DILEMMA OF THE MONTH
What should I do with an employee who won ’ t stop complaining ?
BY Suzanne Lucas
ILLUSTRATION : JOHN CHASE
I have an employee , Kate , who does mediocre work . Not good enough to be promoted , but good enough to keep from being fired . This isn ’ t a problem , except she ’ s constantly complaining about the job . I want to tell her to go find another job or shut up . The other employees don ’ t complain , so I know it ’ s not a “ me ” problem .
Some people like to complain . And if you spend time on Twitter , you ’ ll start to believe everyone wants to complain . Kate may be one of these people . Or it may be a “ you ” problem or , rather , a “ your team ” problem . Either way , there is a solution , so let ’ s tackle it .
What if it ’ s a “ you ” problem ?
No one else complains , so it ’ s definitely just a problem with Kate , right ? Honestly , this is likely the case , but what if it ’ s not ?
You need to sit down and think about what Kate complains about . If it ’ s strictly complaints about her pay , you know she ’ s paid fairly , and there is good internal equity , then ease your mind . But if it ’ s something else ( or she ’ s not paid fairly ), you must take a good look at things .
Do you assign tasks fairly , or does Kate get the worst stuff because she ’ s a complainer ? I ’ m not saying you can ’ t do this — complaining isn ’ t a protected class , and if you ’ re going to whine , there might be consequences . But if this happens , you must be clear to Kate that her tasks will change if she stops whining .
Is someone bullying Kate ? Bullies are experts at flying under management ’ s radar . Think back to how teachers ignored
20 comstocksmag . com | September 2022