A difficult employee can drain the life out of the best of business managers and owners. Business is hard enough without having to deal with the extra headache of keeping high-maintenance employees afloat. Let’s start by discussing some of the characteristics of this type of employee. The person:
Emotionally drains you. A difficult employee tends to constantly cause drama by complaining, always asking to borrow money, questioning you, stirring up trouble in the organization, bringing never-ending family problems to work, etc. It’s amazing how often this equates to family and friends, and not setting good boundaries at home. Even the best employees struggle if surrounded by coworkers who suck the life out of them and make it difficult to function in a professional environment. Remember, as a manager, you didn’t cause this problem, and you can’t fix it. Feeling sorry for the individual and making concessions only allows it to get worse. Many people come from difficult personal backgrounds, but work is a place where they can move forward. Don’t let folks bring their personal problems into the workplace.