Managing Employee Behaviour Problems

Remember, negative behaviour of a single employee can spoil the entire work culture. One needs to behave sensibly and follow the rules and regulations of the organization. It is mandatory for employees to maintain the decorum of the workplace and behave as mature professionals. Behaving irrationally at the workplace will not only spoil your relationship with reporting managers but also reflect your poor upbringing.

Managers should not only depend on human resource professionals to manage the behaviour of employees. In fact, everyone can take the initiative. If you feel your team member is not behaving well, please do not hesitate to correct him/her. Find out whether the other person is aware of the policies of the organization or not? If not, guide him/her immediately. Lend a sympathetic ear to their problems. Listen to their grievances and try to provide them a solution. Never make fun of anyone.

Team leaders need to encourage their team members to interact with each other. An individual might not open up in front of his/her manager on the first attempt but he/she would definitely share his/her problems with his fellow workers.

In fact, the best way to manage employee problems is to discuss with the individual concerned. Ignoring problems only make the situation worse. Problems need to be addressed at the right time to avoid major troubles later on. Not every employee is same. Every individual has different issues and concerns. Try to find out the root cause of their problems.

Never discuss issues and grievances in public. Ask them to meet you either in your cabin or conference room/meeting room. You need to make the other person feel cared for. Showing employees the exit door is not the only solution to manage employee problems. After all how many new talents would you recruit? What is the guarantee that the new employee would not create any further problems? Counselling works. Motivate them to open up and come out with their problems. Majority of the times, employees are not even aware of their negative traits and assume that their behaviour is as per workplace ethics. You need to make the other person realize how his/her irrational behaviour is affecting other employees and spoiling the overall work culture. Never be rude to problematic employees. Trust me, the problems would escalate.

Employees need to be told about the rules and regulations of organization at the time of joining itself. Issue them employee handbooks for their future reference. Rules ought to be same for everyone irrespective of his/her designation.

Employees need to feel comfortable at workplace. Make sure job responsibilities are assigned as per individual’s knowledge, skills and expertise. Work ought to be delegated equally among team members. No employee should be overburdened.

No employee should be given special advantages. Favouritism leads to problems. The moment, an employee feels left out, he /she starts cribbing over petty issues and often lose interest in work. Managers need to sit with their team members on a regular basis, monitor their performances and give them correct feedbacks. Stand by your team members at the times of crisis or unfavourable circumstances, if you really want them to stick around for a long time. Greet them with a smile. Knowing them on a personal level also helps. Encourage employees to respect their female counterparts.

Acknowledge their hard work and appreciate them in front of all. Rewarding them suitably also goes a long way in inculcating a sense of pride in the employees. They develop a sense of attachment towards the organization and never even think of changing their jobs.