Anyone who has ever been a manager can attest to the fact that challenges abound in navigating the daily tasks of managing others.
I sincerely believe that most employees are trying their very best to accomplish the goals that are set forth by management, but why do some employees make life so difficult in our busy workplace?
Here are the 5 worst types of employees to manage:
1. “The Back Stabber” employee. You can’t turn your back on this employee for multiple reasons. this employee thrives on undermining your authority, secretly aligning with your enemies, and throwing you under the bus at the first available opportunity. This employee makes it difficult to do your job because you always have to watch your back. The time, energy and effort involved in managing this employee makes them the worst employee you can have.
2. The “Delusional” employee. This employee isn’t half as good as he/she wants everyone to believe, and is constantly angry about being overlooked. A bragger by nature but in reality has some self esteem issues. A delusional employee can be a huge time waster and can be a disaster to your company morale.
3. The “Excuse Me” employee who is always the victim of an elaborate chain of events that prevents them from being at work on time, coming back from lunch on time, and requires them to leave early. These are the people who generally phone in on a Monday or a Friday with cold / flu like symptoms or even an upset stomach. Too many people have time off for minor ailments, making you skeptical of people who are genuinely unwell. There are some individuals who appear to be constantly absent from work for one thing or another – each one of these individuals are putting additional strain on the remaining staff, as they are unreliable.
4. The “It’s all about me” employee who thinks they should be rewarded for showing up everyday and doing their job, as if that is not what their salary is for. This is the same employee who complains that their bonus isn’t good enough and the company should have thrown a more elaborate holiday party.
5. The “Slacker” employee. These are the employees who shirk their responsibilities and do as little work as possible to scrape by. You can’t count on them in a pinch because they just don’t care about what they’re doing. On the plus side, these are some of the most obvious troublesome employees, and will be disposed of quickly.
So a good question becomes: why as a manager do you put up with these difficult employees? Sometimes you just have to put up with this behavior, because the talent pool in replacing them are just not available.
My advice to you dear reader: you’re the boss- make changes and hire competent employees or “double up” on your aspirin intake- for your daily headaches!
Any questions or comments? I am Bernie Reifkind, CEO and founder of Premier Search, Inc. I can be reached at 1(800) 801-1400 or email at ceo@psihealth.com