There was an employee that I suspected had some form of undiagnosed ADHD & OCD due to their constant fidgeting and chatter. They were an excellent worker, but would often disrupt others' work due to their unfocused personality. I found the best course of action was to keep them busy with extra projects and assignments while in the office. I guess it's true as they say "idle hands do the devil's work" or at least in this case it seemed to be.
Posted by: K in California
04/20/11 at 11:53 AM

I have an employee who has passive-aggressive tendencies. She would be considered a bully. I kept very good records and spoke with her about her behaviors as they occurred. Then, I put her on a 90-day action plan. I had to be very direct and open with her stating she would no longer be a part of our team if she didn't work out the issues she had. She did improve but slowly her old behavior creeps in. I now take the bull by the horns and sit her down, talk to her to keep her on the right path. It takes a lot of work but things are much better now that she is aware someone else is in control-not her!
Posted by:
04/07/11 at 08:58 AM

this employee was constantly interrupting, butting in, asked questions of everything and everyone especially me, argumentative contrary yet very nervous if I tried to train her to do anything, or counseled her in any way. She is the age of my mother and I tried to treat her as a woman deserving respect and patience. We are good friends to this day.
Posted by: Shirley
04/07/11 at 07:36 AM

An employee was constantly coming in the office for a legit reason, but would then turn it into a moan & groan session about her aches & pains. I finally got to the point when she started in I would keep asking if she had more questions about the origial reason she came in, completely ignoring her whiney comments. She takes the hint now and leaves.
Posted by: Sandra
04/06/11 at 02:23 PM

We had a talk with our employees about cell phone use on the job. We explained that it will no longer be allowed. After the meeting an employee was talking on her cell phone on the job when asked about it she sain she needed to call her friends and family and tell them not to call her!
Posted by: Pam Smith
04/06/11 at 12:38 PM

I have an employee that tells very intimate details about their life to anyone who has a pulse! No matter what non-verbal signals you give them to say that you would rather not hear, they just keep talking. It's really embarrassing!
Posted by: Phyllis
04/06/11 at 11:19 AM

There is a close talker who has no idea of personal boundaries. It makes for a very uncomfortable situation for some employees. Some have voiced their concern to this employee, others just their distance.
Posted by: Elisabeth
04/06/11 at 11:13 AM

YES!!! How about an employee who has a very specific job, not alot of distractions and is very critical of everyone else in the office who wear many different hats all day. This particular employee loves to jump in and show her expertise in everything especially if it can make her look good and the other employee look bad. It is very difficult to deal with, she is very smart I give her that, it is her manner in which she deals with issues that is the problem. We haven't figured out how to handle it yet. Hoped by talking to her about her attitude would work but it hasn't. She even talks subordinately to her own supervisor.
Posted by:
04/06/11 at 10:30 AM

I once had an employee tell me he needed to go home instead of returning to work after his cranial sacral therapy appointment. He said it was "really intense and brought up a lot of feelings and issues" and he needed to "go home and process his feelings".
Posted by: budgie
04/06/11 at 10:13 AM

I have never been faced with a more insubordinate employee, yet management protects this individual. The employee makes it known that she only takes direction from the owner even though she is assigned to a department under my management. Always has excuses for not meeting deadlines but blatantly refuses to meet deadlines not imposed by the owner. Refuses to respond to inquiries unless the owner is copied. Lies constantly and flirts with all males. Sign in office: Queen B**** & proud of it!
Posted by: Frustrated Manager
04/06/11 at 10:01 AM

The person drove me nuts because they were not meeting my expectations. I had to realize that. So I wrote out the expectations and made it clear that these things had to be done and in the timeframe I wanted them done in. After that person quit complaining and starting meeting my deadlines then it was all okay. So I guess it was probably my fault for not setting clear expectations and deadlines.
Posted by: Gail Johnson
04/06/11 at 09:23 AM