Maintaining Office discipline at your workplace

"Discipline" … exactly what kind of feelings this word brings to you? For most of us it brings negative feelings (especially those who were punished in the name of discipline at the hands of their teachers or parents). Childhood memories of disciplinary actions and penalties can urge people to resist even the thoughts of getting disciplined. Such behaviors are unfortunate to say the least, for the individual, the society he/she lives in and for the workplace where he/she works, because discipline alone is the most important ingredient in the recipe of success. We are bestowed with everything we need to achieve our goals; all we need to add is a little discipline (self-control).

When you are at the helm of affairs in your company or workplace, your first task is to maintain discipline in your office. Workplace discipline means regulating the employees, making them abide by the rules and policies of the company and follow guidelines. Simple, as it may sounds but it's not that easy. Managers have got to be strict, but not to a threatening extent. Excess of check and balance will irritate workers and they'd be looking to dump the job somehow. At the same time, some managers tend to lose all control while trying to create a friendly atmosphere. What, a good manager should be able to do is to keep a balanced approach, not overly strict and not too lenient.

As a manager or supervisor, the simplest and the most effective way to uphold discipline is to act exactly in the way you want your subordinates to precede. You want them to be punctual, impress them by arriving at time day after day, you want them to stop wasting time, show them how dedicated you are about the work yourself. Similarly, refrain from using profane language if you expect them to act levelheaded during working hours. Manager should always be an exemplary figure, by setting an example you don't leave any room for unruly behavior for your employees.

Every now and then, you have to deal with employees who are not ready to listen, no warnings, no disciplinary hearings seem to do anything. In order to protect other employees, company's interest and the office environment, you are left with no choice but to sack them. In developed countries (where you have laws and legislations protecting labor's interests), firing someone on disciplinary grounds can cause problems for managers. If the worker feels he didn't deserve to be dismissed like that, he/she may look to take some legal action against the authorities. That's why you should be having a record or documented proof of all the warnings that were issued before the employee was forced to leave.