Often it’ll fall to you as a
human resources professional to handle negative co-worker, and this week on the
Frank Kelly blog, I’m going to let you know how.
You will be A Negative Employees First Port of Call
No employee is perfect. The
simple reality of working life is that everybody has their good days and bad
days, and everyone occasionally has an issue in the workplace that they feel
they have no choice but to air their grievances over.
Of course, as a human resources
professional you will be their first port of call; after all, it is your job to
manage people. Handling a co-workers negativity is no desirable task, but it is
one that you will have to engage in, to ensure that their negativity odes not
impact the company’s bottom line.
Frank Kelly’s Top Five Tips for Dealing with a Negative Co-Worker
In my experience I have found that there are a number of
ways to negate the risk posed by a negative co-worker, and these are the top
five that you can use as a human resources professional to do just that:
Listen: How can
you address a disgruntled employees concerns if you don’t know what they are.
Always make sure that you listen attentively, so you can handle their
grievances effectively.
Be Sensitive:
Whether you think their complaints have any validity or not, your co-worker
feels as though it does, which means, even if they haven’t got a point, you
can’t just dismiss what they are saying. Always use sensitivity when dealing
with a negative co-worker.
Be Firm But Fair:
It is your task to determine whether the employee’s complaints have any
validity, and whatever you decide, you need to take what they have to say into
consideration and be confident in how you decide to deal with the problem, to
ensure that the employee is mollified.
Stay Uninvolved:
It is not your task to personally weigh in on the issue at hand, rather act as
a liaison between the aggrieved party and the management, therefore you need to
ensure that you keep yourself uninvolved from the issue at hand.
Don’t Be Judgemental:
Whether you think the employee in question has a valid concern or not, it is
not your place to judge them. Do so, and you’ll likely only exacerbate the
problem and ensure that the employee’s negativity infects the larger workforce.
Dealing with a negative co-worker is a balancing act, and
unfortunately, it is a balancing act that will fall to you to negotiate. Ensure
that you follow these five tips from the Frank Kelly blog to make sure that said
employee’s negativity does not become a drag on your company’s bottom line.