RESPECT of Florida is the central non-profit agency for the State of Florida that helps employ about 1,200 Floridians with disabilities through the production of commodities and contractual services that are sold to government entities. If you would like to learn more about us or browse our catalog, visit us at:
respectofflorida.org.
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A Message from RESPECT of Florida
This year, RESPECT of Florida is able to offer another Micro-Enterprise Grant for Self-Employment. This grant is intended for a Floridian with a disability who is a budding entrepreneur. RESPECT staff are eager to receive new proposals.
Last year, RESPECT was able to award two grants. One went to Eddie Rodriguez, owner of Ybor Eddie's Hot Sauce.
Since last year, Eddie has been able to accomplish many things as a result of the grant. Highlights from this year include:
- Formally creating his business by registering with the State of Florida.
- Purchasing needed equipment.
- Creating a Facebook page.
- Creating a website/online store.
- Creating 300+ bottles of hot sauce for his inventory.
Next, he plans to look for new vendors to carry his hot sauce. He will have to work with the USDA to get approved nutrition labeling. He also plans on entering more hot sauce competitions in the near future to promote his brand.
RESPECT congratulates Eddie on all his successes and cannot wait to see what he will cook up next!
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Spotlight on Success:
RESPECT would like to recognize Willie Blount as one of our Outstanding Employees.
Willie has been working on toner recycling for over a year at Louise Graham Regeneration Center and was nominated by Shannon Brunner.
According to Shannon, Willie has gained a lot of maturity. He has demonstrated a great work ethic as well as dependability. Willie is a self-starter who is always looking for opportunities to be helpful to others. He has also developed the skills to use the company forklift and is responsible for moving most of the materials in the warehouse which is a huge accomplishment.
Willie has been described as amiable, observant and helpful. Great job Willie!
"Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment".
Thomas Carlyle
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RESPECT offers both single and double sided bicycle racks in 5 or 10 foot options. The bicycle racks feature rung bars and spacers to hold bicycles upright. It is constructed of hot-dipped, galvanized steel pipe and fittings. The rack weighs 90 pounds and can be relatively portable. It is shipped partially assembled.
For quantity discounts, and freight costs please call RESPECT Customer Service, 850-942-3555.
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Latex, Nitrile, or Vinyl Gloves?
RESPECT offers the choice of latex, nitrile, and vinyl gloves. Sometimes it can be confusing to determine which glove is appropriate for your specific needs.
Latex is a natural material made from rubber. Though latex is a popular choice, many customers do not buy this because of a concern for latex allergies. If that is not an issue, latex is the preferred choice over nitrile gloves. Latex offers the following benefits:
- Comfortable fit
- High level of touch sensitivity
- Good elasticity and durable
- Protect against infectious materials
- Good price point
- Typically lightly powdered, easier to put on
- Biodegradable
If latex allergies are a concern, nitrile is the next best option. Nitrile is made from a synthetic rubber and offers a higher degree of puncture resistance. This type of glove is often called "medical grade" because they undergo testing by the Food and Drug Administration to ensure durability. Nitrile benefits include:
- Latex free
- Most puncture resistant
- Hand conforming fit
- Durability
- Protect against infectious materials
- Resistant to many chemicals
- Long shelf life
- Usually available in blue or black to better see if punctures occur
Vinyl is the better option for food industry and situations where high durability is not top priority. The benefits to using vinyl gloves are:
- Latex free
- Looser fit
- Better for short term, low risk tasks
- Lower price point
- Anti-static
- Ideal for non-hazardous use
- Typically lightly powdered, easier to put on
If you have any questions, please let RESPECT know how the gloves will be used, and we can help you find the price and material that best fits your needs.
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Goodwill was founded in 1902 in Boston by
Reverend Edgar J. Helms
, a Methodist minister and early social innovator. Helms collected used household goods and clothing in wealthier areas of the city, then trained and hired those who were poor to mend and repair the used goods. The goods were then resold or were given to the people who repaired them. The system worked, and the Goodwill philosophy of "a hand up, not a hand out" was born.
Goodwill Industries - Big Bend, Inc. was founded on June 1, 1965
. The first local Goodwill store was opened on Jackson Bluff Road in Tallahassee. Goodwill Big Bend is the largest private provider of training and employment services for people with disabilities and special needs in the Big Bend area. Helping people become more independent and self-sufficient through access to education, employment, training, and housing is fundamental to their mission.
Goodwill Big Bend offers several customized commodities through the RESPECT program. They can produce many different types of customized commodities such as water bottles, silicone phone wallets, beach towels, and lunch bags. Goodwill Big Bend also produces other custom products using the discharge printing method. Discharge printing is a method that removes the dye from the material instead of applying ink directly to the material. This method leaves the imprint area on the material soft to the touch.
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Boss or Bestie? 12 Reasons Why it is Difficult to be Both
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HR & Compliance Director, Dayna Lenk |
We spend a lot of time with the people at work. At times, we may even spend more time with our coworkers than we spend with our own family. Being the social creatures that we are, we desire to form enjoyable relationships with those around us who are experiencing the same day-to day experiences as we are. Work
relationships can easily develop into friendships as trust and camaraderie build over time between employees. Let's face it, t
he bonds of friendship make going to work enjoyable. It turns work from a place of deadlines and number crunching into a place to talk about the weekend and rehash our favorite life moments. But, f
ailing to draw the line and set the proper boundaries of professionalism in place can damage your career and your business.
There is no formula on just how to navigate workplace friendships with your employees, but
let us consider some of the real hazards that can occur
fostering personal relationships with a subordinate employee. These friendships are rife with pitfalls and problems and should be handled carefully.
To
help you navigate these turbulent waters consider the following:
- Socializing with subordinate employees outside of work implies favoritism. While it may be tempting to socialize with your employees with whom a friendship has developed, doing so during non-business hours, outside of the workplace, can create problems. The real backlash occurs when your employee later receives some sort of positive feedback, choice work assignment, promotion or raise. Employees left back at the office will suspect that the benefits received were not due to special skills and experience the employee has, but rather nothing more than favoritism.
- Spending break time with select employees. Supervisors spending their lunch, rest, smoke breaks, etc. with select subordinate employees is a guaranteed way to stir up a hornet's nest of bad emotion for the employees left out of the group. What is done for one employee, should be done for all. The perception and often effect of taking break time with an employee is one of partiality. Often, the conversation that is had during these breaks will be centered around work subjects. These opportunities to discuss work should be afforded to all.
- Personal feelings can get in the way and affect how performance issues are handled. Business growth relies on honest performance evaluations. Supervisors who are friends with their employees tend to have a difficult time addressing poor performance or misconduct. No one likes telling someone their performance is poor, adding friendship into the mix makes it more difficult to provide negative feedback to someone you want to protect.
- Unequal treatment in how disciplinary procedures are handed out to employees. There may come a time when the supervisor must discipline or even fire an employee who is considered a friend. Allowing your personal feelings to get in the way of how you handle an issue will lead to serious repercussions down the road. Friends do not like to be disciplined or fired by a friend, but when you are a supervisor, you are tasked with this duty and failure to do so will reflect on your own performance.
- Avoid participating in office gossip. Work place gossip is always a problem. When it is taking place between a manager and subordinate, it is a recipe for disaster. A supervisor will be drawn into conversations with gossip and bashing of others, this just sets the supervisor up to look bad. Conversations will be observed, overheard and repeated, and the supervisor will always be the one to lose. Additionally, friendship will make it so easy to cross the line and share information that you should keep confidential. Supervisors must recognize the trouble such behavior can bring to the work atmosphere. Any comment a supervisor makes in confidence or tidbit of gossip they share can and will come back around and harm the morale or the company or career of the supervisor.
- Give gifts equally. Gift giving is a problem waiting to happen if it is not done with care. When a supervisor has multiple subordinates, giving gifts or recognizing one employee and not the others at holidays or birthdays is a sure-fire way to create the appearance of partiality. The supervisor is responsible for making sure no preferential treatment is displayed by bringing in gifts/treats for a select few in the office on special occasions.
- Unequal distribution of raises and other monetary rewards. Because there will be a desire for supervisors to see those in the workplace that they like be successful, supervisors should be careful to not give raises or bonuses arbitrarily. Making business decisions for business reasons will alleviate the appearance of inappropriate raises.
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The buck stops here. This may sound harsh, but if it comes down to a decision of what is best for your business or doing what is best for your employee who is your friend, you should always choose the business first. You are getting paid to do a job, not make friends. Supervisors are untimely responsible for the "big picture" in the office. As the leader of a team, group or section, supervisors are responsible for the work that is done by everyone they supervise. When a problem arises, the CEO is not going to look to your employee for a reason for the work shortfall. Rather, they will seek out the supervisor who is running the show.
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Always be inclusive. Beware of creating an exclusive office clique that no other co-worker can join. To avoid conflict or hurt feelings, try to include others in the office. If you are heading out for happy hour after work, extend the invitation to everyone else you work with. Doing this will ensure no one feels excluded.
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Do not get cozy on social media. Social media is everywhere in the world today. The question "to friend" or "not to friend" is a big deal. People tend to share very personal details about themselves and others on social media, and what you see may create conflict. You have the potential to get additional information you otherwise would not have. Those pages may reveal protected information, personal problems or issues and can lead to the introduction of "drama" into your work environment that would not have been there otherwise.
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Redefine what work friendship looks like. When you think of a friend, you probably think of someone with whom you can confide and share experiences. Work friendships can exist, but you will need to redefine your definition of friendship. You have those personal friends that let you cry on their shoulder about any topic, and you have business friends who you laugh and commiserate with over workplace occurrences. Both are equally legitimate friendships, but the relationship dynamics are just different. Just remember that there are necessary boundaries to keep in place with work friendships so that you can still perform your role as supervisor.
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Good boundaries make good coworkers. Coworkers can occasionally be great to hang out with after work, but everyone needs to have their own space and lives. The need for a healthy interaction between work and personal life limits the extent of the boss/employee friendship. If you see someone in a stressful work environment five days a week, do you really want to be around him or her in off-work hours?
It is ideal to be friendly with your employees. Being friendly and forming bonds and taking an interest in your employees allows the supervisor to create an easy-going, open camaraderie based on mutual respect, care and concern. It is even good to partake in an occasional lunch or event with your employees. However, there is a fine line between being friends and being friendly colleagues. You should always be aware of the boundary between the two, and be careful to avoid crossing a line that leads to unprofessional behavior in the workplace or you may find that your friendship could cost you your success or even your job.
The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion.
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