your insurance carrier before you tions ignore. if you expect or hope a new bring in one of these for your employee to spend three next office party! Dunder Mifflin, of years at your organization, I hope all of you stayed course, handled it all wrong you will be spending up- with the program until the last last night. First, they had wards of 6,000 hours with snippet as it covered one end- the departing employee By: them. What are you going ing I thought was possible (I training the incoming em- Richard D. Landau to do to make sure they missed on two others) – the Michael L. Abitabilo ployee. Thus, probably the know you and can work with reconciliation of Dwight and least motivated person in you successfully over that Angela. Angela, just hours the office (Toby) on his last time frame? Often the ability removed from her emotional day had to “show the ropes” of a new employee to be of Andy’s mar- to the new Human Resource

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Goodbye, Toby (continued from page 1)

riage proposal (“OK – I ance for holding a repercussions next season said OK”) is found by in their parking lot. Fortu- as Pam now must debate/ Phyllis in The Office after nately no one got hurt but, question Jim’s true feel- hours with mussed up hair I am willing to bet no one ings. Who knows if her and a clearly checked out whether their eyes and will wander Dwight. It was terrible soiree was lawful or prop- when she heads to New sight on so many levels. erly insured. There is York for graphic design Personally, I think Angela nothing wrong with a good school. was driven to this by Mi- party, but any organiza- Well, this has been chael’s abrupt removal of tion that is going to bring terrific first voyage. I thor- her party planning author- in unusual entertainment oughly enjoyed writing the ity earlier in the day. In or substantial equipment column along with Mike’s fact, given the high level of must address these issues. assistance. I hope you tension between Phyllis Finally, we must close have gotten a laugh or two and Angela, we can expect with Jim and Pam. I was and maybe even identified some real fireworks be- feeling really good half- with an issue or situation tween them next season. way through the show in your office by virtue of

T H E N E X T Speaking of fireworks about the impending pro- participating in this en- D A Y A T … how about that going- posal. But Jim gets five deavor. We look forward T H E O F F I C E away party for Toby. I demerits for letting some- to next season. Enjoy the sure hope that Dunder one else upstage their big summer reruns! Mifflin obtained all the moment. His failure to act proper permits and insur- promptly will have serious

Trivia

We thought we would bring back trivia for one last time this season, in honor of Toby Flenderson. Good luck and thanks for reading!

Question: What is the name of the actor who plays Toby Flenderson?

in addition to playing Toby, Paul has also been the main writer of 8 episodes. 8 of writer main the been also has Paul Toby, playing to addition in – Note . . Lieberstein Paul Answer:

Volume 2, Issue 1 September 26, 2008

The Next Daythe at… office

WEIGHT LOSS Points of Interest: t is amazing the consistency joke. The only person more an individual who had committed Wellness Programs with which Dunder Mifflin emboldened by the program fraud only a few months earlier corporate can identify the was (of course) Dwight at the specific organization where I Conviction Hiring genuine workplace issues of Schrute who converted this the applicant seeks rehire. But the day and how our local of- into a chance to subject Phyllis hey, that’s Michael, a swell guy fice in Scranton, PA can screw to a near death experience. who has an obvious non-sexual it up every single week. This crush on Ryan. time around it was the Dunder A few other interesting Mifflin Wellness Program - - an issues raised their heads A few final side notes. admirable effort by the organi- during the episode. I thought You have to love Angela’s zation to focus on the health it was particularly interesting ruthlessness in determining of its employees by sponsoring that Kevin and the rest of the whether or not to continue a contest for each Scranton crew took little of- her affair with Dwight. If Andy individual office. The initial fence at Angela’s berating him says something sweet, she reward offered by the organi- for being “an idiot” but, in breaks off the affair. When

zation of two days off contrast, there was collective Andy proposes the idea of (expanded to 5 because no outrage at the new HR person singing at By: Richard D. Landau one was losing weight) was an “Holligram” thinking Kevin is their wedding, it’s straight to Michael L. Abitabilo excellent incentive. One ma- mentally challenged. By the the beeper and a clandestine jor problem was their failure way, Holly’s decision to state meeting for a quick toss with to allow individuals to opt out this issue out loud could lead Dwight. With that type of of the program - - required to a “perceived as disabled” crisp decision making ability,

participation in the Wellness lawsuit from Kevin for any she could be a tremendous Program is a “no no.” By the discipline he might receive in executive. way, did it bother anyone else the future for poor perform- that the accountant Kevin, ance. By the way, in case you after much delay, still could missed it, JIM PROPOSED! At not calculate Pam’s weight? Perhaps the most endear- first glance it didn’t appear Perhaps a better evaluation ing aspect of the episode was very romantic - at a gas stop at system at Dunder Mifflin might Michael’s most generous offer Exit 17 off the highway. But in ferret out such performance to rehire Ryan. Many of you my view (and apparently deficiencies. may recall Ryan’s departure at Pam’s), it was just perfect - - Want to contact us? the end of last season when plus it heads off Pam develop- For our hero Michael arrested for fraud and corpo- ing a straying eye back in New Just click on our Scott the Wellness program rate malfeasance against Dun- York for that guy with the names or call us at: presented a unique opportu- der Mifflin. Here in New quick wit (who also stars on Rich Landau: nity - - one which excused his York, you are probably all the series Mad Men, so we (914) 514-6113 perennial insult to individuals aware of the nine point test shouldn’t be seeing too much who may carry a few extra for determining whether a of him here back at The Of- Michael Abitabilo: pounds. Michael is never one prior conviction can disqualify fice). (914) 514-6162 to let anything like the ADA an applicant. I assure you, (or newly passed ADAAA) under this test, Dunder Mifflin One final final note - - stand in his way of a good would have no obligation to hire Toby lives!!

Volume 2, Issue 2 October 10, 2008

The Next Daythe at… office

BUSINESS ETHICS Points of Interest:

Lost Productivity In fact, the failure of a vacy rights and is just plain Well everybody, welcome company to take proper ac- gross. Similarly, we do not back from that one-week hia- counting of the amount of time recommend time stud- Ethical Policies tus. I hope you enjoyed the it loses each day is costly, and ies in which you count the time Vice Presidential Debate last not just from a purely fiscal someone spends breathing, week, but now it is back to the perspective. It can seriously sneezing or coughing against real funny business. impact office morale and create them as unproductive time or Business ethics has be- a sense of favoritism and pref- as a deduction event. There is come a popular subject at most erential treatment in the work- some middle ground, however, organizations, and Dunder Mif- place. Ever since laws banned and each organization needs to flin is no exception. Spurred on smoking in the workplace, examine its own culture to find by Ryan’s corporate malfea- smoke break issues have per- it.

sance, the Company has de- sisted. There is a perception in The ethics discussion did cided to reissue its ethical poli- many workplaces that smokers really become quite interesting cies and train all staff. HR did get to take a ten-minute break however, as the Company pro- its darnedest at the Scranton every hour to indulge their ceeded to move forward with branch with Holly leading the habit. For those who don’t the potential discipline or ter- By: Richard D. Landau charge in bringing some of the smoke, they see this as close to mination of Meredith, who was Michael L. Abitabilo policies to light for the crew. one hour per day that the sleeping with a Dunder Mifflin Oscar candidly and accurately smokers get to take away from paper supplier in exchange for pointed out that most of performing work tasks. Think paper discount rates and Out- Holly’s lecture however, wasn’t about that projected over a back Steakhouse coupons. really on ethics, but more as to 2,000 hour work year. One Interestingly, since it is not compliance with Company pol- hour per day comes to 5 hours publically traded, prior to icy. That doesn’t mean the per week, multiplied by 45 Meredith confessing, there subject isn’t pretty darn seri- weeks (subtracting out vacation were not a lot of legal ramifica- ous. weeks, holidays, sick days, etc.) tions to the organization for All organizations deal with and we are talking upwards of this behavior. Clearly, Meredith a tremendous amount of lost 225 hours per year spent on welcomed and chose to engage productivity through a variety smoke breaks. That is a lot of in her romantic liaisons once a of mechanisms – computer lost work time. month for the past six years. usage to play video , e- Of course, pushing your [She might have some personal mailing friends and family, gen- staff to the other extreme -- as criminal issues, however, aris- eral review of internet sites, Jim did so exquisitely for at ing from what might be personal telephone calls, per- least half a day to Dwight deemed prostitution – but let’s sonal conversations throughout Schrute -- could be viewed as not get into that here.] the day, smoke breaks, water somewhat tyrannical. While However, once the Com- cooler breaks, sneezing, we try to avoid legal advice in pany became aware of the breathing and bathroom this column, I wish to stop at situation, it did need to take breaks. OK, the last three are this point and urge you not to appropriate action. Discipline kind of necessary, but you get require employees to urinate at of some kind did seem neces- the point. their desk. It raises issues of sary. Corporate’s reaction, sexual harassment, OSHA, pri- however, actually created liabil-

The Next Day at... the office

ity issues. By indicating they Scott who, as indicated previ- – since she seems to be were interested in keeping the ously this column, always finds morphing into just the type of discount and potentially en- one opportunity to show his HR representative who couraging Meredith continue true and admirable colors. throws a wet blanket over all her “romantic” relationship This time, it was his “backing the fun in the office (à la with the paper supply person, up” Holly by getting the whole Toby). But, out of his loyalty Meredith might feel her job office into the conference (or perhaps his crush on her) was “on the line” if she broke room to finish the ethics lec- Michael got over this and sup- it off. As is so often the case ture so that Holly could get ported Holly by bringing his at Dunder Mifflin, sexual har- the signatures and keep her team together. In a tough assment raises its ugly head job. Michael’s consistent business world, it is easy to once again, this time in a for- strength and weakness is his torpedo those we work next mat none of us could have sense of loyalty, which is most to, or who work for us. Ulti- predicted. Moreover, this strong when it comes to his mately, Michael succeeds (or could convert the liaisons to “family” at the Dunder Mif- at least gets to keep his job) work time and create over- flin’s Scranton office. Other because he fights for his time liability. District Managers might have group. Last, but not least, we left Holly out to dry – even That’s all for now. See have to commend Michael tried to have gotten rid of her you next week.

Trivia

Trivia returns this week with a tough one…

Q. Upon first discovering You Tube, which video did Michael watch a thousand times?

Rain” Chocolate Sings Monster “Cookie Answer:

Volume 2, Issue 3 October 17, 2008

The Next Daythe at… office

BABY SHOWER Points of Interest: suppose it is safe to say how often these events will rules are not enforced and Office Celebrations that no one wants be celebrated and how by failing to do so, this cre- I Dwight Schrute to pro- much time of the day will be ates an opening for employ- Office Solicitations create. As a father of two, I dedicated to them. ees to engage in various so- certainly believe in stroller licitations which the com-

durability and safety. How- In the White Plains of- pany might not be excited to ever, I did not imagine that fice at Jackson Lewis, we see occur – i.e., solicitations testing a stroller would in- used to celebrate all birth- on behalf of joining a union. clude dragging it along be- days individually with a cake. If an organization has a hind a car or throwing it When we hit a certain size, widespread pattern of al- upon razor wire. Somehow I however, it seemed as lowing solicitations for baby managed to avoid those pos- though birthdays were hap- showers, birthday gifts, wed- sibilities with my children. pening every day and it was ding gifts, etc., it would be tough to have a fully produc- hard for it to explain why it But, I guess we must tive work week. Not only should be able to limit em- discuss the show and not my that, but our collective ployees talking about unions

By: Richard D. Landau parenting skills. Of course, I waistlines were starting to or otherwise asking each Michael L. Abitabilo am not sure anything actu- expand. As a result, we other to sign cards, attend ally happened in The Office moved to a monthly cele- union meetings, etc. last night. As best I could bration late on Fridays for tell, no one accomplished all individuals who had a Despite the risks de- any work the entire day of birthday during that month. scribed just above, most the . We all Moreover, we limited cele- organizations loathe to limit know Michael likes a good brations to non-attorneys, the sporadic solicitations party – especially one in this way everyone still gets that occur if such events are which he can be the poten- recognized, but the work baby showers, birthdays, etc. tial focus of attention (which still gets done. (And, after However, there is a secon- is really any party that is all, who is really “happy” for dary issue to these solicita- ever thrown at the Scranton an attorney). tions and that is the sense branch). It is worthy to that they create an aura of note that any organization There was one nugget mandatory participation. As does need to take time to from last night’s episode, evidenced by a number of celebrate with its staff. that being the solicitation to Dunder Mifflin employees – Many of you already have purchase Jan a baby shower Stanley in particular – being , summer bar- gift. Many of you have no pressured to contribute beques, etc. While it is ap- solicitation/no distribution money is not something that propriate to note such won- rules. You may even all employees enjoy as a re- derful events, you need to (occasionally) enforce them. quired part of their job du- find some limits both as to However, very often those ties. For some employees, it

The Next Day at... the office

is a financial issue. For oth- tation made on behalf of ing solicitations for them- ers, they are simply grumpy them or for them. This selves or their family mem- – much like Stanley, whose includes the classic selling bers. swollen ankles, varicose of Girl Scout cookies on Want to contact us? veins and constant feeling behalf of your children. Finally, I can’t help but

Just click on our of hunger probably contrib- Subordinates are in an in- comment on the opening names or call us at: ute to his negative attitude. equitable and uncomfort- scene with Dwight giving Rich Landau: Nonetheless, he has a able position when such birth. Frankly, I don’t re- (914) 514-6113 point. solicitations are made. member it being that bad Michael Abitabilo: They may feel that a non- when I (ok my wife Hillary) (914) 514-6162 The solicitation for a contribution will be viewed had our two children. But, gift on behalf of Jan (the dimly by the supervisor and then again, I am sure my quasi-girlfriend, parent of negatively impact their em- wife would tell me I have the child that Michael has ployment status. It is a fair no standing to comment. not fathered) is equally concern and no manager Either way, I won’t be eat- problematic. Anyone in a (regardless of their per- ing for at least

managerial position needs ceived popularity in an of- a few weeks. to be sensitive to any solici- fice) should be spearhead-

Trivia

Q. What song did Jan sing for “Astird” (Astrid) in front of everyone at The Office?

Man” Preacher a of “Son

Answer:

Volume 2, Issue 4 October 24, 2008

The Next Daythe at… office

CRIME AID Points of Interest: e certainly hope working hours. Beyond ting together “C.R.I.M.E. Access that Dwight’s that, perhaps you should A.I.D.,” and David Wallace W actions on last consider whether everyone showed strong leadership by Employee Safety night’s episode reminded your organization needs showing up to support the of you to revise your “No to have the ability to enter branch. But, a workplace

Making Knives with Knives the facility at all times. Do auction might not have been in the Workplace” policies. all of your employees have the best way to ensure that As always, we here at Jack- keys to the building? If so, is the employees were suc- son Lewis are willing and this necessary? Perhaps only cessfully coping with the able to help draft this impor- department heads and select trauma that could be associ- tant part of your employee personnel need keys. In this ated with the robbery. At handbook. Dwight’s crafts- case, Michael and Holly the very least, the company manship notwithstanding, would likely have keys re- should have offered some last night’s episode touched gardless, but Dunder Mifflin assurance that it would re- on several interesting topics. might be able to prevent a evaluate its security proce- robbery from occurring af- dures and determine if any-

By: Richard D. Landau After Michael and Holly ter a late night rendezvous thing could be done to en- Michael L. Abitabilo carelessly left the building between Angela and Dwight. sure employee safety. unlocked, the staff arrived Further, consider whether While we’re on the topic of the next day to find that the you need to change your C.R.I.M.E. A.I.D., does any- Office had been robbed. locks after an employee one else see a problem with This could be a traumatizing leaves your organization. If Jim – the supposed “number experience for everyone so, a keyless lock system 2” in the Office – drinking involved. The issue here (electronic or otherwise) with the warehouse work- isn’t just about the confiden- might be a more cost effec- ers during the workday? tial information and valuable tive and efficient alternative. Auction or not, this lapse in assets which are located in judgment is indicative of your office. It is also about Also notable was the some of the leadership is- ensuring that your employ- way Michael and Holly han- sues at Dunder Mifflin ees feel safe and comfort- dled the situation upon dis- Scranton. able in the workplace. covering that the Office had been robbed. While Holly Finally, what about the Your organization did announce that her door tangible items that were sto- should implement a policy is always open, maybe they len during the robbery? about access to your office should have done more. First, let’s be clear: you can- or facility during non- Michael did a nice job put- not charge your employees

The Next Day at... the office

for stolen equipment! Sec- company laptops, files even if there was a chance ond, Oscar’s laptop likely should be saved on com- he was going to punch Jim contained confidential and pany servers or removable in the face. While he didn’t proprietary information. storage devices so that if literally punch Jim in the Evaluate your IT systems the computers are ever face, he did metaphorically and make sure that you are lost or stolen, the informa- punch him in the heart by taking the necessary steps tion isn’t. implying that Pam might be to protect this type of in- susceptible to the charm of formation. Especially for On a side note, it was her new male drinking bud- those employees who use nice to see Roy again – dies in !

Want to contact us? Just click on our names or call us at: Rich Landau: Trivia (914) 514-6113 This multiple choice question was actually asked in a commercial Michael Abitabilo: (914) 514-6162 during last night’s episode. Hope you were paying attention!

Q. What is the bumper sticker for a radio station on Dwight’s Desk?

A. Fox. 86.1 B. Froggy 101 C. The Bear 109.7

Abitabilo) Michael of employer former (a 101 Froggy – B. Answer:

Volume 2, Issue 5 October 31, 2008

The Next Daythe at… ffice

EMPLOYEE TRANSFER Points of Interest:

Office Romances hope you are all enjoying alone, there are less available always having the subordinate your and there transfer opportunities. Thus, “pay the price.”

Scope of Duties haven’t been too many often the subordinate is cho- “Jokers” in your office sen to go. Although the eventual Itoday. Last night’s episode break up of Holly and Michael seems to have the Jim and However, as in this case, was heartbreaking, it further Pam relationship back on the subordinate was also fe- points out the difficulties of in- track, while the impending male. Statistically, for office office romances. While Holly marriage of Andy and Angela romances between supervi- will now be located in a far-off is driving Dwight to the brink. sors and subordinates, the land, we can all guess about Enough about the show, let’s supervisor is male in a greater Michael’s even lower produc-

focus on the issues of the day. number of cases. If a Com- tivity over the next several pany consistently transfers the months while he pines over Obviously, as a result of subordinate, one can see a his loss. their office romance, Holly has potential disparate impact case By: Richard D. Landau been transferred to a far away – whenever there is a consen- Another subtle issue Michael L. Abitabilo branch of Dunder Mifflin. It sual relationship between a arose from the use of Darryl appears Dunder Mifflin has a man and a woman, the woman as the transportee of Holly to policy where supervisor and is being transferred. her new home and location. I subordinate, even if engaged in highly doubt that it falls within a consensual relationship, can- It is at least worthy of Darryl’s job responsibilities to not work together if there is a consideration that the supervi- literally move Dunder Mifflin reporting aspect between sor, by engaging in a relation- employees to new locations or them. This is certainly a sensi- ship, has perhaps violated homes, and we won’t even get ble rule – one which many of Company policy which prohib- into the potential wage and you have and enforce. As its these situations because hour issues this created. Per- usual, however, issues can they can easily lead to quid pro sonally, I expected Darryl to arise from such policies. quo sexual harassment claims. have extreme difficulty Although the Company might throughout the course of the It is clear that it was not want to force a breakup of trip. However, he seemed Holly who was chosen for the the two consenting adults, game even for the sing-along transfer. The question is why? perhaps it is the manager who with Michael and Holly. He The easy answer is that Mi- has to be confronted with also proved a good friend and chael, as the supervisor, is less transferring to another loca- sensitive to Michael’s emo- likely to be easily transferred. tion, suffering a demotion to tional state on the drive home.

Usually in the case of the man- avoid the conflict or ending Nonetheless, this should serve ager, just based on the relationship, rather than as a reminder to employers

The Next Day at... the office

(and particularly management expectation. (Especially if you ductivity. Of course, some of personnel) about the appropri- have to sit immediately adjacent this might have been avoided if ate use and assignment of em- to Michael Scott as part of a Michael had left behind some- ployees in an organization. three-person front seat ensem- one to run the office in his ab- Even in those locations where a ble.) sence – oh yeah, that was sup- company has fostered a colle- posed to be Jim who instead gial atmosphere and the idea As for back in the Office, drove to New York to have that occasionally a subordinate as a Cornell Alum, I had some lunch with his fiancé. may do some task which falls sympathy for Andy (just kid- outside a true job responsibil- ding). But, once again the exis- ity, we all know that helping tence of in-office romances has someone move is way beyond a tendency to create tremen- the bounds of any reasonable dous tension and a lack of pro-

Trivia

Which three characters dressed up as “the Joker” in last night’s episode?

Creed and Kevin, Dwight, Answer:

Volume 2, Issue 6 November 7, 2008

The Next Daythe at… office

CUSTOMER SURVEY Points of Interest: ith the end of the year rap- sabotage their performance reports. Performance Reviews idly approaching, what better While it is great to foster a collegial at- time to discuss performance mosphere where your employees feel Employee Discipline W reviews? Last night’s episode gave us a comfortable socializing together outside glimpse of both the positives and nega- of work, this can become a problem if it tives of Dunder Mifflin’s performance leads to the development of cliques in review process. On the positive side, we the workplace. It can be especially prob- learned that the company solicits direct lematic in situations like we saw feedback from its customers regarding last night, where one employee has the

their overall experience with the Dunder ability to directly impact the performance Mifflin sales representatives. This is a reviews of other employees. Perhaps

great way to accurately assess your em- Dunder Mifflin should have had a system ployees’ performance, especially those in place to ensure the accuracy of Kelly’s employees who have direct customer reports; maybe Michael could place a contact. It is also wise that the company follow up call to a small portion of those By: Richard D. Landau has Kelly, a customer service representa- customers who have already offered Michael L. Abitabilo tive, solicit the feedback. Aside from the feedback to Kelly. This would allow Mi- obvious fact that this fits into her job de- chael to confirm the contents of Kelly’s scription, the company is much more reports, while showing the customer that likely to obtain truthful responses by do- management is eager to address any con- ing it this way. Customers might be cerns that the customer might have. weary of being completely candid with a member of upper management, out of On another front, it was another up the basic human concern that their nega- and down night for Michael Scott. When tive feedback would have harmful impli- he thought that Dwight and Jim were cations for the individual they have been having performance problems, Michael asked about. did a great job of promptly addressing the issue. Workshops are a great way to On the negative side, we saw what provide on the job training or re-training, can happen when personal issues seep and also provide managers with a first- into the workplace. Kelly was apparently hand opportunity to see what issues upset that Dwight and Jim didn’t attend their employees might be having. Finally,

her “America’s Got Talent” finale party they provide managers with the unique (nice self-promoting plug for NBC, by opportunity to provide instant feedback the way). As a result, she decided to without employees feeling like they are

The Next Day at... the office

being too closely scrutinized. Once again, Michael picked a terrible time to blur the line between disciplinar- On the other hand, Michael showed ian and best-buddy when he complained his typical ineptitude when it came time to Kelly about the difficulty he has getting to discipline Kelly. First, why on earth people to go to his (although, any- would he conduct the first part of his one who remembers the Dinner Party investigation with Jim and Dwight in the episode could understand why that is the room? While it might not be a bad idea case). to sit everyone down and clear the air after the fact, Michael’s decision to ques- On a final note, things seemed to be tion Kelly in front of Jim and Dwight going just a bit too smoothly for Jim and made it more awkward for everyone, Pam since their engagement didn’t they? and even made Kelly’s confession seem Now that Pam’s art-school version of Jim coerced to some extent. And what has seemingly planted a seed of doubt in about Michael’s apparent decision to not Pam’s mind about returning to Scranton, discipline Kelly after she admitted to sub- it will be interesting to see what happens mitting fraudulent performance reports? next!

Want to contact us? Just click on our names or call us at: Rich Landau: (914) 514-6113 Michael Abitabilo: (914) 514-6162 Question of the Week

We’re debuting a new feature this week in the interest of promoting an educational dialogue! Simply send us your answer to this question and next week we’ll post some of our favorite responses. Don’t worry, we’ll be sure to keep your names and affiliations confidential!

Q. How would you have disciplined Kelly for her actions last night?

Volume 2, Issue 7 November 14, 2008

The Next Daythe at… office

BUSINESS TRIP Points of Interest: s there no greater time-honored tradi- between Oscar and Andy. Now, we cer- Off Duty Behavior tion than the ? Last tainly cannot condone Andy’s rather ri- I night Michael Scott, along with diculous behavior in attempting to “pick- Preferential Treatment Oscar and Andy, engaged in what might up” men on behalf of Oscar. Indeed, if be viewed as the classic boondoggle - - a Oscar complained of sexually harassing

trip to Winnipeg, on a sales call. behavior by Andy, he would have a good Michael managed to turn this event into case. But, there is a larger point here. a cause celeb back in the office by giving Sometimes employees do need to get a lecture on international niceties such as away from the office just to get to know committing suicide to save face and each other. This can have substantial washing ones hands after going to the benefits as it builds camaraderie and bathroom as unique cultural attributes. good spirit. We are just now beginning to enter the holiday season and in these Business trips are still a necessity of difficult economic times, I am sure many work life and Michael’s actually turned organizations are wisely considering out successful - - we understand his client throttling back on celebrations. How-

By: Richard D. Landau signed up for two years of purchasing ever, do keep in mind how much your Michael L. Abitabilo goods from Dunder Mifflin! It’s mo- employees look forward to these events ments like this which remind you why and generally enjoy them. It is an oppor- Michael manages to keep his job - - he tunity to see their manager or supervisor actually sells some of the product. and co-workers in a different light, with their spouses or significant others, etc. It Michael’s behavior (and that of would not be unreasonable to assume Oscar and Andy) does need to be ad- that back in the office, Oscar and Andy dressed. Your employees should under- might actually collaborate on work pro- stand their status as representatives of the jects a little bit better as a result of the organization while on the road. How business trip.

much policing of their behavior should you do? Well, certainly they should be One other issue which we have dis- expected to remain relatively sober, not cussed in the past - - Michael’s assign- to do anything which would embarrass ment to first class while Andy and Oscar the organization - - a standard no one at rode in coach. We all recognize that cor- Dunder Mifflin could possibly meet. porate was trying to do Michael “a solid” by giving him the first class ticket. But, it There was one additional benefit to is that type of in your face distinction be- the trip - - the bonding which occurred tween management and staff which gets

The Next Day at... the office

talked about for years back in the office. Personally, I could not tell if he was cele- Additionally, in these every tighter eco- brating by driving off into the sunset or nomic times, one wonders about the fis- was so upset that he could not stay at cal wisdom of flying first class. work another minute. We’ll have to see how this dramatic breakup impacts Daryl One final note, we saw Daryl headed and warehouse productivity in the future.

out for his truck after getting the text message ending his romance with Kelly.

Want to contact us? Just click on our names or call us at: Rich Landau: (914) 514-6113 Michael Abitabilo: (914) 514-6162 Question of the Week

Last week we introduced this feature by asking how you would have disciplined Kelly for submitting fraudulent performance reports.

Here is the best answer we received:

“I would have subjected her to ten hours of ethics training with Angela during which she would be prohibited from talking.”

Thanks for all the responses! Stay tuned for more questions!

Volume 2, Issue 8 November 21, 2008

The Next Daythe at… office

FRAME TOBY Points of Interest: ith the recent returns of Ryan, example, if you give an employee a file Right to Privacy Pam, and Toby it’s nice to see cabinet or desk drawer with a lock and W a full office again. Perhaps key, that employee might have a reason- Employee Handbooks the most obvious point of discussion aris- able expectation of privacy as to the con- ing from this week’s episode is an em- tents of that drawer or cabinet. On the

Office Etiquette ployee’s right to privacy. The issue first other hand, if your employee handbook arose when Andy spotted an e-mail on expressly reserves the company’s right to Jim’s computer. While this was seem- search your employees’ workspace, it ingly a case of “no harm, no foul,” what would be much more difficult for an em- if Andy had observed confidential infor- ployee to claim that he or she had an ex- mation on Jim’s screen? For example, as pectation of privacy. As always, a clear the “number 2” in the office, it is not in- and concise company policy is one of the conceivable that Jim might have had con- best ways to prevent disputes and could fidential information about employee serve as one of the strongest defenses to a salaries on his screen. If Andy had ob- charge or lawsuit. served this, would he have been in viola-

By: Richard D. Landau tion of any company policies? Speaking of workplace policies, did Michael L. Abitabilo anyone else notice a crucial flaw in Dun- Perhaps more interesting was Toby’s der Mifflin’s employee handbook? When claim that he had a “reasonable right to Dwight and Michael were looking for privacy” in objecting to the searching of reasons to fire Toby, Dwight read the his desk. Whether Toby’s $500 caprese following passage from the company’s salad was found as a result of an im- handbook: “Fireable offenses include: proper search is a valid question. An em- workplace violence and sexual harass- ployee’s right to privacy varies greatly by ment.” Like New York, is state; in New York, for example, employ- an “at-will” employment state. If you ees enjoy almost no right to privacy. On operate in an “at-will” state, your hand-

the other hand, California employees en- book should absolutely contain an “at- a right to privacy created by Califor- will” statement. If you must include a list nia’s state constitution. Courts have of terminable offenses in your handbook, consistently held that right to privacy it should be extensive, and it should also matters must be analyzed on a “case by be prefaced with language similar to this: case” basis, so there are very few, if any, “Terminable offenses might include, but hard-line rules in this area. One reoccur- are not limited to: …” Dunder Mifflin’s ring theme, however, is that an em- poorly worded policy might create an ployee’s right to privacy is largely con- expectation on behalf of its employees trolled by the employer’s policies. For that workplace violence and sexual har-

The Next Day at... the office

assment are the only offenses for which employees are respectful of one another, they can be terminated, thus altering the and leaving the microwave in that condi- “at-will” nature of their employment. tion would be unacceptable. However, And remember: if you find yourself in a your organization should have a system situation where you need to find “cause” in place to deal with these situations. If to terminate someone, “because you hate” you do not have someone who is respon-

that person (in this case Toby and all HR sible for cleaning common areas, you professionals not named Holly) is proba- should consider instituting a cleaning bly not going to be enough! schedule where all employees share the responsibility on a rotating basis. This Finally, we have to address office will help prevent the tension and linger- etiquette. Since you will spend more ing bitterness created when someone time with your co-workers than you will leaves a mess behind. with your own family, there will un- doubtedly be times when your co- Finally-finally, just when it seemed

workers’ bad habits or idiosyncrasies will like Jim made a huge mistake by buying become frustrating. When someone left his ’ old house without talking to the office microwave a mess, Pam re- Pam, he made men everywhere look bad sponded by leaving an “obnoxious” note with his grand romantic gesture of con- for the unknown perpetrator – while leav- verting the garage into an art studio for Want to contact us? ing the mess for someone else to clean Pam. If only all men had a staff of pro- Just click on our up. Of course, it is important that your fessional writers helping them out! names or call us at: Rich Landau: (914) 514-6113 Michael Abitabilo: (914) 514-6162

Question of the Week

As always, we promise to keep your answers anonymous!

Do you ever search your employees’ workspace? Do you wait

for “cause?” Tell us about it!

Volume 2, Issue 9 December 5, 2008

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THE SURPLUS Points of Interest: elcome back everyone. Mi- any employee than a lack of adequate and Employee Morale chael and the Dunder Mifflin proper equipment to allow them to per- crew were sorely missed over form their jobs efficiently and effectively W OSHA the holiday, but they came on a daily basis. Of course, Michael’s in- back in strong fashion last night. I think I ability to “digest the information and see could have based the entire column on the what comes out the other end” rendered opening vignette as Oscar explained to the whole exercise useless and instead cre- Michael the budgeting surplus for 2008. ated substantial hostility between the war- The first thought that crossed my mind ring parties. [Certainly, Jim immediately when seeing Michael struggle to under- learned that once the battle was on – even stand why he needed to spend the $4,300 if they got a copier – he would lose the in 2008, was that you really do need to war with Pam, and will regret his closing

pay attention in math when you are in threat I am sure]. grade school because you will need to use it one day. You might have also noticed a small, but significant, contribution from Toby -- By: Richard D. Landau Michael showed some decent instincts that the Office may be suffering from ra- Michael L. Abitabilo in opening up the debate as to how to don leaks and asbestos dust. Whether the spend (on the assumption that Scranton office can afford it or not, these you believe the surplus should have been are issues which mandate immediate at- spent in these trying times). By soliciting tention. It will be interesting to see who

employee input, he created an atmosphere comes down with radon poisoning or where staff could feel they have a genuine some asbestos-related affliction and sues voice in what happens in the organization Michael personally as well as the Com- and their day-to-day work lives. How of- pany, of course, for their failure to main- ten have we all heard that it is the small tain a safe workplace as mandated by things which make a substantial difference OSHA. Finally, while I really liked Mi- as to whether staff members feel well- chael’s new fur coat, I thought the $645 treated and respected. was going to be spent on approximately 161.25 new ties for his collection. [See,

Pam, who sits at her reception desk all math matters!] day, is in desperate need of a good chair with proper lumbar support (as pointed Finally, we cannot let this issue pass out through the “Solomon-like” delibera- without mentioning the beautiful nuptials tions by Hank the Security Guard). Simi- between Angela and Dwight Schrute. It larly, other employees (Jim and Oscar) felt looks to be a long-lasting marriage and the strong need for an adequate copier. nothing but bliss with virtually no chance There is little that is more frustrating to of any office disruption in the future.

Volume 2, Issue 10 December 12, 2008

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MOROCCAN CHRISTMAS Points of Interest: is the season at Dunder Mifflin lem when there is some blatant act of mis- Holiday Parties ’T Scranton, where last night’s episode conduct that the employer suspects was a highlighted an important point about holi- result of the employee being under the Employee Assistance day parties. While these functions can influence. Be careful: if an employee has offer your employees a much needed and a drug or alcohol addiction, the addiction deserved chance to “let loose,” it is still is considered a disability, which could important that they remember to respect warrant a reasonable accommodation. the line between what constitutes a good Excusing misconduct, however, is not a time and what is inappropriate behavior. reasonable accommodation. While refer- Meredith’s binge drinking and Creed’s ence to the Employee Assistance Program apparent illicit drug use probably crossed is fine, an employer might also consider that line! Some interesting issues can offering such an employee a “Last Chance arise if employees are disciplined for their Agreement.” A Last Chance Agreement behavior at company sponsored events, would acknowledge past performance or

particularly if it was the boss who was conduct problems resulting from drug or pouring the drinks! With all due respect alcohol addiction and serve as a final By: Richard D. Landau to Michael’s innovative “OrangeVodJuice warning for the employee. In exchange, Michael L. Abitabilo -Ka,” you might want to consider hiring a the employee would promise to receive professional bartender for your event with substance abuse treatment, with any viola- clear cut instructions to cut off over- tion of the agreement leading to termina- indulging guests. tion. These are sensitive issues; of course, you should always think hard, exercise Meredith’s binge drinking at the party good judgment, and consider the legal

begs the question what do you do when ramifications before acting. In the alter- you suspect that one of your employees native, you could just literally drag your may have a serious drug or alcohol prob- employee into a rehab center against his lem? While each case might be handled or her will and let the chips fall as they differently, we generally advise against may! holding a group intervention with all of the employee’s coworkers present. Mi- On a lighter note, did anyone else chael may have been onto something have a problem with Dwight running his when he brought Meredith into his office personal business enterprise from the Of-

for a one on one conversation about the fice? Take a look at your employee hand- issue, although he probably should have book and you will likely find several poli- closed the blinds so that the conversation cies prohibiting such behavior. If you wasn’t being held in plain sight. can’t, it might be time to update that handbook – perhaps in time for a January Most of the time, employers will no- 1st roll-out! tice that an employee might have a prob-

Volume 2, Issue 11 January 20, 2009

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THE DUEL Points of Interest: was thrilled to have the Dunder Mif- one example. However, David Wallace is Office Romance I flin crew back last Thursday operat- a bigger man than many of us – he would ing in fine form with their usual commit- not let his preconceived notions about Assessing Performance ment to work. It seems unlikely that we Michael (a historically unsuccessful Man- can gain any lesson from what happened ager) keep him from his fiduciary duty to in Scranton. After all, having an actual, explore how and why success was still physical duel with the potential use of a present at the Scranton office. bow and arrow, chains, ninja stars and a sickle is a tough issue to wrap one’s arms As one would expect, his dialogue around to come up with any valuable with Michael provided absolutely noth- lessons. Of course, I forgot the actual ing except an opportunity for Michael to use of a motor vehicle to pin a co-worker get a free meal (a nice plate of pasta as I against the fence and bushes as well. I recall) and otherwise babble on about suppose all of this just stands as a stark nothing of any consequence to anyone, By: Richard D. Landau reminder that office romances do go at anytime, at any place, anywhere. But Michael L. Abitabilo awry. There is a penalty to be paid due at least David Wallace was willing to give to all the emotionality that surrounds it. it a shot.

But Thursday’s episode was really What do we take from this? Simply about David Wallace – CFO of Dunder that occasionally, it is worthwhile to re- Mifflin located in their corporate offices assess the “talent” in your organization. in . After all, David was Maybe some employees have been pi- confronted with one of the most difficult geonholed in our collective thinking situations any corporate executive must about their ability to obtain results. Per- face: the success of a bumbling idiot. haps it’s time to take a hard look at the Sales figures indicate that Dunder Mifflin productivity of individuals who you might is struggling in our very tough economy. have perceived as unproductive, but in However, there is one shining light – fact, have been doing a fine job. (Mind Scranton -- under the leadership of Mi- you, not think this is the case involv- chael Scott. Now, David Wallace knows ing Michael Scott – he’s as incompetent that Michael Scott probably couldn’t talk as ever and I am assuming there was his way out of a paper bag. He has seen some sort of error committed by Kevin Michael’s errors time and again – his af- which led to his proportionately-strong fair with Jan, and participation in her liti- sales figures.) That’s all for this week… gation against the Company being just

Volume 2, Issue 12 January 28, 2009

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PRINCE FAMILY PAPER Points of Interest: t was Corleone family Consigliere Tom Business Ethics Hagen who said “this is business, not We won’t bore you with the legal de- personal” way back in 1972’s The God- tails, but in general, a claim for tortuous Tortious Interference I father. More than 35 years later, Michael interference can arise when one intention- Scott’s Consigliere Dwight Schrute relied ally damages another’s contractual or busi- on the very same principle in an attempt to ness relationships. Depending on how the alleviate Michael’s moral concerns about company used the information obtained, taking advantage of one of Scranton’s nic- and the effect that its actions had on est families. Prince Paper’s business, Dunder Mifflin might be forced to endure an expensive At a time when corporate greed seems and complex litigation. But our goal here to be at an all-time high, it is only fitting to isn’t to write a legal brief, so let’s focus on discuss business ethics. It’s obvious that some of the more practical elements of

Michael and Dwight’s actions were unethi- Thursday’s episode. cal – using a false identity and false pre-

By: Richard D. Landau tenses to obtain potentially proprietary We can (hopefully) all agree that Michael L. Abitabilo information could hardly be considered Dwight and Michael’s actions were im- anything else – but it’s interesting to pon- proper, but what about CFO David Wal- der whether lace? Wallace their actions called Michael were unlawful. and asked him If, as Dwight to do some predicted, “fact finding” Dunder Mifflin on Prince Pa- were to use per, and later the informa- sent Michael a tion obtained fax with the from Prince There may be little to no resemblance, but Dwight chan- type of infor- Paper to neled his inner Tom Hagen in Thursday’s episode... mation he “destroy them,” wanted so that the Prince family might feel compelled to the company could “go after their market.” seek legal action against Dunder Mifflin While he may not have told Michael and (assuming, of course, they found out that Dwight to pretend to be a local business “attorney Michael Scorn” was actually Re- owner and job seeker respectively in order gional Manager Michael Scott). to fraudulently obtain the information, it

Volume 2, Issue 12

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PRINCE FAMILY PAPER

(continued)

Want to contact us? certainly wouldn’t be impossible to argue laws would have allowed Michael to bring that Michael and Dwight were acting the issue to the attention of the CEO or Just click on our within the scope of David Wallace’s in- some other ombudsperson, without fear of names or call us at: structions. any retaliation from David Wallace. Rich Landau: (914) 514-6113 It can be a difficult situation if a mem- On the other hand, it is hard to ignore Michael Abitabilo: ber of upper management asks an em- the allure of Dwight’s pleas to use the in- (914) 514-6162 ployee to perform an ethically question- formation — after all, the Prince family able task. If Michael wasn’t sure, he literally handed over list. And, if probably should have asked David Wallace Dunder Mifflin does not grow, who is to for further clarification as to the manner in say that they won’t be swallowed up by a which he should attempt to garner the in- more aggressive paper company? formation requested. If Wallace explicitly suggested the type of dishonest tactics By the way, between last week’s Duel Michael ultimately employed, and Michael and this week’s “Is Hillary Swank Hot” de- was not comfortable acting in that man- bate, can someone explain how any work ner, Michael would not have been without gets done at Dunder Mifflin Scranton when recourse. Various whistleblower protection Michael leaves the Office?!

TRIVIA

Trivia makes its return this week after a long hiatus… enjoy!

Q: According to Dwight, what is the strongest animal on the planet?

episode). Duel The (from planet…” the on animal strongest the are “Sasquatches : A

Volume 2, Issue 13 February 3, 2009

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STRESS RELIEF Points of Interest: n Sunday night our favorite staff night – the star crossed and destined for Arson? – the Scranton District Office of failure love affair between Cloris Leach- Dunder Mifflin – enjoyed their man and Jack Black – one wonders how Electronic O Communications greatest exposure (figuratively and emo- the producer of that movie ever thought tionally) by being showcased after the that Nicole Kidman was better for the Super Bowl. They were surely up to the role. I was particularly thrilled by the challenge entertaining us after that most sound track dominated by Air Supply and phenomenal last second win by the Little River Band, but I digress. The les- Steelers. son learned here speaks to the inappro- priate use of Dunder Mifflin computers. The first issue we have to cover is Not only were Andy, Jim and Pam wast- Dwight Schrute. Clearly, he is in fact a ing valuable company time while watch- lunatic. It is tough to glean any lessons ing movies in the lunchroom (although from Dwight that should not otherwise arguably were working no less than By: Richard D. Landau result in a person being immediately in- usual) but Andy downloaded the film ille- Michael L. Abitabilo carcerated. Setting fire to the workplace gally prior to its release in the theaters. I while simultaneously blocking the exits am no copyright lawyer, but I am guess- should get one fired and arrested for ar- ing there are some infractions here. son. Similarly, brandishing a Now, most of you already have elec- knife, stabbing a CPR dummy and remov- tronic communications policies that ing its plastic face are all signs that speak to the inappropriate use of your Dwight is not fit to work in any work- various communication tools. But cer- place and is a danger to himself and oth- tainly, you should be issuing and reissu- ers. Given Dwight’s exploits, the question ing policies regarding downloading of is not whether he should be removed any copyrighted material, etc. from employment at Dunder Mifflin but rather, how is it that David Wallace, CFO, My third takeaway from last night’s manages to retain his job given his lack extravaganza is that all offices try to es- of substantial action in the face of tablish a good rapport between employ- Dwight’s antics? ees and allow for a certain level of jocu- larity. Every office has its own culture I hope everyone was paying atten- which develops over time and I am sure tion to the movie within the show last there are a multitude of pros and cons to

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STRESS RELIEF

(continued)

Want to contact us? such informal atmospheres as in the Kevin) we are lucky that Michael has Just click on our Scranton, PA office. But even with that such a forgiving heart and by taking a names or call us at: informality, certain bounds need to be few easy shots back at his subordinates, Rich Landau: respected. Although Michael Scott of- was able to regain his standing and credi- (914) 514-6113 fered up himself to be “roasted,” too bility as their manager. Michael Abitabilo: many of the jokes cut deep and jeopard- (914) 514-6162 ized the ongoing work relationship be- Now, let me close this issue with my tween all of the Office employees. While favorite and most compelling line from most of the Dunder Mifflin crew recog- the episode – “LILY, LILY, LILY!” nized having gone too far (except for

TRIVIA

For those who followed closely this week, this is an easy one!

Q: How much does Angela claim to weigh?

lbs.! 82 whopping A : A

Volume 2, Issue 14 February 6, 2009

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LECTURE CIRCUIT Points of Interest: ot the strongest episode last night, Back in the office, the crisis of the day Road Trips in terms of either comedy or hu- was the oversight of Kelly’s birthday. We man resource issues, but as always, have spoken before about the niceties of Office Celebrations N a few nuggets were available to us. the informal office – especially one where you can celebrate events in your co- Continuing a theme from a few epi- workers’ lives. However, the recent war sodes back, Michael Scott’s inexplicable over the Dunder Mifflin party-planning sales figures in the Scranton office has re- committee resulting in Dwight and Jim now sulted in his assignment to take a bit of a at the forefront has proven to be a catas-

“tour” to other regional offices and explain trophe. It could be that by celebrating eve- of his success. In concept, I like rything for almost no reason at the Scran- the idea of rewarding Michael and height- ton office, there is a heightened expecta- ening his profile in the organization. More- tion as to what should occur on one’s birth- over, if he really has some good ideas, other day at work. Maybe it is time to ratchet offices would benefit from them. A true back the celebrations a little bit and take By: Richard D. Landau face-to face dialogue is usually preferable Dwight’s more pragmatic approach of post- Michael L. Abitabilo to an e-mail, voice mail or even a Power- ing “It is your birthday.” as opposed to Point webinar. Of course, this is all based “Happy Birthday!” signs. on the theory that Michael Scott actually knows something and is able to communi- It sure was nice to see Karen again and cate it. As his mnemonic tool demon- to learn that she is happily married and ex- strated, Michael has no good ideas. pecting her first child in just another month. I must say, I was a bit disappointed that the One other thought for road tours, cer- timing of her pregnancy did not overlap tainly those selected to go should not be with working alongside Jim. That would based on gender but, if you do happen to have led to a few interesting storylines go-

travel as a male with a female companion, ing forward. At least no one commented having her lug your heavy suitcase and on the potential overlap, that would have

drive the vehicle with you sitting the back been real awkward and embarrassing for seat as if you were a King , is not exactly the Pam – oh wait, that is exactly what Michael best approach. Moreover, casual conversa- did. tion about the physical attributes of a for- mer Human Resource executive is not ad- Finally, for those of you who caught the vised. last few seconds of the episode, Dunder Mifflin might want to look into Creed’s use and distribution of counterfeit money!

Volume 2, Issue 15 February 13, 2009

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LECTURE CIRCUIT (Part 2) Points of Interest: s Michael Scott and Pam continued years ago: “Computers will never replace Technology on Part 2 of their journey to other attorneys, but attorneys who use com- regional Dunder Mifflin offices, one puters will replace those who don’t.” In Criminal Convictions A could easily have assumed that the stop in many ways, he has been proven right. Any Nashua would be a disaster. While lawyers organization trying to compete in today’s tell you all the time that it is never smart to world should keep this in mind. assume, in this case, you would have been right. It is hard to imagine anyone humili- Meanwhile, back in Scranton, we had ating themselves worse than Michael did. yet another day of virtually no work get- The next time any of you have to give a ting done. After learning quite a bit more presentation, at least you can take solace about Angela (far more than any of us in knowing that there is no way you could wanted to know), I am now convinced do worse than Michael did in Nashua. more than ever that she and Dwight are in

fact made for each other. There are no Michael did demonstrate one skill barriers to their reuniting now that Angela

By: Richard D. Landau which I could not have expected prior to has pawned Andy’s engagement ring. (As Michael L. Abitabilo this episode: his ability to utilize a com- a side note for those of you who might be puter. I was shocked to see him sporting a contemplating similar actions, an engage- flash drive so he could quickly download a ment ring is not viewed purely as a gift for letter that Holly may have written to him legal purposes. Rather, it is a conditional (most likely in violation of several company gift, contingent upon a subsequent com- policies). This raises an important item for mitment – entering into the marriage. companies to consider – have you properly Thus, for those of you thinking of breaking equipped your employees with the neces- off an engagement, this is not a quick way sary technology to successfully perform to make $7,000 to $10,000). their jobs? One more snippet from the Scranton In these belt-tightening times, it might office involved the discovery of an individ- be easy to cut back on equipment, technol- ual’s past criminal conviction record. In ogy, upgrades, etc. However, it worthy to Kelly’s case, it is obvious that she engaged give serious consideration to keeping pace in a youthful offense which in all likelihood with equipment and technology should have been expunged from her re- so your organization can stay competitive. cords. (If Dwight had not been riffling A colleague of mine said close to fifteen through the files at some earlier date, this

Volume 2, Issue 15

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LECTURE CIRCUIT (Part 2)

(continued)

Want to contact us? information would not have been known -- indicate the consequences of an omission, this should serve as a reminder to keep then seeking to terminate someone years Just click on our human resource files locked and secure). after the application process may be prob- names or call us at: But, this does raise the issue of reacting to lematic. Most of you in New York know Rich Landau: convictions well after an individual has be- that new 2008-2009 statutes provide even (914) 514-6113 gun employment. Being able to take ac- greater protections and notice provisions Michael Abitabilo: tion on those convictions is contingent regarding criminal convictions and inquir- (914) 514-6162 upon your policies and application forms at ies so, make sure your application process the time the individual was hired. If the and documents are fully up-to-date. That application did not contain lawful and ap- is about all for this week. propriate questions about convictions, or

TRIVIA

Q: What did Angela name her new $7,000 cat?

Lady” “Princess : A

Volume 2, Issue 16 March 6, 2009

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BLOOD DRIVE Points of Interest: ot much happened at Dunder Mif- It was refreshing to learn that Michael Blood Donation flin Scranton last night, but what Scott was familiar with the concept of a else is new? In a somewhat be- “hostile work environment” when he (sort Stealing French fries N lated Valentine’s Day episode, Michael de- of) scolded Jim and Pam for exchanging cided to throw a “lonely hearts club” party “ looks” in the workplace. Of course, for all of the single people in the office, Michael completely destroyed any sense of while Jim and Pam went out good legal intuition less than to lunch with Phyllis and Bob 30 seconds later when he an- Vance of Vance Refrigeration. nounced to the entire office that he had “just invited Jim to The show started out with suck it.” As defense attorneys Pam desperately trying to we would obviously argue that shun a salesman who wanted Jim and Pam’s “general sexi-

to sit down with Michael and ness” (Michael’s words, not discuss a new phone system ours) does not come close to

By: Richard D. Landau which would basically do satisfying the threshold for Michael L. Abitabilo “95%” of Pam’s job. Although establishing a hostile work Pam was understandably in- environment, but we might timidated by this newfangled It will take your best imper- have a tougher time dealing technology, she couldn’t have sonation of this man to scare with Michael’s inappropriate off some salesmen... really thought Michael would announcement. ever get rid of one of his favorite people in the office, could she? But that scene fol- As for Jim and Pam’s with lows up on a point we covered just few Phyllis and Bob Vance of Vance Refrigera- weeks ago - - that upgrading your technol- tion, it’s important to point out that N.Y. ogy can be an effective way to increase Labor Law §408 prohibits co-workers from efficiency and cut costs in the long run, stealing each other’s French fries while on even if it requires a substantial investment lunch without previous authorization. Ok, up front. The scene also reminded us that maybe that’s not true, but still – get your one of the best ways to ward off an un- own fries! (We won’t even address what wanted visitor is to spontaneously break laws were by Phyllis and Bob Vance out into group impersonations of the Fonz in the disabled restroom). (“Heyyyyyyyyy….”). Back at the Office, Michael may have

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Blood Drive (continued) Want to contact us? missed yet another chance at love when he glove had been found. Surprisingly, some Just click on our passed out after giving blood, allowing an non-employees actually showed up for the names or call us at: affable woman who seemed willing to put party. In fact, Kevin was so smitten by his Rich Landau: up with his lame jokes to escape without new lady friend that his hands got “really (914) 514-6113 finding out her name or phone number. sweaty” by the time he mustered up the Michael Abitabilo: Speaking of giving blood, don’t forget that courage to ask for her e-mail address. (914) 514-6162 some states require employers to give em- Meanwhile, like most men, Dwight had ployees time off to donate blood and/or only one thing on his mind after meeting a bone marrow. In New York, for example, nice young lady who worked for a local employees who work an average of at least publisher of brochures: generating new 20 hours per week are eligible for up to 3 business. Regardless of what you think hours of leave during any 12-month period about Dwight, he is one of the few people for time off to donate blood, and even constantly trying to turn a profit for Dun- more time off to donate bone marrow. der Mifflin. By the way, did anyone else think that Dwight’s new friend looked and Michael hoped to lure the mystery dressed an awful lot like Angela?? It’s woman back to the Office by posting signs shocking that they didn’t hit it off… for his “lonely hearts club” party, which conveniently included a notice that a pink

Volume 2, Issue 17 March 16, 2009

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GOLDEN TICKET Points of Interest: hat is the state of this Company or supervisors looking to force blame into Creative Marketing “W going to be if I am the only one another area or on a team member. The coming up with good ideas.” – Michael Scott, unfairness of this behavior could be seen by Accountability Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton office – 3/12/09 the irate response of various Scranton em- ployees. (Think about it, even Jim was de-

It is a competitive world out there, per- fending Dwight.) In watching Michael strug- haps now more than ever. Organizations gle to avoid responsibility for his blunder, I need to look high and low for inspiration and was reminded of an old adage too often ap- creativity in developing new marketing tech- plicable in the political world – it is not the niques and satisfying customers. I loved Mi- mistake that gets you in trouble, it is the chael’s “golden ticket” idea. (Notably, I am a cover up. Most business people and execu- serious Willie Wonka fan – the Gene Wilder tives understand that their subordinates will version NOT the Johnnie Depp remake which make errors. Many of you in the Human Re- was way too creepy for my taste). However, source field also understand that staff and I am not sure people would buy boxes of pa- employees are going to make mistakes. How- per the same way they fanatically bought ever, nothing is more exasperating than By: Richard D. Landau Willie Wonka chocolate bars searching for weak denials or efforts to deflect responsibil- Michael L. Abitabilo those golden tickets. Nonetheless, Michael’s ity on others. Quite frankly, it is these acts,

idea could have easily have added some as- demonstrating weakness in character, which pect of “fun,” in addition to some real sav- offend more strongly than the underlying ings, for whomever became the lucky golden error. Discipline flowing from our lack of ticket holders. Undoubtedly, even those cus- trust in such employees certainly can be jus- tomers who did not find golden tickets would tified. have enjoyed the slight distraction and inge- nuity of Dunder Mifflin in running the promo. A few side notes from Thursday night – Who knows, it may have even helped to sell kudos to Kevin for charging ahead in asking one extra pallet of paper. (Not that Michael out a lovely lady who works in the Office Scott knows what a pallet is.) Park. I might have changed his final com- ments slightly in making his pitch for a date Last night’s episode also covered the on- but, overall, he did ok. And finally, inspired going issue of office ethics politics. Between by Pam, I will be working on a creative list of

Michael and Dwight, the question was who excuses that my assistant can give the next should take the blame for the distribution of time I want to keep someone from locating all the 10 percent coupons to one client (five me in the office. Some of my early favorites: in total requiring a 50 percent discount)? I “He is hosting a charity telethon; He has not don’t think there is much of a debate here. returned from his gallstone operation; and Michael should have owned up to his mis- He has something/anything else to do to- take and taken responsibility for it. Unfortu- day.” nately, Michael is not alone among managers

Volume 2, Issue 18 March 20, 2009

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NEW BOSS Points of Interest: elcome Charles Minor! Per- too much overtime. New Leadership haps we have finally seen the addition of an adult with true In announcing these changes, Charles Budget Cuts W business sensibilities into the Dunder Mif- could have, and should have, made clear flin Scranton world. (I have a sense it will the necessity for all staff to “hop on board” only take two or three weeks for him to and explained how their commitment to crash and burn.) It is amazing how the in- the reductions might minimize the possibil- troduction of Charles Minor highlighted so ity of layoffs. In your organizations, similar dramatically the lunacy which takes place statements and announcements may be at the Scranton branch on a daily basis. necessary and it is important to let em- ployees know clearly and quickly that the Certainly, it is never easy for any de- current economy and business climate has partment, branch/location to adjust to a changed radically from only a year ago.

new, strong-willed and different leader. Those who cannot recognize the need for Mr. Minor’s opening remarks to the crew greater efficiency and a reduction in ex-

By: Richard D. Landau in general (which Michael was supposed to penses will soon be viewed as those who Michael L. Abitabilo have conveyed several days earlier) proba- are most convenient to let go through the bly sounded eerily familiar to all of your layoff process. workplaces – the budget is tight – we need to make cuts (in this case 3 While we can all see percent) – and cannot rule Michael’s infantile and in- out the possibility of lay- subordinate reaction to offs. Moreover, Charles an- Charles would be a sure-fire nounced a severe curtailing path to discharge in a nor- of any discretionary spend- mal workplace, I do place ing and the necessity for some blame on David Wal- regional approval of any Can you see the resemblance? lace for Michael’s behavior. overtime. Of course, these Kelly can... After all, David has known limitations strike at the Michael Scott for many, heart of the Scranton branch’s inefficiency many years. He knows Michael is tremen- and lack of commitment to work – they dously insecure and views his direct line to spend way too much time talking about David’s office an indication of his authority parties, hardly any time getting any work in the organization (even if no actual au- done and, as a result, create the need for thority comes with that communication

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The Next Day at…

the office

New Boss (continued) Want to contact us? path). He could have, and perhaps should just that in comparison to everyone else, Just click on our have, forewarned Michael of the need to he appears normal. In many episodes, names or call us at: make changes so as to ease his mind about Jim’s wearing a tuxedo would merely ap- Rich Landau: the transition. If David had told Michael pear humorous; however, his attire be- (914) 514-6113 how important it was to him personally came a most uncomfortable focal point as Michael Abitabilo: that Michael work directly with Charles as he tried to explain it to his new Regional (914) 514-6162 part of the plan for greater efficiency, Mi- Manager. (Personally, I want to get my chael no doubt would have thought of this hands on Dwight’s memo on the as a “special assignment” and supported it code which sparked Jim’s reaction). vigorously. One final note unrelated to anything in I enjoyed the running joke of Jim acting the business world, I am looking forward to as a buffoon as seen through the eyes of the knock-down, drag-out battle between Charles Minor. Often we think of Jim as a Kelly and Angela for the affections of the regular employee. Yet, he has many idio- “George Clooney looking” Charles Minor. syncrasies and immature behaviors – it’s It should be a good fight.

TRIVIA

Q: What was Dwight’s creative alias when he called David Wallace’s office?

Scotch

Michael A:

Volume 2, Issue 19 March 30, 2009

The Next theDay at… office

TWO WEEKS Points of Interest: erry McGuire called: he wants his plot line Michael earned during the time in which he Restrictive Covenants back! The only things missing from the failed to act in the company’s best interest by final scene of last night’s episode were a trying to hire employees for his own business J Duty of Loyalty gold fish in a plastic bag and Renee Zellweger! to compete with Dunder Mifflin. (“You had me at hello”). But, we digress so, let’s discuss some of the more substantive And what about the employees Michael issues from the show. asked to join him? Assuming they are all at- will employees, they have every right to leave Michael’s actions throughout the episode Dunder Mifflin to go work for Michael. Again, demonstrated the value, if not the need, of a the Company should consider requiring some

well crafted restrictive covenant. (Of course of its key personnel (e.g. sales persons) to sign this assumes you had any concern about Mi- restrictive covenants at the outset of their chael actually succeeding in his new venture). employment. Even if the agreement might The most effective restrictive covenants typi- ultimately be deemed unenforceable, some- cally contain three main components: (1) non- times the specter of the agreement alone is compete; (2) non-disclosure; and (3) non- enough for employees to reject overtures solicitation. Courts generally frown upon en- from a departed employee or competing com- By: Richard D. Landau forcing non-compete agreements which would panies. Luckily for Dunder Mifflin, Michael’s Michael L. Abitabilo essentially prevent someone from making a incompetence had a similar effect!

living. To have any shot of success, such re- strictions must be limited in time, industry and Finally, we have to address Charles’ be- geographic location. Non-disclosure of trade havior. After earning high marks in his debut, secrets is a more enforceable aspect of a re- the New Boss regressed a bit this week. First, strictive covenant agreement, as is a non- he allowed Michael to drink scotch (and solicitation agreement. Splenda) while he was supposed to be winding things down at the company. Then, he actu- But let’s assume, for a moment, that Mi- ally displayed physical aggression towards chael did not have any type of restrictive cove- Michael in front of the other Scranton employ- nant in place. Does that mean that his blatant ees! Though this may have caused Angela and poaching of Dunder Mifflin employees on Kelly to be even more enamored with Charles, company time would be acceptable? NO! perhaps Andy can give him the number of a First, his two week notice could be ignored good anger management counselor. and his discharge could occur immediately. (One might generally consider an immediate Finally-finally, it was just a few weeks ago departure for employees that have given no- that Michael and Dwight took advantage of tice especially if there is a concern about their the good folks at Prince Paper in an effort to access to computer files or sensitive informa- steal their customers. It only seems appropri- tion). Also, in New York, Michael’s actions ate that their antics seem to have put Prince would have violated the common law duty of out of business and eliminated Michael’s only loyalty. Unfortunately for Dunder Mifflin, its contact for a new job. I believe that is called only recourse might be to disgorge the wages Karma.

Volume 2, Issue 20 April 14, 2009

The Next theDay at… office /THE MICHAEL SCOTT

Points of Interest: PAPER COMPANY

Evaluating Talent f you really want to impress your boss, press him. As Human Resource professionals, it you go in there and you do mediocre work is important to acknowledge that the introduc- New Endeavors “I … half heartedly.” ~ Jim Halpert: 4/10/09. In tion of a new superior does change workplace writing this column we try to hold ourselves to dynamics and employees who have succeeded a higher standard than Jim, but that didn’t stop for a substantial time may struggle under the us from writing only one issue despite two new new leadership like Jim is doing now. Though it episodes last week! is important to support the new leaders and their decisions about staff, it is incumbent upon The Dream Team episode covered some Human Resources to help the new leader see interesting immediate issues at Dunder Mifflin an individual with a successful past and not in its effort to recover from the loss of Michael disregard it in a perfunctory manner. and Pam. We got the ever-inspirational Kevin assigned to the Reception Desk. Now I would Meanwhile, back at the Michael Scott have loved to have been a part of the decision- condo we see the initial planning stage or what making process selecting Kevin for this role – is sure to be the next Fortune 500 Company.

By: Richard D. Landau he’s not good with people, he doesn’t speak Michael and Pam are on the right track in de- Michael L. Abitabilo particularly well and gets flustered under pres- ciding they need to bring together some talent sure situations – just what you want with to get this project off the ground. Unfortu- someone who must handle perhaps hundreds nately, they don’t have any talent nor are they of phone calls per day. While Charles certainly good at selecting capable people. Thus, while has a strong sense of commitment to work the idea is good, execution has been miserable. (and requiring it of others), this may be the first Moreover, they are lacking a business plan, sign of a business weakness – being a poor financing, an office, suppliers, potential cus- evaluator of talent. Either that, or he just tomers, potential customer lists and virtually

wants Kevin far away from the financial books anything and everything else that might lead to so he doesn’t mess them up any further than a successful launch of their Company. he has to date. Their lack of planning (or impending failure) The departure of Michael has already cre- can be instructive for organizations which are ated a tremendous change in the work dynamic considering new ventures within their current at Dunder Mifflin Scranton. Jim is obviously structure. The creation of a new department, struggling and has established no rapport with product line or any other aspect of business Charles. In fact, it appears Charles views him as requires a strong initial structure. Successful

a mediocre employee who does not work hard. leaders, other additional talent, appropriate Certainly, he is not making a good first impres- financial support are all inherently necessary sion. In contrast, both Andy and Dwight so far for the new endeavor to succeed. Without have earned high marks with Charles – espe- these key items, the rest of the business world cially with regard to Andy’s knowledge of soc- would hit the new endeavor like a soccer cer (which extends to his knowing the name of to the face – and can that hurt – just ask Pelé) and Dwight’s apparent efforts not to im- Phyllis.

Volume 2, Issue 21 April 17, 2009

The Next theDay at… office

HEAVY COMPETITION Points of Interest: t was a fairly slow day at Dunder Mifflin to evolve and consider the current work- Dress Codes Scranton (and even slower at the Mi- force, how they live their lives and what chael Scott Paper Company). First on their expectation is of work. Employers are I Trade Secrets the agenda, was dress code. Obviously, always searching for the little ways in which Charles Minor has a higher standard or ex- to satisfy employees with little cost. Con- pectation of personal grooming and appear- version to a casual attire policy (not a ance for the Scranton crew. Dwight, who sloppy, you can wear anything you want has long favored mustard yellow, short- policy) can be one of those small benefits sleeved shifts, has been required to wear which is most appreciated. the more classic white, long-sleeved busi- ness shirts. This caused him great agitation We should comment on the competition and discomfort, resulting in his changing between Dunder Mifflin and the Michael shirts as he heads out on sales calls . Scott Paper Company. Certainly, Michael has acted inappropriately and beyond the Dress code is an interesting issue for bounds of friendship in seeking Dwight’s organizations. We have seen great fluctua- assistance in absconding with Dunder Mif- By: Richard D. Landau tion and trends over the last ten years. As flin’s client information. Of course, Dwight Michael L. Abitabilo the “dot coms” rose at the end of the 1990s could simply have told him no, rather than

into the early 2000s headed by many young setting up a confrontation with Charles. individuals, the classic business suit and tie Dwight, however, acted no better by sabo- and other formal attire were quickly cast taging the Michael Scott Paper Company aside in favor of jeans, t-shirts and other and stealing Michael’s client rolodex. similar . Many corporations, Dwight’s actions here came with their own feared the appearance of not moving along consequences as he was completely unable with the times or being called “stodgy.” As to decipher Michael’s system of storing in- a result, casual attire moved beyond sum- formation on clients and their families. It is mer Fridays and became part of the regular a cautionary tale for those who come across work week. However, when the dot.com business information of your competitors. bubble burst, the pendulum began to swing This goes to show that not all information is the other way and many companies reinsti- good information. tuted more formal dress policies. One final note, I personally am getting Obviously, the decision to permit casual concerned at how they are going to return

attire is an individual one for each organiza- Michael Scott back to The Office. This bifur- tion. Bear in mind, however, that requiring cation in the cast is starting to wear on me. I

formal attire simply because you have in the think we need everyone back together un- past is not always the strongest rationale. der one Dunder Mifflin roof. Times do change and all organizations need

Volume 2, Issue 22 April 27, 2009

The Next theDay at… office

BROKE Points of Interest: fter a few weeks of uncertainty, works for the company’s largest com- Business Plans all is well at Dunder Mifflin petitor. How would David Wallace Scranton: Michael Scott is back react if he later found out that Jim A Negotiations at the helm, Pam and Ryan are back in knew that the Michael Scott Paper the mix, and most importantly, Dwight Company was broke when Dunder can dust off his collection short sleeved Mifflin was negotiating the buy-out? yellow button down shirts. This situation only further demon- strates the importance of having your Last week we saw the importance employees sign confidentiality agree- of having well thought out business ments, especially those employees who plan before starting any new venture. will have access to classified informa- While the Michael Scott Paper Com- tion. pany seemed to be growing rapidly, after “crunching the numbers” they re- Michael had another signature mo- alized they could not sustain a profit ment during the buy-out negotiations. By: Richard D. Landau over the long haul due to the inevitable While everyone (including Michael) Michael L. Abitabilo increase in overhead costs associated thought he would spill the beans on the with the company’s growth. company’s financial status, he re- (Apparently Ryan was absent that day mained steadfast in negotiating the best at business school when they taught the deal possible for him and his staff – difference between a fixed cost and without mentioning the fact that his variable cost pricing model)! company was essentially out of busi- ness. Luckily for Pam and Ryan, Mi- Michael may have made another chael was able to convince David Wal-

mistake by bringing Pam and Ryan lace that some things in life are more with him to meet with the company important to him than money. With accountant. Allowing employees to that, Michael and the gang returned to know that a company is in financial Dunder Mifflin just in time for the last distress could lead to a panic and/or few episodes of the season! affect those employees’ performance and potentially hinder the company’s ability to get things turned around. In addition, Pam’s knowledge of the com- pany’s financial situation was particu- larly dangerous given that her fiancé

Volume 2, Issue 23 May 1, 2009

The Next theDay at… office

CASUAL FRIDAY Points of Interest: ust ago, we championed friction surrounding with Dun-

Dress Code the idea of casual attire as an inexpen- der Mifflin and Michael Scott Paper Com- sive way to please your employees. pany really could have been limited if only J Communication After last night’s episode, witnessing how one thing had occurred -- better communi- the Dunder Mifflin crew handled the re- cation. It was clear that Michael was ex- sponsibility of casual attire, this shall serve tremely hurt when only Pam followed him as a complete retraction of our earlier fa- out the door when he left Dunder Mifflin. vorable position. Considering the combi- Similarly, as expressed so eloquently by nation of t-shirts, sweatpants, Oscar’s san- Phyllis, the other remaining Dunder Mifflin dals and the indescribably inappropriate salespersons were hurt by Michael’s ag- garb worn by Meredith, there seems to be gressive tactics to steal away their clients. almost no argument in favor of casual at- There were a lot of emotions and injured tire. feelings to go around (as Michael acknowl- edged) which, fortunately, resulted in Perhaps a meatier issue covered in the apologies and a new beginning for the of- episode was the reconstitution of the Dun- fice. By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo der Mifflin Scranton office now comprised of long-term veterans and those who de- A few side notes. We saw once again parted to form the Michael Scott Paper the difficulty of being in a supervisory ca- Company and have returned. While com- pacity over one’s paramour. When Mi- petition between staff (particularly in a chael asked Jim for his advice about whom sales environment) often yields results, the to select as the sole salesperson coming

organization needs to be careful in keeping from the Michael Scott Paper Company a reasoned level of professionalism even as (either Ryan or Pam), Jim was obviously

it encourages competition. As we saw, conflicted and unable to give an unbiased Michael’s favoritism of Ryan and Pam re- view. sulted in assigning the very inexperienced Ryan as the liaison with a long-standing Finally, a word about secret meetings, client. He eventually blew the relationship. they can be fun, especially when held in While I can’t say for sure (given the fact secret places like warehouse forts. How- that Dwight is a lunatic), Dwight sustained ever, you cannot condone hidden mes- a ten-year long relationship with the client sages written in urine. There are sanitary, and could have been of tremendous assis- OSHA and pure gross-out reasons why any tance had Ryan passed him the phone. Company should forbid urine-based com- munications. As with so many workplace issues, the

Volume 2, Issue 24 May 11, 2009

The Next theDay at… office

CAFÉ DISCO Points of Interest: e are closing in on the final weeks of fun of him while at lunch. That is not a smart Off-duty behavior the season and things appear to be thing to do if the boss is sitting right next to you. going bonkers at the Scranton office. W Workers’ Comp. The new “Café Disco” (which is not anything like a But, now, let’s get back to Café Disco. We disco café) opened miserably. But, with strong don’t really need to debate if this is appropriate word of mouth (and a few female participants work time behavior. However, more interesting from the Dunder Mifflin organization), Café Disco issues arise if we view activity down at Café Disco hit full swing by the end of the episode. This is as occurring on non-work time. If that is the case, just what the crew needs to take their mind off how do we judge the behavior of those in atten- the drudgery of working. dance? Is dancing inappropriate? Or drinking your 10th cappuccino? Hopefully not. But what Café Disco was a “not so overt” effort by Mi- about Kevin lip-locking in the corner with his new

chael to make himself the focus for social activity girlfriend? Certainly, if this was a non-sanctioned in and around the office. Michael is always starv- Dunder Mifflin gathering taking place at an off- ing for company and can’t understand the staff’s site dance hall, Kevin’s behavior could not be ad- resistance to having lunch with him. (As you may dressed (or at least it shouldn’t be). But there is a By: Richard D. Landau recall, the policy was implemented with the de- strong attachment between Dunder Mifflin and Michael L. Abitabilo parture of Michael’s predecessor many years Café Disco. After call, it is “owned and operated” ago). We have addressed the supervisor/ by Michael Scott and he has specifically encour- subordinate relationship in a number of different aged his staff to attend during breaks or lunch fashions in this publication. Here, we see it from time. With that connection, I think we might a new angle. The supervisor’s desire to be ac- want to hold Kevin accountable for his make out cepted as “one of the guys.” It is a difficult situa- session. tion for Michael even after many years as the Regional Manager, and even more difficult for We can’t forget about Phyllis’ injury suffered

those in your companies recently elevated into during the opening moments of Café Disco. Is management positions. Any manager needs to this covered by worker’s compensation? In most accept that he or she has new and additional re- states – yes. This was an event sponsored by sponsibilities with substantial impact on those Dunder Mifflin management (actually encour- that they supervise. A manager must motivate, aged by Michael Scott) so it would be covered. engage, evaluate, monitor, train and potentially To that end, we strongly recommend that if inju- discipline/discharge his or her subordinates. This ries occur, they should be reported, worker’s inherent power structure causes subordinates to compensation papers need be filed and appropri- be cautious in their behavior around their super- ate medical attention obtained. We strongly urge visor for fear that their actions might reflect you against engaging in self-help and having pa- poorly upon them and result in negative employ- per salespersons apply sophisticated back ma- ment actions. In a nutshell, they don’t want to nipulations to co-workers on conference tables. act like fools in front of their bosses, lest they get Thank goodness Phyllis was not paralyzed or we

in trouble. In Michael’s case there might be the would be talking about a pretty big lawsuit additional problem that everyone wants to make against Dunder Mifflin and, of course, Dwight

Volume 2, Issue 25 May 19, 2009

The Next theDay at… office

COMPANY Points of Interest: olor War and the – it Company Outings doesn’t get any more fun. There is no bet- Michael Scott, as usual, did his best however ter opportunity for staff from various de- to mar the otherwise pleasant proceedings by C partments or locales in your organization to get (inadvertently) announcing the closing of the Buf- together, eat some barbeque, and participate in a falo office. It was somewhat surprising that he little friendly competition. I personally have was not physically attacked on the spot. Many “fond” memories of attorneys in our Atlanta of- organizations have been dealing with this most fice taking my legs out from under me as I at- difficult decision – the closing of a branch or of- tempted to shoot a lay-up at a Jackson Lewis bas- fice. And, when such decisions need to be made, ketball game during our firm outing oh so many announcing them in a proper and appropriate years ago. (I believe I still have scars from the fashion is critical. Reasonable people can differ incident). But I digress. on whether the announcement should be made

globally or to individual people who are affected A picnic offers staff and their families a by the layoff. There is no absolute correct path. unique opportunity to obtain a more complete Regardless, employees losing their job will be picture of the individuals who comprise our or- upset and emotional. The best we can advise any By: Richard D. Landau ganizations. There is nothing like seeing a high organization is to strongly consider alternatives Michael L. Abitabilo level executive ineffectively interacting with his before moving to a layoff – reductions in hours, or her children to remind everyone that in the furloughs, loss of positions through attrition, etc. most important ways, we are all on the same Still, if the decision to layoff or close is necessary, level. find a way to convey this information honestly, consistently, and quickly. Most importantly, don’t Something like Color War really does help make it part of a comedy sketch during your com- create bonding situations for employees. After pany picnic. all, when was the last time we saw Jim hug

Dwight in utter joy. This could only happen after So, how many of you saw the pregnancy diag- they have teamed together for a successful vol- nosis coming the moment Pam headed off to the leyball spike. In this most difficult economic cy- hospital? It will obviously make for great fodder cle, it would be easy to cut out the company pic- next year. Maybe Michael will want to claim he is nic as an unnecessary expense. However, before the father despite no connection to the preg- taking that step, keep in mind how many memo- nancy (it’s happened before). We will presume ries and how much company lore has been cre- Jim and Pam will have their baby. In the interim, I ated at the various social events your organiza- wonder, however, why Pam didn’t return for the tion has held over the years. It is this “history” rest of the volleyball game? She was the best that often bonds employees together through player and Scranton needed to beat corporate. difficult work times as it reminds them of why Also, someone needed to put Charles in his place they might like the people they work with and out on the volleyball court, and it sure wasn’t the organization itself. Sometimes it is this con- going to be Kevin.

nection which gives employees pause when con- sidering to other work opportunities.

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 1 September 21, 2009

Points of Interest: Gossip

Workers’ Comp. t was a long summer but our friends at Dun- pensation benefits. There have also been cases der Mifflin Scranton returned in excellent where employees engaged in horseplay which is Interns form finding virtually no reason to comply prohibited by the company so it may fall outside with any employment laws or rules of deco- the scope of worker’s compensation coverage. Irum. Here, there could be arguments that Andy is Personally, I was impressed by the great ath- not covered due to the horseplay. The problem for letic feats performed by Andy, Dwight Schrute and Dunder Mifflin shockingly arises because Michael

Michael Scott performing the art of Parkour (aka Scott, Manager of the Scranton location, clearly Freerunning). The way Dwight kicked open the condoned and engaged in the activity and probably men’s and women’s bathrooms be- served as an impetus to it, coverage fore exiting the break room was may well ensue. truly a beautiful demonstration of his physical dexterity. Per usual, While this sounds bad on the with any endeavor involving these surface, keep in mind worker’s com- three, it ended in disaster or in this pensation can also serve as a limit on case an injury to Andy. So the im- your liability. After all, without mediate question is, does this con- worker’s compensation coverage, stitute a worker’s compensation maybe Andy would be thinking injury? about suing the Company for feeling forced to participate in this ridicu-

Most states have extremely lous event. broad definitions of workers’ com- pensation injuries. This extends to It is also apparent that the Dun- injuries sustained playing on the der Mifflin crew had the benefit of company softball team, bowling This man may have invented three interns over the summer. In- league or at the company picnic or Parkour, but the Dunder Mif- ternships can provide an excellent any other company social event. flin crew tried to perfect it. experience for the students and the There are limits to the definition. By standard that organization. There are pitfalls when using interns, limit is reached when an employee has acted so particularly as to whether their role can be classi- outside the scope and permission of the organiza- fied as exempt from the wage and hour laws. A tion that it does not warrant worker’s compensation number of factors must be assessed to determine coverage. One would suspect that an employee employment status, including whether the interns who decided to take a break from work and go out- are getting credit with their school or university,

side and play in traffic for no apparent reason and whether the interns are performing actual work then is hit by a car, could not claim workers’ com- which would otherwise be performed by employees

Volume 3, Issue 1 September 21, 2009

Continued from Page 1

Gossip in the organization (versus shadowing paid appropriate person against whom to take ac- staff), and a myriad of others. Since the only tion. At Dunder Mifflin, all roads led to Mi- work tasks assigned to the Scranton interns was chael Scott -- by admission the source of virtu- to organize files randomly, the intern title may ally every inappropriate comment about his co- have been appropriate for Dunder Mifflin. workers. If I were Stanley, I too might bust-up Michael’s vehicle with a crow bar. Certainly, an overwhelming theme of Thursday’s episode was gossip in the work- Well, that’s enough for today. Glad to have place. We discussed this issue last season in you all back. detail. As we mentioned then, quite a number of organization have implemented anti-gossip policies and perhaps that is something new your organization should be considering in handbooks for 2010. Sometimes it is difficult to trace gossip back to its source and find the

Be sure to look for, and click on, the hidden links throughout this document! (just don’t

do it on work time, please!)

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 2 September 25, 2009

Points of Interest:

Office Politics hat was a tremendous episode last night on so way – seeking to move ahead, he championed his T many fronts. We should start with the open- boss’ cause for promotion to create an opening for ing scene and Michael’s questions for Oscar re- himself. (Although suggesting Michael should be Workers Comp. garding his upcoming colonoscopy. The inappro- promoted brings into question Jim’s ability to as- priateness of this discussion is so obvious, we sess talent, it was, nonetheless, the perfect political really do not need to comment further on it. move.) Jim should have anticipated Michael screw- ing it up for him somehow, which of course he did In the episode, Pam was struggling with her – in this case by brandishing Toby Flenderson’s wedding list and the possibility that the Scranton evaluation of him which severely undercut Jim’s

crew might actually attend. This demonstrates standing at Dunder Mifflin. (This raises the issue what can become a substantial issue of who is overseeing human re- in any office – who must be invited to sources? We have to wonder social events and what is the political whether Toby’s review was influ- fallout if they are not? Jim and Pam enced by his unrequited love for craftily planned their wedding in Ni- Pam and jealousy of Jim’s relation- agara Falls anticipating that most, if ship with her.) not all, would refuse to travel such a distance. They were undercut, how- We would be remiss to ignore ever, by Michael Scott (always game the ongoing worker’s compensation for a good party), who granted every- theme raised in Episode One of this one Friday and Monday off so they season. This time it was Darryl’s could attend the wedding and enjoy a filing for benefits under suspicious

long weekend. Still, it is important to Ok, so maybe Toby and circumstances which was at issue. be aware of this workplace dynamic, Certainly, employers can and should Dwight don’t quite look like and managers and supervisors need to themselves in this picture... challenge claims they believe are be leaders in this area. If they invite fraudulent. However, perhaps they everyone in the office to social events, then subor- should not hire the duo of Starsky and Hutch (a/k/a dinates may feel compelled to do the same, which Flenderson and Schrute) to conduct the investiga- may create a tremendous financial burden for them tion – let’s leave that to the professionals. and fear of repercussion if invitations are not ex- tended. Also, let’s hope Michael would offer the On a final note, you have to respect and admire same schedule-friendly courtesy to any other em- the hospitality provided by the Scranton office to ployee who wanted to plan a destination wedding. David Wallace while meeting with Jim. We can only dream about such a glorious cheese platter at The major theme of the episode was Jim’s all future Jackson Lewis meetings.

meeting with David Wallace about a potential pro- motion. Jim approached this situation just the right

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 3 October 2, 2009

Points of Interest: The Promotion Management Style Last night’s episode was a study in contrasting foreseen the hard feelings of the non-sales employ- management styles proving that problems need not ees. Wage Increases be solved in the same way to obtain successful (or at Dunder Mifflin disastrous) results. Clearly, Mi- This rookie mistake led to a Michael-like mo- chael Scott has established a pattern of handling ment for Jim when he decided he would “rewind” issues (like pay increases) at the Scranton office and re-consider his decision. We’re not saying em- which was unfamiliar to Jim. (Although Jim’s pie ployers should never listen to feedback from their chart demonstrating how Michael utilizes his time employees, but Jim’s immediate retreat was a sign

was quite helpful in understanding Michael’s proc- of weakness very early in his tenure – something ess.) Jim had some fresh, new ideas such as con- the employees certainly picked up on, whether con- sidering whether to evaluate staff based on their sciously or not. inherent value to the organization (in this case, salespeople – the creators of income and business Back to the raises. Meritocracy would seem to for the Company – versus administrative staff). In be a sensible methodology for distributing income. a stroke of managerial genius, Jim was even willing (We are not sure if placing beans next to pictures of to consider how well people performed their jobs in staff however, is an acceptable business mechanism determining whether they deserved raises! as opposed to actually reviewing performance or doing some other critical analysis.) Interestingly, Jim had nothing but the best intentions when Jim decided not to give any beans to Pam. Was telling the Scranton crew what he and Michael this simply his effort to appear non-biased, or was (well, sort of) decided with regard to wage in- it an indication of his view of Pam’s job perform-

creases. He thought his staff would appreciate his ance? honesty, respect that it was a difficult decision, and understand that not everyone could get a raise in Ultimately, while it wasn’t clear what Jim and these trying times. Clearly, however, he did not Michael actually decided, giving the 1.5 percent to properly anticipate the response of those employees all staff might have been the only way to maintain who would not be receiving raises (and Dwight). peace in the Scranton office. In these tough eco- Granting a raise to the salespersons only smacked nomic times, when there is so little go around, per- of since his wife-to-be benefitted from haps this would be the best direction to take. How- this system (while at the same time practically beg- ever, even for employers who choose to equalize ging her co-workers for cash wedding gifts, no wage increases, it is more important than ever to less). Moreover, with the salespersons working so conduct evaluations and actually rate each individ- close in proximity to the administrative staff, and ual’s performance. Furthermore, management with the Scranton crew’s penchant for sharing any should convey this to staff so that the equal distri-

and all information immediately, Jim should have bution of raises is not misread as a statement that all staff are performing well or equally.

Volume 3, Issue 3 October 2, 2009

Continued from Page 1

The Promotion

In discussing this week’s episode, we can- Dwight’s behavior was noteworthy on an- not forget to talk about Dwight. Throughout other front, as well. His efforts to band em- the episode, Dwight spent much of his time ployees together to “effect change” after re- undercutting Jim and his new authority as co- ceiving disappointing news regarding wages manager. Dwight was clearly plotting for Jim’s could be seen as a yellow flag to a non-union overthrow in hopes of being elevated into the employer that union organizing might be on the co-manager role. It should be obvious how horizon. Luckily for Dunder Mifflin, however, destructive such an attitude can be in an office, Dwight was more focused on staging an actual particularly for a new manager first trying to violent rebellion against Jim than actually ef- find his or her way towards success. You fectuating change. might expect in a normal business setting that Dwight would be taken aside and informed that On a final note, after watching Jim and if he cannot “hop on board” and support the Michael toast their unpopularity, we can’t help new managerial structure that he would need to but wonder if Michael has been sipping gin move on. To be clear, we have no lofty expec- from his “World’s Greatest Boss” cup for most tation that this will occur at Dunder Mifflin of the past five seasons. Ah, the perks of man-

Scranton. agement!

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 4 October 13, 2009

Niagara Points of Interest: Reasonable hat a great wedding – congratula- ing them they had to go). Again, please remember Accommodations tions to Jim and Pam!! For those the potential for economic strain on staff members of us who have watched these who are compelled to attend events such as this. Social Events characters develop over the years, W last week’s wedding was a fitting ending to a On the way to , Andy revealed that he great story line. liked Erin, the new receptionist, because not only is she “sweet and cute,” but she smells like his It’s always a challenge to write a column Mom. At the time, we thought this Oedipus-like about issues in the workplace when almost an en- disclosure would be Andy’s signature moment of tire episode takes place outside of the office, but, the week, but little did we know what was in store as always, the Dunder Mifflin Scranton crew for him. (Note to self: never do a split with keys managed to find ways to inspire us. in pocket.)

The show did start off in the office, with Pam We have to address the wedding and its re- asking her co-workers to modify some of their lated festivities. There is nothing wrong with co- (disgusting) habits for the well being of her and workers attending social events together. Keep in her unborn child. Individuals with legitimate al- mind, however, that if an employee complains

lergies and/or fragrance sensitivities might be en- about another employee’s behavior at an off-duty titled to reasonable accommodations, provided function, employers still have an obligation to they can demonstrate the legitimacy of the medi- investigate the incident and ensure that the com- cal condition (throwing up in a garbage pail is plainant is comfortable working with that individ- considered convincing evidence). Further, we ual. This can create a delicate balancing act be- doubt that Meredith’s smoking of an “afternoon tween an employee’s right to engage in lawful off cigar” in the office is specifically permitted under -duty activities, and an employer’s obligation to any of Dunder Mifflin’s policies. Even if there provide an appropriate workplace free of harass- was no legal obligation for Pam’s co-workers to ment and/or discrimination. modify their habits, we learned, in a very disturb- ing way, the value of a little consideration in the A few final thoughts and one final lesson: workplace. The processional at Jim and Pam’s (second) wed- ding ceremony was an excellent recreation of one Despite these tough economic times, Dunder of the most enjoyable YouTube videos around; Mifflin Scranton was able to close its doors for Kevin’s toupee was only outdone by his Kleenex- two days so that employees could attend the wed- shoes; watch out for a budding romance between ding. We have to wonder, though, if employees Michael and Pam’s mother; and never, EVER use felt compelled to attend, given Jim’s recent pro- the hotel ice. Until next week… motion to co-manager (in addition to Michael tell-

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 5 October 16, 2009

Mafia Points of Interest: t was inevitable – a big letdown after the terri- support to stop the stereotyping of Mr. Grotti, then fic wedding episode last week. Yet, as usual, Michael trying to get out of his insurance purchase Stereotypes I the Dunder Mifflin crew showed us how not to and finally Kevin who had cancelled Jim and behave in a variety of business situations. First, Pam’s credit cards while they were on their honey- Vacations let’s start with the lovely Mr. Grotti and his pitch to moon. Maybe everybody in the Scranton office sell insurance to Michael Scott. It took mere sec- recognizes that the only true adults in the office are onds for Dwight Schrute and Andy to reach im- Jim and Pam and their absence creates too great a proper and unsubstantiated conclusions about Mr. hole in the organization for everyone else to move Grotti based on his name, demeanor and Italian forward successfully. heritage. No doubt Dwight and Andy have been inundated over the last thirty years with vibrant Nonetheless, despite the importance of certain depictions of gangsters through movies, television staff, organizations must respect the vacations and and a constant flow of news stories related to the down time of employees. Many organizations craft mob. Of course, this does not excuse their stereo- handbooks providing vacations and encouraging typing or negative dialogue directed towards Mr. employees to have time off so they can return to Grotti. (Please note at least one sane person – work refreshed and renewed in their commitment Oscar – tried to stem the flow of the typical lunacy to getting the work done. Still, the same organiza- but without the presence of Pam and Jim, he was tions reach out time and again to vacationing em- overwhelmed). ployees through calls, faxes, blackberries, etc., in- evitably dragging vacationing employees (or at Many workplaces have sensitized themselves least their brains) back in to the office. People in to “hot button” discrimination issues – race, na- some positions in an organization must expect get- tional origin and sexual harassment. However, ting such calls – say the CEO, CFO, COO or VP of

there can be an occasional lapse of commitment to Human Resources. However, for the rest of the organizational policies in regard to other protected employee complement, absent extraordinary cir- characteristics. Too often, there are jokes made cumstances (and we do mean extraordinary) about age, infirmity or about one’s heritage (even if LEAVE THEM ALONE! Before making the call, one is born in the ) without repercus- try to imagine how little you would like to receive sion. It is almost as if some individuals consider it yourself while lying on a beach, skiing on the these protected characteristics as less worthy of slopes or visiting the great sites of the world. protection. Of course, the law sees no such distinc- tion. Remember, the joking tone of comments isn’t Finally, did it strike anyone as odd that about reflected well on paper when they appear in a the only competent thing Kevin has ever done was charge or lawsuit. to quickly find and recite Jim’s home address and the last four digits of his Social Security Number? A recurrent theme of the episode was reaching What are the odds he would be able to do the same out to Jim and Pam to “rescue” the staff back in the thing with any of Dunder Mifflin’s accounting in- Scranton office. First, there was Oscar looking for formation?

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 6 October 23, 2009

The Lover Points of Interest: ICHAEL IS DATING PAM’S evidence against the employer down the road. MOTHER!!!! The ramifications of Simply stated, you can prohibit the use of any Nepotism M this new relationship are astounding recording device in any business setting. You Audio and were immediately captured by Michael’s can also ask an employee who has come to a Recordings statement midway through the episode that one meeting if they have brought any listening device day he might be Pam’s father. This is just too and/or are recording the event. If they admit it, good to be true. The legal implications are not tell them to turn it off or to leave the meeting. If readily apparent. Obviously, Michael is not dat- they deny it and it subsequently becomes clear ing Pam. Pam’s mother doesn’t work for Dunder that they did record the meeting, an employer Mifflin. So really, what can we do to address this may have good grounds for disciplining the em- relationship from the HR/legal perspective? ployee for their dishonesty and failure to follow- ing company policy. (That does not mean the I can see conflicts down the road. What if recorded information is precluded from use in Pam gets a plum sales opportunity? Imagine the litigation.) nepotism claims arising from her marriage to Jim and step-daughter relationship to Michael. Of Some employers wonder whether they

course, mere reference to her as Michael’s step- should prohibit the recording. We can’t help but daughter would probably cause Pam to tear her recommend doing so. There are several reasons.

eyes out. First, any recording of a meeting tends to alter the tone and tenor of what is said. When recording It was nice to see Dwight and Jim getting occurs, those present often struggle and fail speak along so well once again – oh yeah, that’s be- confidently and in plain language. Rather, every- cause Dwight was faking it and instead trying to one ends up talking like a lawyer. Second, it in- eavesdrop on Jim’s conversations through the timidates people into not communicating which craftily disguised listening device within a can hurt the overall purpose of the discussion. wooden duck – I mean mallard. While Dwight By example, when we conduct sexual harassment has yet to acknowledge 21st century technology, training, we typically advise our clients they listening in on co-worker’s conversations and should not record the session because this will recording them has become more of an issue be- dissuade those attending from asking questions cause technology allows for such surreptitious that might make them look foolish or unknowl- intrusions with minimal effort. edgeable. However, those questions are critical for accomplishing the task of teaching and learn- Indeed, in this ever-increasingly litigious ing. work environment, many employees are coming to meetings with supervisors and human re- Oh, and one final note MICHAEL IS DAT- sources with tape recording devices to memorial- ING PAM’S MOTHER!!!!! ize the conversations and perhaps use them as

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 7 October 30, 2009

Koi Pond Points of Interest: hile not the strongest episode of the season for under-performing. Too often organizations run Halloween W (at least for our purposes), the improperly out of good ideas about motivating staff or enforcing Parties obtained video of Michael falling into the negative consequences when performance is not ac- was worth the entire 30 minutes. (We will get to this ceptable. At Dunder Mifflin, on this occasion, the Pregnancy event a little later). The show opened with Dunder message was clear, if you are not selling success- Mifflin Scranton in their Halloween best and Mi- fully, we are going to require you to go out on the chael managed the totally inappropriate hanging road and work harder at it. himself prank for the 4 and 5 year olds. We can

only hope that most of them won’t need therapy to While Pam and Andy found a way to enjoy a day recover. “on the road,” Pam’s pregnancy and apparent ex- panding stomach raised new issues. At one juncture, In some ways, we are hoping this issue is not Andy (in pretending to be Pam’s husband and the too late being that Halloween is tomorrow and many father of her child) was holding and then kissing organizations may be holding celebrations today Pam’s stomach. This behavior by Andy was (as typi- creating the issue at hand – appropriate costumes. cal of the show) over-the-top. But, we have all seen While enjoying the Halloween holiday, many or- similar conduct when a pregnant individual begins ganizations invite staff to dress in costume. This showing and others are so excited and interested in should not, however, be viewed as a license to dress the pregnancy that they feel they are free to touch contrary to policy. So, how do we reconcile these that person’s stomach. Just so we are all clear, the two phrases – “Halloween costume” and “business- fact that an individual has become pregnant does not appropriate” dress? Well, in simplest terms, while grant to those who work with her, the right to touch allowing staff to come in as their favorite character her. Even asking can be viewed as intrusive, and in or iconic figure, this does not mean that the organi- no other circumstance would such inquires be made zation must allow sexually-provocative or vulgar of a co-worker. attire. Kelly decided to dress as Leeloo from the movie “The Fifth Element.” We have seen that Finally, we have to return to the Koi Pond. Ob- movie and Leeloo was essentially covered in strate- viously Jim is struggling to establish his authority gically-placed pieces of white tape for much of the and ability to perform the job as Co-Manager. To movie. Fortunately, Kelly did not go to those ex- some degree, he resents Michael’s micromanaging. tremes but, if she did, she should have been sent He may have a point. However, in this case, it was home for her inappropriate attire. corporate who asked that Michael join Jim for the sales call. Thus, while we can understand Jim’s Andy and Pam enjoyed quite an experience on frustration, he too has to acknowledge that he is new the road “cold calling” companies for new business. in the role and Michael does (or should) have some We thought this was interesting, especially if it was knowledge and experience which would benefit him Michael Scott who established the practice of requir- to see in action. Kudos to Michael for treating Jim ing the lowest performing sales persons in any given so gracefully after seeing the incriminating DVD. month to go out on a day of cold calling. It is a unique motivator which invokes a clear consequence

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 8 November 6, 2009

Double Date Points of Interest: obbies – it is always good to see your em- concern. It is important for all human resource Sexual ployees pursing outside interests. Indi- managers to understand their obligation, especially Harassment H viduals who enjoy their life outside in- when they know of an impending event, to take variably bring a more positive and productive atti- actions to help stop it. Perhaps Toby could have Workplace tude back into the workplace. We were particularly counseled Pam against engaging in the physical Violence impressed with Ryan’s photographic work. He conduct. Perhaps he could have alerted building seemed to have a sharp eye for stark urban land- security of the impending confrontation. Perhaps he scapes. We did have some concern, however, with could have spoken to Michael about what the

his final photograph – that of Kelly, answering her causes were and how the incident could be pre- phone at her desk. Your first thought might vented. (Heck, we might have preferred if Toby be that this involves sexual harassment – though completely stuck his head in the sand.) Instead, we don’t think it does. At this juncture, Kelly and Toby did probably the one thing that he should not Ryan’s sexual relationship appears quite welcome have done: he physically and enthusiastically dem- and consensual and between two co-workers, os- onstrated to Pam the most effective way to hit Mi- tensibly at the same level in the organization. Still, chael in the face as hard as possible. we have a naked employee photographed in the workplace by a co-worker – a definite no-no and About the only other office issue during last contrary to most policies calling for appropriate night’s episode was the competition between business conduct. And while showing the picture Dwight and Andy over who could do the most fa- to Erin in and of itself might not be enough to cre- vors. It was an interesting contrast – Dwight’s mo- ate a hostile work environment, it would certainly tive was to gain the upper hand so he could request

be a primary element to her complaint should she favors in the future (especially to assist in a coup to ever file one. remove Jim from the co-manager slot). Andy was acting out of his compulsive desire to be the most Notwithstanding the potential quid pro quo polite person in the room. Not too many legal is- problems presented, we saw in yet another manner sues surround this situation but we do need to offer how Michael’s relationship with Pam’s mother cre- the following comments. First, Dwight, if you are ated workplace issues. The on-going theme of going to serve bagels, you should be doing it with a Pam’s being distraught over the Michael relation- side of cream cheese and/or butter – not a plastic ship is secondary to those problems which occurred bag filled with grated cheese. As for Andy, be at the end of the episode, including Pam’s anger at careful about overextending your politeness. Buy- Michael for breaking up with her mother (on her ing lunch and then coffee from Starbucks for eve- birthday), and the workplace violence issues sur- ryone could burn a serious hole in your wallet – rounding the anticipated punch to Michael’s face. especially since we know you are one of the low

performing salespeople as you were sent out on the As interest in the impending punch grew in the road with Pam last week to make cold calls. office, we were impressed by Toby’s efforts to in- tercede regarding the obvious workplace violence Well, that’s all for this week.

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 9 November 13, 2009

Murder oday, is the hardest I’ve worked in a long, business or that they will all be out of jobs. If an or- Points of Interest: long time.” With those words, Michael Scott ganization is facing layoffs or plant closings, however, “T Bankruptcy may have given us some insight as to why Dunder remember that both the federal and New York WARN Mifflin appears to be on the verge of bankruptcy! laws contain very specific notice provisions and addi- Communication tional requirements. In last night’s episode, Dunder Mifflin was con- fronted with an issue which has become all too famil- Oscar may have been onto something when he iar these days; and that is, how to deliver grave news suggested that bankruptcy might just mean that the to employees regarding an organization’s financial Company is restructuring to get out of debt. Of course, well-being. this possibility was immediately overlooked thanks to Michael’s paranoia and poor crisis management skills. When word leaked that Dunder Mifflin might be headed for bankruptcy, the Scranton employees be- Strong leadership and consistent messages are came understandably worried. Unfortunately, there is crucial at a time like this, and this was an area in no right or wrong way to communicate a negative which Micheal and Jim failed. Despite Jim’s initial message like this. Employees should not, however, efforts to encourage a “business as usual” approach,

learn about the possibility of bankruptcy and/or the Michael decided that a mystery game was the potential for job losses via the newspaper or internet. best way to cope with the rumors of insolvency. David Wallace tried to prevent this from happening by While we would not suggest this approach, in his own sending an e-mail in the morning acknowledging the way Michael did seem to manage to get the employ- and telling the employees that it contained ees’ minds off the company’s plight. Even Angela nothing more than “conjecture.” Nonetheless, we bought in to her role as “Voodoo Mama Juju” (but have to wonder if it wasn’t too little, too late. only after being promised baby carrots). More impor- tantly, Michael’s game helped Andy land a date with Employees should trust their employers to be the Erin, but only until Andy managed to completely source of any important information pertaining to the crash and burn thanks to his own awkward insecurities company. There is a fine line between being forthright as to whether he had secured a date with Erin or with employees about an organization’s financial out- “Naughty Nellie.” look, and unnecessarily sharing too much information. We later learned that Dunder Mifflin expects to be Ultimately, after speaking with David Wallace and “completely insolvent” by the end of the year. Based learning the true severity of the situation, Jim gave in on that, it would appear that Dunder Mifflin should to Michael’s approach, pronouncing that there had

have had a strategy in place in terms of communicat- been another murder in Savannah. In doing so, Jim ing this information to its employees in the least dis- seemed to acknowledge a harsh reality: the employees ruptive way possible. could not be expected to ignore the news, and it would be silly to ask them to try. Maybe having some fun If an organization is entering into bankruptcy, ef- for the day might not have been the worst idea after forts should be made to ensure that employees under- all. Unfortunately, Michael, Andy, Dwight, and yes, stand exactly what this means, and what the organiza- even Pam, may have taken this a bit too far by engag- tion hopes to achieve by doing so. They should under- ing in a heated show down, complete with (non- stand that filing for bankruptcy protection does not existent) guns and a (fake) shootout, resulting in three necessarily mean that the company is going out of (mock) deaths, and one Dunder Mifflin fugitive.

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 10 November 20, 2009

Shareholder Meeting Points of Interest: Thank goodness my children didn’t watch needs to be a serious examination of state law

Going Green last night’s episode or they would suffer night- and the National Labor Relations Act to deter- mares from the terrible “Recyclops.” Leave it to mine if the statements might be protected. No Authority Dwight to turn a good idea into a fictitious battle organization should act too quickly in issuing between non-existent planets and species. But discipline related to criticism launched by its em- let’s focus on the good idea – saving our envi- ployees. ronment. Many organizations have undertaken some effort at recycling during the last several While Michael Scott and the “boys” were years. There is certainly enough literature out enjoying their limo ride to New York, Jim was there suggesting we need to do a better job at struggling back in the office to exercise his au- conserving our resources here on Earth. Not thority. Certainly Ryan was testing the limits of only do such programs help us all in the long- Jim’s ability to impact his employment and Jim term, but they are typically viewed by staff as a himself seemed to have no idea whether he could positive Company initiative. Not only that, but discipline or fire Ryan for his apparent insubor- conservation may save you money. Any pro- dination and lack of commitment to performing gram like this should seek participation from his job duties. One suspects that when Jim was staff, many of whom consider “green initiatives” promoted to the title of “Co-Manager” he was near and dear to their heart which can help the not given a job description nor were his actual organization succeed in its efforts. authorities to hire, evaluate or discipline dis- cussed with him. No shock there – when does Obviously Dunder Mifflin is in the midst of Dunder Mifflin do anything right? A lesson for tremendous struggles as best articulated by all of us is to look at individuals who we have Oscar, who explained DMI’s stock symbol as promoted and their titles and make clear what “Dummies, Morons and Idiots.” We actual authority has been vested in them. They, notice that Oscar’s strong sentiments did not and their subordinates, should be aware of that translate into his asking any difficult questions at authority because without it, leadership can be the Stockholder meeting or suggesting improve- ineffectual. ments when brought before executives of Dunder

Mifflin. But his sentiment in seeing the organi- Ultimately, we loved Jim’s solution – unsure zation engaged in wasteful excess despite tough that he could terminate Ryan – he simply ban-

times should not be ignored. One serious ques- ished him to a closet where he had no access to tion for management might be, what if Oscar other employees (or the internet), and thus could were to be interviewed by the press and articu- only focus on the work tasks assigned. We did lated his version of the initials DMI to the public feel slightly bad for Ryan -- in fact, to borrow an at large? Could such actions results in discipline SAT word from Andy -- almost “lachrymose.” for an employee? The answer is yes, but there

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 11 December 7, 2009

Scott’s Tots Points of Interest: uition is very valuable. You know what’s second mistake was including an upper level man-

Local Schools “T invaluable? Intuition.” Despite his ability ager (i.e. Jim) in the pool of candidates for the to so eloquently state this axiom, it was Michael’s award. (Although it was interesting how quickly Employee of lack of intuition that once again got him into trou- Michael declared that he “barely has any responsi- the Month ble in last night’s episode! bilities” in hopes of receiving the award – quite a drastic turnaround from his previous attempts to Michael’s failure here does remind us that assert himself as the true leader of the Scranton businesses do have a vested interest in the future of branch.) local students, and while tuition may be way out of a company’s budget, any assistance to schools or Employers should also be cautious about mak- school kids can bring qualified employees back ing the prize for winning the award too alluring. your way down the road. Even a minor sponsor- Aside from the potential tax and overtime issues

ship gets the organization’s name out in the com- created (if the award is non-discretionary it must be munity and among this unique population of poten- calculated as part of the regular rate for non- tial future staff. exempt staff), awarding a monetary prize could create an unhealthy atmosphere of competition and For our purposes, however, let’s focus on what the possibility of backstabbing among employees. went on back at the office while Michael was busy Another potential problem is the possibility of em- “destroying 15 young lives.” To combat a vicious ployees perceiving that the award is being given case of the “Mondays,” Andy suggested creating an out to office favorites – in this case, the co- Employee of the Month award. Such a program manager’s wife. This can happen even when the can be a fun and inexpensive way of encouraging award is anonymously determined based on objec- increased productivity of your employees. Incen- tive criteria such as hours, tardiness, unconfirmed tives like a designated parking spot, or an extra va- sick days, and sales numbers (as a opposed to self cation day might cost very little, but are often defense skills).

highly valued by employees who appreciate being recognized for their hard work and positive results. Finally, we have to talk about Dwight’s imper- Promoting healthy competition can help drive re- sonations of his Scranton branch co-workers. By sults. It also allows the company to acknowledge placing calls to David Wallace posing as his col- those whose performance is not necessarily evi- leagues, Dwight committed multiple terminable denced by pure numbers such as sales persons offenses. Nonetheless, his impersonations were (who can see a 50% increase in performance by uncanny and way better than Michael’s Elvis voice! going from 2-4, ala Pam). (Too bad this was not a skill used in the employee of the month assessment). Dwight also taught us Unfortunately, Dunder Mifflin Scranton did another valuable lesson near the end of last night’s make some errors in instituting its Employee of the episode: when launching a Diabolical Plan, be sure Month program. Their first mistake was allowing not to leave a copy of it in the copier tray! Dwight to assist in devising the program. Their

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 12 December 15, 2009

Secret Santa Points of Interest: ichael you can‟t say „I need this, I need in that (a) he wanted to be the center of attention by Sexual “M this‟ while you are trying to pin an em- being Santa Claus and (b) he could not accept a Harassment ployee to your lap.” Words to live by spoken by female version of this most beloved figure. Mi- Jim to Michael Scott while he was trying to con- chael is, of course, prejudice in so many different Holiday Parties vince Ryan to sit on his lap and ask for a gift from ways it is hard to enumerate them. He is simply Santa Claus. This, of course, was paired with Mi- unable to recognize that individuals of different chael‟s invitation to all Dunder Mifflin‟s Scranton genders, cultures, etc. can succeed in any and all staff to sit on his lap (as opposed to that Phyllis, roles within the office. Michael is not alone. Per- who was also dressed as Santa Claus) so as to haps there are still too many managers in real prove that he was the true male Kris Kringle. workplaces who do not see a managerial future for subordinates who look differently than they do. Perhaps these wholly inappropriate comments Although managers may not consciously do so,

and behaviors implicating sexual harassment have minority individuals may be left out of considera- become so ubiquitous in the Scranton office that it tion for job opportunities or assignments which is easy to overlook them. Indeed, they have be- would allow them to showcase strengths and abili- come part of the fabric of the office and have cre- ties. Again, with the close of the year, we should ated a truly sexually-charged or inappropriately be instructing our managers and supervisors to be sexually-hostile work environment. assessing in-house talent and designing plans so they can demonstrate their abilities in 2010. With- With the holidays approaching and the New out such plans, promotional opportunities might Year just around the corner, perhaps it is a good only be granted to those who seem to reflect the time for your organization to take a fresh look at characteristics (physical and otherwise) of the man- some of the actions and behaviors which have be- agers who make the decisions. come so common as to have worn a groove in the day-to-day workings of your office. Our collective We are sure it was pretty obvious to all that the

experience in the human resources world tell us Scranton office went overboard in its celebration of that issues such as sexual harassment need to be Christmas with strong religious overtones. Cer- addressed not once a year, but on a far more con- tainly some were happy to celebrate the holiday to tinuous basis including periodic training and redis- this full extent though those who did not share the tribution of the company policy. So, before every- same or similar religious beliefs perhaps felt un- body starts kissing each other under the mistletoe, comfortable in this atmosphere. It is always diffi- perhaps a refresher on the sexual harassment policy cult to strike an appropriate balance of celebrating is in order. the holiday season while being inclusive enough to address all the major religious and, at the same It was heartening to see Phyllis‟s long journey time, respecting each person‟s beliefs or non- to win the role of Santa Claus was finally rewarded beliefs. At a minimum, at no time should the man- and acknowledged by Jim who bestowed upon her ager of any office dress as and speak to employees this great honor. Michael‟s reaction was predictable while posing as Jesus Christ.

Volume 3, Issue 12 December 15, 2009

Continued from Page 1

Secret Santa

Similarly, while the Secret Santas would We can‟t close this column without men- appear to be a nice team building and good tioning the rosy future of Dunder Mifflin. spirited event, it has its potential downside as While it sounds as if David Wallace will be well. First, many co-workers might not want to heading out the door, the Scranton crew and spend money on buying presents for their co- other distribution locations have been saved by workers. Second, a wealth of potential issues the sale. (Clearly, the purchasing company has may arise in the absence of control over the failed to do its due diligence in making this actual items purchased by the Secret Santas decision). While we are happy to hear about (we don‟t expect most would be purchasing the continuation of Dunder Mifflin Scranton, live birds that might attack a co-worker as our last piece of advice pertains to access and Andy did with Erin). Interestingly, the Secret efforts to communicate with superiors when Santa gifts were (overall) the one thing that they are seemingly unreachable. In sum, do not Dunder Mifflin crew got right – Kelly was impersonate the pediatrician of your boss‟s overwhelmed with her new Twilight poster – children and place fake calls giving them the Dwight was enthralled by his nutcracker and impression that their child may be ill or injured. Toby became teary-eyed with Ryan‟s presenta- It may help you to reach your manager, but it tion to him of a colorful kite recognizing may also end your employment rather quickly. Toby‟s enchantment with the book The Kite Runner.

Happy Holidays from “The Next Day at the Office” to you and your families!

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 13 February 8, 2010

Sabre Points of Interest: n case you didn’t notice, they slipped in a new professionals, executives, etc., might want to re- Confidential episode of The Office on us last Thursday be- strict access to their e-mail. Information I fore taking yet another hiatus with the upcom-

Corporate ing Olympics. We had our first chance to be intro- It is obvious Michael’s excitement for Changes duced to Sabre (pronounced “Saybrrh” not waned almost instantly as a number of changes “Sahbray”). Unfortunately, the singing duo of were implemented to increase efficiency and Andy and Erin quickly discovered their little ditty change the direction of the organization from fo- was no good once they could no longer rhyme their cusing on paper sales, to a seller of printers with song with the correct pronunciation. paper sales as an addendum. Of course, Michael could stand no change to his very specific routine Like any organization, the Dunder-Mifflin of non-compliance with Dunder-Mifflin policies crew appeared both apprehensive and exalted about and ongoing rejection of any true reporting struc-

the introduction of Sabre, their corporate savior. ture. (Although he thought the video with Chris- Michael Scott, as per usual, was the centerpiece of tian Slater was really very cool). this duality. His excitement was palpable in open- ing the box of new equipment from Sabre (though While change is good (not to be confused with Dwight Shrute accurately noted Michael’s Gordon Gecko’s “greed is good”) it can provide for “impulsivity and inattention to detail” as the root great apprehension in the workplace. Certainly, cause of his inappropriately opening the items in- Michael sees the introduction of Sabre as a poten- tended for a Sabre executive). tial erosion of his authority (which already hap- pened with the elevation of Jim to co-manager). Opening the package from Sabre points out Nonetheless, Michael, like any employee in a some interesting legal issues in regard to how pack- merged entity, needs to come to grips very quickly ages and mail get handled in your organization. with the evolution of Dunder-Mifflin-Sabre and There should be clear guidelines about who can what the new CEO believes will be required to suc-

open the mail. Generally speaking, mail directed to ceed in the future. Clearly, will not a specific individual should not be opened by any- take any guff from Michael similar to that tolerated one but that specific individual. Moreover, for by David Wallace. (Actually, it was nice to see confidentiality purposes, good clear directives in that David is getting on so well polishing his hip- this area are most important. This also applies to hop skills with his drummer-to-be son). We wish access through e-mail. Many professionals may the Dunder-Mifflin Scranton crew success under ask their assistants to check their e-mails on a regu- the new regime. lar basis. While this might provide some conven- ience, it also comes with the risk of sensitive infor- Stay tuned … mation hitting the eyes of staff for whom it is not intended. Absent extraordinary trust in an assistant to handle such information confidentially, smart

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 14 February 16, 2010

The Manager and the Salesman e’ve referenced this quote before, but On this point, the recent premier of the show Points of Interest: once again, its relevance is undeni- “Undercover Boss” should serve as a good re- Compensation W able: “Show me a company’s com- minder and opportunity for all managers to find a Plans pensation plan and I will predict behavior.” So chance to work in one or more of the roles that Valentine’s said Jack Welch, the ubiquitous leader of GE for they supervise. This can enhance a manager’s Day over 20 years. This explains with ease the mad understanding of the demands and expectations scramble between Jim Halpert and Michael Scott at that level, and also provide an opportunity to to quickly shuck their responsibilities as “co- see the frustrations created by management poli- managers” and return to a salesperson’s position. cies or procedures. Sabre’s handbook provides for generous com- missions with no caps to incent their salesper- Certainly, Jim and Michael were getting no sons to a maximum degree. Is this type of com- help from eccentric new owner Jo Bennett in de- pensation system smart? ciding who should manage Scranton. She does not want to get bogged down in the silliness of We can understand Sabre’s desire to drive Dunder Mifflin’s duplicative corporate structure. sales and the uncapped commissions will no Her priorities lie along two lines – sales and her doubt maximize efforts from their salespersons. twin dogs/almost horses. Andy seemed to be However, the obvious consequence is to dissuade well-liked by both dogs – in a manner that would anyone from moving up and taking on manage- make many uncomfortable. We are still ponder- ment responsibilities in the organization. We ing what causes of action Andy might have suspect if one looks harder at Sabre’s handbook, against the new owners based on the dogs’ con-

there is likely to be some aspect of each sales stant attraction to his groin area. It is tough to commission going to a manager so there is also assess a potential sexual harassment case be- an incentive to sit in that position. Perhaps Jim tween a dog and a human, as we are not familiar and Michael simply have not read far enough with any cases that cover this type of claim. into the handbook to find this out. Returning to the co-manager jobs held by Jim Of course, Michael, in seeking to return to a and Michael, it took Mrs. Bennett only seconds sales position (and initially selecting that option) to diagnose the problem with this structure – failed to consider that this would require him to there is one too many managers. Despite Mi- actually work, as opposed to sitting in his office chael’s presentation that “in the northeast it takes and finding various reasons to waste time. He two men to do one job” Mrs. Bennett was uncon- managed to survive in this role for approximately vinced and rightfully so. It is not unusual for an 4-1/2 hours before clamoring to return to man- organization over the years to make concessions agement. for political reasons and create structures which (from an efficiency standpoint) really are tough to justify. It does not hurt to get an outsider’s

Volume 3, Issue 14 February 16, 2010

Continued from Page 1

The Manager and the Salesman view on your organizational structure so as to place than Dwight Schrute, as he daringly help identify the administrative “creep” or demonstrated by refusing to stand when Mrs. what have become long-time burdens on the Bennett entered the room. Dwight’s explana- organization. tion was that he would not stand for a man either, unless of course it was the President – The Dunder Mifflin Scranton office also or perhaps Judge Judy. celebrated Valentine’s Day this past week. This is a tough one for many offices because One other comment on the new owner. of the obvious romantic overtones accompa- She concluded a presentation to the Scranton nying this day. Even an effort to present in- group like a comedian at the end of a show – nocuous Valentine’s Day cards to each office “Thank you and good night” -- as she walked member (as done by Andy) can result in dis- out of the conference room. She gave no aster – for example the sudden affections of opportunity for her new employees to ask Kelly. Valentine’s Day can be (and perhaps any questions about Sabre, the merged opera- should be) a nice romantic opportunity be- tion or any specific expectations the new tween consenting adults. However, it obvi- company might have for staff. Undoubtedly, ously is not the right holiday for the work- this lack of information will create unrest, place as messages can be confused and inap- concern and confusion – just what Dunder propriate. Mifflin Scranton needs.

A few other quick observations. There is no greater advocate for equity in the work-

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 15 March 8, 2010

The Delivery Points of Interest: top fighting – do you want your kid to Taking the financial burden out of the equation

Paid Leave ―S come out a lawyer?!‖ We take no offense for a moment, last week’s episode actually pro- at the slight, we have heard far worse. Perhaps Mi- vided us with evidence as to why it might be a Cellular chael Scott’s words to Jim and Pam provided us good idea to offer this benefit to employees – even Devices with the most valuable lesson we learned from last if not required to do so. Pam’s presence in the of- week’s double episode: the importance of provid- fice and the related countdown to the baby’s birth ing a peaceful atmosphere for a new born baby. essentially brought operations to a complete halt. Had she been eligible for paid leave, the office Despite the fact that much of the episode took could have focused more on selling paper (and place outside of the office, we were still able to printers). Having a limited paid leave policy in identify several issues worthy of discussion. First, place could help ensure efficient operations, pro- we wanted to discuss the obvious distraction vide employees with a morale boost, and better

caused by Pam’s continued presence at the office, prepare your organization for any legislation which even until her ―contraptions‖ (thanks, Michael) might ultimately mandate paid leave. were just two minutes apart. Pam would almost certainly have been entitled to begin her maternity Another issue we have to address is Michael’s leave of absence sooner than she did (but perhaps TWD (texting while driving). New York is one of not FMLA since we cannot see 50 employees at the many states to pass a law banning TWD. This trend Scranton branch – caution, other branches do count followed a string of legislation making it unlawful if within 75 miles), but instead she decided to work to talk on a cell phone while driving without a until the last minute (literally). One possible rea- hands free device. Nonetheless, employers should son she made this decision could have been due to consider having a policy in place which explicitly the fact that her maternity leave would likely be prohibits the use of cellular devices while driving unpaid. Many families rely on two incomes to during working hours. Employees who drive as cover monthly expenses. As a result, the prospect part of their regular work day (e.g., sales persons)

of unpaid leave can be a daunting one. might feel compelled to make calls, read and write e-mails, and conduct other business while driving. The notion of mandatory paid leave is a hot Having a policy in place prohibiting this activity button topic in employment law right now. Cur- (though allowing hands-free use is common and rently, employers generally are not required to pro- lawful) will ensure your employees’ safety, and vide employees with any paid sick leave. How- perhaps prevent one of them from asking you to ever, several legislative bodies around the country pay his or her ticket received after taking a work- are currently considering statutes which would related phone call! mandate paid sick leave, and some have already enacted such laws (e.g., San Francisco, Ca. and We would be remiss not to mention a few Washington, D.C.). other topics which seem to have become reoccur- ring themes in this column. First, Michael (and

Volume 3, Issue 15 March 8, 2010

Continued from Page 1

The Delivery others) once again blurred the line between her breast milk. Many states (NY included) boss/co-worker and friend/family member, by have adopted laws which require employers to not only waiting at the hospital, but by entering provide break time for employees to express the room while Pam was giving birth. Next, breast milk after the birth of a child, so this

Michael’s actions as the office matchmaker must be considered for new mothers returning were, of course, unacceptable. Third, it’s nice to the workforce. However, it is not the em- to see that the spark is back between Dwight ployer’s obligation to ensure the new mother is, and Angela – well, not exactly, but at least their in fact, breast feeding her own baby. contract seemed air-tight! LASTLY, WELCOME, CECELIA One other issue looking forward — MARIE HALPERT! providing Pam time to breast feed or express

TRIVIA

After a Long Hiatus, Trivia Makes its Trium-

phant Return This Week!

Q: What was the name of Toby’s temporary replacement/Michael’s true love?

thee! miss Michael) (and we How —

Flax Holly A:

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 16 March 15, 2010

St. Patrick’s Day Points of Interest: t was another eventful week at the Office, as Jo’s decision to send Erin and Andy home for being

Working Late things began to return to “normal” after the birth “sick.” As the flu season (hopefully) comes to a I of Cecelia Marie Halpert – or at least as close to close, it is important to remember what rights em- Sick Employees normal as possible in the Scranton branch. Hope- ployers have to ensure that sick employees do not fully, Dwight’s actions in last week’s episode didn’t risk infecting the entire workplace. Due the multi- inspire any of your employees to build a MegaDesk tude of disability protection statutes, employers are of their own! often wary about asking employees about any medi- cal conditions, and understandably so. However, The overriding issue in last week’s episode was asking individuals about whether they have symp- the employees’ belief that they could not leave be- toms of a cold or the seasonal flu is not a disability

fore the boss – not Michael (of course), but Jo Ben- related inquiry. Further, the EEOC has stated that nett, Sabre’s CEO. When Jo decided to stay late to employers may send employees home if they dis- work, all of the employees – including Michael – play influenza-like symptoms. Employers may also felt they too had to stay (if for no other reason than require employees to adopt infection control prac- to “pretend to work”). This demonstrates the impor- tices in the workplace. With regards to vaccinations, tance of clearly setting forth for your employees the employers generally should consider simply encour- company’s expectations in terms of hours worked aging employees to get the influenza vaccine rather and/or productivity. than requiring them to take it. An employee may be entitled to an exemption from a mandatory vaccina- What are some of the problems that could have tion requirement based on an ADA disability that been caused by Sabre’s failure to set these expecta- prevents the employee from taking the vaccine. Ti-

tions? For one, this could have a negative impact on tle VII might also entitle some employees to an ex- employee morale, as the employees felt they were emption where an employee’s sincerely held reli- “stuck” at work (on St. Patrick’s day, no less). Be- gious belief, practice or observance prevents him/ yond morale, this could have a financial impact as her from taking the vaccine. well: what if working these extra hours caused some of the employees to be entitled to overtime? Even Finally, we have to commend Jo’s decision to assuming, for a moment, that all of the employees hold a “Town Hall” style meeting with the employ- who stayed were exempt from the overtime require- ees of the Scranton branch. Aside from the signifi- ments of state and federal law (which is highly cance of giving employees direct access to upper unlikely, by the way), there did not appear to be any management (do not under estimate this), Jo’s meet- urgent need for everyone to stay. Indeed, when Mi- ing demonstrated the value in hearing ideas from the

chael told Jo that he was dismissing his staff at people who work “in the trenches” on a daily basis. about 8:30 p.m., her reaction seemed to indicate that Daryl’s idea regarding shipping seemed to be a well she had no expectation that the employees stay as thought out proposal which could increase effi- long as her. The lesson, as always: communication ciency. It was so well received, that Daryl ended up is key. in Jim’s old office (with his shirt tucked in)!

Another interesting topic for discussion was

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 17 March 22, 2010

New Leads Points of Interest: ou know everything must be going wrong if per hand over Michael (and with great joy over An- Internal Michael Scott is actually right. That is how gela as well), it seemed all was lost. Competition Y badly the sales crew was behaving towards Creative Michael (as their Manager) and to their co-workers It took the genius of Michael Scott to bring the Solutions in accounting and other support roles at Dunder dissention to a screeching halt. Taking the new Mifflin Scranton. leads hostage and parsing them out to non-sales force individuals grabbed the attention of the obnox- From its first moment of takeover, Sabre cham- ious salespeople, forcing them to see that perhaps pioned a work environment with tremendous em- their myopic focus on their individual success was phasis on sales. You may recall Michael and Jim not ultimately good for the Scranton office. Com-

battled it out to see who would drop to a sales posi- mend Jim, Stanley, Phyllis and Andy for devising a tion so they might take advantage of the extraordi- plan to share commissions. (Begrudgingly yes, but nary commissions that Sabre provides. At Dunder they were willing to do it). Mifflin Scranton, where there has always been a collective effort to accomplish virtually nothing, It took strength for the Scranton salespeople to these pay schemes shattered the placid environment demonstrate that they valued their work relation- that Michael Scott has worked so hard to create. ships, friendships and office harmony so much so that they would commit their own money to the In some ways, the discord should have been cause. The phrase “money talks” certainly applies. anticipated. Not only has Sabre created a high com- (Of course, this commitment was only temporary. mission rate for the salespersons, but it has put out When they learned that the support staff was willing

corporate edicts suggesting the rest of the employ- to be bought off with a plate of cookies, they ees’ primary function is to support the salespeople. quickly refrained from making an offer to share The brief montage of the sales force being distrib- commissions). I guess we cannot blame the sales uted gym bags, logo jackets and big commission force too much. After all, it is their job to negotiate checks, reinforced the message to support personnel the best deal possible and they certainly did so – that they are second class citizens – not highly Thursday night. valued by the Company. The lesson here should be obvious – no one can This of course led to as immature a response as be too important in an organization. Surely there possible from Dunder Mifflin Scranton’s salesper- are some positions which receive greater compensa- sons -- even mild mannered Jim essentially ignored tion and may serve as the face of the organization.

Michael and his authority as Branch Manager. We Still, this cannot be so heavily weighted that others certainly expect this type of behavior from Dwight – do not view themselves as part of the Company’s maybe even a little bit from Stanley – but Phyllis success and valued employees. When these types of too?! No one has been more deferential to Michael issues arise, maybe the best thing would be to cart over the years than his high school classmate everybody off to a local dump and hurl giant Phyllis. When she acted as though she held the up- wooden spools at one another -- it tends to settle a lot of differences.

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 18 April 2, 2010

Happy Hour Points of Interest: e doesn’t act at all!” And just ever, we saw Andy and Erin desperately try to hide Wellness “H like that, Pam’s friend Julie fully encapsu- their new-found romance. With all these relation- Programs lated Michael Scott’s shortcomings as a manager! ships, we are concerned about how they might af- Office fect the workplace. Of course, employers cannot Romance Despite the fact that most of last week’s epi- prohibit employees from dating one another, as sode took place outside of the Office, there were such a prohibition would violate New York’s law- still several issues worthy of discussion. Although ful off-duty activities statute. That does not mean Stanley’s successful attempt to do more than “25 however, that employers should not have a policy pushups and one girl pushup” was (appropriately) against fraternization. Such a policy would typi- compared to a mother lifting a cally prohibit managers and car to save her baby, we were supervisors from entering into reminded of the potential bene- romantic relationships with

fits of employee wellness pro- individuals who work in a grams. While we have dis- subordinate position. Further, cussed this issue before (see it could require that any indi- Volume 2, Issue 1), remember vidual who has entered into that offering incentives for such a relationship fully dis- your employees’ participation close the details to manage- in a wellness program is a ment. While these policies are great way to encourage your generally lawful, there is one employees to live a healthy caveat: be very careful about lifestyle. Wellness programs imposing discipline on indi- might take a variety of differ- viduals who are found to have ent forms – from group weight Dwight Scrute’s way to a woman’s heart? violated this policy. It can also loss efforts, to daily exercise be difficult to determine Whack-a-Mole! goals, to doing pushups on the whether two employees are floor in the middle of the day (ok, maybe not that actually violating the policy; case in point: Erin and one) – but keep in mind, employees should never Andy. Is Erin, the receptionist, subordinate to be required to participate. Andy, a salesperson? The answer is unclear.

As always, love was in the air last week, as Finally, while we are admittedly unfamiliar Date Mike crashed and burned with Julie (but with the rules regarding Service of Process in the seemed to hit it off with the bar manager), Oscar state of Pennsylvania, it appeared that Angela suc- went out of his way to “coincidentally” run into cessfully effectuated Process on Dwight in the warehouse worker Matt, Dwight realized his desire parking lot, thereby starting the clock on Dwight’s to have a (physically) large family, and Ryan and time to Answer her Complaint. Let’s hope Dwight Kelly showed some PDDDR (Public Displays of knows a good lawyer! Dance Dance Revolution). Most dramatically, how-

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 19 April 23, 2010

Secretary’s Day Points of Interest: t is always nice when someone with a strong available on their desk, privacy should be respected

Privacy farming background like Dwight Schrute is in all circumstances. I willing to lend a hand (literally) to a female co-

Bullying worker whose breast pump is missing. The most Dunder Mifflin Scranton was also rife with humorous part of Dwight’s offer was that he sin- “bullying” last night. Kevin was made the butt of cerely meant it and there was no sexual overtone to many, many jokes related to his voice and love of his willingness to assist in relieving Pam’s pain. cookies. Oscar’s clever overlay of Kevin’s voice Nonetheless, one can see where Pam might see the onto the Cookie Monster certainly was entertaining. offer as having an entirely different meaning and Jim did an excellent impression and Pam’s wasn’t disgusting. Still, Pam handled it well – brushing bad either. (Kelly’s was terrible). The guy from

him aside quickly and easily. She was far more hor- Sabre tried to step in (we don’t even remember what rified by Meredith’s decision to utilize the breast his name is) but he obviously had no authority to pump in the Ladies Room, apparently for her own address any issues arising in the Scranton location. pleasure. We are willing to bet Pam is simply going to buy an entirely new apparatus. Certainly organizations don’t need to wait to take action until they see violations of the harass- Meredith’s use of Pam’s personal items leads to ment or discrimination aspects of their policies. a nuanced issue of privacy in the workplace. Mere- Every organization should have a much higher bar dith may have found the breast pump sitting on by which to measure conduct – whether individuals Pam’s desk. It wasn’t locked away, it wasn’t in her are acting in an appropriate and professional man- purse, it wasn’t private information in a file or on ner. Clearly here, with Oscar as the ringleader, there

her computer. Still, we would all agree Pam consid- was too much ridicule directed towards Kevin. In ered her breast pump (together with the pictures of the football vernacular, we call this “piling on.” her daughter and Jim, and her un-watered plant Even Darryl got into the mix by suckering Kevin which died due to Jim’s obliviousness and Dwight’s into eating cookies so he could do his impression of deliberate desire to ignore watering the plant) as the Cookie Monster. private items. So many work places are constructed like Dunder Mifflin Scranton – open space with One other note about the guy from Sabre – ob- desks visible to one another and personal items ac- viously, he has been left out on a limb by the organi- cessible to all. What is the true expectation and how zation without appropriate authority to address is- is a company to enforce maintain privacy in this sues in the workplace. As a result, staff paid no at- arena? Obviously, a balance is necessary. Employ- tention to his admonishing the group about Kevin.

ees should be told that if they leave items out on Rather, Pam and Jim turned the situation into a fully their desk that they are certainly going to be seen or -paid, two-day vacation. Obviously, organizations even touched by other co-workers. This helps ad- need to vest the appropriate authority in their super- dress the expectation issue. Still, a company should visors and managers so they may effectively manage also inform all employees that despite the fact that the workplace. an individual’s personal items might be readily That’s all for now. Enjoy the weekend.

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 20 May 4, 2010

Body Language Points of Interest: ing could pose a tremendous threat to Dwight. Language B uenos Dias everyone! Como esta usted? Ultimately Kelly (backed by Ryan), was selected Barriers There were eerie parallels between last week’s epi- for the program – though clearly not due to her Personal sode and life as I returned from Cancun actual potential or skills. Still, anything that might Relationships just this past Friday night. Hopefully, my legal backfire on Dwight works for us. and HR instincts are much stronger than Michael Scott’s. Last week, Jim and Pam ventured where few married couples (or significant others) dare go. As per usual, we have to give Michael some They made a joint sales pitch to a potential cus- credit for recognizing and understanding the grow- tomer. We come back to the issue of personal re- ing number of Spanish-speaking individuals in the lationships in the workplace time and again. We workplace. Some organizations struggle with do not know how well Jim and Pam will work to- communication between staff and managers par- gether, but we can certainly imagine that it could ticularly if one or both sides of this equation are be an area of tension for the two of them. Jim is

comfortable with only one language. Many organi- the more experienced and successful salesperson – zations do offer the opportunity to take English as (not that Pam will not pass him in the future) – and a second language to enhance communication. would seem the natural to take the lead and deter- However, from a numerical perspective, we have mine the tone of the meeting. However, one can to question the wisdom of this approach. If there imagine how difficult it would be for Jim to im- are 25 staff members for whom English is a second press upon Pam his view of how the meeting language, versus one manager who has no under- should transpire. Moreover, if he were to identify standing of Spanish, who is more easily trained in mistakes in Pam’s technique, repercussions may the new language? We strongly urge that any abound – sleeping on the couch could be a real manager in such a position (perhaps with the or- consequence. Pam is also hurt in this scenario. ganization’s support) learn Spanish. After all, it She will not have the benefit of a seasoned sales- requires only one person to enhance their skills. person conveying his true thoughts for improve- Moreover, we can’t help but believe that a man- ment. This could hurt her development down the ager who takes this step simultaneously takes road. Finally, Dunder Mifflin may lose out on strides towards building trust and bonds with those sales if this partnership is not successful.

they manage and who might struggle with the Eng- lish language. Of course, we really did not have to worry about any of that because Michael Scott was avail- Diversity was also championed at Dunder able to jump in and lick the fingers of, attempt to Mifflin through the “Print with Colors” program. kiss, and otherwise make inappropriate remarks to Given Darryl’s tremendous contribution in regard the sales prospect. All of his shameful shenani- to warehouse efficiency, it appears he would be a gans resulted in the sale of several printers and a perfect candidate for this program. Yet, we can new relationship for Michael. Hasta la vista, ami- see how Darryl’s acumen and independent think- gos.

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 21 May 12, 2010

The Cover-Up Points of Interest: live in a fantasy world.” And with those six Social “I words, Michael Scott has managed to sum up Having said that, private employers may im- Networking his existence better than we ever could. pose policies which prohibit employees from mak- Appropriate ing defamatory or otherwise disparaging remarks Conduct Unfortunately, we don’t speak Morse Code. As about an organization on social networking sites. a result, any additional jokes we could have The problem here is enforcing a policy like this laughed at from the first segment of last week’s without violating any applicable “lawful off-duty episode were completely lost on us! In a way, activities” statute(s). At a minimum, a well crafted though, last week’s episode spanned generations of computer usage policy should prohibit employees human communication, from Jim and Pam convers- from engaging in social networking activities on ing through Morse Code, to Pam’s use of work time and/or using work equipment. to uncover that Michael’s new girlfriend Donna is

actually married. One more side note: we hope, three seasons into this col- Informative as it was, Pam’s umn, this goes without saying, use of Facebook opened the door but if you didn’t see a problem for us to discuss an interesting with Dwight asking Michael to issue: the role of social network- rub the knot out of his inner ing in the workplace. Managers thigh, we have failed you misera- and supervisors should be weary Be careful: someone is always bly. Please contact us and we will watching/reading/listening! of interacting with their subordi- promptly issue a refund for all nates through social networking sites such as Face- issues you have received to this point. book, MySpace, and . Aside from blurring the often discussed line between professional and Finally, although our practice focuses on work- personal relationships, there are a host of other is- place law, we couldn’t help but notice one other

sues involved here. For example, managers would major, unrelated, legal issue. When Andy told not want to appear to have “favorites” based on Gabe about his client’s printer lighting on fire dur- which employees they interact with on sites such as ing a print job, Darrel decided to have some fun these. We are also concerned with the wage and with Gabe’s arguably vague response. But all prac- hour implications of using sites such as these to tical joking aside, hopefully we have all learned discuss work-related matters (with non-exempt em- lessons from the real world mistakes made by Toy- ployees, at least), particularly when conversations/ ota, and the fictional ones possibly made by Sabre: exchanges might feature a combination of work- if an organization learns that a product it distributes related and non-work related topics. Finally, some may be a safety hazard, it should immediately in- employees might feel compelled to filter the infor- vestigate the matter, solve the problem, and consult mation that gets posted (something we highly rec- with counsel, as there may be a duty to disclose. ommend anyway, but we digress) to avoid adverse And they say “All We Do is Work…” consequences in the workplace.

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Volume 3, Issue 22 May 21, 2010

The Chump/Whistleblower

Points of Interest: cheduling demanded a merger of the last two Episode 2 brought Sabre owner Jo Bennett back

Tired Workers episodes of The Office for our column today. into Scranton’s midst. Her appearance, as always, S Last week, Toby spearheaded a quasi-safety was quite welcome and we enjoyed her new age ap- program by attempting to distribute radon meters proach on determining the innocence or guilt of em- Free Speech throughout the office. As per usual, Michael Scott ployees (as learned from her jailhouse security guard found this to be an inappropriate intrusion into his Mom). Obviously, the Scranton office was rife with work space (along with thinking the little canisters whistleblowers. (As further evidence of Pam’s ex- were ant traps). We don’t know what motivated haustion from Episode 1, she thought it was a good Toby to undertake this step, but certainly all employ- idea to confess the problem to Michael). Consistent ers should have a “safety officer” with some respon- with his character, Michael would not sell out his sibility for helping to ensure a safe workplace. Pre- subordinates. His first mode was to defend them by sumably, it would be a person with some credibility proclaiming them all innocent. When he found out and not someone, as Michael joked, who should be there were multiple guilty parties, he suggested shot ahead of Hitler. “working” as a punishment to Jo and then finally

“took the bullet” by issuing the public apology on We also saw an extremely exhausted Pam and behalf of the organization for -prone printers. Jim throughout the episode. Clearly, life as new par- With all his flaws, no one can accuse Michael of a ents has reduced their effectiveness, productivity and lack of loyalty. ability to think. These are common deficiencies among sleep-deprived parents. How does an organi- The episode contained two statements to the zation handle this issue? Well, at Dunder Mifflin, media by Michael Scott. On both occasions, he was they do nothing. That is a lousy approach for the authorized to speak on Sabre’s behalf. However, rest of the world. Certainly, organizations need to be what can an organization do to limit media state- aware of this potential side-effect of new parent- ments by employees? Employees enjoy free speech hood. Can an organization hold new parents ac- under the Constitution. So a broad-ban against countable for their regular productivity? Of course. speaking to the media would be inappropriate. Of Should you? That’s a tough question to answer. If course, employees can be required to keep confiden- we assume an employee has otherwise been a good tial information confidential, and to make clear that and productive individual, perhaps this is a moment they are speaking on their own individual behalf to “cut them some slack” and revisit the issue later (unless otherwise authorized by the organization). on if the productivity continues to remain low over a Employees are also protected when saying some long period of time. For organizations where sleep- negative things about the organization – especially if deprived individuals are performing safety-sensitive those comments fall under the protections provided functions, or operating heavy/dangerous equipment, by the National Labor Relations Act. With all these

a supervisor should have a sharper eye. Noticing nuances, it is important for an organization to craft that an employee is tending to doze off at work in and implement a well-composed policy on media any of those positions should result in quick inter- inquiries. vention by the organization.

By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

Nepotism

Performance Management t was great to see the polices and rules. Then an individual comes along I Dunder Mifflin crew who somehow rubs the boss the wrong way, or does back from a summer of not get along with co-workers, and suddenly everyone living and learning (or in is scouring to find rules and protocols which are not Michael’s case, a sum- being followed. But if that person is not performing or mer of West Nile Virus and a foot infection). Seldom behaving any worse than those who are retained by the have so many accomplished so little – at least Daryl organization, terminating or otherwise disciplining that followed the Afghanistan situation, proving at least one person is a recipe for trouble. We return to this theme Scranton employee has concerns outside the four walls time and again: make your policies meaningful and of the Office. apply them equitably throughout your organization.

Nepotism dominated the episode with Michael’s On one hand, we must credit Michael for putting long-lost nephew Luke hired on as the new assistant/ an end to nephew-gate by terminating Luke. Though intern. Luke proved himself to be inept, uncaring, un- the consequences might be severe (another 15 years of aware of his surroundings and unable to accomplish being banished from that side of the family and a pos- even the most simple of tasks. I guess it’s in the genes sible arrest for assault), Michael recognized the in- (jeans?). credible drain that Luke’s poor behavior was having on office morale and productivity. On the other hand, this Maybe Luke did not deserve to keep his job for could have served as a good lesson in performance more than a day and a half, but Michael did make one management. There is a reason why so many organiza- interesting point regarding “reverse nepotism” (his tions have “introductory” or “probationary” periods for term, not ours). Just because Luke was his nephew did new employees. New hires might struggle at the outset not mean he had to be judged more harshly than any for a variety of reasons. Take time to evaluate and other Scranton employee. One gets the sense that Jim work with your new employees to determine whether Halpert can perform his job (with minimal effort), and they are willing and able to succeed in their roles. that Pam is fairly competent as well. Oscar seems to understand accounting to some degree and Dwight oc- On another front, while we have discussed this casionally makes a sale. But it is still tough to ascer- before, it bears repeating that horseplay is certainly not tain what Creed does and whether he is any good at it. appropriate in the workplace. In the case of Pam and We are not aware of any clients that Phyllis has, and Dwight, it can have unintended consequences such as Meredith rarely comes to work in a sober state. Given the risk of being cut in half by an elevator, or having to Dunder Mifflin’s lack of consistency in enforcing ei- be in that same elevator with someone who believes a ther performance or behavior codes, why should Luke “pee corner” should be established within five seconds be singled out simply because he is related to Michael? of the elevator malfunctioning. The gang’s reenact- ment of Michael’s spanking of Luke was similarly in- This problem exists in many organizations – appropriate, if not incredibly uncomfortable. Ahh… maybe not to the extent as it does at Dunder Mifflin’s it’s good to be back. Scranton office – but it exists nonetheless. Often an organization or department is lax about enforcement of By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

Solicitation Policies Sensitivity he unfair thing personal relationship with Michael (or lack thereof) Training “T about working hindered the effectiveness of the training. in sales is that your sal- ary is almost all com- We really thought Toby’s decision to “run the mission. So if you suck clock out” on the training provided the best endorse- at sales, you make almost no money.” And with that ment for our services we could imagine, but then we revelation, it appears that Pam’s illustrious tenure as saw Gabe’s “investigation” into Pam’s alleged mis- a salesperson has come to an end. conduct. Gabe started off well — he laid out the facts by telling Pam there was absolutely no record Pam’s decision to anoint herself Office Admin- of her being promoted to the position of Office Ad- istrator was a bit unorthodox/unethical/brilliant, to ministrator. But when he came under duress, he say the least, but aside from that, completely collapsed. Instead of did anyone stop and ask what the sticking to the “script,” he allowed man purportedly selling window Pam to back him into a corner with treatments was doing in the Scran- her (i.e., “Say that I’m ton office in the first place? We’ve lying, or say I have the job.”). The addressed this before (Vol. 2, Issue appropriate response would have 3), but Dunder Mifflin likely has been to remind Pam that he was (or at least should have) a no- merely gathering facts, and in con- solicitation/no-distribution policy, ducting the meeting, was allowing in addition to a no-trespassing pol- Pam to tell her side of the story. icy. It is important to enforce these Instead, he buckled, and allowed policies consistently, and Pam Pam’s self-promotion to slide. On passed her first test as Office Ad- the plus side, at least Gabe will get a ministrator by immediately telling If this is part of your workplace train- nice new name plate for his desk! the salesperson to leave without ing, you might want to call us! really giving him the opportunity to One final note: Dwight men- be heard. tioned during the intro that Jim and Pam arrived to work late “every day” last week. We don’t know As usual, Michael’s conduct throughout the epi- whether Jim and Pam are classified as exempt or sode was entirely inappropriate. However, the dif- not, but here is a friendly reminder: exempt employ- ference this week was that Michael’s shenanigans ees may not have their salaries reduced for partial occurred during a mandatory sensitivity training ses- day absences for personal reasons, sickness or dis- sion! At the risk of engaging in self-promotion, we ability. This statement should be included in your can’t help but recommend that workplace trainings organization’s employee handbook, as part of a be conducted by professionals. And while Toby has broader pay correction policy. Until next week… a degree in social work, it’s quite possible that his By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

Medical Impairments Management hen we found out Scott-??) came running in to greet her mother. If this is a Perks W that the name of last regular occurrence (as it seemed to be), we wonder whether week’s episode was “Sex all employees are allowed to have their children in the work- Ed,” we had a feeling we’d place. We’ve talked before about distinctions in benefits and be back with a new column! perks between managers and lower level employees, and this is a perfect example where staff could feel substantially upset Michael’s “acne” quickly became a topic of discussion at over the disparity. the Office, with Meredith revealing way too much informa- tion about her personal health history. Once Meredith’s con- With Michael on the road conducting personal business dition became known, she was ostracized by (some of) her during the work day, there was little to no supervision back at peers. This can be a slippery slope towards a claim of disabil- the Office (we all know that Gabe does not count). This al- ity discrimination, especially in New York, where the law lowed Andy to take it upon himself to conduct a sex educa- expands the definition of “disability” to include physical im- tion training seminar! The lesson: your organization/ pairments which prevent the exercise of a normal bodily func- department should always have a clearly designated “number tion, or are demonstrable by “medically accepted clinical or two,” who is responsible for managing the workplace when laboratory diagnostic techniques,” or where one is perceived the manager or department head is absent. (Furthermore, as disabled. If Meredith begins to lose out on prized assign- a man who has failed in every office relationship he has had, ments or the chance to work with colleagues due to coworker is really not the right guy to conduct the session). Some of- concerns about working with her (or breathing the same air in fices really cannot be trusted in the absence of leadership to Angela’s case) we can easily see the discrimination conduct themselves in an effective way. Thankfully Dwight claim. Sometimes it may be necessary to educate staff when was with Michael, or else Scranton would have devolved into health issues and concerns arise. However, we cannot envi- a funny version of Lord of the Flies. sion Andy’s inclination to demonstrate the use of a condom every passing legal muster. Finally a dose of reality hit Michael when he tracked down his former real estate agent/girlfriend Carol (played by As Michael pursued his twisted history of dating deba- ’s real life wife Nancy Walls). She was able to cles, we were almost as excited as he was to hear Holly’s convince him that he sometimes makes a bigger deal of voice. Out of all of Michael’s girlfriends, Holly was the clos- things than he should (proposing to her on their fourth date est Michael came to finding his soul mate. Ultimately, how- being the prime example). But Michael also realized that he ever, this conversation only reminded us (and Michael) of the was dead on in his assessment of his relationship with perils of romantic relationships in the workplace. While we Holly. This has no redeeming value from a human resources never got a full explanation as to the reasons for Holly’s standpoint, but hey, we like Michael + Holly. transfer, her involvement with Michael was almost certainly among them. Finally, Michael continued his “investigation” by inter- viewing Oscar, since the two shared a kiss as part of a It was also nice to see Jan Levinson is back on her feet, (disastrous) Office presentation on diversity. It’s hard to tell fresh off of the release of her self-produced Doris Day cover whether Michael singled Oscar out because of his status as an album (we are not sure how you can secure a copy, but it is openly homosexual man (we certainly hope not), or if it was likely Taylor Swift’s new release will outsell her for the first because Oscar was the only employee he kissed. Regardless, few weeks). While we try to confine our analysis to Dunder the assumptions and stereotypes used during Michael’s inqui- Mifflin Scranton, we couldn’t help but notice something sition of Oscar made us cringe, especially in light of the fact strange about Jan’s new job as Purchasing Director at an un- that Oscar has already sued the company once before! Until named pharmaceutical company. At one point during Jan’s next time… conversation with Michael, little Astrid (Levinson-Gould- By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

Ethics Long-term planning t is always nice to As is often the case, Michael Scott rose to the I meet a new character occasion in dealing with this fierce competitor. Since and Danny Cordray he couldn’t beat him, he asked Mr. Cordray to join seems like quite a catch him. Hiring Mr. Cordray was a stroke of genius. Mi- for the Dunder Mifflin chael correctly assessed that although Dunder Mifflin Scanton crew. It is tough to tell who is more excited offered better prices and better service, somehow to have Danny as the new traveling salesperson – Mi- Danny was outselling them. This must be a true mark chael Scott or Kelly! Even Pam once fell under of his skills as a salesperson and was worthy of Mi- Danny’s spell, prior to meeting Jim, of course. Still, chael stealing him away. In this era of cut throat com- like most men, Jim is not happy about Pam’s prior petition, it is easy for many companies to simply slash affiliation with Danny, despite Pam’s assurances costs – layoff staff, reduce expenses, curb service to (“You know I have a kid with you, right??”). customers, etc. However, these choices, while per- haps producing short-term gains, may injure a com- According to Dwight, Danny is the “best sales- pany in the long-run. Michael’s perspective was to man ever.” Although he worked for the smaller Os- use the tough economy to lure excellent talent to the prey Paper Company, Danny was nonetheless able to Scranton office. If Mr. Cordray can procure many steal customers from Dunder Mifflin on a regular ba- new customers, certainly the Scranton office will en- sis. (Actually, who could be shocked by that? Dunder joy much greater long-term success than if it had em- Mifflin Scranton has to be the most incompetent set of ployed some of the short-term strategies discussed fools in the history of all workforces. So, how much above. has Danny really accomplished by beating them?) Perhaps companies today need to adopt a similar Anyway, some might be offended by Dunder philosophy – taking a longer view. In some regard, it Mifflin’s effort to learn about Danny’s successful reminds us of the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life,” sales techniques. Setting up a fake company with where the dastardly Mr. Potter pays 10 cents on the Meredith as the CFO would seem to be unethical and dollar to scarf up all the available homes and proper- perhaps it is. But, I am not sure we can call it unlaw- ties when a run on the bank takes place. Only George ful. However, tape recording Danny and his sale Bailey knows that Mr. Potter is making the smart techniques could be violating several wiretapping move in tough times; he’s not panicking, he’s not sell- laws. ing, he’s actually buying. When the economy turns, Mr. Potter knows he will be in an excellent long-term Nonetheless, you have to admire the effort to position. So too it goes in the current business cli- measure and understand the competition. It certainly mate. There are good opportunities in the Human Re- was a creative ploy and if only Meredith was not so – sources world to pick up talented people who have hm, shall we say, forthcoming? – perhaps Michael, been excised from other organizations. They might Jim and Dwight might have learned a bit on how to not all be as good looking as Danny Cordray, but then improve their sales. again, he is just playing a character on television. Un- til next time... By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

Chain of Command nother year at the of his fantastic MacGruber costume and into a much Halloween Office, another Hal- more inappropriate Daryl costume. Michael made sev- Costumes A loween episode. This eral inappropriate comments based on Daryl’s race – year, Pam and Jim were first referring to him as “Blackula,” and later imperson- absolutely determined to ating him by derisively stating “I’m cool… I’m find out why Danny never called Pam back 4 years ago. jive… .” We see Michael make comments like these on And while Danny tried to take the high road by claim- a regular basis, and while Daryl has never complained ing Pam was smitten with Jim at the time, the cross ex- about these remarks (as far as we know), remember this: amination continued until Danny finally admitted that when individuals with hire/fire authority are the ones he thought Pam was a little “dorky.” Sometimes the engaging in discrimination or harassment, courts use a truth hurts. But, as they say, love cures all, and Jim was “strict liability” standard. That means if Daryl files a able to soften the blow and score major points by finally lawsuit against Dunder Mifflin, the Company would not dressing up as Popeye to Pam’s Olive Oil (although we be able to rely on the fact that Daryl never complained did enjoy the retrospect of Jim’s unremarkable costumes or otherwise took advantage of the Company’s preven- from years past!). tative procedures and policies.

“Going-Over-My-Head-Gate” (Michael’s term, not Of course, it wouldn’t be a Halloween issue if we ours) was the main theme of this week’s episode. When did not remind you of our position on costumes in the Michael found out that Daryl had gone over his head workplace. While allowing employees to dress up can with the suggestion that delivery drivers attempt to sell be an enjoyable venture, employees should be reminded additional products, Michael felt completely betrayed. that they are still expected to dress appropriately. Of all This is a common problem, and one that can leave a people, it was ANGELA(!) who seemed to forget this lasting sense of bitterness, and create an unnecessarily when she donned her nurse costume in pursuit of the competitive environment. Employees should always be $15,000 coupon book. (If you had Angela in the encouraged to follow a chain of command, especially “Which Character is Most Likely to Dress Inappropri- with respect to operational issues or ideas. But your ately” pool, congratulations!) organization should also have a method in place for em- ployees to express their ideas to someone other than One final note. Getting back to Daryl’s idea for the their direct supervisors. Employee round tables or drivers to offer clients additional products, we were ini- anonymous suggestion boxes are just two examples of tially concerned about the wage and hour implications this concept. Managers and supervisors should also be here. If the drivers were being encouraged to engage in encouraged to have honest conversations with their em- sales activities, they should be compensated for these ployees. If an employee has an idea that the manager or efforts. Thankfully, it appears that Dunder Mifflin rec- supervisor does not think will work, he or she should ognized this, and came up with a plan under which the explain the objective and legitimate reasons behind this salesperson and driver would share the additional com- belief. Employees who feel like they are being stone- mission. Under this scenario, everyone wins. The driver walled for no good reason are much more likely to pull is compensated for his/her sales, the salesperson does a “Daryl.” not feel the need to be territorial with his/her client(s), and Dunder Mifflin avoids a messy wage and hour dis- Daryl’s actions also caused Michael to change out pute! Until next week… By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

Distractions Off-site events “Some events are so not to over-serve any employees who plan on driving newsworthy, so historic, home. Even when exercising appropriate discretion that you have to stop with regards to the number of drinks being served, em- everything to watch!” In ployers should also be on the lookout for anyone dem- a way, Jim was right. onstrating unusual behavior which might indicate that There inevitably will be events or stories which occur someone is unable to operate a motor vehicle (see Ber- during a workday that are so important, or so captivat- nard, Andy). We also encourage employers to provide ing, that they dramatically affect operations. We en- several non-alcoholic options for those employees who courage employers and their managers to use discre- do not wish to consume alcohol. tion in determining whether and when to allow em- ployees to focus on a developing news story (we do not Really, has anyone ever seen a stranger office think Bubble Boy made the cut, but that is where the party? Between Michael starting a walk-out to Gabe’s discretion aspect comes in!). But even stories of the bedroom, Andy’s mix of illicit substances (and his utmost national or global significance body’s subsequent rejection of those sub- shouldn’t cease operations all together. It stances), Dwight’s proclamation that “sex is one thing to put the news on and allow contracts EXIST!”, and Kevin’s decision employees to watch it, but Kelly’s deci- to enjoy pigs in a blanket … in a blanket, sion to dump an incoming call in favor of we started to wonder whether Gabe made the pursuit of the Scranton Strangler was a mistake by opening up his home to this one which should not have been tolerated. motley crew. Managers often like to host parties at their homes. This is a way to Despite the Scranton crew’s second develop personal relationships and make straight episode which primarily took employees feel welcome. But there has to place outside of the Office, we found a be some expectation of privacy, right? few other items to discuss! This week’s Closing doors to rooms which are off lim- episode centered around a watching NBC’s promotion of a Fox its should be enough, but it might not be a party, hosted by Erin and Gabe at Gabe’s show was curious, but does bad idea to post signs as to which rooms apartment (how about NBC’s promotion anyone have any doubt that are or are not available. of a Fox show?!). Despite Michael’s best Michael is a total“Gleek”?! efforts, the Scranton employees clearly Finally, we noticed that Jim (and felt like they were going to a party being thrown by the Pam) implored Dwight to take care of Cece throughout “boss.” Events like this start to really feel like a com- the night. As far as we know, Jim is no longer in a po- pany sponsored outing. On the plus side, it seems that sition of authority over Dwight, If he was, however, everyone was invited, thus minimizing the potential for could Dwight have made an argument that his time anyone to claim favoritism towards certain employees taking care of Cece was spent at the request of his em- on behalf of management. We also noticed that Gabe ployer, and was therefore compensable? Probably not, served alcohol at the party. While an employer may but it would not be the strangest claim we have ever serve alcohol at one of its events (provided everyone is seen! Until next week… of legal drinking age), it should, of course, be careful By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

Distractions Cost Savings folks, welcome for themselves. After all, prior to the advent of e-mail, how OK back after a brief many times a day did you walk among your employees to hiatus. First in our line of tell them something. Probably not nearly as often as you e- fire is the ongoing texting mail them. By no means are we suggesting that we all ig- between Andy and Darryl. nore the electronic world. But, if we want our employees to We have all been literally inundated with all modes of elec- do the work in front of them, we actually have to give them tronic communication – Twitter, text messaging, e-mail – the time and focus to do it. and I’m sure the future will bring more communication paths. We will try not to pontificate on the relative merits of The Dunder Mifflin crew was also under siege this week these ever-enhanced technologies. We can speak to the po- by its new landlord – Dwight Schrute. Surprisingly, Dwight tential intrusion in the workplace, however, and we should. attacked this new responsibility with his usual air of imma- There are many precious commodities in the world perhaps turity and ridiculousness. In seeking short-term savings, he none more so than time. In order to do an effective job, it cut off the lights, one-plied the toilet paper, watered down takes time. Our staff needs to be able to focus on the work the soap and covered the windows with billboard advertise- at hand. Occasionally, that may require them to actually ments. We can surely understand Dwight’s motives here; think about the work as opposed to simply churn it out. Yet many businesses are looking for savings in their day-to-day the opportunity to think is constantly being eroded by inter- operational costs. And, maybe all of us should be working ruptions through both personal and business communica- harder at finding the savings and acting in an environmen- tions. tally-sound fashion. Light sensors or timers may be highly effective in ensuring that lights do not remain on all night or We know on the personal side that employers have a into the morning. And although Dunder Mifflin Scranton right to implement policies restricting the amount of per- would probably like us all to use more and more paper, recy- sonal communication that can occur during the work day. cling it seems like both the responsible and cost effective Indeed, you may require your staff to turn off their cell thing to do. As we engage in these efforts, let’s keep in phones and not engage in texting, tweeting or e-mailing of mind the idea of maintaining a certain level of satisfaction in any personal nature. But their personal relationships are not the office. We suppose that’s at a different level at different the only culprits. Take a look at the number of e-mails gen- organizations. In Scranton, obviously, cutting down to one- erated in your organization and in your department. ply toilet paper was much too little for Stanley and one of the more graphic topics tackled on The Office in a long time. It has become easy to send an e-mail to virtually an en- tire organization with the touch of a button. Of course, it is Of course, there is still one mystery from the episode just as easy for someone to reply to the entire organization that we cannot solve – why Dwight let Pam win. Dwight and so on and so on. And so, a message of minor impor- himself says he has no compassion and would certainly not tance which needs only to reach one or two people can result want anyone to ascribe this characteristic to him. We agree. in a cascade of meaningless dialogue. And, with each one of Although what was his motive? Was this truly a long-term these communications, comes a minor alarm on the com- business strategy to keep his tenants happy? Maybe. But puter or other receiving device to notify the recipient of the we think on the compassion issue Dwight protests too much. new message. This, in turn distracts them from “thinking” Somewhere in him is a soft spot for Pam. This should not be about the work that we hope they will be doing. All of this surprising, since she has been able to cast her spell on so starts with management, which should lead by example, on many over the years. the issue of what needs to be communicated and when. It is tough to suggest some sort of daily or weekly quota, but Stay tuned for this week’s one hour holiday special… perhaps managers should at least establish some guidelines By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

Office Pranks Violence s usual, it was the not recovered from the earlier attack. Usually Dwight

A merriest of Christ- is not so creative or able to think several steps ahead in mases at Dunder Mifflin his behavior. Here, however, Dwight (or the writers) Scranton, with Michael pulled it off perfectly. The snowball issue, however, Scott invoking the new points out once again why office pranks should not “cool” rule for Christmas 2010. Although Michael really occur even at the lowest levels. Managers need hates jazz, he was still smart enough to hire a jazz so- to be wary of them escalating into substantial or even loist to play away and to welcome back to Scranton cruel events. (By the way, the snowball which came the sorely missed Human Resources Manager Holly. out of the package hitting Jim in the face is not one Unfortunately, Michael’s desire for a cool Christmas that we deem cruel). There is one side issue from this effectively trampled the hard work of Pam in her role circumstance which concerns us – Jim’s evolution into as Office Manager. Indeed, the entire episode began a complete whimp. After all Jim, they were just fluffy with a stunningly good-spirited and complacent work- little snowballs and you could have thrown some back force – even Stanley had no issues since Pam remem- at Dwight instead of curling up in a ball and crying. bered to get his favorite sugar-free cookies. Instead of acknowledging Pam’s success in her new role and en- We need to also comment on Michael’s apparent couraging her further, Michael was upset that his skill attack on Woody – Holly’s doll/memento from her set was not needed to address the idiosyncrasies of the boyfriend AJ. Some might view this as low level vio- Scranton crew. Moreover, he decommissioned the lent act which could foreshadow an escalating situa- entire Christmas party as planned by Pam. Surely this tion involving Michael and/or Holly and/or AJ. We could undercut her confidence in the Office Manager know Michael’s heart is in the right place – he and role – even if it is a role she completely made up! All Holly truly do belong together and one can only hope managers need to be aware that hopefully, their invest- that AJ does not muster the willpower to propose to ment in training and mentoring subordinate employees Holly by New Years Eve. Still, we need to be careful will result in the type of success that Pam demon- that Michael’s distress over Holly’s relationship with strated. At those moments, managers must overlook AJ does not lead him down an inappropriate path their now perceived “uselessness” and rather bask in which requires . (Though we doubt Gabe the good work of their well-trained staff. is capable of issuing any discipline to Mike as he is too busy worrying about his fleece blankets). Once again the issue of pranks in the workplace reared its ugly head in Scranton. The usual antagonist For now, Michael has hope and maybe that is the in these events is Jim. Sure enough, he threw the first most important aspect of the holiday season – we all snowball at Dwight. However, Dwight then escalated get to hope for something better in 2011. Mike Abita- the battle (in a most brilliant fashion we must add). bilo and I, and all of Jackson Lewis, certainly wish His camouflage as a snowman and then barrage of that for everyone in the coming year. well-stored snowballs pummeling Jim at the front door to the office was beautifully conceived. He followed Happy Holidays! this up with the eerie sight of multiple snowmen in the parking lot, creating great anxiety for Jim, who had By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

Office Incentives Client Events After a long hiatus, our story is this: if you, as a manager, have engaged in behav- friends at The Office re- ior may be considered inappropriate, consult with your

turned with two fresh epi- human resources professional on the best course of action. sodes to start the new year, leaving us with a host of The second episode started with a fantastic cameo by topics to discuss. , the original Michael Scott (well, not really: he played of the Wernham Hogg Pa- The first episode started by introducing us to the per Merchants in the UK version of The Office). Fresh Knights of the Night, Dwight’s volunteer crime control off his controversial Golden Globe performance, Gervais force. Notwithstanding their affinity for the always enjoy- (as Brent) showed off a new character he had been work- able -tag, we couldn’t help but wonder if their ing on, much to the delight of Michael Scott. presence was problematic from a labor relations stand- point. Granting access to an organization such as this Speaking of characters, Michael debuted his newest: might hinder Dunder Mifflin’s ability to (lawfully) restrict Minachos, a Greek gentleman he created to serve as the access for other organizations, such as unions. “plant” at Andy’s seminar. Speaking of Andy’s seminar, we have to wonder whether this was an ethical way to Taking a page from the Vance Refrigeration Office generate new business. It seems to us that Andy used Administrator’s book, Pam created the New Year’s Reso- false pretenses to lure local business owners to Dunder lution Board. This seemed like a harmless initiative to Mifflin’s office, as demonstrated by the lack of any real boost morale, but only until Dwight listed his honest, yet substantive business presentations (with the exception of inappropriate resolution (as this is a “G” rated column, we Kelly’s “friend” Professor Powell’s speakerphone ad- won’t repeat it here!). It also seemed strange that Pam was vice!). Nonetheless, hosting legitimate seminars or other willing to spend so much time during the work day to events is a great way to develop business. It can help meet and discuss the employees’ personal resolutions. keep your company name in the stream of consciousness, But maybe Pam’s idea wasn’t totally without merit: a while providing provides clients and potential clients the similar board could be used for 2011 business initiatives. opportunity to network with other professionals. Publishing goals and creating a friendly competition among employees can increase both morale and produc- During , Andy admitted that he is not a tion. very good sales person. It was certainly refreshing to hear an employee provide an honest self-evaluation. While we After the meeting, Michael felt compelled to apolo- do not approve of Minachos’s attempt to stall the audience gize to Holly Kevin for the way he behaved earlier in the while Andy composed himself, Michael once again day. While Michael was merely using the meeting as a showed us how he was able to become a Regional Man- way to indirectly communicate with Holly, his actions had ager, by offering Andy the encouragement and guidance the effect of demonstrating an interesting concept. Should he needed to close some sales. a manager formally apologize to an employee for offen- sive behavior, even if the employee has not complained Finally, it was bad enough that Erin (as well as Pam about it? On one hand, this could be viewed later as an and Oscar) thought it was ok to play Scrabble during the admission against interest. On the other, we always em- work day, but Gabe too?! It appears that his love for Erin phasize the importance and value in having open and hon- (or maybe just horror movies) is clouding his professional est communication with employees. The moral of the judgment. Until next time… By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

Office Romance

Protected t sure was nice to see more widespread ability to speak negatively about their Holly and Michael organization. Significantly, while this access in- Activity I , drawn together by inex- creases, the National Labor Relations Board has taken plicable forces, as they a broader view of protected, concerted activities. As traipsed through Scranton ultimately connecting at the such, negative dialogues by employees directed out to top of a non-descript, unremarkable office building. the through electronic means (or other- One can’t help but wonder if this season will conclude wise) are viewed as protected unless it crosses certain with a Michael/Holly marriage as Steve Carrell leaves extreme bounds. More and more employers are ex- the show. Maybe they will honeymoon at the Schrute periencing claims filed before the National Labor Rela- Beet Farm/Bed and Breakfast. tions Board regarding non-union employees who have been disciplined or terminated due to their negative As Michael and Holly reconnected, Ryan and statements about their employer. Back in the old days, Kelly suffered through a quickie marriage and divorce. such comments would be viewed as disloyalty and ap- As we have discussed numerous times in the past, a propriate grounds for discharge. But that is not the workplace relationship typically presents few problems case under the current law, and employers need to be when things are going smoothly, but many once the most aware of these new developments and interpreta- relationship hits the rocks. This might not be the prob- tions by the Labor Board. lem at Dunder Mifflin Scranton in relation to Ryan and Kelly, since no one seems to care about the relation- We must further note Gabe’s obsession with any ship in any fashion or pay much attention to them as comment that shed Sabre in a negative light was a bit employees either. Still, for most human resource pro- over the top. Any organization needs to be able to fessionals, it is at the end of a romantic relationship poke some fun at itself – especially when it is done in- between co-workers that the problems can truly mush- house and in a good natured fashion. The same can be room and we must all be attentive for that fallout. said for managers and supervisors. They must be able to take the occasional joke or jab from a subordinate Our Scranton crew was also greatly distracted this colleague in stride. We are certainly not condoning week by the caption contest. Pam may never make it insubordination but, if we expect to have good rela- in the sophisticated art world of New York City, but tionships with our staff, then it has to be bilateral – she is good enough to entertain those in the office. they cannot always be the butt of the joke. Indeed, Gabe seemed particularly perturbed by this contest – some of the best managers are those who are most ca- mostly because he does not get any of the pop-culture pable of accepting and laughing at their own weakness. references – secondarily because he has no sense of humor and no chance to win the event. Gabe was also Finally, we must point out that this is the second quite concerned about any captions which sullied the time this season that Angela has been the surprise win- reputation of Sabre. ner in a Dunder Mifflin Scranton contest – first for her provocative outfit on Halloween, and this time for her This is a growing area of concern for many em- low brow caption about Gabe. All hail Angela! ployers as easy access to the Internet allows employees By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

Movie Review!

Off Duty Work fter three seasons of episode from a human resources standpoint! A this column, we , trusted that we did not It’s always good to support and encourage employ- have to write a column ees’ pursuit of their outside interests. We want our em- following Michael and Holly’s outrageous ODAs, ployees to be well-rounded, and to find personal satis- (Office Displays of Affection). Instead, we return this faction outside of the workplace. This might include week to review Michael’s first feature film: Threat charity work, social clubs, athletic endeavors, or even Level Midnight. film making. This can obviously become a problem, however, when these outside interests interfere with an is a story of triumph, de- employee’s work performance. In this case, it does not spair, and redemption. Michael Scarn – once the best seem that Threat Level Midnight had that effect on Mi- secret agent on the planet – is completely distraught chael, since he is never working anyway and it took over the loss of his wife, Catherine Zeta Scarn. When him 11 years to turn this dream into a reality. summoned by the President (played by newcomer Daryl Philbin), Scarn finds out that his old Nemesis, We do have some concerns, however, over the Golden Face (played by a villainous Jim Halpert) is other employees’ level of involvement in the film. threatening to blow up the NHL all star game. With Daryl admitted that he “gave up a lot of weekends” to only three days until the game and no tickets available, be in the film. While it seemed the employees’ were Scarn decides that the only way to save the day is by happy to be a part of the project, the fact that just about playing in the all star game. A rigorous training mon- all past and present employees made an appearance tage is followed by an exciting on-ice gun fight be- made us wonder if their participation was, in fact, vol- tween Scarn and Golden Face, all while Michael Scarn untary. Once we again we can see a situation where attempts to earn the coveted “civilian amateur” spot on Michael might have used his influence as the boss to the team. convince employees to participate in a non-work activ- ity. This arguably could be construed as work-time, for With cameo appearances by Jan Levinson Gould which the employees should have been paid (hopefully, (the Funky Cat night club singer), Creed Bratton however, not at Screen Actors Guild rates!). (Cherokee Jack, the hockey trainer), Toby Flenderson (the hostage whose head was blown off), and several Finally, Michael clearly used the Office to shoot a other well known characters, Threat Level Midnight number of the film’s scenes during off hours. This features a well-rounded cast of performers. Combine could obviously set a dangerous precedent for allowing that with a signature dance (the Scarn), and an exhila- employees to use the company’s facilities for non-work rating ending, and the result is a timeless classic. related projects. We recommend determining who While there may have been a few holes in the plot, we needs to have access to the premises during non-work think this is one of the best secret-agent-hockey movies time, and restricting access to those individuals only. of all time! Let’s just say it’s no coincidence that While that might not prevent an organization’s highest Oscar made a cameo as well! ranking manager from shooting an action movie, it could help limit the potential liability associated with But enough of our movie review; let’s discuss this unfettered access to the workplace. By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

Personality conflicts

“Stuff” ast night we saw the Well, any and all such situations require an individu- L reintroduction of alized assessment. Personality issues may raise the spec- , into the ter of someone being protected under the anti- Scranton milieu. Long discrimination laws. For example, an individual who is ago, Todd was an inside gruff or not strongly communicative due to a mental dis- sales person sitting at Dwight’s desk and working along- ability certainly would not be subject to discipline or dis- side the then very young, up and coming Michael Scott. charge simply because they are not well liked. Packer is beloved by Michael for his outrageous antics. One can envision Michael Scott playing the unintelligent Still organizations do need to look at the dynamics of second banana to Mr. Packer. Todd Packer has visited the current employees compliment and whether a new or the office over the years sometimes leaving atrociously different individual upsets that dynamic. Please do not gross images behind. (Please recall the foul odor and misread the prior line – this in no manner suggests that mess in Michael’s office from a few years ago). employers need to have a homogeneous work groups. That would smack of unintentionally biased hiring and Packer wanted to rejoin the Scranton office and his retention decisions. Rather, we are simply stating that path was greased by Michael Scott and loyal Human Re- sometimes an individual truly is a “bad apple” and needs source person Holly. However, his addition came at the to be thrown away. dismay of the majority of staff (with the inexplicable ex- ception of Kevin). They see Packer as much of the out- In the case of Todd Packer, obviously Michael Scott side world must – as an obnoxious, sexually-harassing, has been willing to overlook his monumental flaws given inappropriate “blowhard.” Over the years he managed to his perceived “best friends” status with him. But, then offend virtually everyone in the office. Still, as much as Packer crossed the line – he insulted Holly. Packer might they did not want him, one thing has to be considered – as well have punched Michael’s mother. At that point, Packer’s unassailable sales record. As Holly noted, his his departure was a foregone conclusion. Adios Todd numbers “speak for themselves.” Is this enough to war- Packer, we won’t miss you, (except for Kevin). rant his return to the office? Finally, wasn’t it interesting to see Andy’s reaction to Certainly many a business may confront similar Erin’s new computer, and Dwight’s reaction to being situations – the high performing employee who simply moved to the annex? Employees tend to take matters cannot or will not get along with co-workers. In the event regarding their “stuff” and their personal “space” very an employee actually behaved as Todd Packer, any self- personally, even if neither is really theirs. While Pam felt respecting organization could easily make not good about doing a nice thing for Erin by replacing her to hire or keep him. His over-the-top offensiveness on so computer, she did not realize the effect it would have on many legal fronts is surely not outweighed by his sales Andy. Employees will scrutinize their coworkers’ com- record. But, there are lesser versions of Todd Packer at puters, supplies, and even office chairs, then compare work. Maybe there are successful individuals who don’t these things to their own, and view the results of this dialogue well with co-workers, are abrupt or gruff in their comparison as a reflection of their worth to the organiza- approach and simply are not liked – should they be kept tion. As a result, it is important to avoid inequitable and/ out of your workplace? or unnecessary distinctions or decisions regarding these issues. Unfortunately for Pam, she learned this the hard way, becoming “full on corrupt” along the way! By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

Employee Morale

Safety fter a multi-week about any representations or misrepresentations made A hiatus, we finally under the Company’s name. We see this substantially , got a new episode. Un- in the social media arena these days, and many em- fortunately, the episode ployers have adopted policies which should make clear provided the path for Michael Scott’s departure to the that while employees may utilize social media, they television afterworld. Perhaps there is no should not be doing it under the banner of the organi- greater match than Michael Scott and Holly, and we zation’s name or on behalf of the organization in any look forward to their impending nuptials. As far as fashion. human resource issues covered in the episode, they were virtually non-existent. Still, we soldier on with a Finally, we need to address workplace safety. The few thoughts. genuine affection that the Dunder Mifflin crew has for Michael was on full display in the way they assisted We continue to applaud the Scranton office’s dedi- him with his proposal to Holly. When the entire staff cation to the idea of employee morale. In this episode, lined up with their candles to assist Michael in creating we had the First Annual Dunder Mifflin Scranton ga- a most romantic atmosphere for the proposal, it was rage sale. Andy, Darryl and Kevin bonded over the truly one of the more warmhearted moments in the highly popular board game of the 1980s – Dallas. It show’s seven year run. Still, one has the question the was a no holds barred contest with Kevin surprisingly hundreds of candles placed in and around a workplace walking off with the most cash. dominated by paper products! If you could not see the inevitability of the sprinkler system going off than you While acknowledging the need to build and main- have not been paying close enough attention to this tain employee morale, certainly we have to question – show. how much is too much? Under Michael Scott’s leader- ship, the obvious answer is, there is no such thing as So while Michael got his very romantic proposal too much! But for the rest of the businesses out there along with a cute and funny shower, which he and who actually have to worry about a profit line, effi- Holly will be able to tell the kids about decades down ciency and other operational concerns, we need to be the line, the Dunder Mifflin crew put the entire office judicious in how much we give over the workplace to at great risk for a potential fire, and obviously through more informal interactions. Clearly setting aside a day the water damage via the sprinkler system. It wasn’t for a would seem to step well outside the quite the deadly gasoline fire that would have con- necessary amount of time and attention given to em- sumed Michael if Pam has not intervened early in the ployee morale. episode, but it still was a pretty dangerous set up.

The second issue involves Ryan’s misappropria- We look forward to the final few episodes with tion of both Phyllis’s and Oscar’s likenesses to pro- Michael Scott, and even has he departs we have some mote his pesto and salsa line of products. (As far as hope that the magic legumes obtained by Dwight might taking care of his mother’s good nature – we will leave result in Michael reincarnate next season! On second that to Ryan and his conscience). From the Dunder thought, maybe we should just look forward to the arri- Mifflin perspective, we want to be particularly cautious val of Will Ferrell! By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

First Impressions

Transitions sort of enjoy the and smooth transition periods. Had Dwight, Jim, or “I hilarious hijinks I anyone else been properly groomed to take over as Re- , get myself into.” So do gional Manager, there might not have been a need to we, Michael. So do we. hire someone from the outside. More disappointing was But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. Dunder Mifflin’s poor transition from the Michael Scott And with the introduction of Deangelo Vickers, the Era to the Deangelo Vickers Era. When one member of stage has been set for Michael Scott to ride off to “the management is leaving and another is coming in, em- Sunshine State” of Colorado. ployers should endeavor to make the transition period as short as possible. (Unlike The Office, your organization Deangelo’s first episode reminded us of the impor- does not need to put up big ratings for the outgoing tance of first impressions in the manager’s final four episodes!) If workplace – both actual and per- planned properly, a short transition pe- ceived. It was interesting to watch riod will ensure stability, and minimize each of the characters do their best the disruption to operations. When pro- to impress Mr. Vickers – from tracted over a longer period of time, Kevin and his Ashton Kutcher- employees tend to become distracted by esque hair piece, to Kelly’s at- the dynamic between new and old. tempts at seduction, to Andy’s off- Even the productivity of the managers beat humor, to Daryl’s feigned themselves can be affected, as they love for the Southwest. Even An- might be concerned about deferring to gela got into the act by implying each other’s preferences. that her boyfriend, the powerful Not since the movie “Anchorman” have these state senator, would be a very two shared extended screen time. Enjoy it, We should also address Dwight’s good person for Deangelo to because it won’t last! situation. Dwight was about emotional know. as we have ever seen him (which is not saying much) over being passed up for the Regional For some of the employees (Kevin), it will be Manager position. This is a reflection of Michael and nearly impossible to maintain the image they attempted the other members of management not having clearly to portray. We saw this almost immediately, when communicated with Dwight his standing within the Deangelo sought out the typically unfunny Andy for a company, nor the skills he would need to develop to joke to cure him of his midday lull (though Andy even- become a manager. tually nailed it with his slapstick routine in the break room). While it is important to make a strong first im- On a final note, seeing Steve Carell and Will Ferrell pression at work, it is imperative to be yourself. Ulti- share the spotlight in a television sitcom was pure com- mately, as an employee of any organization, it is your edy gold. Like the Dunder Mifflin employees, we will work performance that will distinguish you from your miss Michael Scott. Deangelo Vickers has some big peers. shoes to fill, but he’s off to a good start.

From a management standpoint, this episode showed us the importance of both planning By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

!!

 Privacy t has been several that and think hard before potentially intruding in an I years since we have employee’s home. , had Michael Scott em- ceeing a Dundie celebra- Among the more salient issues from a workplace tion. Last time around, Pam was still dating Roy from perspective covered in last night’s episode was the the Warehouse! This year’s awards were of course need to place individuals in the best position to suc- bittersweet as they mark the final opportunity for Mi- ceed. Deangelo Vickers is clearly not comfortable in chael Scott to make a complete fool of himself while front of a microphone and performing. That’s ok, handing out the trophies. Rather than discuss each since his job is to be Scranton’s new Regional Man- award at length, we will simply list some of the ager, not a sitcom entertainer. Still, Michael Scott has awards and various potential offenses: seemingly placed this burden upon him as most cru- cial to his success. Michael went to great lengths to 1. Best Dad – Jim Halpert (marital/parental train Deangelo, including using loud headphones to status discrimination); drown out Deangelo’s words as he spoke -- a trick 2. Best Mom – Meredith (same offenses, but in taken from “The King’s Speech.” While a creative explicable choice in light of Pam’s presence); approach, it simply made Deangelo loud and vulgar at the event (which, of course, played right into Will 3. Hottest Employee – Not Ryan (sexual harass Ferrell’s comedic strengths). ment);

4. Cutest Redhead – Erin (true, but also sexual Supervisors and managers should push their em- harassment); ployees to succeed at the next level. Consistent with 5. Best Diabetes Person – Stanley (HIPAA and that goal, they need to identify weaknesses and help disability discrimination). staff build their confidence, experience and knowl- edge in those areas so they might succeed. This does The show opened with Michael and Deangelo not include putting individuals in what may be imme- making home visits to present the Dundie nomina- diately overwhelming situations in which they may tions. Unfortunately, Michael has a substantially humiliate themselves or embarrass the organization. overinflated sense of the importance of the Dundies – Of course, neither of these concerns ever worries Mi- believing them to be equivalent of Publisher’s Clear- chael Scott, so the entire Dunder Mifflin crew was ing House showing up with a $10 Million Dollar thrown out of the restaurant. check. We had a sense that if Stanley had a gun, he would have shot both Michael and Deangelo for tres- We thoroughly enjoyed the closing scene back in passing. All employers need to be sensitive to the the office with the heartfelt rendition of “Seasons of home life and privacy of their employees. Even for Love” from the smash Broadway hit Rent. The positive communications, most employees do not Scranton crew clearly has a high-level of affection for want to be bothered at home with phone calls or per- Michael regardless of this various flaws. Despite the sonal visits from the organization. There is a reason comedic nature of the show, we are sure the final epi- they call work "work" and employers need to respect sode will be full of both laughs and tears! By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

Goodbyes

Gabe is nuts! he title of last week’s Later, as Andy walked by, he uttered, “walk away b*tch.” T episode said it best: Even if this conduct did not violate a zero-tolerance vio- , Goodbye, Michael. Just as lence policy (and we would argue it did), many employers Michael left almost every- now maintain anti-bullying policies – which this would al- one in the office with a most certainly violate. (Note that many states, including unique parting gift, he left us with a variety of topics to dis- New York, are currently considering anti-bullying legisla- cuss in this week’s column. tion.) Finally, an obsessed Gabe followed Erin into the la- dies restroom (where they happened to bump into Creed!), Whenever someone leaves an organization – but espe- explained his intentions to win her back, and then tried to cially when that person is a long term employee with close kiss her. We could absolutely envision this situation as the personal relationships with other employees – there tends to basis of yet another a sexual harassment complaint. Perhaps be a great deal of distraction associated with the departure. if Dunder Mifflin/Sabre had enforced its anti-fraternization To his credit, Michael attempted to minimize the distraction policy from the outset of their relationship, all of this could by telling his employees he would be leaving one day later have been avoided. than he actually had planned, even though he knew this meant he would miss his own goodbye party! (Had he In the end, we were glad to be a part of Michael’s emo- known the walls would be plastered with images of his co- tional goodbyes with Jim and Pam. Those three characters medic influences, however, he might have changed his have been central to the show from the beginning, and those mind.) of us who have watched the show have enjoyed the evolu- tion of their relationships. Just like Jim and Pam, we are Knowing, in fact, it was his last day, Michael went out now left to wonder what The Office will be like without of his way to say goodbye to each of the employees with Michael. Ultimately, the show’s writers said it best: Good- whom he has worked over the past few years. In doing so, bye, Michael. Thanks for the laughs. however, Michael may have created a litany of future prob- lems for Dunder Mifflin/Sabre. When Michael gave Andy On a final note, one goodbye deserves another. We his 10 “most important” accounts, it immediately raised have been writing this column for almost four full seasons concerns of disparate treatment. Why did Andy get the ac- now, and have found it a most enjoyable way to address counts, while Phyllis got a set of chattering teeth? Indeed, issues that are prevalent in almost every workplace. But we immediately saw Stanley’s outrage over the distribution there are only so many ways we can talk about wasting time of the accounts. The division of important responsibilities during the workday, or the perils of making inappropriate should be decided by management collectively, and not the sexual comments (that’s what she said). We think that Mi- outgoing employee/manager. Similarly, Michael’s inappro- chael’s departure is a natural ending for this column, and so priate comments to Angela raised the usual concerns about this season will be our last as well. Next season (and be- sexual harassment; but, since he had no chance with An- yond), we might still send an occasional e-mail about some- gela, we will simply note that as long as Michael is still an thing we see on the show, but we will no longer be prepar- active manager for Dunder Mifflin, his actions can still bind ing a weekly issue. We will draft three more issues to fin- the company. ish this season, but only because of the star studded lineup of actors/comedians who will interview for Michael’s job We also must discuss Gabe’s erratic and inappropriate (clearly, things are not working out for Deangelo Vickers, behavior, which emphasized the need for a variety of work- hence the need to bring in , , Ricky place policies. First, Gabe went out of his way to back Gervais, and Will Arnett). Thank you all for your contin- Andy into a corner in the Men’s restroom, warning him to ued interest. We hope you have enjoyed reading this col- stay away from Erin and reminding him “I am your boss!” umn as much as we have enjoyed preparing it. By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

 Favoritism

 Investigations ust in case you ist. Armed with this information, and at the encourage- J thought that Michael ment of his wife, Jim tried to talk to Deangelo about the , Scott’s departure meant perception of his actions. Jim attempted to quietly ap- we would have nothing to proach Deangelo about the issue, but Deangelo quickly write about, Deangelo Vickers went out of his way to turned this conversation into an inner circle meeting, prove you wrong! thus destroying the confidentiality of the discussion. Making things worse, Deangelo then made it known to The first episode PM (Post Michael) started with everyone in the office that Jim had shared the ladies’ Deangelo trying his best to surround himself with a concerns, and openly called them “ridiculous.” If that cloud of mystery. By delivering good news in a less were not bad enough, Deangelo then continued to call than positive tone, he thought he would be able to pre- inner circle (i.e. Boys Club) meetings, and may have vent the employees from figuring him out. A few engaged in unlawful retaliation against Jim in the proc- weeks ago we discussed the importance of making a ess! (Jim arguably engaged in a protected activity when strong first impression. Several episodes later, we re- he supported the complaints of one or more of the fe- visit that point, and note that it is a two way street be- male employees). This rare 4-punch combination by tween managers and employees. While Deangelo is Deangelo was truly something to behold! Throw in his trying to sculpt his identity in the Scranton office (and ad hoc appointment of Ryan as Kelly’s supervisor, his desperately trying to get Dwight to like him), Pam is decision to hire the seemingly unqualified female ad- still struggling to get on Deangelo’s good side. ministrative assistant, and a few stray comments along the way, and Deangelo managed to make Michael Scott Now, to one of the main issues at hand: Deangelo’s look like an employment lawyer’s dream! “inner circle.” According to Jim (no sitcom pun in- tended), there is no such thing as an inner circle. In- Deangelo’s freak injury does not neces- stead, Deangelo “just prefers to delegate a few things to sarily mean the company is off the hook. The company a few guys.” The obvious problem with an “inner cir- would still be required to fully investigate his behavior cle” is the perception it creates, and the potential for toward the female employees. In particular, we want to disparate treatment claims. We have no problem with discuss Gabe’s role in this. As a representative of Sabre Deangelo shooting some hoops in his office with Jim, (were we ever told what he actually does?) Gabe had an Dwight, Andy, etc., as long as he also does so with An- obligation to investigate the concerns raised by the fe- gela, Phyllis, and Pam as well. It is only natural that male employees, or at least to elevate the matter to his some groups of people will get along with each other superiors. Indeed, his (surprising) involvement in the better than others. But these personal relationships — inner circle would likely render him unfit to conduct the especially when members of management are involved investigation, and Sabre would probably elect to send — should never manifest themselves in work assign- another company representative. Presuming the allega- ments, disciplinary decisions, pay, or any other terms or tions were founded, an appropriate response might in- condition of employment. clude EEO and Harassment training for all employees, in addition to any corrective action imposed against We quickly saw the negative impact of Deangelo’s Deangelo. On second thought, a basketball hoop to the apparent favoritism toward some of the male employees head might have more of an impact on Deangelo’s be- when Angela stated her belief that Deangelo was a sex- havior than any corrective action ever could! By: Richard D. Landau Michael L. Abitabilo

Points of Interest…

Interviews

Farewell! ell the Dunder Mif- W flin Scranton crew Some external candidates also proved to be of some , heads off into the summer potential, but often displayed flaws that simply cannot be with great uncertainty. overlooked. Jim Carrey (the Finger Lakes guy) seems Despite a bevy of wonder- more interested in returning to his vacation than receiving fully qualified and terrific people, the selection committee a job office as Regional Manager. Any selection commit- still has not been able to recommend any particular candi- tee needs to take note of a candidate’s focus on benefits date. (pay, vacation, etc.) versus genuine interest in the job. If they favor the former versus the latter, it is unlikely they We must give Jo Bennett of Sabre some credit. She will stay or succeed. Ray Romano was his typical nice assigned three individuals to the interview committee rep- guy and we would expect him to be a benign but good ad- resenting different areas of expertise – Gabe dition. Unfortunately, he sabotaged himself by eating a (Administration), Jim (Sales) and Toby (Human Re- sandwich in the middle of the interview. Unless explained sources). Jo is obviously a savvy businesswoman and un- by some medical issues, this usually knocks a candidate derstands that the Scranton office’s employees need to get out of the box. along with their manager to succeed. By creating the com- mittee, she empowered them and indicated their opinion is No one was more compelling than James Spader, a important in this process. We have no doubt that Jo will Refinery Equipment Sales Person, who was inexplicably retain ultimate authority to make the selection, but it will interested in stepping down from selling $100 million be hard for the Scranton office to reject a candidate that pieces of equipment to $100 worth of paper. However, as they themselves recommended. Mr. Spader often does in his movie roles, he creeped eve- ryone out thus removing himself from the running. We The selection committee itself has done an excellent would talk about Dwight as a candidate if only he had not job of opening the door to all interested candidates – both shot a gun in the office last week. So, I guess we are just internally and externally. Andy and Darryl seem to have going to have to wait for the fall to see who gets the Re- legitimate shots at the Regional Manager role. Andy has gional Manager position. Unfortunately, you are going to played his cards well, allowing his general inoffensiveness have to watch on your own as we won’t be covering the to work in his favor. We did notice in his interview, how- event through the column. ever, that Gabe was unfairly aggressive towards him. Per- haps Gabe should have recused himself from Andy’s inter- As we indicated a few weeks back, this is our last is- view given their obvious conflict vis-à-vis Erin. sue of The Next Day At The Office. Mike Abitabilo and I have truly enjoyed watching the show, laughing at the his- Darryl, who has often proved himself the most compe- trionics and trying to convert some of the silliness into a tent individual working in Scranton, floundered a bit in the fun but informative discussion on the legal issues raised in process, not understanding the formality of it – the need each episode. Over the last several years, we have re- for a resume that actually lists genuine skills. We were ceived many comments in response to the column (mostly impressed by his hand in shipping over 2.5 billion pieces positive) and we greatly appreciate them. of product (slices of paper). Jo Bennett, as an experienced business person, was able to sniff out Darryl’s overblown Thank you for allowing us to fill your e-mail box with claims. Still, Darryl has had good ideas, has good relation- our off beat approach to the labor and employment world. ships and would seem very capable at handling interper- We hope to see you at some Jackson Lewis event in the sonal office issues. near future – Rich and Mike.