Managing people can be rough.
Managing negative people can be murder.
While chronic naysayers hurt an organization in many ways, opinions differ on what’s to be done with them — ranging from better communication to employing leverage or outright dismissal.
“Managing dysfunctional employees is not always an easy fix, and to be done effectively, a manager must exert some effort,” said Richard Gardner, an assistant professor in the department of management, entrepreneurship and technology at UNLV.
Determining the appropriate strategies for managing dysfunction may depend on the employee’s behavior. Some actions may be more passive, such as cyberloafing and socializing, while others may be more active, from gossiping to stealing and aggression. In addition, dysfunctional behaviors may be targeted toward co-workers or the organization.
“For some of the passive behaviors, it may require setting goals with employees or recrafting their job to help the employee feel more engaged with their work,” Gardner said. “For some of the more active forms of dysfunction, such as interpersonal aggression, sanctions or punishments for such behavior is likely necessary.”
“Negative employees are a cancer to any organization,” said Carolyn Richmond, co-chair of both the Hospitality Practice Group and Labor & Employment Department of law firm Fox Rothschild in New York City. “However, like with any disease, you need to dig first and find out what the underlying problem is.”
Is the person negative by nature? Is it a personal issue that could be addressed with time, a leave of absence, an employee-assistance program? Is it a workplace issue that can be addressed with personnel moves, a change in benefits or responsibilities? Once the cause has been determined, Richmond said, the proper approach can be decided upon.
“If it is something that can be remedied, implement it,” Richmond said. “If it is not, removing the person from the workplace might be the only answer.”
Engage and Empower
Being proactive should be step one. Las Vegas dentist Lydia C. Wyatt recommended “engaging and empowering, as well as praise. When small things are accomplished, I usually try to give positive reinforcement to encourage and motivate.”
Wyatt pointed to an employee who had become frustrated by a supervisor’s criticisms of her efforts to learn office procedures. Wyatt focused on praise for the small tasks the employee accomplished correctly and talked through procedures with her as they occurred, “as well as asking what she would do next.”
“By engaging and creating curiosity rather than discouragement, I can tell she is very appreciative and actually does much better because she is not so insecure. It is great to see her face light up when she gets it right,” Wyatt said, adding that the young woman also interacts better with other team members because she feels better about her abilities.
If the employee does good work yet has a negative attitude, an effective approach may be to respond with relentless positivity.
“I might explain that this negative outlook brings down the team and will lead us to fail,” said Patrick Casale, managing partner of the Multicare Group, an employee benefits consulting firm in Toronto. “This failure could lead us to make changes to turn things around, like cut wages and not offer bonus benefits. ... With the No. 1 problem in America being under-employment, this is the incentive that needs to be utilized.”
Cut Ties
In an environment in which teamwork is essential, businesses should sever relationships with negative employees “as quickly as possible,” said Stephen P. A. Brown, an economics professor at UNLV’s Lee Business School. “In environments where teamwork is not essential, negative employees should be isolated to some degree.”
Nevada is an at-will employment state, meaning either the employer or the employee may break off a relationship with no liability, provided that the employee has no contract and the employer has not recognized a labor union. In addition, Nevada is among states with right-to-work laws, which forbid unions and employers from entering into agreements requiring employees to join a union in order to obtain and maintain a job. Such laws give employers some leverage in dealing with caustic employees, Casale said.
“During these tumultuous times, I see management cutting ties and moving on,” he said. “Nevada presents an interesting employer/employee benefit. (With Nevada being an at-will state), I believe that employers who have a situation with someone who is negative need to sever this tie by utilizing this advantageous rule.”
With good-paying jobs being difficult to find, he added, “I see that this strategy works, and allows you to bring someone with a positive attitude on the team.”
Dig Deeper
The wisest choice of all is to find out what made the employee feel negative; it may indicate that something in the organization needs fixing. But before a manager should work on trying to correct the dysfunction, Gardner has found, it is worth trying to uncover its source. For instance, if poor working conditions seem to be part of the problem, a manager can make some efforts to change the work environment. If there is an interpersonal dispute between two employees, perhaps reassigning one or both of them can adequately address the problem.
“Uncovering the sources will require the manager to have open communication with their employees,” Gardner said. “These fact-finding efforts can be done without being confrontational; inquiries should not feel like interrogations.”
Above all, Gardner emphasized, when trying to manage and solicit change from a dysfunctional employee, a manager must be perceived as fair. “This means that a manager must communicate expectations clearly and effectively, try to be as transparent in the decision-making as possible, give opportunities for the employee to voice his opinion, and be consistent with other employees with similar issues. Time and time again, research has found that if employees feel they are treated fairly, they are much less resistant to changing their behavior and more accepting of negative outcomes such as poor performance reviews and termination.”
Deborah Hedderly, an assistant professor at Roseman University of Health Sciences in Henderson, suggested managers look a bit deeper. Negative employees can create a toxic work environment, “yet they were probably excited and enthusiastic when they were hired.”
“Toxic employees may complain, gossip and/or criticize their department,” she said. “What happened to turn a contented new hire into an employee with an acidic attitude?”
Often, Hedderly said, employees can become negative when they are disengaged from their work, their team or their manager.
“They may feel that their manager does not care about them or show empathy when they have a personal or work issue,” she said. “They may perceive their work as boring or there is no future for them.”
To discover the underlying problem and turn around a negative employee, Hedderly suggested, the manager should initiate a candid conversation.
“Stating the purpose of the conversation and the intended outcome in a win-win format is vital to success and can provide a ‘safe’ environment where the employee is ready and able to receive feedback,” she said.
Hedderly suggested beginning the conversation with a statement like, “I want you to succeed at your job and be a contributing member of the team. What I don’t want is for you to come away from this meeting feeling that I don’t understand your position.” It is important that the manager share specific examples of negative behavior, without embellishment, and then listen to the employee’s story.
“During the conversation, the action steps to correct the behavior should be clearly outlined and measurable, with a specific time frame,” Hedderly said. “The conversation should be we-directed, not you-directed.”
Managers who use coaching skills are at an advantage when having these crucial conversations.
“Coaches know that the employee has the best solution to their problem, and can skillfully ask the right questions for the employee to clearly see their toxic behavior and the impact on the team,” Hedderly said.
So while it may not be an easy task for managers, turning negative employees into positive ones benefits the entire organization.