I have now worked in numerous locations. I have seen numerous ways in which people are disciplined and numerous ways that people hand out discipline to their employees. It is a fine balance between commanding authority, punishing things that are seen as out of line, but also maintaining some kind of fairness to that particular employee and the staff at large. Disciplinary action rarely needs to be made public.

Where I am now is a little different. Everyone works on creative content; writing, phone calls, press releases etc and when people do well they are praised across the office from the office manager. “Well done John! Great work!” you might hear. It works, it’s nice (if a little off putting to some individuals who might feel put out) but, unfortunately, discipline is handled in the same way. If someone makes an error or does a poor job it is announced across the office for everyone to hear. It’s shameful, embarrassing and does nothing to promote work ethic or morale.