My Type A self was not surprised to learn that I am a little bit stressed out, and may not always cope in the proper way. I think I tend to withdraw from others and my support system while I try to figure out my problems, and can be a little snappy, or irritable when I’m stressed.

Research on stress indicates that it can lead to many health conditions. OSHA finds that over 120,000 deaths per year may be attributed to workplace stress, with a majority of employees suffering from workplace stress and feeling that it affects their home life (OSHA, 2025).

Organizations can help their employees manage their health and cope with stress by practicing empathy, providing resources to their staff, and getting to know your employees and their unique situations that may be contributing to their stress. Finding ways to proactively care for your employees, their health, and their workplace stress can reduce workplace turnover, improve health outcomes, and boost company morale. I know that when I have had supervisors that prioritized these actions, I’ve felt more supported and like I had a way to cope with my stress so it didn’t impact my work or home life to the same extent, even if I didn’t necessarily take full advantage of them. I also found that when employers made an effort to understand my stressors, for example student job positions and considering finals and how that might impact performance, I’ve felt less stressed about the pressure of balancing all the different aspects of my life. On the other side of this coin, I’ve also experienced positions where performance was expected to be perfect regardless of outside stressors, which only added to my stress. Obviously you cannot account for everyone’s specific circumstances, but simply making the effort can mean a lot to employees.

https://www.osha.gov/workplace-stress

 Think of a situation where you (or someone you know) engaged in a set of behaviors and compensation may have been a motivating factor. Some examples – accepted or declined a job offer, left a job, or decreased effort. Why do you think compensation motivated that behavior? What was it about the compensation that led you (or the other person) to behave that way? 

When thinking about this prompt, a situation with my mom comes to mind. During a period of time in our family that left my mom looking for a new position after 20 years working at a 911 center for a large county in Oregon, she was having difficulty finding a position that would pay her adequately. My mom was offered positions barely above minimum wage, even with her extensive experience and recommendations from her superiors. She ended up having to take a position paying 18$ an hour, the most she was offered in her search but still a big cut of what she had been used to making, because she couldn’t afford to support my family with no pay. She ultimately decided some pay was better than none and took a new position, doing a new job at a new pay rate. While it was tough for a while, she made it work. She ended up staying with the company and receiving promotions, and over 6 years she has reached a senior level in the company and is making more than she did when she was working at the 911 center. I admire my mom’s work ethic, which is what makes this particular experience stick out in my mind. It showed me that employees can have a lot of potential, like my mom, but without proper incentive, you can lose really qualified candidates because being able to support their family and being paid their worth is a priority for a lot of candidates. I’m glad my mom stuck it out for a job that was willing to pay her a little more and invest in her success, which I think ultimately set her up for more success down the road and as she continues to gain experience.

A training I took that I found to be extremely effective was my phlebotomy certification course. Over eight weeks, I took classes on weekends where we learned basic phlebotomy concepts, phlebotomy technique, and some science principles that are necessary for working in a laboratory. This class was hands on and lead by an instructor that had been in the field for a long time and taught me very practical skills that I used in the hospital I worked in. The instructor was very passionate about the concepts he was teaching us, was approachable, and motivated me to improve. He created acronyms and memorization tools that helped me retain important information, and gave consistent kind feedback on my technique. I attribute a lot of the success I had as a phlebotomist to his teaching and how he instructed the class.

I have also taken many CPR classes in order to work in the hospital. While some were very helpful, in one instance I was put into a room with a CPR dummy with a screen to guide my compression depth and timing. Once I got a score over 90% I was CPR certified. This method is not without benefits, it is convenient, cost effective, and reduces labor from needing a CPR instructor for each time a new employee needs their CPR certification. Thankfully, I have taken a few CPR courses and am confident in my abilities, but a new employee who had never performed CPR might not be prepared well enough for providing this live saving service to another if it was necessary. If they had questions or if their technique was dangerous or not effective enough, they would be on their own, without feedback or guidance from another more skilled employee.

While these are both very hands-on methods of teaching, I observe that my phlebotomy certification was more effective, impactful, and leading to quality learning compared to a more robotic, goal oriented teaching style.

Reflect on your experience in the interviews you’ve participated in. Drawing on the readings and lectures from this week, what made those interviews effective and possibly ineffective, especially when you think about reliability, validity, and utility? If you could go back and advise those employers on how to improve the effectiveness of their interviews, what would you tell them? 

When considering my previous experience with interviews and being interviewed, a specific story comes to mind. I interviewed with a local business, and looking back on this experience with more education behind me I have some thoughts on how that interview could have been more effective for both me, and the potential employer.

I was asked if I could interview short notice within a few hours, which was inconvenient, however while trying to make a positive impression I made it work with my schedule. When I arrived, my interview begun late and was with the entire staff of the office, which had added some pressure to perform well. Additionally, the person who was primarily interviewing me seemed upset that I was a college student, which was clearly listed on my resume, and seemed more concerned with my appearance and personality, rather than my skills, education, and experiences. I also had realized in the interview, where the entire staff of the office sat in, the entire staff was young women, besides the older male supervisor who was the one primarily conducting the interview. The supervisor seemed unpleased with all my responses to the interview questions and talked more about himself and his accomplishments than the job position. As an interviewee, this experience left a pretty bad taste in my mouth and even as I was offered the position, I did not feel comfortable accepting it. I could tell that this was not a workplace where I would have been supported, my time and effort valued, and I had concerns about the workplace culture.

On the other end of the spectrum, my latest interview for the position I am currently in, asked specific questions about my experience and skills, offered hypotheticals to respond to, seemed that they had looked over and remembered details from my resume, and portrayed a work culture that was supportive and one that I wanted to be apart of. It was a handful of interviewers and myself, in a private conference room, and they were all incredibly friendly and seemed to value my time. An interview is not just for the employer to pick the best candidate, but also for an employee to find the right fit for them. The interview is the first impression for both the employee and employer, and some behaviors can send the wrong impression that can deter potential candidates, such as my first experience I detailed in this post.

In one scenario, I felt that there was a lot of bias in the questions and responses I was receiving from the employer. The interview was also unstructured, unprofessional, and was in the middle of an office setting with many (probably 10 all together) participants interviewing me that were staff and not management. The supervisor also allowed his entire staff to ask me whatever questions they felt necessary, which led to a lot of tangents on my personal life and theirs. The interviewer did not take notes or really pay attention to my responses to the questions, and just overall felt like a waste of everyone’s time. . In the other scenario, I felt respected. The interview was structured with written down questions I was able to refer to during my answers, in a private setting, with only interviewers in the room. Rapport was established, and by the end we were all chatting and being friendly, and I knew that was a work culture I wanted to be apart of. This really emphasized to me the importance of an interview in how it establishes the relationship an employee or candidate may have with a potential employer and sets the tone for the position. Had my first interview been more professional, less biased, and respectful, I may have wanted to join their team, however the interview was several red flags that left me to look for other positions. By taking the time and effort to plan and structure an interview to be effective you can attract more qualified candidates, reinforce your company culture, and lessen the impacts of bias in the workplace.

• The idea of developing and maintaining job descriptions has been something I have been thinking about in my personal life, as well as in this course. Maintaining job descriptions is a difficult task to keep up with, especially in jobs that require quick adaptation and development to remain successful, especially as workflows may change to address concerns and efficiency. It is incredibly important that employees understand the expectations and goals of their position so that they can fulfill them to the best of their ability. Changing goalposts and tasks frequently can lead to confusion and mistakes which is something I have experienced in the healthcare industry. In healthcare, policies and laws do change fairly frequently, and in a fast paced work environment it can be difficult to remember what is allowable to perform in your role compared to what is not. To address this concern, in an industry where adjusting job descriptions and expectations is necessary to maintain compliance with healthcare standards, frequent check-ins with staff and being receptive to feedback and concerns are crucial to help employees feel informed and able to perform their expected roles successfully. Additionally, adequate training or mentorship in advance of shifting job expectations can help alleviate some of this stress as roles and employees develop within a position.

Defining a job position is crucial in the hiring process, and it is important to understand the various components that will set up employees for success. Firstly, bias and diversity within hiring is critical to understand. With subconscious bias, or biased actions, can lead to a workplace where there is little room for challenge and growth. Unique and broad ranging perspectives can bring fresh ideas to a workplace that may have been previously unaddressed, especially in industries with a historic lack of diversity. To address this, avoiding adding unnecessary requirements or requiring excessive experience for entry level positions, emphasizing transferrable skills, and sharing the job listing in a variety of different locations to increase accessibility will ensure that candidates are qualified, have room for development, and bring in new skills and ideas.

After reviewing the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For 2020 list, I identified 3 companies that I would like to emulate when I become a manager. I found that Workday, American Express, and NVIDIA were companies that I was both familiar with, but also felt aligned with some of my management values I have identified over previous terms. All 3 companies noted that management was transparent and involved, with two of the companies mentioning that management made personnel feel valued and like they were seen as people. I feel that this summarizes who I would like to be as a manager- involved, transparent, and kind. People have to work many of their waking hours, and I’d like that the people that help my organization be successful, feel equally valued and important, if I were a manager. The introduction of “First Break All The Rules” mentions that familiarity, like being involved and kind to staff, does not breed contempt, but rather is essential to the very action of management. One character in the book emphasizes that you cannot treat all employees the same, a common tendency of managers, and expect the same results from each individual. While this may be an oversimplification, it is a good explanation of where my management values align. I imagine it is challenging to balance the need for effectiveness as a manager as well as recognizing the need to respect people as individuals over employees, and create effective teams which is where HR Management is so essential. In theory, to cultivate a safe and respectful workplace where people can work with others to help an organization be the most successful.

Buckingham, M. & Coffman, C. 2016. First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently.Links to an external site. 2016 edition (print pages 7-34; ebook – available through OSU Library – pages 2-25); 2020 print edition