I don’t know many people who enjoy confrontation. Sometimes it may seem easier to simply ignore or excuse an employee’s difficult behavior with the promise that you will deal with your employee’s bad behavior the “next time” it happens in the workplace. Or, you may choose to believe that it’s just “the way they are” when faced with the need to address an employee who says something inappropriate or refuses to comply with your requests.
Sometimes managers and business owners like to think that their work culture is different from that of larger organizations and therefore they get caught up in the belief that their employees are like family. There tends to be a much higher tolerance than one is willing to tolerate when it comes to family members.
The fact is, when you’re tasked with supervising employees, it’s your responsibility as a leader to make sure that all of your employees are not only doing the work you pay them to do, but are doing their jobs in a manner that is respectful, Collaborative and professional in a work environment.
Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions and behavior of your staff. Choosing to ignore all the signs and not take responsibility for actively addressing and working to resolve employee issues could have dire consequences for your business; some of which include:
Productivity loss: An employee who is being insubordinate, yelling at co-workers, or coming to work late or not coming to work is an employee who is not working to their full capacity. Your customers are not getting what they need from your organization, reflecting negatively on you and your business.
Negatively affects employee morale: Don’t be fooled by the fact that you haven’t heard complaints from other staff members about underperforming workers. Poor performance by even one of your employees will have an impact on those employees who work most closely with your difficult employee.
Your employees are forming their own perceptions not only about their problematic co-worker and that person’s behavior, but they’re also forming negative opinions about your ability to lead.
They are thinking about how hard they are working compared to their difficult co-workers. They wonder if you recognize how hard they work day after day. They wonder if you notice or even care that they get to work on time, are always willing to help, and are always professional.
It creates even more “difficult employee problems”: Remember the childhood taunt, “Monkey sees-monkey does”? Some of your employees may get the message that it’s okay to refuse to accept a task, that it’s okay to use inappropriate language at work, or that it’s okay to be late because other employees may be late.
Your staff is watching closely how you handle these difficult workplace situations, whether you realize it or not. I can tell you from experience that your employees are very likely to share their concerns with their co-workers, family and friends. Inaction can have far-reaching consequences.
Perceptions of preferential treatment: Employees who see you allowing a co-worker to finish tasks late without consequence, or telling you what work they will or won’t do, are often viewed as ‘untouchable’ by their co-workers.
They surmise from their inaction that difficult employees can’t do anything wrong in their eyes. This can lead to feelings of resentment.
Affects employee turnover: When your best people are afraid to come to work every day because there is always ‘drama’, or they perceive that some employees are getting preferential treatment, you risk losing your best people based on their perceptions of your lack of leadership. In many cases, you won’t even have a clue that your employees are so unhappy until they hand you their resignation letter.
Loss of respect from staff: Let’s face it, your employees just won’t respect you if you ignore workplace issues. I have counseled dozens of employees in various organizations who will cite a manager’s lack of inaction during difficult workplace situations as the number one reason they have lost respect for their manager. There is no confidence that a manager in these situations has the ability to effectively manage employees.
Possibility of lawsuits and other legal problems: When you allow employees to cross the line in the workplace without taking immediate action, the rest of the staff won’t feel safe enough to address your concerns. They know from experience based on your past actions that you will do nothing to address difficult employee issues, and therefore do not feel confident that you will listen to their concerns. Some will feel that their only hope of resolution is with an attorney or some regulatory agency.
Lost customers, customers and money: When employees aren’t working to their full capacity, or are treating others poorly, you can’t help but affect the bottom line, including employees being less productive and losing customers and clients. This, in turn, will almost always affect business growth and revenue.
These are just some of the consequences of not tackling tough employee issues. I’m sure there are many others.
Take action now to address difficult employee problems, no matter how small, before these problems become bigger ones. Not only will you help the offending employee improve his or her behavior, but you’ll also ensure that your employees, customers, and clients experience a conflict-free work culture.
