Bad Habits of Good Employees - Essay Example

Bad Habits of Good Employees Dealing with bad habits of efficient employees is one of the toughest tasks managers have to undertake. On one hand they need to be told when they are in the wrong because other employees might pick up their habits as legitimate because of their status as efficient employees. And on the other hand directly confronting them may alienate them and affect their performance in the office (Shepard, 2005).Edna Norton is not only a senior member of my team but one of the most valued employees I have.

Direct confrontation or strict action is not suitable in this regard because of the quality of her work. What I would do is call a general meeting in the office and outline the progress of different cases that are underway. I will highlight all the people who are doing exception work which would include Edna. I will then move to ‘Office policy issues’ and remind all the employees of the rules and procedures of the office. Specifically on the matter of eating in one’s workspace, instead singling Edna out I will address the issue in a way that it seems as though many individuals are involved in it.

I will simply mention that eating in one’s workspace is not going to be condoned under any circumstance, because I am addressing the entire team and not just Edna I will neither alienate her nor embarrass her. Consequent actions of failure to follow office policy will also be outlined in the same meeting. In this manner I can make sure that Edna gets my message, feels good about her performance and starts following office procedure as well. ReferencesShepard, G. (2005) How to manage problem employees: a step-by-step guide for turning difficult employees into high performers: John Wiley and Sons, 2005