Manager Deciding Whether To Keep Negative Employee
by Lindsey Novak
Q: As a manager, I oversee four satellite offices. My employees have flexible schedules and little supervision. One woman is very difficult. She made it clear in an e-mail to me that if she does not receive more hours, she will look for another job. Because of her e-mail, I posted an online ad looking for a replacement. She saw the ad and e-mailed my boss. She complained that I went behind her back to advertise and belligerently demanded that I remove the ad and said she only was venting in h ...
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Posted by: Matt
Comment: #1
Sun Jun 29, 2008 1:10 AM
I'm with Pam. The columnist does seem to be some kind of advocate for management. Apparently your supervisor is completely justified in getting rid of you if you take a complaint to the "next level" after not getting resolution. Apparently an employee's choices are limited to A) suffering under tyranny or B) looking for another job. In this particular case, it appears to me that both sides made some mistakes - the employee by "venting" instead of phrasing her needs as a request, and the supervisor by inventing any grounds for punishment. I find the columnist's line recommendation that the employer "fight" the unemployment claim to be especially dubious. From personal experience, I can tell you that the employer would lose. The EDD (at least the one in my state) grants pretty much any claim unless the claimant was fired for criminal misconduct of some kind. Sorry, but "insubordination" doesn't qualify, even assuming that this employee's behavior indeed constituted some kind of willful disobedience of company policies. (Which I don't see how it does.)
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Posted by: Pam
Comment: #2
Thu Jun 26, 2008 3:25 PM
Does this woman get paid by some sort of corporate organization? Because she is the most one-sided columnist I have ever had the misfortune to come across. But I'll bet if they even look at her cross-eyed where she works, she boo-hoos and files a grievance.
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Posted by: Pam Smith
Comment: #3
Wed Jul 2, 2008 3:13 AM
Yes, this was a truly terrible response to someone who obviously does not know what being a manager is about. The employee has a legitimate problem (not working enough hours). It looks as if she wants to keep her job and went to her manager with the problem rather than simply getting another job and quitting for no stated reason. (Wouldn't that have been worse than "venting," especially if no one can be found to fill the position?) Apparently the manager is completely uninterested in keeping employees (despite a labor shortage!) and, rather than discussing the problem with the employee (or her attitude if that is indeed a problem), went behind HER back to advertise. The employee is doing things correctly and going up the chain of command step-by-step. Her immediate boss has a boss for a reason. Sending a message that employees are replaceable is NOT a good motivator and terrible for morale and loyalty. Being a manager is about communication and team-building. I for one hope that the employee DOES get another job somewhere she is treated better.
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Posted by: Mercedes Carter
Comment: #4
Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:23 PM
I agree with the columist. An employee should talk to the employer about hour, not demanded it. Giving in to it can give the employee the right to demand more like higher wages and raises. If writer wants to put up and ad for her (the employee) replacement, then he/she can. Complaining to the boss of the employer could get a nasty concequence
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