One of the keys to growing your business and maintaining high productivity is ensuring that your employees feel engaged, appreciated, and are motivated. Engaged employees are much more likely to perform their jobs to their highest potential and help your company achieve its long-term goals.
A disgruntled employee is one who is dissatisfied with their job or position in your company. These employees are less likely to perform their best, and if left unaddressed, they can influence the way other employees feel about their work and your organization.
These employees are not only unengaged and dissatisfied, but they are also often very vocal about their dissatisfaction. As a result, they often have a negative impact on workplace morale and culture.
The good news is that, while disgruntled employees are often unavoidable, they are often able to be effectively dealt with by managers or HR. By talking to them, listening to their concerns, and addressing any issues they may be having, you may be able to get them back on board before they begin to impact your company culture.
In this brief guide, we will look at how to handle a disgruntled employee and what best practices are available to make the process as easy as possible for everyone involved. First, though, if you are having behavioral issues with a worker that has gone beyond them being upset, you can download our employee warning notice here:
Understanding how to spot a disgruntled employee is always a good skill to have. However, a better skill would be understanding what environments, situations, and triggers can create a disgruntled employee in the first place.
The real goal of this list is to provide you a way to constantly monitor issues inside your company that can trigger dissatisfaction. Knowing these issues can help you reduce the amount of disgruntled employees in general while also making your workplace better overall.
HR needs to remain level-headed and extremely professional when dealing with upset employees. This is true when a layoff happens, a performance review is handled poorly, or any other situation. But it is especially important when the employee is already dissatisfied.
When you follow up, make sure to keep it professional and private. Giving your employee some privacy to talk through their feelings is always recommended and will greatly increase the likelihood that you will be able to fix the problem to the best of your ability.
The final step is to make sure you are now bowing out to the disgruntled employee. For example, if your company is stalling on all other activities to deal with the problems one employee is causing, you have empowered the dissatisfied employee, which is never a good idea, American Express reports.
Remember that there are a bunch of reasons for an employee to become dissatisfied with their job. Some of these issues you can correct internally. Others are more complicated, such as a divorce or at-home financial issue.
Make sure to handle interactions with disgruntled employees in a professional way that allows them to discuss the issues without turning all of the power over to them. You need to maintain control and composure.
Many entrepreneurs will eventually have to manage a disgruntled employee for a number of reasons. But you can tackle these situations before they escalate. Importantly, you can avoid future problems by ensuring your employees are engaged at work. Remember, non-engaged employees can turn into disgruntled employees.
Disgruntled employees can pose a risk to your company. In addition to potentially providing poor customer service, they may also create a negative working environment, creating stress for other colleagues within the company. Some disgruntled employees may purposely set out to cause harm to the company, from spreading rumors to stealing money and equipment.
Broadly speaking, a disgruntled employee is a team member who has grievances about their work, employer, team, or responsibilities. This may stem from company policy or a series of incidents; at other times, a single event may offend an employee. Disgruntled behavior may vary depending on the person, but oftentimes a disgruntled team member may share their disapproval with co-workers, rather than voicing their concerns to management. This can create a negative working environment.
Regardless of how the disgruntled employee behaves, it is important to always remain professional when handling the situation. Avoid yelling, swearing, or exhibiting unprofessional behavior in any way. Remember that this behavior is not usually personal, and it needs to be handled in a professional manner on behalf of the company.
Rather than confront a disgruntled employee in front of others, always take it to a more private setting, such as meeting one-on-one in a conference room or private office. Of course, if needed, you can meet one-on-one virtually. Addressing the situation in view of others can cause the employee to become embarrassed, thus fueling their disgruntled fire. Part of being professional is handling the situation as a matter that needs to be addressed privately.
A best practice is to document everything taking place in any disciplinary conversations. Whatever the disgruntled employee has done that needs to be corrected should be documented, as should how you address it. Documenting everything, from warnings and discussions to termination of employment, if you have to go that far, can help to protect you and your company.
When you're able, try to offer the employee potential solutions to their grievances. Sometimes there will be an assortment of solutions available, but at other times only a single option may be appropriate. Solutions could range from further training to extra internal support. Discuss these solutions with the staff member and consider offering to monitor the situation better in the future. When in doubt, request guidance from your human resources (HR) team.
If your disgruntled employee has the company stalled while everyone tries to deal with their drama, then they are being empowered. Don't give them that kind of power. If there is a problem, have the most appropriate person address it directly, and keep everyone else focused on their tasks to move the company forward. This way, the problematic individual also sees that the company is carrying on, independent of their disgruntled attitude.
Once you've reached a resolution with a disgruntled employee, remind them you're always open to hearing their perspective and encourage them to voice any future issues they may have with you. That way, you can collaborate to build a better business for everyone.
Dealing with a disgruntled employee may seem daunting, but there are many benefits of managing the situation correctly. Doing so in a professional, streamlined way can help other employees feel safe and supported.
Identifying and handling a disgruntled employee quickly can help foster a supportive work environment for all. Use these tips next time you feel an employee may be disgruntled, and take action as quickly and calmly as you can.
A version of this article was originally published on September 28, 2011.
Offer a solution to solve a dilemma and compromise. You need to try to satisfy the disgruntled employee while still protecting the business. Always remember that whatever decision you make, you need to keep the other employees in mind as well.
However, there will be times when employees will refuse to be helped or not listen to anything a company says to them. If they deny suggestions and concerns, accept that not everyone can be satisfied. This could also be a sign to let go of a person if things are just not working out.
In dealing with a disgruntled employee, always think about professionalism and learn to handle things the right way. You may not please everyone, but you can try to compromise and meet with them halfway.
Handling dissatisfied employees is a major task for HRs to maintain decorum and discipline. When employees are satisfied with their job and team members, it attracts higher productivity and employee engagement.
Are you wondering how to manage disgruntled workers? How can you address the problems of a disgruntled employee and provide solutions? What should be your next step if their behavior leads to a toxic work environment?
Every organization has its fair number of dissatisfied employees. Workers often get upset for petty reasons like not getting enough help from colleagues, lack of appreciation, not enough payments, irregular rewards and recognition, etc.
There is no particular time frame for an unhappy employee to feel disgruntled and before the situation goes unsalvagable, HRs and managers must recognize the following signs of a disgruntled employee:
Suppose you notice an employee who is maybe passive-aggressive or upset, never ignore them. Addressing the situation will be uncomfortable, but ignorance will lead to eventual disengagement. The longer you avoid, more will the work environment be affected.
These kinds of employees take some time to share what is on their mind, and you must be patient and kind not to get annoyed and judge them for being difficult. While processing the first meeting, you must have a respectful tone for the rest of the process. You must listen to them patiently, try to see their viewpoint, and make them feel comfortable sharing their concerns.
Show professionalism and refrain from biases and partialities. Just because employees who grumble might come across as difficult or problematic, but you never know what they are going through. They might show little aggression, defensive nature, but you must remain neutral and calm. Practicing this will protect you from becoming partial or bias.
You must document situations and conversations with a disgruntled employee for many reasons. Firstly, it helps you record the time you became aware of their problem. Thus, protecting you from any claims of discrimination and negligence.
Another reason for documenting is to keep facts straight. They are usually frustrated for various reasons, and thus it is crucial to have detailed notes about their actions. It helps people and colleagues to not behave rudely with
employees who are facing any problems.