There are different personality types in the workplace. If you only have two members on your team, you can see the diversity. Differences add value as individual perspectives can increase the effectiveness and productivity of a group. When a group works well together, there is enthusiasm and everyone benefits from individual contributions.

It would be great if all managers had employees that arrive at work on time, never complained, were self-motivated to perform at above satisfactory levels and were happy to at work. This doesn’t always happen.

• Fearful they will lose their jobs – if an employee feels they could potentially lose their position because of their performance or the company’s performance, it’s important to provide clear and constant communication to minimize their anxiety.  
• Not fully trained around their responsibilities – if the employee bumps into their lack of knowledge, they will naturally feel insecure until they are properly trained.   This is not a chronic insecurity issue, but rather a training requirement. 
• Your management style – you are not clear or your interaction with them is upsetting them.   Some employees seem to handle any type of boss and still perform.   Most employees react negatively to a manager who isn’t clear and is disrespectful towards them.
• Miscommunication in the company – when this happens it misdirects employee’s performance levels.  Employees know already that something is not right and start checking in more frequently for direction.
• They are fearful of making a mistake – here you need to discern whether their reaction is their own internal processing, or are they reacting to you because you are anxious about their performance.   If your concern is based on specific performance or behavior issues, then in managing this employee, you need to coach or counsel them on performance expectations. 

You are excited…just received a job offer as Manager of your own department.  There will be many challenges ahead as you begin to handle your new responsibilities.  One situation that will immediately challenge you is if you are replacing an existing manager in those responsibilities.  Though it’s the company’s decision to transfer the management responsibilities to you, you will have to deal with the reaction from the existing individual.

First, congratulate yourself for receiving the recognition that you have strong leadership and management skills and are talented in your field.    Knowing that you have the ability to manage employees will guide you in handling any employee related situation that comes you way.

It doesn’t take long for a manager to bump into an employee with an “attitude.”  Evaluating an employee as having an “attitude” also depends on what bothers a manager, as the same behavior may be just fine with another manager. Yet, there are certain behaviors that the employee exhibits that affect the working environment.  So how do you, the manager handle this behavior in the most effective way?

Challenging Behaviors

• The employee is constantly socializing 
• He/She is rude or inconsiderate to others
• If you ask them to handle something additional to their normal responsibilities, they are resistant or upset.

Every manager in their career stumbles across a challenging employee….one who frustrates them and takes a lot of their energy to manage. “Challenging” employees come in different shades of grey. In addition, what one manager considers frustrating another may not.

Note: I’m addressing performance-based issues for managers. Serious issues such as violence, sexual harassment or drug abuse are situations where a manager must work with legal or human resources department.

Some Challenging Employee Issues for Managers:
Someone with an “attitude” (note: you can never address an attitude, only the actual behavior, otherwise the employee does not know what to change.)