How to Deal With an Uncooperative Employee

By C Jackson

This can be many manager's worst nightmare - a worker who is difficult and starts to drag down the entire team. In this article, discover the options you have in dealing with such a troublemaker.

The Dangers Of A Troublemaker
A single disruptive influence can be very costly for a team, a department and potentially even an entire company.

The most common type is a slacker. The type of person who does very little work and barely reaches the minimum. In many ways, these are the easiest to "dispose" of and encourage to leave.

But much worse are those who openly argue with management. These are a very serious case and can lead to similar behavior from other employees or, at the very least, lowered morale.

The First Approach - Understanding
With such an employee, the best approach is one of understanding. Arrange a one to one meeting for an hour and openly discuss what is happening. Ask the person what his motivations are - what does he want to do in the long term.

If he is unhappy about anything, explain whether or not it can be changed and show him your point of view. If you are a reasonable person and the employee has obviously been unreasonable then he will surely see the error of his ways.

Offer him a carrot in the form of investment in training and career opportunities and most workers will usually take the bait.

Now the proof is in how well he sticks to the new regime.

The Second Approach - Managing "Out"
If the worker does not respond well to your earlier approach then it is time to get rid of such a disruptive element. He is simply coming in every day to leech off the company at the expense of everyone except himself.

Unfortunately, labor laws are very protective of workers rights so you must be tactful.
By speaking with Human Resources, you can formulate a written plan which will set out his minimum obligations. If he fails to meet these over a period of months then you can legally terminate his contract.

However, if you have a worker that meets these requirements but you feel is still disruptive then you should encourage him to leave by denying him career opportunities and rewarding others in the team. He will probably soon feel that he could be doing better elsewhere and leave of his own accord.

Very rarely, you may be able to come to an agreement to mutually terminate the contract but this will cost you severance pay.

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