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DIFFICULT EMPLOYEES-THE OFFICE UNTOUCHABLES
February 29th, 2008
ON THE JOB
“DIFFICULT” EMPLOYEES-THE OFFICE UNTOUCHABLES
Some people are just plain murder in the workplace, and they seem to get away with their behavior. They’re “difficult” because they’re so hard to handle. Staff have to try to survive working with them.
They happen at all levels of employment, and they make every day a trial. Usually, all they have to do is open their mouths, and someone suffers.
They bring their personalities with them, and distribute their personal disease to everyone around them, like a plague. They damage the entire workplace in the process.
Many seem to have no conscience. Others have a tendency to create stress simply by being in the same office. They seem to cause friction by just breathing.
Sometimes the “difficult” staff bring management and other staff together, because both dislike them so much. It’s about the only useful thing they do.
They’re difficult for management. Problems about work can be easily dealt with. Mistakes, lateness, bad behavior, anything within the rules of the workplace are straightforward.
There are no laws about workplace relationships.
Some people are effectively sociopaths in the workplace. In many cases, there’s a root cause, and the cause is personal. The person behaves that way because there’s a personal problem.
According to a recent study, 10% of American managers qualified as “psychotic”.
That’s a problem, and it’s definitely personal, and it doesn’t only apply to management, either. Stress in the modern workplace has created monsters.
It’s a medical condition, too, so in terms of employment law, it’s tricky. There’s no law against being sick.
There’s another kind of work-related psychotic, but they’re not sick, just disgusting. Most are destructively selfish and often malicious, and destructive, sometimes costing employers a fortune to clean up the mess.
These are the “Office Untouchables”:
- The office backstabber
- The office gossip
- The office rumor monger
- The office pet
- The nasty supervisor
- Sycophants
- Combinations of the above
These people do tremendous damage because they destroy trust throughout the workplace. They can create serious situations simply by their behavior.
They’re among the most difficult to handle, because there’s literally no law against what they do, and how they do it.
HANDLING THE “OFFICE UNTOUCHABLES” FOR MANAGEMENT
They’re not unbeatable, though, and they do have weak points:
The office backstabber is easy to identify, by both management and staff. Management needs to be extremely careful, because this behavior, and its lack of ethics, will be associated with management.
The office backstabber ultimately has to go, for everyone’s sake. They can’t be trusted, including by management. A backstabber can always be accused of not providing information sooner, or allowing a situation to develop while having information which could have clarified it.
The office gossip is usually malicious. Spreading gossip antagonizes everyone concerned, and if the information is private, management can be held liable for it. Usually this can be shut down by simply explaining that point and mentioning that anyone creating a legal liability can look forward to being sacked. All management needs to do is have an open door for complaints.
The office rumor monger is frequently a motormouth. Anything can be said, and probably will be said, rightly or wrongly. Some rumor mongers are attention-seekers, and spread information very quickly. They can also give away information which is supposed to be secret.
Management needs to shut them down, not only for security reasons, but because they can create havoc in the workplace. They’re arguably worse than gossips, because they relate directly to the workplace, not just individuals.
Make a rule, and make it clear that any rumor mongering will lead to either dismissal or demotion, and the rumors will reduce to a whisper.
The office pet is invariably the most highly resented member of staff. It’s extremely bad management practice to have an office pet, because it undermines the social structure. In some cases office pets have more clout than managers. They can be removed to another part of the workplace, or out of the workplace.
The nasty supervisor is generally an absolute idiot who doesn’t know how to handle people properly. Some are bullies, some are sadists, and all are dictators. Management doesn’t benefit from this style of supervision. Not too surprisingly, a lot of stress cases are the usual result of this kind of supervision, and staff do often take legal action or lodge complaints. From the first complaint, a nasty supervisor can be removed as a problem.
Sycophants are spineless yes-men, worse than useless. They make a career out of agreeing with management, even when it’s wrong. They’re a total liability, because no information from them is trustworthy. They’re hated by other staff, and form a barrier between the workplace and management, obstructing real information and competent advice.
Sycophants are easy to catch. Just express an opinion you know to be incorrect, and remove anyone who agrees. Even if they see the trap, they’ll know to be a lot more careful. Fear is a very effective weapon with sycophants, because they lack talent. Their only career advantage is networking, and if they lose that, they lose the game.
HANDLING THE “OFFICE UNTOUCHABLES” FOR STAFF
The trick is never allow them to get personal. Tell these people nothing that’s not common knowledge.
DON’T:
- No family information
- No private information
- No business information
- No gossip (Basically, don’t do anything they do.)
- Be either friendly or unfriendly
- Be “interesting” to them. Play dumb if necessary
- Become a “source” of any information they use
- Believe a word they say
DO:
- Avoid them as much as possible.
- Stay out of their loop. If they “know something”, you don’t.
- Check any information you do wind up getting.
- Be discreet, and inform management if you think it’s appropriate. This is self defence, not backstabbing.
- Be protective of others in the workplace. Particularly obvious targets of malicious information.
The Office Untouchables are relics of the old workplace. In the modern workforce they’re a risk management scenario.
Just find a reason to get rid of the scum.
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