With some employees, the problem isn't a matter of ability, it's a matter of attitude. This can manifest itself in everything from quiet disobedience to outright insubordination. How should you respond? Rather than becoming entangled in a debate about the employee's dysfunctional attitude, address the situation strictly as a behavioral problem.
People Management
With some employees, it isn’t a matter of ability, it’s a matter of attitude. And while you can’t control someone’s horrible personality, you can decide how you’re going to respond. Use these scripts and strategies to confront problem employees and effectively manage employee discipline so you can bring motivating back to the forefront of your workday.
The first rule of people management is not to let one bad apple spoil your whole bunch. Difficult people can put a strain on the productive members of your team.
Make the most of your human capital. Browse our articles on the good, the bad and the ugly of People Management…
Managers and HR pros can’t empower employees, but they can create an environment that motivates them to want to act in an empowered way. Here is a 10-step model for encouraging and motivating employees. It will help them build the confidence they need to empower themselves to make decisions and take risks:
Feel exhausted, even on a vacation day? That’s one sign you’re being bullied at work, according to a “you know you’ve been bullied at work when ...” checklist by Workplace Bullying Institute. Other signs that you’re in the bully’s bull’s-eye:
The farmers’ co-op that produces Musselman’s applesauce has settled an EEOC sexual and racial harassment complaint filed by eight Mexican-American women who worked at a factory in Gardners.
Abusive managers may be workplace monsters, but their behavior generally hasn’t subjected employers to liability if no particular protected class was the target of the abuse. That may be about to change in New York.
Hard-driving, “results-at-all-costs” executives actually diminish the bottom line, while self-aware leaders with strong interpersonal skills deliver better financial performance. So says a recent study by organizational consulting firm Green Peak Partners in collaboration with researchers at Cornell University.
Many lawsuits result from relatively small, manageable disputes that weren’t dealt with directly, often because HR simply didn’t know what to do or feared making it worse. Kathy Perkins, one of the presenters of our webinar, "How to Resolve Workplace Conflict," offers these proactive strategies for dealing with disruptive conflict.
The owner of our company has a fairly in-your-face, aggressive personality. I and lots of other staff can deal with him—that’s just his style. But several of our employees have complained recently that he’s acting worse and worse, and they’ve come to me accusing him of intimidating and bullying them. Who should I counsel? The boss, to tell him to lighten up? Or the employees, to tell them to get a thicker skin?—Designated Mediator
Some employees refuse to accept their employer’s solution to their discrimination complaints. They demand more action. Sometimes those employees begin working against their supervisors, perhaps assuming that any disciplinary action would constitute retaliation. Do you have to cave to their demands?
The U.S. Department of Labor has overturned years of past guidance with new rules on when employers must pay workers for the time they spend “donning and doffing” certain work clothes. Guess what: It's not good news for employers. Read the new DOL interpretation letter here.
