Question

You have an employee who does what she is told, but never seems to take much initiative. She occasionally is a little late to work (although she states that she is in the parking lot by starting time and it is not her fault that her workstation is so far away from where she parks her car), tends to “stretch” her lunch breaks, and routinely leaves her work area five to ten minutes early every day. She is not a bad employee, per se. She is competent at her job and does what she is told. She is by no means a high performer, though, as she seems to put in only enough effort to do her job at a minimum level without raising flags that would result in discipline. The frustrating thing for you as a manager is that she was not always like that. She used to be very driven. After a little investigation, you learned the employee has complained to coworkers that, even if she is a high performer and the company sells extra units due to her efforts, she sees no benefit whatsoever. Additionally, she was tired of putting in a lot of work when others around her did little to increase their productivity and they are still being paid as much as she is. Her personnel file does not include any documentation of disciplinary action up to this point.

What do you believe is the underlying problem here?

How would you handle this problem? Do you anticipate “complications” that could possibly be outside of your control?

What follow-up will you conduct on you coaching and remediation plan to ensure the employee’s behavior has been positively influenced?

Do you believe some type of discipline (up to or including termination) is or may be warranted?

Answer 1

1. The main issue in this case is that the employee believes that there is no recognition or financial rewards for her efforts towards the company. Furthermore, because she perceives a disparity between her own efforts and that of her coworkers’ she feels the need to reduce her own efforts.

2. I would handle this issue by arranging for a private meeting with the employee and discussing this issue at length. I would then use parameters to judge her performance with respect to her colleagues and explain to her at length on what basis her performance is being assessed. I would then assure her that she would be financially rewarded if indeed, she was outperforming her coworkers. The main issue with this measure is that other employees in the company may also begin to protest against the existing salary structure.

3. After the meeting, I would be tracking her monthly performance to check if the employee‘s behaviour has been positively influenced. I would also hold a review meeting with her after three months.

4. I don’t believe that discipline should warranted because the employee is, after all, meeting her work responsibilities.