The Drama-Free Workplace: How You Can Prevent Unconscious Bias, Sexual Harassment, Ethics Lapses, And Inspire A Healthy Culture

Eliminate drama in the workplace

Companies spend millions in an attempt to eliminate workplace drama, but don’t always get the results they want. Most organizations understand that simply checking legal compliance boxes isn’t enough, but are at a loss on how to implement solutions, especially in today’s post-#MeToo world.

In this only-on-its-kind book, Patti Perez offers cutting-edge solutions to help you focus on what really matters when you’re trying to eliminate drama at work: A healthy workplace culture. Drawing on 25+ years of experience, Patti defines the root cause of workplace drama and teaches you how to identify, prevent and fix it. Patti combines the lessons learned from her professional experience with robust data and findings from research in various realms of behavioral science to back up her innovative theories. By doing so, Patti methodically debunks several myths, including the belief that a focus on legal compliance leads to a healthy workplace culture (in fact, Patti explains that a hyper-focus on culture, paradoxically, increases the likelihood of getting sued).

The Drama-Free Workplace includes a section with easy-to-understand causes, effects and solutions to problems related to:

• Sexual harassment
• Bias and diversity
• Ethics lapses

The book also includes helpful information on:

• Becoming an organization that values and practices fearlessness, fairness and freedom
• Using emotional intelligence to communicate more precisely and persuasively
• Anticipating situations that give rise to drama, with detailed advice on how to prevent it from happening

Finally, the book’s DIY section guides companies on how to:

• draft and enforce helpful policies (that employees will actually read and want to follow)
• design and deliver powerful and effective training programs
• investigate and resolve claims of misconduct.

Together, these practical tools will help keep drama away.

While Patti’s background as an employment attorney and state regulator provides her with a unique ability to explain legal concepts, her work as a workplace sleuth who conducted in excess of 1,200 workplace investigations, a training expert, an HR professional and an expert witness allows her to use real-life and relatable scenarios to bring her advice to life.

Cosmetic changes are no longer enough; companies must implement authentic systemic changes. It’s time to change corporate culture from one that is about compliance & complicity, to one that values courage & compassion. By taking these steps, your company can reach the top of the Healthy Workplace Culture Pyramid.

The Drama-Free Workplace is a must read for anyone—leader, emerging leader, employee—who wants to keep drama out of the workplace. 

patti perez is Vice President of Workplace Strategy for Emtrain, a technology-driven HR culture/compliance company and a frequent speaker around the United States and Latin America on sexual harassment prevention and other workplace issues. She is a licensed California attorney, a professionally-certified HR executive, and a specialist in the prevention and resolution of workplace drama.