Not every employee you hire is perfect. Everyone comes with personality traits that, left unchecked, can end up being detrimental to your business. However, as an employer, you can help shape these toxic employees’ negative traits into positive ones in a variety of ways. Some of the people you deal with might be…
The Hot Mess
These are the people who are always disheveled, disorganized, and overwhelmed. They are usually passive in their work ethic, and are incredibly resistant to change (usually because they finally got used to doing something one way, only to have the rug pulled out from under them). You can help these people by providing extra training, implementing an improvement plan, and providing support. This will help them understand what’s expected of them and how they can improve, and also show them that you want them to succeed.
The Slacker
The slacker is poorly motivated, and sees no reason to go the extra mile. He is prone to absenteeism, and often doesn’t meet deadlines or take assigned work seriously. These people tend to think their job is owed to them, regardless of how they perform. This behavior can be remedied by providing clear explanations of what’s expected, popping in to “check up” on them unexpectedly, and rewarding them when they do put in extra effort. Most often, the slacker will increase his performance when he feels valued within the company.
The Martyr
The martyr is actually much too motivated, and tends to take on way too much. Although he may feel as if he’s doing what’s best for the company, by doing so he often undermines other workers’ abilities, and burns himself out in the process. Supervisors can deal with this type of worker by making it mandatory to delegate responsibilities, encouraging him to step back and even take time off, and to provide team goals rather than individual ones.
The Socialite
Every place of business has the social butterfly who wastes countless hours per year chatting away at the water cooler. These people approach the job immaturely and unprofessionally, and often distract diligent workers from completing tasks on time. Bosses can nip this behavior in the bud by providing scheduled social time (such as lunch) and being clear about what is and what is not appropriate in the workplace. Supervisors can also harness the socialite’s natural outgoing personality by providing them with opportunities to communicate with clients of the business.
The Sociopath
Definitely the most dangerous personality on this list, the sociopath is a manipulative bully who has little to no regard for the feelings of those around them. They lack respect for those below and above them, and see no problem with breaking protocol. It can be tough to deal with a sociopath in the workplace, but it can best be done by providing a supporting environment for all involved, while taking others’ complaints seriously and logging any negative behaviors observed in order for HR to have documented reasons for termination if it gets to that point.
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