By Neville Chamunorwa
Certain types of employees are very obvious candidates to fire. Others possess more subtle character traits that may seem less toxic but will be detrimental to your organization if allowed to fester. The following article exposes 5 types of employees who may be concealed within your company and need to be dealt with immediately.
Employees With Low Emotional Intelligence
Low emotional intelligence (EQ) is a workplace liability that many companies overlook, as long as productivity is high. Employees who fail to show empathy, aren’t receptive to feedback, cannot control their emotions in pressurized scenarios and generally have poor people skills fall into this category. At a time when innovation and flexibility are essential for the long-term success of many businesses, employees with low emotional intelligence are less equipped to adapt to change and demonstrate versatility.
The modern worker values fulfillment and welcomes the interrelationships created on the job. They are seeking more from their job than a simple paycheck. When you have employees that your other members of staff hate to be around professionally, it destabilizes your organizational culture. Don’t allow EQ to diffuse into your company and unsettle team chemistry.
Negative Employees Who Constantly Whine
As an organization, you want to foster an environment where employees feel comfortable to approach management with any questions or concerns. In such cases, it is good practice to attentively listen, acknowledge the issues raised, and even help to work out the best way forward in many instances. When this crosses over into unreasonable, repeated whining, however, there is a larger problem at hand that needs to be dealt with appropriately.
This type of employee will poison a healthy working environment through incessant complaints. A small issue that should only be discussed and resolved during a single conversation can quickly blow up into continuous long-winded disputes. It drains team energy and morale. Before you know, it will be affecting the other members of your team as well. If you have that employee who always sees the glass as half empty and harbors the whining to match, it’s best to have a word with them.
Know-it all Employees
You want to have people with a high level of technical ability as part of your team. This could be the result of further education or extensive experience on the job. However, those employees who seemingly have a non-stop stream of recommendations and voluntary advice hinder progress. These are the same people who get defensive when you offer critique and are quick to dismiss others’ opinions.
The know-it-all attitude builds resentment among colleagues. Should it start to surface when dealing with clients as well it will begin to impact your reputation negatively. Defend your workplace against patronizing staff members at all costs. It’s divisive and disruptive.
Indecisive Employees
If you have an employee who feels the need to run every tiny detail by you, it should raise red flags. Seeking clarity to ensure the accurate delivery of work is a good sign. When a worker can never seem to use their initiative and is constantly looking for unnecessary feedback and reassurance, on the other hand, it becomes a needless hassle.
Indecisive employees halt progress and are therefore detrimental to team productivity. Not only is their output diminished, but the colleagues that they sidetrack are also affected as well. This type of personality trait weighs on other team members and can become overwhelming. Don’t wait until you reach the breaking point before taking action.
“Yes Men/ Women”
The overly agreeable staff member who doesn’t show any backbone with regards to constructively expressing a different point of view is another employee to look out for. This type of worker never contributes new ideas and rarely ever displays creativity. Yes men/ women are the employees who:
· Constantly “suck up” to their bosses
· Always have to see “eye-to-eye” with everyone in meetings
· Can only work with “like-minded” colleagues
· Are more concerned about “meshing well with” other employees above all else.
They are the same ones who will say they were just doing as told when asked why a project may have been unsuccessful. If you’re trying to build a culture that cultivates leaders, don’t expect the yes man/ woman to add much value.
Build A Sustainable Culture
These 5 types of employees do a lot more harm than good to your team dynamics. Look beyond the clear dismissible offences such as chronic incompetence and breaches of company policy and you might be surprised how many employees that aren’t worth keeping will come to light.
It is essential that you deal with these individuals accordingly before their habits disseminate throughout your organization. Your workplace culture and the long-term success of your business depend on it.
