"Workplace Deals, Sealed With a Kiss?", Wall Street Journal Article Features Jeff Kaye, Co-CEO of Kaye/Bassman International
"Workplace Deals, Sealed With a Kiss?", Wall Street Journal Article Features Jeff Kaye, Co-CEO of Kaye/Bassman International
By Sue ShellenbargerWall Street Journal
Dallas, Texas - 11/12/2011:
A line has formed to bid farewell to a longtime colleague who has taken a new job. At last, it's your turn to say goodbye.
You:
a) Shake hands
b) Hug
c) Bro-hug
d) Fist bump
e) Chest bump
f) High five
g) Single-cheek kiss
h) Double-cheek kiss
i) Air kiss, with a loud "Mwah!" noise
The correct answer: Unclear.
The "right" response depends on the shifting workplace culture, shaped by increasing international diversity, age differences and workers' casual communications styles. As a result of the confusion, many people hesitate, or can be paralyzed with uncertainty over what's appropriate.
A colleague's going-away party and you stick out your hand to wish him well, but he leans in for a hug and you bump somewhere in between. Another colleague air kisses him on the cheek. Sue Shellenbarger on Lunch Break looks at awkward work manners. Ashley M. Harris worked for a San Antonio, Texas, public-relations agency that was very "huggy," she says. "You would walk into a meeting and give your client a kiss on the cheek and a hug, saying, 'How good to see you,' while holding onto their arm," she says. "It took a lot for me personally to get used to the hugging."
But at a university where she later worked, she threw her arms around a former professor of hers, and "he literally did a step back" and tensed, she says. "I backed up and said, 'Omigosh, I'm so sorry.' " She stuck thereafter to greeting him with a friendly, two-handed handshake, denoting warmth, she says.
"There's never been a more confusing time in the workplace" to figure out the rules of contact, says executive recruiter Jeff Kaye. Mr. Kaye, co-chief executive of Kaye/Bassman International in Dallas, allows a "split-second reaction time" to see what the other person does before making contact to avoid offending anyone.
The traditional handshake is still the rule in finance, banking and law—unless you're celebrating somebody's promotion or new job, when a hug or back pat is OK. Kisses and hugs are welcomed by entertainers and restaurateurs, and many twenty-something guys favor bro-hugs. Have you ever faced questions about how to greet someone at work or during a business trip? What are your personal rules about greeting clients or business contacts?
Read the full story.About Kaye/Bassman
Founded in 1981, Kaye/Bassman has grown to become the largest single-site executive search and recruitment firm in the United States with the simple mission of impacting companies and enhancing careers by providing the finest in professional, executive, technical and scientific search. Kaye/Bassman provides strategic recruiting and executive search solutions in over 20 industry practice areas including construction recruiting, healthcare recruiting, banking executive search, energy recruitment and many more. Next Level Recruiting Training, a recruiting training organization, Next Level Exchange, a recruiting training best practices information exchange, and Next Level Marketing Communications are also Kaye/Bassman companies.
For additional information or a sample copy, contact:
Darren McDougal
Kaye/Bassman International
(972) 931-5242
(972) 931.9683
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
http://www.kbic.com
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204554204577024233574035816.html?KEYWORDS=jeff+kaye
