4 reasons good employees turn bad

A good employee is easy to spot: They’re passionate, intelligent, creative, engaged and just plain pleasant to be around in the workplace.

The mistake many managers make, however, is to back off, take a hands-off approach and let these stars do their shining. The danger is that there is a finite duration to the 100-watt radiance these folks have—unless you take care of them, of course.

Here are four things many bosses unwittingly do that damage and ultimately chase away their good workers:

Pile it on, baby: This one is the most common. Bosses have a natural inclination to think that a good worker means a hard worker and a hard worker means the ability to absorb more load. Like an Everest base camp yak. Yeah, they’re your go-to people, but they also start feeling like they’re being punished because they’re productive. Not that you can’t give them more work. But if you do you’ve got to pay for it—a promotion, a raise, a bonus, something.

Who’s the fairest one of all? That should be you. Fairness here doesn’t mean distributing work with eye-dropper precision. It means avoiding the emotional injustices a boss can inflict on his or her employees, like holding grudges, belittling the easy targets, or playing favorites or retaliatory games. Such behavior will turn off all employees eventually, but it will quickly erode the productivity and enthusiasm of a star. These people will likely be the first to look for another place to work.

We pay you, don’t we? Got an employee who goes above and beyond? Always gives that little extra? Don’t ever reward them with a reminder of their pay. That’s not a pat on the back, but a tap on the shoulder. Good employees need recognition on a basis consistent with their achievements. And that may mean you’ll be recognizing them quite often. Make it public—whether it’s an employee-of-the-month accolade or a heartfelt mention at a staff meeting. Failure to do so will drain their passion.

Big plant, small pot. You may see it as a good worker who just needs to keep doing what she’s good at. She sees it as career stagnation. If you want the plant to grow, you’ve eventually got to get a bigger pot. You need to find areas where she can nurture her skills. Good workers need fresh challenges, opportunities, and foremost, a boss who recognizes that. Great workers grow. Let them.

Cal Butera is the editor of Business Management Daily’s Office Manager Today, Manager’s Legal Bulletin, Managing People at Work and Communication Briefings newsletters. He has been with Business Management Daily since 2007 and worked 22 years for midsize daily newspapers as sports writer, news reporter, layout and design editor, copy editor and city editor.