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Alison Pincus

Have you ever calculated the cost of disruptive employees in your business?

Workplaces are strange social environments. People are thrown together with others who they would not normally choose to spend time with. Having said that, it is our responsibility as business owners to work as hard as we can to make our relationships at work productive and perform our jobs to the best of our ability, to help ensure your business and the careers of those within the business are successful.

As A Business Owner, How Do You Recognise Disruptive Employees?

Generally it’s all ‘about them’ and their needs rather than the team or the business needs. Below are some of the characteristics at work displayed by disruptive employees:

• never meet deadlines
• turn minor inconveniences into major ones, often in loud voices and with great drama
• always have complicated explanations for the most simple occurrences
• only see issues from their point of view
• constantly see the negative points of issues (the glass is half empty)
• try to get others onto ‘their side’
• bore other employees with their social lives often to the extent of what they had for dinner
• are often way sick more than your other employees
• disrupt other employees

As business owners we are often paralysed by indecision when confronted with disruptive employees. Why is this?Maybe because we prefer to make life easier for ourselves by not confronting the problem?Also today there are all the legal issues associated with employing people such as unfair dismissal, bullying and harassment and for us as business owners it often seems ‘too difficult’.

Are We Really Making It Easier For Ourselves?

I doubt that there is any manager in the world who can honestly say that they have not deferred confronting the problem. I have certainly been guilty of this.

Can you remember when a disruptive employee left your business? Everybody in the team seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and become more productive again.

I can remember working with a disruptive employee who was always sick, everything was a drama, was negative and dismissive of new ideas, disrupted fellow work mates who were too polite to tell her to ‘go away’, boring them with her love life and what she cooked for dinner each evening. When she left there was an enormous positive change in the work environment.

So, What Can We Learn From This?

Teams look for leadership. As the business owner you have the authority to act in ways that benefit the business and your employees.

I can remember an incident where a state manager was harassing and threatening staff whilst telling the joint business owner each afternoon what a great job he was doing. The financial results did not show this. His subordinates were demoralised and were seeking support. With evidence of violating company policy he was dismissed. The relief from his direct supports was immediate, they stopped looking for work outside the company and their morale improved overnight. Furthermore, one of the staff who was being bullied became one of the company’s best managers with the most profitable branch! True leadership improves a company’s performance.

The continued employment of disruptive employees cost money, either directly or indirectly. It’s your duty as the business owner to manage and not abdicate this essential activity. Your employees are watching you. Either manage them and have a plan to ensure acceptable behaviour, or manage them out of the business.

As a business owner you owe it to both your staff and customers to stop disruptive employees damaging your business.

What are you going to do when a disruptive employee affects the performance of your business? Get advice on the best way to handle the situation and allow your business the best opportunities to grow in a healthy way

Contact The NCP to benefit from the experience and expertise of Consulting Professionals who care about your success personally.

David Grieve

To see more opinions, tips, articles from different perspectives on building a successful business, check the posts filed under Strengthen, Support and Succeed.