Case study 1

You have been working at a fast food restaurant for six months. At your six-month performance review,
your boss gives you an unsatisfactory rating and performance evaluation result. You were hoping to ask
for a raise but instead you start exhibiting a negative attitude at work.

Case study 2

You work at a bakery and a customer is upset because the cake she ordered is the wrong flavor. The
customer is causing a scene, threatens legal action, engages in name calling and is being unreasonable.

Case study 3

There is a strict policy which prohibits texting during work hours. Your employer has caught you
numerous times texting during work hours. He is threatening to fire you.

Case study 3

You work at “Big Box Superstore”. You have been reliable for the past year, never late and give 100% on
the job. You have also received numerous “Employee of the Month” awards. You asked your boss for a
raise but your boss is refusing to provide you with a definitive answer.

Case study 3

You work at a restaurant as a waiter. You have been working very hard serving a party of six rude
individuals. As they are leaving the table, you notice they only left you $1.00 tip. You pick up the $1.00
and bring it to the attention of the manager. He seems convinced you did not provide a high enough level
of service.

Case Study 7

You work very hard as an assistant chef and feel the other assistant chefs are not carrying their weight.
You begin “office gossip” with the manager.

Case Study 8

You work at a day care center and enjoy your job. Recently, you notice the other employees at the day
care center have had their hours increased and your hours have been reduced. They have not provided
any reasoning for the reduction of hours.
Scenario 1

Jeff was a labour relations specialist and just shy of his 50th birthday. He’d held progressively responsible
positions in the public service and had been in his current role for three years. Jeff began to feel less
enthusiastic about coming to work every day. At work, he was less inclined over time to touch base with
co-workers or join them for lunch or after-work activities. In the past, he’d always taken care of his health
and appearance but now felt less reason to bother. After work, he was so tired that dinner was often fast
food consumed while watching TV. Jeff repeatedly turned down invitations from friends to socialize:
enjoyable activities like watching sports, playing golf or a dinner out at the pub no longer had any appeal.
During a phone conversation with a friend he shrugged off his lack of enthusiasm as “some sort of a mid-
life crisis” but his friend suggested it could be a more serious health problem.

Scenario 2 - Liz used alcohol to help relieve stress at home.

Liz was a 28-year-old financial analyst who had been in her job for several years. Previous to this current
job, she had held several part-time service industry jobs while going to school. Liz had an active social life
and, while she partied less than she had in university, she would still occasionally come to work hung
over and/or having had very little sleep. She would also regularly find herself recovering on Sunday in
preparation for the work week ahead. For the most part, however, Liz had confined her partying to the
weekends, drinking very little during the work week, until her mother was diagnosed with terminal
cancer several months ago. Since that time, Liz had been having two to four drinks almost every evening:
more when she was at a party or social gathering. Hangovers and sleep disturbances were more
frequent, but Liz couldn’t imagine coping without the alcohol to ease the pain

Scenario 3

Sarah is a high school teacher with 20 years of experience. She is well liked by her students and
colleagues. Sarah is on several committees and often stays late preparing for her classes. At her recent
end-of-year appraisal meeting, Sarah received a rating of below expectations in one of the areas. Sarah is
confused about the action and begins to question her principal’s professional judgment.

Scenario 4
A company that manufactures furniture increasingly finds that their workforce speaks Spanish
fluently but not English. Management does not know Spanish and this creates communication
problems. Should management learn Spanish? Should English classes be offered to the workers? Are
there other solutions? The company is struggling to contain costs so any solution should be cost
effective.
Scenario 5
Albert is a younger Mexican American worker and standing in line in the company cafeteria. Eddie,
and older European American, steps in from of Albert, “I have been here longer and belong in front of
the line”.  Albert files a complaint with the company and claims this is an example of racism in the
workplace. What should management do?
Scenario 6
Paul is working in an upscale music store.  One of his coworkers makes fun of his clothes all the time.
The coworker is not a very good dresser and Ben could easily make fun of the way the coworker
dresses.   Ben is thinking he can suffer silently or fight “fire with fire”. What should Paul do?
Scenario 7
Daniel is the new boss in a factory in Suzhou, China. Daniel hired a nephew of a party official to
smooth over negotiations with the local government. The nephew is a disaster and has cost the
company money. Zhou is his number two man in the government and suggests the nephew be
transferred to an inactive post were the nephew will not cause problems. This is totally against
company policy. Daniel is pretty sure his bosses back in the US would not understand the details of
“guanxi” politics in China. On the other hand, Daniel’s US bosses are far away and also want results in
China. Chris could transfer the nephew to a post that is not inactive but where damage to the
company is minimized. What should Daniel do?
Scenario 8
David has to do a presentation at work. There is one member that always makes sarcastic off topic
comments after his presentations that the other employees always laugh at. David feels the comments
are meant to undermine his authority. The sarcastic coworker has lower rank than David but is not a
subordinate and in another department altogether. What should David do?
Scenario 9
Tom is responsible for giving a bonus to factory workers that have perfect attendance during the
month. One worker missed one day due to a death in the family. The worker starts crying in Tom’s
office and tells Tom that she needs the bonus desperately since she is behind on her rent. The rules
are pretty clear and the bonus is for perfect attendance period no if, buts or maybes. However, Tom
does have the authority to make exceptions to the rule. What should Tom do?
Scenario 10
Sarah was recently hired to work as a secretary and is after hours and not being paid overtime. Her
son, John, needs some copies for a school project and arrives at the office. The son has brought his
own paper and needs 100 copies for his class project. If John doesn’t bring the copies to class
tomorrow then he will fail the project. The copy shops are all closed. There is no one else in the office.
There is basically no oversight about copies she makes since she often does special projects for the
boss. What should Sarah do?
Scenario 11
Michael is a senior manager that has hired a new secretary that is extremely attractive and dresses in
a very sexy manner. Michael has no problem with how his secretary dresses. However, Michael is
becoming aware that some of the other women in the office do not approve of how his secretary
dresses. Michael thinks how his secretary dresses is basically his business and no one else’s business
but also think overall company harmony is important. What should Michael do?
Scenario 12
Mel has received a new computer and wants to try it out. His subordinate is a computer whiz and
offers to put software on the computer that allows him to get around the company firewall and access
sites like Facebook and YouTube. What should Mel do?
Scenario 13
Lori has the actual interview questions asked of all applicants. Lorna’s nephew wants a copy of the
interview questions. Lori initially refuses but her sister calls her up and argues that family comes first.
Lori does think family is important and that giving a copy of the interview is not all that big a deal.
However, Lori still feels uncomfortable about giving anyone an unfair advantage in an interview.
Action for Scenario 1

Action While Jeff acknowledged he was feeling low, he figured it would pass. He remembered speaking
with a short-term counselling counselor who helped him during his divorce and decided to make an
appointment. The counselor felt that Jeff might be suffering from mild depression brought on by negative
or depressive thinking. The fact that Jeff was just about to turn 50 was also explored, along with the
stress of his recent divorce, ongoing custody issues with his children and a rocky financial position. The
counselor worked with Jeff using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) principles, helping him develop
some new skills around more realistic thinking. He also referred Jeff to an online CBT program called
MoodGYM -- http://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome -- and gave him some helpful reading homework
that might help him reframe the midlife experience. They agreed to meet again to determine if there had
been improvement. Jeff was also encouraged to follow up with his doctor for additional assessment and
medical support.

Results

After several weeks of focusing on replacing his negative thinking and messages with more realistic
thoughts, Jeff slowly began to feel more optimistic and less bored about life. He began to feel that there
were things to look forward to again and that he could be an active participant in shaping his future. He
sought out a new assignment at work and made a commitment to getting out at least once a week with
friends to do things he enjoyed. As with learning anything new, Jeff had to put ongoing effort into
practicing his realistic thinking and be attentive to when he was slipping back into familiar negative
thinking patterns. The effort paid off as Jeff realized he was actually looking forward to 50 and celebrating
the occasion with family and friends.

The signs

 Life event: Turning 50

  Passion turns to boredom, overall lack of enthusiasm
  Socially isolated, increased inactivity
  Low mood, denial of a problem
  Lack of care in health and appearance

Best practices:

  Encouraging struggling co-worker to seek assistance

  A willingness to seek out help and take action
  Self-directed actions to change reactions and outlook, such as online Cognitive Behavioural
Training as with the MoodGYM Training Program http://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome

Action for Scenario 2

One day, her supervisor asked Liz how she was doing and she unexpectedly burst into tears. She ended
up telling the supervisor about the situation with her mother and it turned out her supervisor had gone
through a similar situation several years earlier. They arranged to get together again to speak in private.
Liz’s supervisor also suggested that she check out short-term counselling as a resource for further
support. After a week of hesitation (and a few more hangovers), Liz called and was connected with a
counselor experienced in the issues of grief and loss. Through this process, Liz was able to express her
feelings openly and the counselor provided her with some practical tools for coping that did not involve
alcohol or other mood-altering substances. The counselor also referred Liz to a community hospice
program that offered support for families of the terminally ill.

Results

Liz began to notice as she received support through these various sources that her need to self-medicate
with alcohol lessened. She cut back her drinking to social occasions and, as her mother’s condition
worsened, cut back altogether because the alcohol seemed to escalate her feelings of grief and sadness
rather than soothe them. She continued to employ coping and self-care strategies such as walking in
nature, listening to music, and connecting with supportive friends who were willing to take part in sober
activities. Liz’s decision to cut back and eventually quit drinking also impacted her work-life positively.
Her energy level increased and she became more productive at work and supportive to her family. Her
supervisor regularly checked in with Liz to make sure that the strategies and supports she was employing
were working for her.

The signs:  History of periods of moderate/heavy alcohol use  Presenteeism: there in body only (due to
hangovers)  Feelings of grief and loss  Sleep disturbances  Emotional outbursts, moodiness

Best practices:  Early identification of problem and intervention  Discussion between employee and
supervisor  Referral to appropriate resources  Continued check-in/follow-up by supervisor