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,
Gary Vikesland, MA LP CEAP
Employer-Employee.com
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