When Attitude Becomes a Problem

June 23, 2005

Dealing with an employee who is frequently grumpy and unresponsive can be a frustrating experience.

Take the following situation, for example.

Katherine is an extremely knowledgeable and competent worker, but if things don't go just her way she can become sullen and moody. Most of the time you dread going into her office because you never know what to expect. Sometimes she answers questions with barely audible grunts or monosyllable answers. You have to literally wrench any useful information out of her. As you approach her office for an update on the expansion project, you mentally prepare yourself. You take a couple of deep breaths, throw your head back, and march in.

Does this situation sound familiar to you?

At some point in time we have all worked with difficult people like Katherine. At a minimum, interaction with people like her can be annoying, irritating and frustrating. They can make you and their co-workers dread coming to work.

On the other hand, where does it say in the employee handbook that employees have to be cheerful all the time? Besides, as a manager you have to pick your battles carefully. With people like Katherine, you're not always sure whether to call them on their behavior or simply let it go and focus on more important things.

If you find yourself in this situation, ask yourself the following questions.

• Has the behavior kept the employee from getting the work done? For example, if the employee has a tendency to "overlook" work-related tasks simply because he or she is in a bad mood, then it's clearly affecting the work.
   
• Does the employee refuse to work or cooperate with others? For example, does the person withhold important information, refuse to answer questions, or provide abrupt answers to direct questions?
  nbsp;
• Is the employee discourteous to clients? While the employee may not say something specifically inappropriate, clients may interpret negative behavior such as sulking or pouting as a form of rudeness.
   
• Is the employee's behavior affecting the morale of the work unit? If co-workers frequently avoid interacting with the employee, you can be sure the employee's behavior is having an adverse effect on the work unit. Frequent complaints from co-workers about the employee's behavior are also a clue that the situation has become a problem.

A "yes" to any of the above questions indicates the employee's behavior may be affecting the work and probably warrants at least a coaching session.

However, if the employee is essentially performing the duties of the job, isn't preventing others from doing their job, and isn't rude or discourteous to customers, then corrective action may not be warranted, even if you find the behavior irritating.

It's important that employees understand the difference. You can help them by making it clear how their behavior can influence not only their own work, but the work of others as well, and even the reputation of the organization.

For example, "Vivian, it's very important that we work together as a team, even when one of us doesn't get our way on an issue. Your cooperation and involvement is needed to ensure the success of the project."

Or, "Peter, I understand we all have bad days. Nevertheless, it's important that we are pleasant and helpful with every customer. Otherwise, it can result in a loss of business."

If you determine that you should address the situation with an employee, log into Expert Supervisor, click on Problem Situations, and select the behavior you are dealing with. There you'll find examples, help on when to take action, how to discuss this type of situation with the employee and sample memos for documenting specific instances.

If you'd like to know more about how to obtain your own account in Expert Supervisor, click on: www.ExpertSupervisor.com/subscribe_info.asp

Best regards,

Stephen Foster, Ph.D
Expert Supervisor, LLC
1493 Market Street
Tallahassee, FL 32312
(850) 893-5699

E-mail me at: Steve.Foster@ExpertSupervisor.com