Boss Labels Employee "Under-Achiever" For This...
J.T. O'Donnell
Founder & CEO, Work It DAILY | Board of Directors, McCoy | Career & Professional Development | Job Search | HR & Recruiting | Employer Branding | Recruitment Marketing | Talent Management | Executive Coaching
I spoke to a manager recently who was very upset. Why? She went to an employee with a new task and the employee commented aloud, "Good. I've been looking for something to do. My work's been light lately." The manager was infuriated by this statement. She couldn't believe this was the first she was hearing about the employee's lack of work to do. She started having daily meetings with the employee to check on her workload and now felt like she had to babysit to ensure she had enough to do. Her final comment was, "She better not expect a raise or promotion any time soon. I'm seriously thinking about letting her go."
This isn't an uncommon reaction. Performance on a bell curve where low performers get fired is common practice by management. (This article explains how to avoid being on the wrong side of the curve.)
Boss to Blame?
Some of you might jump in and say, "It's the manager's fault too for not coaching the employee to look for projects and to proactively update her when she had no work." Sure, managers can do that, and some great leaders I know adopt that philosophy. However, I don't blame the manager in this scenario. She's paying the employee for her time and the employee should know to make the most of it. The employee hurt her reputation as a good worker with that blunt comment. We are all businesses-of-one. Our job is to make sure our customer (a/k/a our boss) always feel like they are getting the best deal. We must deliver customer satisfaction, or be at risk of being replaced. (Here's an article that outlines what you can do to can make more money and be more likable at work.)
When Boss Thinks She's in a Win-Lose Situation - You'll Eventually Lose!
For those of you reading the above and saying, "That's not fair! The employee didn't know any better." Or, "How was she supposed to know what to do?" Again, I stress the need to recognize our responsibilities in the employee-employer relationship. If we want respect, then we don't work "for" a company i.e. wait around for our boss to direct us. Instead, we work "with" a company. That means proactively finding ways to add value in exchange for recognition and the opportunity to grow professionally and financially. Our focus needs to be on consistently creating a win-win partnership. In this case, the employee failed to see the opportunity she had to improve the partnership by proactively finding more work to do - or at least letting her boss know she had the bandwidth to do more. Once the boss found out the truth, she saw herself in a win-lose relationship. Her mind already thinking about evening the score. That's not good.
Tips for Keeping the Win-Win Alive
Here are four tips for making sure you don't end up in a situation like the one above.
- When you've got time on your hands, let your boss know.
- Create a list of projects you want to work on so you can have some say in what you do.
- Make sure the projects all save or make the company money in some way.
- Pick projects that help your manager reduce her workload. Saving her time and headaches is one of the best ways for you to been seen as a top performer!
Not Feeling the Win-Win in Return? Find a New Employer.
You are an at-will employee. You can choose to leave at any time. If you don't like the partnership with your employer, go find a better one. Granted, that's easier said than done. But, what's your alternative? There's no "Career Fairy Godmother." And, you can't demand to be treated better. Your boss is your customer. Don't like her? Find a new customer you like better. Just keep in mind it's better to have a new employer lined up before quitting the old one. Being out of a job makes it much harder to look for a new one. Employers discriminate against the unemployed. Especially, when you explain you quit the job because you didn't like it. Employers don't see that as an attractive employee trait.
What do you think about this employee's blunder? I'd love to hear your comments below.
If you want to read more of what I've written, check out my articles on Inc.com.
P.S. - First time reading my posts? Thanks for taking the time to stop by! Not only do I write for Linkedin, but I'm also founder of the career advice site, CAREEREALISM, and currently run the career coaching program, CareerHMO. I hope you'll check them both out!
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CAREEREALISM’s Founder, J.T. O’Donnell is a nationally syndicated career expert and workplace consultant who helps American workers of all ages find greater professional satisfaction. Her book,CAREEREALISM: The Smart Approach to a Satisfying Career, outlines her highly successful career-coaching methodology. Purchase her e-book of CAREEREALISM for only $9.95 by clicking here!
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The manager is clearly not on top of their game. I could not imagine being so blindsided by an employee. You have to be close to your direct reports in the sense that you know what they are working on, how much time and effort is being expended etc - otherwise how are you managing them? By exception? You will end up losing the employee this way, when you could be coaching them, challenging them to excel...
Purpose Driven Maven: Christian Author, Lifestyle Blogger, Journal Crafting, eBook Creating, and Animal Advocate
9 年The employee is not in the right position. If an employee is bored to death of their jobs, their talent don't match in their current position. It's the management job and responsibility to align the employee's talent for appropriate role. If the manager fired the employee for one "comment" I'd say fire the manager for having a bruise ego. The manager is not strong enough for her position. Put employees in the right bus.
Virtualization Engineer at Alston & Bird
9 年Unless there is more to this situation (and there usually is) it seems a bit extreme to fire this employee based this one interaction. I have lead teams for several years, and I always make sure to train new team members to remain productive. Especially if this is a first job for the employee, it is important that the manager realize she is responsible for impressing on her the need to seek out additional tasking if she has downtime. Usually, it is as simple as asking someone in the desk if they would like you to lend a hand. However, as the article implies that there have been ongoing daily meetings, it might be that this employee isn't catching on very well. Perhaps she truly is an underachiever. If that is the case, termination with an honest exit review is vital. Otherwise, this employee is likely to have the same trouble in her next job. One might say that it isn't this manager's responsibility to make sure the employee doesn't keep repeating this same mistake, but I believe the manager has a responsibility to unambiguously address this failing- if not to the employee, than to whomever she works for next.
HR Leader I HR Head | Consulting, Retail & Manufacturing HR I Young HR Icon award by NHRDN I HR 100under40
9 年For me, the question is whether you want to work FOR the company/boss or work WITH the company/ boss. In other words, if this was our own company, we would have found ways to keep ourselves busy. A better way to frame the question is "I have some time on my hands and I want to work on xyz project that I believe is going to add value to the company. Is there any suggestion you may have?"
Manager of Document Management-HIM
9 年Having been in a situation where I felt bored, I actively sought out work but still was not able to fill my 40-hour week I too would have welcomed additional task. There are times that management is busy and are unable to spend the time to creatively put together meaningful task for those employees who are say more efficient with their time or those who have task that ebbs and flows and is not a consistent time filler. As a manager I would sit back and think about my communication with my staff and make sure I was on top of any issues with lack of work or challenges.