0816_TOEFL-Test-and-Score-Manual-1997

People ● 219
He favors what he calls “360-degree communication.” Twice a year,
you should evaluate employees and let them evaluate you as the boss (see
Great Idea #21). “If the ultimate goal is to improve the performance of the
company, then feedback is a valuable tool,” Greiff said.
GREAT
How to Deal with Domestic Violence
What would you do if your sales manager walked into
IDEA
work one morning with a black eye? What do you
say when your secretary shows up with a split lip and puffy, swollen eyes?
Do you ask what happened? Do you pretend nothing is wrong?
A battered employee is impossible to ignore. No one likes to invade an
employee’s privacy, but too often domestic violence adversely affects you
and your business. Smaller businesses, which usually operate more like a
close-knit family, are profoundly affected when an employee is in trouble.
Chances are that at some point, you will experience the devastating
effects of domestic violence. Every year, about one million women are
attacked by someone they know. And according to a report by the U.S.
Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau, battered women can’t help bringing
their problems with them to the office.
A recent study of women who are victims of domestic violence found
that 96 percent experienced some problems at work. More than 60 percent
were late for work; 70 percent reported having a tough time concentrating
on their tasks. A distracted or unmotivated employee poses a personnel
problem, but a battered and emotionally overwrought employee can turn
into an emotional and financial disaster.
While corporations have formal employee assistance programs, small
business owners, who can’t even afford basic insurance benefits, rarely
have such programs in place. In fact, only 15 percent of small businesses
offer some sort of employee assistance program, according to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics. But you obviously have to do something when an injured
or emotionally upset employee appears at your office door.
The first step may be to provide basic medical care at a local clinic.
Referring the employee to a social service agency that provides counseling