The Drama-Free Workplace

1 How to Blow Up an Organization (and Rise from the Ashes)

Chances are, you encounter drama in your workplace on a daily basis. My guess is that if you had a nickel for every time someone asked for advice because they’d been “harassed at work” or they have to deal with an employee who is “gaming the system,” well, you’d have lots of nickels.

Some of the drama is subtle and nuanced, related more to perception than the actual facts of the story. Other times the stories you hear are blatant and in your face. These are the stories that make you cringe and ask yourself, “Did she really do that?”

The skills required to address these situations vary, but regardless of where the drama falls on the intensity spectrum, you need to do everything in your power to manage, if not eliminate, it. Will it really take blowing up your organization to identify, prevent, and fix workplace drama? Yes (but not literally!).

#WorkplaceDrama: Identifying Problematic Behavior

Workplace drama takes many forms, but all drama is rooted in conflict and heightened emotions. The drama might involve just a few people (at least initially). But like a progressive disease, the drama spreads if it isn’t dealt with swiftly and effectively. And too often unchecked drama ends up infecting an entire department, division, or company. Identifying the problem is vital to ultimately figuring out how to prevent it and solve it.

So how does drama manifest itself at work? Here’s a partial list:

• “Harassment.” This word is ...