They're

here, there, everywhere. They upset managers and fellow

employees - even themselves.

Who are "they?"

If you haven't already guessed, "they" are the

negative employees most people encounter in the workforce

at some point.

If not carefully managed,

they can suck the energy out of your business or your

personal life.

Managers often hesitate to

terminate them if they are productive or have special

skills/experience. Sometimes managers do not understand

the amount of stress a negative employee creates.

It may be hard to accept

that a negative employee who did a good job did so at the

expense of the productivity of others.

Yet ignoring or tolerating

the problems and atmosphere they create can easily and

quickly result in dissatisfaction among other employees.

What can a

supervisor/manager do when faced with this unpleasant

situation

First, analyze the

situation. How much does the person contribute to the

overall success of the office/department/business? How

much does the person contribute to the unhappiness of

other employees?

How does that unhappiness

translate into reduced productivity and enthusiasm? How

much of your time as a manager are you using to control

the situation?

What are the legal

ramifications (if any) of discharging the employee?

Second, plan a course of

action. If you decide to try to salvage the employee,

with termination only as a last resort, consider these

tips:

- Discuss the

situation with the employee.

The employee will probably

profess ignorance of any problems, acknowledge the

situation but blame the problems on others, or become

defiant and try to play mind games with you.

The employee may also voice

his or her own complaints.

- Evaluate the

employee's position. Even a negative person can have a

legitimate complaint. Evaluate not only the employee's

response to your remarks but whether the employee has

legitimate concerns you need to consider.

If the complaint is the

basis of the person's negative attitude/behavior,

resolving it should result in a more positive situation.

Often, however, the complaint is either a smoke screen

for the employee's behavior or resulted from the person's

own negativity.

- Focus on a behavior

you want changed, not an attitude. Accept the reality

that you may not be able to remake the person into an

ideal employee, even if you are a great manager.

However, you can specify an

action or goal for the employee and then follow through

on the employee's progress.

Once you see improvement,

focus on another area. Always, of course, acknowledge the

employee's efforts.

- Ask a peer to speak

with the employee. This can get touchy if all of the

employee's peers are thoroughly disgusted with the

person.

Find one or more persons

you feel can speak fairly and tactfulother employees do

not sympathize with his or her negative cause. The goal

is to help the person see that a better attitude would

benefit everyone.

Consider assigning work

that will somewhat isolate the person from other

employees and limit contact.

Many work situations

require cooperation and teamwork that make an isolation

technique unworkable, but it may be feasible in some

cases.

You may even encounter an

employee who prefers the isolation and is less negative

when working alone.

Unfortunately, negative

employees often seek out fellow workers - either to

complain about the job/boss/life in general, or to accuse

other employees as the source of their unhappiness.

- Set a limit and

stick with it. Managers in a wide variety of businesses

have adopted the "three strikes and you're out"

rule. Make the employee aware of the limits, tell them

when they "strike" and remind them when they

have only one "strike" left.

- Third, terminate the

employee. If the negative employee ignores your warnings

and refuses to cooperate, it is time (probably past time)

to terminate. Once you decide this is the proper course,

take action.

Otherwise, you risk a loss

of respect and confidence in you as a manager by all

employees.

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Gregory P. Smith speaks at

conferences, leads seminars and helps organizations solve

problems. He leads an organization called Chart Your

Course International in Conyers, Ga. Phone him at

770-860-9464 or send an e-mail at [email protected] . For more information and articles,

check www.chartcourse.com .