Everyone wants to land a job where they’re valued, supported and safe — but those things are rarely obvious from a job posting alone. Especially in trades like broadband, these factors can mean the difference between a lucrative career and heading for the exit.
For award-winning author, seasoned attorney and leadership development consultant Hanna Hasl-Kelchner, these elements we seek in a workplace ultimately all center around fairness. But fairness doesn’t just beam down from a cell tower — it takes intention, consistency and accountability from the leadership managing the boots on the ground.
Sitting down with us to discuss her latest book, Seeking Fairness at Work: Cracking the New Code of Greater Employee Engagement, Retention, & Satisfaction, Hasl-Kelchner shared how job seekers can identify workplace fairness — and recognize and respond when it's missing.
Throughout her decades working in legal settings, she recalled how often struggling employees would have been happier and more engaged “if only management was a little bit more aware of what was going on,” and if those employees felt comfortable approaching them. “Then I discovered research that said people don't leave companies, they leave their boss,” she said — prompting a deep dive into studies and research on the topic.
Hasl-Kelchner acknowledged, “There's stuff written about trust,” but when you really peel back the layers of a workplace onion, psychological safety and trust really can’t’ happen without overarching fairness. This became the genesis for her book.
Fairness is not a panacea, but a flexible framework centralized around self-awareness, empathy and safety. All of which become particularly important in physical trade jobs like those in broadband. Whether working with high-voltage equipment or climbing hundreds of feet in the air like a tower technician, not receiving fairness and support from higher-ups has direct consequences on physical safety.
To be effective, fairness must be both fueled by management and felt by the working teams they lead. “Really, it's about our shared humanity and bringing out the best in each other,” she reflected.
Tips for finding (and keeping) the fairest of them all
Everyone can get excited about a new job — the possibility of growth or better pay. But once you actually get started, that’s when you’re slowly educated on what Hasl-Kelchner calls the “norms no one wants to talk about.”
Whether it’s an excuse for a boss’ behavior that's “swept under the rug," even rationalized as, "That's who they are," or poorly communicated expectations around overtime, these are the norms that aren’t going to be mentioned in an interview process.
You won't be able to fully suss out a workplace's environment until you’re hired — a gamble that goes both ways. But beforehand, Hasl-Kelchner said “digging a little deeper” during the interview process is a good way to look out for potential warning signs.
She recommends asking the hiring team: what do your highest performers have in common?
“You really want to find out what the organization values as high performance,” Hasl-Kelchner advised.
Be it speed, safety or communication, not only will you be able to see more about what you’ll need to balance on the job, but you can honestly assess whether the priorities and values of the company are in line with your own.
What about once you’re in a new role? What happens if one of these "norms" rears its ugly head?
Hasl-Kelchner believes if it’s an issue that’s nagging at you, don’t shy away from the conversation — as conflict resolution is helpful (and often inevitable) even in a job that's worth sticking around for. But she offered a few tips on how to improve chances of succeeding.
1) Choose the right timing
Strategizing when to approach a manager over a problem is critical, according to Hasl-Kelchner.
“You want to try and maximize the chance, the opportunity, for them to be really listening to you and not be distracted with 16 other things,” she explained. Be it a buzzing phone or another meeting to rush into, avoiding interruption will help sustain their attention and, hopefully, empathy in what you’re bringing up.
2) Frame the conversation strategically
Throughout the conversation, frame your concerns and conversation in a way that aligns you both on the same side, with common goals.
Using language like “I’m on your side” and advocating for the organization’s success to set up the problems you’re encountering creates a more collaborative tone to address issues. It also makes people less likely to feel defensive when you’re addressing tough problems (or at least lessen the degree of it).
“The thing is, the supervisor is looking at the situation from a different perspective, a different level, if you will. They may not be as granular, on the ground, to the nitty gritty problems,” she detailed. “And it might be a simple fix, but they just don't know.”
If you articulate it as a shared objective, it increases the chance of raising awareness of the problem — and a possible fix — without triggering intense reactions. A little forethought on what you want to say and how you want to say it can go a long way.
That’s why Hasl-Kelchner advised role-playing the conversation with someone in advance to help work out some of the kinks and narrow down your focus. You're less likely to be “caught off guard with a flippant comment,” and it can help keep the conversation on track, she noted.
3) Offer solutions to the problems you present
Similarly to diving into the conversation without conveying your support in the organization's goals, complaining without engaging in solutions or suggestions for improvement isn’t likely to take you very far.
Hasl-Kelchner's insight paints an overarching principle to approach the conversation as a joint problem-solving effort, not a confrontation. The more constructive and functional it feels — even when touching on difficult topics — the less likely it is to fracture your daily work life.
Of course coming up with solutions isn't easy if you're approaching a boss about an issue of treatment, expectations or communication. Hasl-Kelchner emphasized that the bigger responsibility in these settings does still come down to management. You can do what is in your power to set up a productive conversation; much of the rest will fall into how they handle conflict resolution themselves.
"There is this power differential and dynamic between [manager and employee],” she expressed. Managers “can hire, they can fire, they determine your raises and assignments and all that good stuff. They do have, I think, a bigger responsibility in keeping the relationship on track.”
You can do your part to foster fairness — ask questions, bring possible solutions, stay self-aware. But if the environment around you isn’t willing to meet you there, it’s okay to look elsewhere. A workplace worth your time will treat fairness like more than a buzzword. It will show up in your daily interactions — not hide behind the norms no one wants to talk about.