Are You Stuck with a Toxic Employee? - Your Practice Ain’t Perfect - Joe Mull
Joe Mull, M.Ed is a healthcare leadership trainer and keynote speaker who works with healthcare organizations that want their leaders to engage, inspire, and succeed. (joemull.com)
TRANSCRIPT:
In almost every workshop, keynote, or training I deliver on engaging employees and improving teamwork, there is a lengthy conversation about toxic employees. These are the folks on your teams who may be technically competent at their jobs, but they create drama, monopolize leaders time, and negatively impact the performance of others. I’ve worked with leaders all over the country who long to eradicate these folks from their workplaces but have failed to do so. That’s why, in this episode of Your Practice Ain’t Perfect, I’ll tell you what’s really the cause of being stuck with a toxic employee. This one’s probably gonna ruffle some feathers. Stick around…
If you are stuck with a toxic employee, I’m going to assume that a few things have happened already. I assume you’ve gotten clear on the behavior that is problematic and that you’ve had multiple feedback conversations with the disruptive person. I assume you’ve been clear about the behavior that needs to stop immediately and the future behavior that needs to start instead, as well as the consequences of not making that change. I assume you’ve been actively documenting the problem, recording specific incidents, behaviors, and follow-up conversations that have occurred, and consulting with your HR business partners on any corrective action available to you. Maybe you’ve even tried more than once to have this person separated from their position to no avail. If these things have NOT occurred, stop this video now and attend to them specifically, as they are key to both the legal and ethical steps needed to address an actively disengaged employee.
That said, let’s assume that all these things have occurred already, yet the toxic behavior continues. Why is this employee still there? When I ask this question in workshops, I get a variety of answers. They do too many other important things, we can’t afford a vacancy. We can’t get HR to approve termination. I don’t always see them acting out. They’ve been there forever. They’re the doctors favorite. They’re related to the VP.
Let’s be clear about one thing: If an employee who is clearly toxic fails to change in the face of feedback and corrective action and they are allowed to remain, the problem is no longer the toxic employee.
The problem is either leadership or the HR process.
When is the problem with human resources? When documented toxic behavior is allowed to continue out of fear of legal action or an unemployment claim. When this cost-benefit analysis takes place, too often it occurs in isolation - as a review of incidents or circumstances. It can fail to account for the toxic employee’s impact on other employees’ engagement and performance, or on the toxic employee’s violation of organizational competencies or values. HR is also the problem when the organization cannot find talent to fill vacancies. That’s an issue of marketing, recruiting, or of compensation and benefits not being adjusted to overcome perceived deficiencies in the opportunity and effectively penetrate the market. Allowing a problematic performer to remain because they might make a fuss when terminated or because “we can’t find anyone else” is malpractice.
When is the problem leadership? In some cases, leadership fears the disruption brought about by a vacancy, so they never take action. In other cases, leaders don’t see the employee as a problem. They have lowered their standards and they are settling. They think that the toxic behavior isn’t really a big deal or a fireable offense. They believe it’s something that can be fixed by a better manager or they believe they have a great employee with some annoying quirks of personality. In this case, leadership is failing to see that, while the employee may be technically competent, he or she is doing harm for every moment they are allowed to remain with the organization. Or perhaps the leadership team has failed to effectively articulate the impact, liability, and threat posed by the continued employment of this person to other key stakeholders. Allowing a proven problematic performer to remain because maybe they can be fixed is fantasy. Their continued employment because the problem is underestimated or not taken seriously is ignorance. Both are a dereliction of duty on the part of leadership.
So there you have it. If you’re stuck with a toxic employee, and you’ve done all the performance management pieces right - feedback, documentation, corrective action - the continued presence of that employee is a failure of leadership or human resources. If this is happening where you work, it may be time to reflect on what’s broken and what has to change to fix the people and systems who allow the cancerous impact of toxic employees to continue.
Пікірлер: 45
In my case is a toxic coworker that I can no longer deal with. I think about resigning from my job this week just because it is already affecting my emotions. This is the first time something like this happens in my life, I never had to leave a job bc of somebody else, specially now during these tough times.
@realmonster5866
2 жыл бұрын
I am going through the same thing today.
@caseylynn34
2 жыл бұрын
Hello poster, I hope you are doing well after 10 months ♡
@lorend45
Жыл бұрын
I feel the same exact way
I can't fix HR. I've done everything and wrapped it in a bow for my HR department.
Man is speaking truth.
Just found this and can't believe there are no comments! I am struggling massively with a boss who won't stop trying to help (or possibly flat out allowing because this person is very good at their job) my toxic co-worker improve behavior but it's been going on for about 4 years now. Both my boss and my co-worker (who I believe is toxic at least) are highly intelligent, crafty individuals who fully understand the art of manipulation and intimidation. I used to feel that I could at least trust my boss, but now beginning to question the genuity of the initial comments and promises to "not let this behavior go on forever" ... Thanks for your efforts putting together these videos for people like me to learn ways to analyze (and potentially) validate whether our toxic work situation does in fact exist.
All truth. This is my current situation and it’s stressing me OUT!!!!
My HR Dept sucks and won’t do anything about toxic employees. They’re more focused on preventing these people from suing the company than preventing this toxic employee from ruining the organization
this is a really good video it strikes at the heart of the issue
@BossBetter
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you. Glad you found it helpful. Thanks for watching!
Great video but sadly most shareholders don’t care. They want the work done and anyone who complains about toxic work environment suffer immediate retaliation and ends up leaving. It’s a endless circle and will never stop.
@arieshilan
Жыл бұрын
Did happen to me always since I can't have toxic employees in my team. I guess the next time I will join them if can't win them
Joe, we need you where I work.
@BossBetter
3 жыл бұрын
That's kind of you to say. Perhaps, if you secretly change all of the homepages on the office computers to joemull.com, someone will notice? :)
Fully agree
You had me at the remakes man hahaha I'm listening
Just making sure I’m not the toxic employee in the workplace. Usually I’d like to see the toxic employee, if there is one, oust themself from the employment entity through some effect of their own toxic behavior. Let’s call it the “Toxic Employee Hindenburg Effect.”
Toxic employees are easier to sort out. Your boss, is harder to control,
@parveenfatima
3 жыл бұрын
You can leave the job and find a better one .... pep up ur resume and leave politely
@parveenfatima
3 жыл бұрын
I know it’s easier said than done
Who the hell wants to still work for someone else any way… fuck the matrix!
Why are these consultants always on the boss's side?
The HR process is to blame.
I agree!
Just happened to me last night, the TE pulled this "I'm being singled out" crap and leadership believes the jerk. The TE has had problems with other employees, several different supervisor/managers, even directors, has even declared to not want the job, yet this person remains. Then leadership, has the balls to say I'm not doing as expected.... Horseshit, document after document of behavior, several admissions to it and nothing...+6 months now.... Bunch of spineless cowards...
@csensale
2 жыл бұрын
People fear moving up in the company because of micromanagement yet poor communication
What about a toxic boss thats giving issues to employees?? What if this boss is hired and never talked to?
@BossBetter
3 жыл бұрын
I have recorded several videos concerning the topics you mention. You may be interested in taking a look at my video, "How Bosses Demoralize Employees" (kzread.info/dash/bejne/aGuN3NaBl9eZdto.html). Thank you for watching.
@csensale
2 жыл бұрын
I know of a situation where because he’s driving sales he won’t get reprimanded for gossip and bullying
What if.. toxic management breeds toxic employees.. just sayin’
Every toxic coworker I've had has been a high-performing employee who seems bitter about being underappreciated or exploited by management. Should the employee stay and become toxic? Absolutely not. However, a lot of employers seem to not realize that toxic employees are usually made in toxic work environments, and don't realize the problem is much bigger than just a toxic employee.
Please make sure that toxic employee is not a pigment of your imagination. Why don't you introspect a few minutes every week to figure out what have you done wrong to make an employee SEEMS toxic to you? Look at your own pride, for example.
@julioalejandro7837
2 жыл бұрын
Toxic employees exist, they are real. Why you need to assume they are product of someone else imagination?
@jamiegumm4398
2 жыл бұрын
@@julioalejandro7837 You missed the word "pigment". Meaning racial!
@veronicalagor4771
5 ай бұрын
@jamiegumm4398 Pretty sure it was a typo, and the poster meant "figment" considering the rest of the sentence.
Public school system…need I say more
What about HSPs who are sensitive to a working environment and end up with a sudden psychiatric attack from office pranks and other nuisances that go on in the workplace. These people get screwed first instead of the perpetrators of nuisance creators leading them to PTSD
@mailpkr
3 жыл бұрын
Then employers hire useless biased services like yours to cover their behinds. You'll never understand the struggles HSPs go through. And what about nasty tricks employers use to get rid of people to avoid paying workers comp when there is an injury? It's not your place to be giving these advices when you haven't experienced these scenarios. Go check out Workplace Bullying Institute. Those are the real deal.
I have toxic employee who’s my relative
@c.s1393
3 жыл бұрын
That's tough
@BossBetter
3 жыл бұрын
Parveen, thank you so much for watching and for taking the time to comment. Sadly, this situation happens a lot. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix, and sometimes, there is no fix at all.
HOW WOULD YOU HANDLE A 1099 EMPLOYEE
@jamiegumm4398
2 жыл бұрын
1099 is NOT an employee!