Changing Set Up To Fail Syndrome to Whole of Workplace

An employee is caught drinking alcohol in the bathroom, and this was the third offence. The supervisor fires the worker, since there are now three documented cases of drug and alcohol policy violations. The next day, the department manager requests a meeting with the supervisor. In the meeting, the manager explains that the fired worker is in the middle of an important project and there is no one else to take the person’s place. She insists that the employee is too valuable to dismiss and overturns the decision to fire the employee.

This is an example of how employers sabotage their drug and alcohol policies. The fired worker is back to work the next day, and the co-workers are mumbling about some people getting special treatment. Even if they do not say anything out loud, the co-workers are also talking among themselves about the fact the employer preaches about a substance free workplace and worker safety but obviously does not really care.

There is another problem too. The next worker who gets fired for using drugs and alcohol in the workplace will file a complaint with the Fair Work Commission, claiming discriminatory and inconsistent employer practices. If the other employee is given multiple chances, then why should the dismissed worker be treated any differently? Is she not as valuable as the bathroom alcoholic?

Strong or Weak?

These scenarios occur frequently, raising questions of fairness and the honesty of employers. They also raise the spectre of workers who are given special treatment over and over again and eventually fail because of it. Jean-Francois Manzoni and Jean-Louis Barsoux, French organisational behaviourists, developed a term to explain this process – the Set-Up-To-Fail Syndrome.¹

The business researchers documented numerous cases in which manager responses and actions involving employees actually contributed to poor workplace performance. Manzoni and Barsoux found that managers tend to assign each employee to a strong or weak category soon after the person is hired and then treats the person accordingly. Strong employees are seen as talented achievers and all actions involving the person confirm the initial assessment. Thus the alcoholic in the bathroom may have “made a mistake” but the person’s good performance reviews and work justify keeping the person onboard. The person who is fired for the same offence was probably labelled as a weak employee, and violations of the drug and alcohol policy are perceived as intentional acts or an excuse to get rid of an employee.

Whole of Workplace Approach

The Set-Up-To-Fail Syndrome is a self-perpetuating system in that manager actions reinforce behaviour. Strong employees are given numerous chances to succeed and few things are seen as failures. Weak employees stop trying and that reinforces the employer’s initial perceptions. In the case of the strong worker, continued substance abuse reflects self-assurance and a self-importance that managers have supported. In the case of the weak performer, continued substance abuse reflects purposeful misconduct in the eyes of the manager. The disciplinary process is invoked to punish the employee who is not seen as valuable to the organisation.

Instead of promoting the development of the Set-Up-To-Fail Syndrome, employers should incorporate a “whole-of-workplace” substance abuse prevention program. This approach includes implementation of a number of strategies for intervention.² Rather than firing some employees and retaining others, the whole-of-workplace approach treats everyone the same, thus sending a consistent message throughout the business. All employees are given equal access to education programs, are given equal opportunities to access rehabilitation programs or counselling, and are subjected to the same disciplinary process. Dismissals should be applied consistently and have documentation to support the actions, and the whole of management should support the final decision.

The drug and alcohol policy should always be consistently applied. Mediscreen (mediscreen.net.au) can help employers ensure consistent onsite drug and alcohol screening services are available 24/7. It is an important piece in the whole system of managing an effective program.

This article has been taken from : http://www.mediscreen.net.au/articles/changing-set-up-to-fail-syndrome-to-whole-of-workplace/