Complaining Employee Causing Problems 4 All
SENOJ
13 Posts
I have an employee back to work from carpal tunnel surgery. She is on light duty and I find work wherever I can. Because we are a supply chain warehouse, there a few "light duty" tasks to be found. She has done everything from pushing a dust mop, our warehouse is really clean, to labeling over 900 ink cartridges. The problem is she also has a condition that makes her "complain" NON-STOP and of coure there is no common cure for this dreaded diease. She talks and complains about everything from not being able to pull her pants up in the bathroom to her near perfect children, the job, the work, the lack of work..... I have tried putting her in a room all alone, putting her in the warehouse where it is hot,in a cool,comfortable office with professionals, having her take breaks alone, breaks with friends, the whole nine yards and she still manages to disrupt the workforce with her constant complaining. And would you know it, she is a heck of a worker. Those 900 ink cartridges should have taken 2-3 days to finish, she called me yesterday to check her lift requirements because she needed to move the finished box after 1 day of working on them. What can I do about this employee? I want to be careful with any discipline because her supervisor did not document her disruptive behavior in the past. Other employees are constantly complaining about her, what can I do?
Comments
Just because other supervisors did not write her up does not mean you cannot. Most employees have a mixture of good and bad traits. Part of the development process is to encourage the good and discourage the bad.
Perhaps you should take advantage of the opportunity to have an early evaluation which would have the benefit of allowing you to illustrate those characteristics you like and to highlight those you would like to see changed. This has an advantage over a write up which would just emphasize the need for change. In the evaluation, the parts that need changing should include a personal improvement plan with frequent review.
Since she was not written up in the past, she may not be aware of the effect her complaining has on others. Let her know with concrete example - don't just say she has a bad attitude. Be direct with her without being harsh and give her a chance to mend her other ways while she is mending her body with the light duty.
The situation you describe really has nothing at all to do with carpal tunnel or light duty or returning her to work. What you have is a disruptive employee. I don't think anything will curb her behavior until someone sits down with her and explains to her that she constantly runs her mouth and her negativity is affecting the entire workforce and that you expect it to stop or she will be without a job. Tell her clearly that you don't want it reduced or channelled or restricted or toned down or stopped only when supervisors are nearby.....you want it STOPPED. But, give her a 'correction window'. Look at your watch and tell her she has ten minutes.