Dealing with the Negative Employee
Do you have an employee who is frequently disgruntled with their job duties, with the organization, or with management? For example, does the employee go out of his or her way looking for something to complain about? Does the employee attempt to stir up discontent in his or her coworkers just for their own enjoyment? Does the employee take pleasure in being able to spot all the flaws in any new initiative the organization undertakes? Is the employee resistant to any proposed organizational change? Is the employee making you angry, frustrated, and helpless?
Let's face it! The negative employee is the type of employee that most managers would love to have call in sick, take an extended vacation, and then utilize all 12-weeks of their FMLA time. Unfortunately, for you as the manager, the negative employee comes to work everyday. Not only does the negative employee come to work everyday, he or she is usually never late to work, completes his or her job duties, and does not break any company policies. The negative employee does not provide you, the manager, with any easy to evaluate objective work performance deficits. Thus, you must deal with his or her negative behavior versus any easier to measure work performance deficits.
Have you ever wondered why the negative employee comes to work everyday if he or she is so unhappy with their job duties, the organization, or with management? Why doesn't the negative employee simply find another job where he or she will be happier?
There are two simple answers to these questions:
One, the main goal of a negative employee is to undermine and contaminate the workplace environment; thus, becoming toxic to the organization's ability to effectively function. In other words, why miss work when there is so much toxic work to do. In plain English, the negative employee's goal is to undermine either the organization or people within the organization for any number of reasons. (Note: It is more important to identify patterns versus causes of negative behaviors in the early stages of dealing with a negative employee.)
Two, the negatively employee is rewarded for their negativity inadvertently by their organization, e.g., pay increases, seniority, and good benefits etc...etc... So, why not come to work if you get paid to complete your goal of undermining others.
Note: If the negative employee's behavior has not been addressed in the past, it is quite possible that the negative employee has, for many years, received positive work performance evaluations with pay increases. After all, in terms of objective work performance measures, the negative employee has good attendance, is on time to work, does his or her job duties, and follows all company policies.
If you believe that you are a manager of a negative employee, the following steps will help you to successfully deal with his or her negativity.
1.) Observe and quantify the negative employee's behavior: Before you approach the negative employee, you need both observational data, i.e., examples of negative behavior, and an accurate quantifiable account of the number of negative behaviors observed. For example, "I have observed you telling four employees last week that they should resist using the new accounting methods."
This first step does require a degree of preparation because without observing and quantifying instances of negative behaviors, the negative employee will simply discount your observations. For example, the negative employee might tell you he or she was simply joking, or that you misunderstood their true intentions.
Note: One instance of negative behavior is not enough evidence to label an employee as negative. Secondly, do not tell the employee he or she has a bad or negative attitude. Instead, describe the negative behavior and its negative impact on the organization and coworkers.
2.) Get organizational support: It is a good idea to run your data of negative behavior observations past another manager or your HR department, in order to get validation that the behaviors you have observed do indeed undermine the organization's goals or creates a toxic environment for other employees. It is also a good idea to work with another manager, who can act as a witness to your behavior, during any closed-door meeting you have with the negative employee. Remember, you are dealing with an employee who is already acting out their discontent; therefore, you need to have organizational support and a witness, to your interactions, when dealing with the negative employee.
3.) Forget the confession of wrongdoing: It is not necessary for the negative employee to admit to or apologize for his or her negative behavior. It is only your aim to bring to the negative employee's attention that you are aware of their toxic behavior.
4.) Affirm the organization's core beliefs: Inform the negative employee of the organization's mission, values, and goals. Succinctly tell the negative employee the mission of the organization, the values the organization espouses, and the goals the organization is attempting to achieve. Next, clearly articulate to the negative employee how his or her behavior undermines the organization's core beliefs, and how a change is necessary for both their individual success and the organization's success.
5.) Offer to help the negative employee: Ask the negative employee what would help him or her turn their negative behavior into positive behavior. In this step, you may get an explanation of what is motivating his or her negative behavior. The explanation may assist you in understanding what type of help to offer the negative employee to become more positive.
Consider a referral to an employee assistance counselor if the negative employee brings up personal, family, or mental health problems. If the employee is stubborn and refuses assistance, do not force professional assistance upon the negative employee (see step 7).
If the employee brings up work related issues, e.g., lack of advancement, stress, or job insecurity; consider providing the negative employee with supportive listening, coaching, and mentoring.
6.) Inform the negative employee that future work performance reviews will include both objective and subjective measures: One subjective measure may include an assessment of how the employee is either increasing or decreasing his or her negative behaviors, by asking colleagues and other managers for feedback. Don't forget to utilize a positive tone when discussing future work performance reviews; for instance, predict what a future passing work performance review will look like for the employee.
7.) Do not make the negative employee more negative: The goal is not to make a negative employee more negative, which is easy to do since the employee is already negative. Thus, you need to be very careful not to throw gas on a fire!
Remember these three rules:
Rule 1: You cannot change a negative employee with negativity. Hence, you must reframe from acting negative yourself. Keep your cool and be positive when talking with the negative employee.
Rule 2: Keep your overall expectations low. Do not expect an apology and do not expect the negative employee to admit to their negative behavior.
Rule 3: Employees want to be believed-in by their manager, even when they are being disciplined. Therefore, end your talk with a positive "you can do it" statement.
Happy Working,
An article from: Employer-Employee.com
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