On the beat
He works for an organisation that has come in for considerable flak of late, but Brendan Ryan, HR manager for the Counties Manukau police district, tells Miriam Bell that he's proud to be part of the team.

Managing culture development
Culture has an enormous impact on the ability of a business to performso it's important it is well managed, says John Laurent. He advocates a strategic approach to developing a strong, adaptive culture and says the effort will be worth it.

The resilient worker
Just how resilient are you to the change in your working life? Will you survive and thrive, or be overwhelmed and disoriented? As change becomes more and more constant, strategies to cope with stress are only part of the answer, says Gerri Power. Successful organisations need to train people in the ability to overcome, be strengthened, and even transformed by adversity.

A perfect response
Stress plays a key role in the development of both anxiety disorders and depression, says psychologist Gwendoline Smith. Add perfectionism to the mix and you have a perfect recipe for burnout as people strive for standards that are beyond reach or reason.

HEALTH & SAFETY: Protecting your employees
These days employees are working longer, less conventional hours which often leaves them working alone at odd hours or in isolated situations, as well as coming and going from work at non-peak hours. Sue Denby explains why a combination of these factors and the pressures of modern life mean it is a good idea for employers to provide their staff with self-defence skills.

A new reason to steal
Drug use is again in the news with a recent case involving high profile New Zealanders. Bruce Couper examines the impact that use of pure methamphetamine can have on the financial wellbeing of businesses and outlines ways to prevent theft and fraud in the workplace by those financing a habit.

Te ao e rua
Tikanga Mäori is not mumbo jumbo, says Te Tuhi Kelly. It aims to provide guidelines and standards of behaviour that have an impact even today on work and non-work situations. He melds Mäori lore and Päkehä law to offer a two-world view of health and safety.

Hooking the best
With so many candidates having multiple job offers these days, keeping key talent sufficiently engaged during the recruitment process is becoming a new art. Mark Story talks with recruiters about how it's done.

Risky business
The business landscape is becoming increasingly unpredictable and companies are susceptible to a range of risks, not least people issues like retention and lost productivity. Denise Bovaird discusses the findings of a recent survey of risk management practices among New Zealand businesses, in particular, how they respond to 'people' risks.

LEADERSHIP: Leaders define culture
Leadership and culture work together to reinforce each and impact on performance, says Shaun McCarthy. And genuine change can only occur when you intervene in both areas.

CASE IN POINT: A taxing situation
Ignorance of a code of conduct will not constitute serious misconduct even when an employer has taken all steps to bring the contents to the employee's attention, according to a recent case. Alison Clements discusses the implications of ignorance as a defence.

WORKPLACE DILEMMAS: Can you manage?
Being a manager isn't easy, particularly if you're new to the job, and even the best managers must commit themselves to lifelong learning. Stewart Forsyth checks out two scenarios where learning pays off.

PUBLIC SECTOR: Hard cases make bad law
Breaches of procedure and the failure of a school board to fully record all delegations to its principal saw the Employment Court find a school counsellor had been constructively dismissed, says Paul Robertson.

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