Wouldn't it be a shame if you lost good workers because simple rebellion wasn't the real problem? All of those trained employees would be out the door and must be replaced, tsk tsk. Very expensive! And your company's secrets, if you had any, went with them. Surely there is a better way of dealing with resistance!

This article is number 4 in the Stealth Quality Series.

I had already promised Arresting Absenteeism would be number 3, but have not written that yet as this subject surfaced recently and seemed to need a good airing. I'll start on absenteeism soon. Thanks for your patience--be well!

With this particular submission, Ms Kirley has produced a nicely researched and well presented paper that helps to raise the tone of the Reading Room towards that which would befit a learned institution. It is to be hoped Covers will take this to their employers' personnel departments (a.k.a. HR) and senior management for consideration.

I offer her my congratulations.

Very nicely done, Jennifer! :applause:

Hmmm: It is interesting, though, that of the 4 articles, the third one - on absenteeism - is absent. :rolleyes:

Jennifer:

A wonderful article! I plan to pass this one along to a colleague dealing with an "allergic" employee, who will most likely be classified more expertly after reading this article.

Keep those articles coming!!

--QG

:agree1:

These are certainly very kind remarks! Thank you. :o Now you know why it took me all weekend to write the thing...

Until then, ah yes, Arresting Absenteeism is absent--sigh. You know what they say: "Don't quit yer day job!" Until I get paid for writing this way it has to happen in my off time.

These are certainly very kind remarks! Thank you. :o Now you know why it took me all weekend to write the thing...

Until then, ah yes, Arresting Absenteeism is absent--sigh. You know what they say: "Don't quit yer day job!" Until I get paid for writing this way it has to happen in my off time.


Jennifer - excellent article!

If you keep this up you might not be at the day job much longer...

Although the title does not state it, many of the topics covered in this paper are related to absenteeism as well, no? I wonder who has done a study that documents the effect of the end of the honeymoon with increased absenteeism?

Again, very nice job! Thanks!

thanks for your wonderful article.....i forwarded your article to our HR....will let you know you know if there any feedback from them......but i won't hold my breath..... :(

Jennifer,

:applause: Your article is really a great source of inspiration for root causes in the case employees do not work like they are supposed to :thanks:

Barbara

Jennifer,

Good job gathering, organizing and presenting thoughts about employee performance & motivation. The world in general -- and the quality profession in specific -- need more people thinking at the level of "profound knowledge" rather than thinking at the level of "profound memorization" or "profound regurgitation".


Tim F

Jennifer - excellent article!

If you keep this up you might not be at the day job much longer...

Although the title does not state it, many of the topics covered in this paper are related to absenteeism as well, no? I wonder who has done a study that documents the effect of the end of the honeymoon with increased absenteeism?

Again, very nice job! Thanks!Too kind, everyone, thanks again.

I can't promise consistent scorchers, but if I keep cranking these out I will eventually compile them and ask around about agents or publishing editors. :tg:

Craig, it is very interesting in that the past year my day job has been in special education: grossly underpaid but my mind is always turning and connecting the dots. I am looking at these people, and their "normal" peers as not-too-distant employees and I am thinking they are not well understood.

Nor ar they easy to understand. They are still children, of course. most will eventually get zapped by "the reality rod" but for now they are quite a bunch of...oh my... was I ever like that? Oh dear...

Lots of budding narcissists are coming up the ranks. Watch out for those.

Also, the sheer numbers of special ed are mind blowing. 25% of my (middle) school is in the special ed program. And no one says a word of this when gnashing about how X number of graduates are functionally illiterate. Indeed--I understand up to 20% of adults are functionally illiterate. This is news?

So it seems important to talk about it in a way that makes them people, with gifts and challenges--sometimes the challenge also brings a brilliant gift. Many people go undiagnosed but struggle to keep up; and people think "So-and-so's just a slacker." Maybe not.

I just want to ensure people are all allowed the opportunity to contribute as much as they want to, and are able to. As a society it is in our interest to maximize everyone's possible contribution.

Yes, absenteeism is going to play in on some of this--but more often I think it will be connected to personal problems like financial worries and childrens' sickness or daycare problems. Stay tuned...

Be well!

Jeniffer,

Thank you for a well written article. I was trolling The Cove as I prepare for my next internal audit (I always find great material here) and found your article. Our HR group is being audited on this upcoming audit and I was able to gleam some great material from your article.

Two thumbs up!

Jaime

Thanks Jaime, that was very kind. I'm glad you found the article useful.

Regards,

Jennifer

Yes, Jennifer, I'm so pleased you've become one our stalwart Covers. Your advice is always consistently good.

Oh! It very useful! :applause: :thanx:

The article teaches me a lot.
Thanks a lot!:cool:

Wouldn't it be a shame if you lost good workers because simple rebellion wasn't the real problem? All of those trained employees would be out the door and must be replaced, tsk tsk. Very expensive! And your company's secrets, if you had any, went with them. Surely there is a better way of dealing with resistance!

This article is number 4 in the Stealth Quality Series.

I had already promised Arresting Absenteeism would be number 3, but have not written that yet as this subject surfaced recently and seemed to need a good airing. I'll start on absenteeism soon. Thanks for your patience--be well!

though i could not read it thoroughly but i like the article, since we have alot of this kind of employees.\Good fi someone attach some kind of presentation/ slides on that.

though i could not read it thoroughly but i like the article, since we have alot of this kind of employees.\Good fi someone attach some kind of presentation/ slides on that.That's an interesting idea. I'm afraid I don't have much time for such things these days though. I've been trying to get my fifth article (Correcting Corrective Action) going and that's been rough too.

If you want to make a presentation out of the article, I think that could be a good thing, but if it's okay I would like a chance to have a look at it before it gets attached in The Cove.

I'm so glad that article is proving useful. I feel that applying the Theory of Constraints in human performance brings enormous opportunity, and we should keep trying to understand it.

In my paper I mentioned that some conditions are covered by the Americans With Disabilities Act. To help avoid discrimination claims, here (http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/qandaeng.htm) is an information source to help employers deal with employees with covered conditions.

In Mexico there is too much to do in fre mind standpoint. This articles are excellent to start with a new focus on why things are happening with our workers

Congratulation Jennifer:agree1:

In Mexico there is too much to do in fre mind standpoint. This articles are excellent to start with a new focus on why things are happening with our workers

Congratulation Jennifer:agree1:Thank you Mexicanforquality, and welcome to The Cove. :bigwave: Don't be a stranger!

A priase worthy effort.:applause:

Keep it up, Jennifer.

Wouldn't it be a shame if you lost good workers because simple rebellion wasn't the real problem? All of those trained employees would be out the door and must be replaced, tsk tsk. Very expensive! And your company's secrets, if you had any, went with them. Surely there is a better way of dealing with resistance!

This article is number 4 in the Stealth Quality Series.

I had already promised Arresting Absenteeism would be number 3, but have not written that yet as this subject surfaced recently and seemed to need a good airing. I'll start on absenteeism soon. Thanks for your patience--be well!

Hi Jennifer,
Supercagifragilisticexpialidocious!!Don't rush to a Dic.This simply means
'SUPERB'
Thanks a lot for the enlightening article.This is a day to day problem,faced by all at the work place,at one or the other time.Your effort to provide solutions is laudable.
:applause:

JENNIFER
GOOD ARTICLE.
:agree1:

Mmm .
That is a fine article.
:applause:
But what if an employee comes every day late at work , is not assisting his partners (colleages) and does complete the daily reports.
Would the method described at the article apply to this problem ?
:confused:

Mmm .
That is a fine article.
:applause:
But what if an employee comes every day late at work , is not assisting his partners (colleages) and does complete the daily reports.
Would the method described at the article apply to this problem ?
:confused:Thank you for your compliment. :o

The flow chart in the article addresses the very real possibility that the employee is not value added. Some conditions like Oppositional Defiant Disorder (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppositional_defiant_disorder) While it may be tempting to address the employee with authority :whip: that may not be the right approach. (Note: ODD is listed as a child's disorder. That presumes only children have it; some people would simply say the child is "spoiled"--and arguably that could be the case, and just as arguably adults could become "spoiled" too.)

Let's suppose the employee is an otherwise ernest person, and comes well recommended by past employers. The employee might:

Be working under or over his/her job capacity.
Have the wrong supervisor and/or coworkers.
Be better suited to working completely alone.
Have personal problems outside the workplace.
Feel marginalized for some reason.

Those are all problems that could possibly be resolved without a lot of expense or fuss. Employees are usually matched to jobs, whereas some people may contribute more value if their jobs were designed for them. Your willingness to do that depends on the returns of your investment in that process.

To know if the investment is expected to be worthwhile, you will need a clear understanding of that that employee's value would be if he was performing at his best. The Quality Costs Calculators could be adapted to help compute that.

Many managers would not bother with such a task. They would simply say "You're fired" and try again with another employee. Then the subject becomes one of turnover costs. I have an article for that too, of course.

There, have I made that complicated enough? :lol: It's all so easy to say, but not so easy to do...

:applause:Thanks for the reply. :applause:
You helped me much.
You are correct about the fact that most managers do not bother much with the internal world of each employee's life.
But you know, it is difficult to say to somebody to find assistance for his or her problems that mix with the procedures.
Anyway, thanks for your guidance.
:thanx:

But you know, it is difficult to say to somebody to find assistance for his or her problems that mix with the procedures. Anyway, thanks for your guidance. :thanx:

You're welcome.

And yes, it is hard to tell someone to find assistance for his/her personal problems. Some organizations include mental health in their insurance benefits. Some organizations have lists in Human Resources where a person can confidentially find resources like credit counseling. The U.S. has the United Way with its directories of local resources for all sorts of needs, including substance abuse, domestic abuse, family counseling, elder care and assistance with expenses for the poor--like heating oil.

It can be a delicate matter to offer this to an individual unless he asks. However, if said individual is negatively impacting performance, the organization is right to pursue a solution. Employee counseling is usually the first step--and I don't mean "Shape up or (fill in the blank)."

Here in the U.S. there has been workplace violence by troubled employees, and in the armed forces they used to say "Your family doesn't come in your seabag/bootkit/etc." but they now know that people perform better, and are safer when unfettered by solvable burdens.

So the first thing you can do is ask your HR deparment to assemble a list of resources for people who might need them. Pamphlets could be placed in places where they can be casually slipped into a pocket--often people do not want to advertise they are having some personal difficulty. If there is something (like personal financial management) your company can help provide, set up a way to do it.

Beyond this advice I want to caution you to take care. Consult your legal department if you feel concern enough to do so. Then, armed with your options, assemble a small team of managers and ask each other what offocial approach they think is the right one, and set it as policy.

A very interesting article. It clearly gives reasons why employees may act as they do in the work place. It makes me wonder why some of the attitudes you may experience at work with certain people are not the same attitudes at home. It must be pressure. Trying to meet unrealistic deadlines, unbalanced work loads, the snap of a new whip, substandard equipment, and insufficient resources. These things tend to aggrivate anyone. Please explain how these have no affect on an employees behavior and why good employees should not walk out.

Good managment is from the earned respect of those you manage.
A failure on their part is a direct result of management's failure to do their part.

ps. I noticed management was not part of your flow chart. To simplify your process for termination I would start with management. Less steps to a meaningful solution.

A very interesting article. It clearly gives reasons why employees may act as they do in the work place. It makes me wonder why some of the attitudes you may experience at work with certain people are not the same attitudes at home. It must be pressure. Trying to meet unrealistic deadlines, unbalanced work loads, the snap of a new whip, substandard equipment, and insufficient resources. These things tend to aggrivate anyone. Please explain how these have no affect on an employees behavior and why good employees should not walk out.

Good management is from the earned respect of those you manage.
A failure on their part is a direct result of management's failure to do their part.

ps. I noticed management was not part of your flow chart. To simplify your process for termination I would start with management. Less steps to a meaningful solution.

Sorry it took me so long to respond to your post.

Here in Maine, people have long been famous for their work ethic. I've come to recognize that includes the tendency to stay by one's machine and keep working through oppressive conditions and concerns about safety too.

Lately there's a complaint going around: "The work ethic is dead." Young people don't want to work, etc. Richard Florida points out in his book Rise of the Creative Class that the work ethic isn't dead among young people, but it has changed. They are less inclined to do the same repetitious and seemingly thankless work as their parents were willing to do. No, these young people want to feel a connection to the customer, to feel creative and appreciated in their jobs. How dare they??

People's willingness to put up with a bad situation depends on a lot of things. Upbringing, availability of alternatives, financial need, and their position on Maslow's pyramid, if you believe in such a thing as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs) When at home, people may act differently when they feel like they are in control, can relax in their surroundings. Unfortunately, sometimes there is also dysfunction in the home, so I guess there would also be a limit to enduring it before a person runs away.

There's no question in the minds of anyone I can think of on this forum that management's bane and burden is employee performance. Bad planning, poor execution and/or inflamed ego have no doubt undone many a project, and I struggle with how to include a step in that flow chart that informs the reader to look in the mirror for his or her problems. That flow chart is for managers, you see. It is meant to demystify employee performance, and point out that factors besides character impact performance.

So, given all that can you tell me just what you mean when you say "start with management" in that flow chart? I think you mean "Doctor, heal thyself" and if so, how to word that in a way they'll accept is something I am always ready to hear!

Hi Jennifer,:thanks:
Wow, this is great!
This kind of topic should be clearly discussed with our department managers and HRD so that they would understand how a person is behaving towards the organization. This is a big help.
Thank you very much.
Best regards,
Raffy

Thanks Raffy, glad I could help.

I hope the article makes a difference, but I want to caution you to be patient. It sounds a bit like you are trying to influence culture. That can take time.

Hi Jennifer,
The article makes a BIG difference because when we have a problem in our production area, we often come up with a corrective action for our system, but wait, after this thread you've posted, things come up and you've enlightened me and surely I'll be sharing this to my manager and HRD Personnel as well. Thank you so much.
Your right I should be patient because this kind of process would really takes a lot of time.
A million thanks! :thanks:
Best regards,
Raffy:cool:

This is very nice .... thanks for this article ...

Jhonie

GOOD JOB JENNIFER:
THANKYOU WE HAVE A PROBLEM AT OUR WORK.
I WILL BE SEND IT TO HR
THANKS SO MUCH
QB:::applause:

thanks
i`ll read it ,it seems to be good