How to Deal with Difficult Employees

Having to come across “difficult” employees is often an inevitable dilemma in every business owner’s journey. You just can’t expect to find perfect employees, more so expect each and every one of them to work in perfect harmony. The only thing you can do as a manager is to address the situation and remedy the problem.

While there are various approaches as to how you can achieve this, it’s best to try ones that apply to your situation the most.

Evaluate and observe

Before anything else, the first thing to do when trying to deal with difficult employees is to evaluate the situation and to observe the employee for yourself. Aside from looking out for that person’s behavior, observe how other workers are responding to him or her. It is essential that you gather the facts first before acting on it.

Once you get your hands on all the evidence, create an outline on what you want to say to that particular employee. If the situation is serious enough, it might help to involve your Human Resources staff as they are more experienced in dealing with people issues.

Lend an ear

The best managers do not ignore a pressing situation in hopes that it might go away by itself. Instead, they offer their full attention when an employee is not doing well. Most especially, they believe that they can improve the situation once they get a clear understanding on that employee’s point of view. To put it simply, learn to listen to the party involved. You may be able to find out about a real problem that may not originate from the difficult employee in the first place.

Confront the problem

Based on your observations, you may eventually have to face the problem by implementing a plan of action. While doing so, keep in mind that you are not focusing on the person but on his or her inappropriate behavior. If the situation demands for it, execute an annual marijuana drug test to ensure that every employee in your company practices a drug-free workplace. This will also eliminate any unwanted consequences that may affect your business, such as loss of production, absenteeism, violence, and even accident rates. Avoid isolating the difficult employee by requiring every worker in the company to pass a blood drug test or marijuana drug test or by doing it in random.

Be fair, but be prepared

It might not be fair to tag someone as “difficult” when there is a legitimate reason behind that person’s frustration. If you see a chance of reconciliation within the issue, it is best to turn the situation around, especially if you see potential in that employee. But if push comes to shove, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Don’t compromise the entire team just to salvage a hopeless employee.

Managing different personalities in the workplace is never a walk in the park; how much more having to deal with difficult ones? Nonetheless, leaders eventually need to learn how to embrace the responsibility to make the workplace as healthy for everyone as possible.