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Hub You - The Horror of WorkZilla (Or, How To Handle A Nightmare Employee)
Smart Thinking Techniques - Creative Idea Generation the broomstick.In dealing with problems, we need to make decisions. When faced with a situation that warrants a response, we put on our thinking cap. We depend on our thinking skills. Few of us are fully aware of the need to stop and reflect on the situation. We tend to follow the easiest and least resistant thinking path. This is not necessarily always the best response. With smart thinking techniques you will be in a position to respond more effectively to each situation.Define the problemWhen you visit your General Practitioner (Medical Doctor) , because you are having fever, cough and sore throat. To you these are problems you would like to get rid. However, to the Doctor, these are symptoms and he is interested in pinpointing the real problem. Through her questioning skills, he doctor attempts to diagnose your illness. Smart thinking requires similar strategy. Let us get started so that we are able to define the problem (Get our diagnosis right)Define the problem by asking the following questions:Who are the people most affe Once WorkZilla is isolated from his or her support system of dedicated followers, the idea is to give this creature enough rope to hang itself. Removing its ability to manipulate the workplace and those in it is like taking drugs away from a drug addict. It’s unlikely that WorkZilla will be able to cope with losing the power he or she has worked so hard to consolidate. Instead, they’ll probably try and negotiate one final victory in the form of a lump sum payment designed to bribe them to resign. Paying WorkZilla to leave would be a mistake and send the wrong message to other potential workplace monsters waiting in the wings. It would be better to hold its feet to the corporate rulebook fire. WorkZilla is not a problem exclusive to workplace management. It will attack other employees for any reason or none at all. If you find yourself facing WorkZilla on a daily basis, it’s important to keep a logbook. You should carefully document any unnecessary sarcasm, insults or outright slander directed toward you (not others). Incidents of project sabotage or purposeful work disruption are likely to be of particular interest to upper management. If you do decide to blow the whistle, be discreet. While it may seem wise to engage other employees in a discussion of WorkZilla and even ask them to join you when reporting this creature, that’s exactly what you should not do. WorkZilla exists because it Calendars and Cubicles Although self-employed for many years, I have been a regular visitor to workplaces small and large as a Business Consultant, Staff Trainer or Special Event Speaker. When the purpose for my visit has to do with business consultation, it doesn’t take long for me to locate the biggest potential problem in any office. It’s WorkZilla!Calendars and cubicles, do you wonder how they could possibly be related? Calendars have been around for hundreds of years. The primary practical use of a calendar is to identify days. They help us to be informed about a future event and to record an event that has happened. They allow us to plan ahead and to record events, dates and appointments that are important to us. For example, a calendar provides a way to determine which days are religious or civil holidays, which days mark the beginning and end of business accounting periods, and which days have legal significance, such as the day taxes are due or a contract expires. So where does the cubical come in you ask? That is quite a different story.I absolutely disdain the rotten person who invented the office cubicle. I have worked at the Utah State Prison and I can state unequivocally that inmates in maximum security are happier than people who work in cubicles. In fact, if I were to pull an inmate off of death row and force him to spend one week in a cubicle, he would call the governor and beg that his execution be expedited at WorkZilla is a nightmare employee who instills a quiet fear in the workplace that causes productive employees to quit, stay home or just give up when it comes to deadlines or productivity. This monster is smart and knows how to exploit the system. Even if supervisors know about the problem, they are unlikely to report WorkZilla for fear of retribution. By the time upper management becomes aware of a WorkZilla in their midst, most of the damage is already done. This creature knows how to consolidate its power and create carefully planned barriers to prevent its dismissal. WorkZilla isn’t just smart; it’s charming and often has many allies. Carefully winding its tentacles around the most emotionally or professionally vulnerable people within its sphere of influence, WorkZilla carefully builds a small group of dedicated supporters. This group is always ready, willing and able to counter any negative comments or complaints that might reach the ears of upper management. They become its first line of defense against administrative action. Supervisors often find themselves between a rock and a hard place when it comes to WorkZilla. This nightmare employee creates a personality cult of peer support and hides behind any essential technical or other essential skills they may possess. Most nightmare employees manage to blackmail their supervisors by constantly reminding them how essential they are to any project. It’s not unusual for WorkZilla to have more power and influence in the workplace then their immediate Supervisors. Despite any technical or other indispensable skills a WorkZilla may possess, no workplace can function smoothly with one in their midst. There is always an ultimate price to be paid for allowing this creature to inhabit and flourish in any place of business. Besides creating an unpleasant and outright combative atmosphere, WorkZilla tends to reproduce. Once other employees see how this creature gets over on management, they learn by example and become workplace monsters in their own right. WorkZilla is not the kind of creature that will respond to subtle hints. Trying to control it by sending employee behavior expectation and productivity memos to the entire office will meet with immediate failure. Such an action would merely create another tool that WorkZilla can use to consolidate its power and lower workplace morale. Any nightmare employee has to be directly confronted. Because WorkZilla has nothing but contempt for management, this confrontation has to be carefully planned and flawlessly executed. Any confrontation must be based on facts, not here say. Simply rattling off a number of complaints from its peers will not be sufficient to take down WorkZilla. It would simply enlist an equal number of followers to discredit the whistle blowers. Complaints must be based on inappropriate behavior or actions that have been documented by upper management as they occur. This means that a period of observation and work evaluation will be needed before any confrontation is scheduled. Immediate supervisors and upper management should conduct the confrontation and WorkZilla should be notified well in advance. Notification must be in writing and include a receipt signed by the nightmare employee and witnessed by at least one supervisor and a member of upper management. The purpose of the sit down must be clearly spelled out. That purpose is be to present specific allegations of violations of company rules, policies or workplace etiquette. WorkZilla should be given the opportunity to chose an alternative meeting date or time within reason. The nightmare employee must be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations verbally or in writing shortly after the actual confrontation. Once the confrontation is planned and WorkZilla is notified, the entire matter should be kept strictly confidential. WorkZilla should be informed that he or she is not to discuss the meeting or purpose of the meeting before or afterward with other employees. The only contact regarding the matter available to it should be a member of upper management. There must be a clear and immediate sanction available if WorkZilla discusses the matter with others in the workplace or refuses to attend the meeting. The idea is to begin to socially isolate WorkZilla from other employees and make him or her aware that their reign of terror is coming to an end. Because most of these creatures have egos bigger then their ability to control a workplace, the average WorkZilla will probably throw in the towel and resign. However, you must remember that WorkZilla is also a kind of jailhouse lawyer that loves to exploit the system. You must be prepared to follow through with the meeting in case he or she doesn’t leave. Before you hold court against WorkZilla, make sure that everyone on your side of the table is on board with the agenda. That agenda isn’t to create a lynch mob designed to take down WorkZilla. It’s an organized effect on the part of management to restore order and increase productivity within the workplace environment that had been disrupted by an employee‘s inappropriate actions. The idea is to bring WorkZilla into the mainstream of accepted employee behavior. While it’s doubtful that will happen, the last thing you need is for WorkZilla to perceive the meeting as a corporate witch hunt with him or her caught holding the broomstick. Once WorkZilla is isolated from his or her support system of dedicated followers, the idea is to give this creature enough rope to hang itself. Removing its ability to manipulate the workplace and those in it is like taking drugs away from a drug addict. It’s unlikely that WorkZilla will be able to cope with losing the power he or she has worked so hard to consolidate. Instead, they’ll probably try and negotiate one final victory in the form of a lump sum payment designed to bribe them to resign. Paying WorkZilla to leave would be a mistake and send the wrong message to other potential workplace monsters waiting in the wings. It would be better to hold its feet to the corporate rulebook fire. WorkZilla is not a problem exclusive to workplace management. It will attack other employees for any reason or none at all. If you find yourself facing WorkZilla on a daily basis, it’s important to keep a logbook. You should carefully document any unnecessary sarcasm, insults or outright slander directed toward you (not others). Incidents of project sabotage or purposeful work disruption are likely to be of particular interest to upper management. If you do decide to blow the whistle, be discreet. While it may seem wise to engage other employees in a discussion of WorkZilla and even ask them to join you when reporting this creature, that’s exactly what you should not do. WorkZilla exists because it u What Should You Say About Your Past Jobs? ock and a hard place when it comes to WorkZilla. This nightmare employee creates a personality cult of peer support and hides behind any essential technical or other essential skills they may possess. Most nightmare employees manage to blackmail their supervisors by constantly reminding them how essential they are to any project. It’s not unusual for WorkZilla to have more power and influence in the workplace then their immediate Supervisors.These days many jobs are pretty compartmentalized. The bigger companies get, the more jobs that involve handling minute details of the business. Unfortunately in some cases it can be difficult to explain those daily duties in an interview and help the interviewer understand what skills you use every day.The best approach is to be as direct and simple as possible. When they ask you about your current position, start by telling them about your basic responsibilities. Then tell them who your “clients” are. Who do you service in the company? Whose questions do you answer? Are all of your clients external customers, or are you responsible for working with other departments in the company?Then branch out into describing what a typical request would be. And BE SPECIFIC. Remember, the interviewer is coming from a completely different company where things are done completely differently. They're trying to figure out what you get paid to do on a daily basis, and if it in any way relates to the stuff that they're going to ask you to do. If you can't use the actua Despite any technical or other indispensable skills a WorkZilla may possess, no workplace can function smoothly with one in their midst. There is always an ultimate price to be paid for allowing this creature to inhabit and flourish in any place of business. Besides creating an unpleasant and outright combative atmosphere, WorkZilla tends to reproduce. Once other employees see how this creature gets over on management, they learn by example and become workplace monsters in their own right. WorkZilla is not the kind of creature that will respond to subtle hints. Trying to control it by sending employee behavior expectation and productivity memos to the entire office will meet with immediate failure. Such an action would merely create another tool that WorkZilla can use to consolidate its power and lower workplace morale. Any nightmare employee has to be directly confronted. Because WorkZilla has nothing but contempt for management, this confrontation has to be carefully planned and flawlessly executed. Any confrontation must be based on facts, not here say. Simply rattling off a number of complaints from its peers will not be sufficient to take down WorkZilla. It would simply enlist an equal number of followers to discredit the whistle blowers. Complaints must be based on inappropriate behavior or actions that have been documented by upper management as they occur. This means that a period of observation and work evaluation will be needed before any confrontation is scheduled. Immediate supervisors and upper management should conduct the confrontation and WorkZilla should be notified well in advance. Notification must be in writing and include a receipt signed by the nightmare employee and witnessed by at least one supervisor and a member of upper management. The purpose of the sit down must be clearly spelled out. That purpose is be to present specific allegations of violations of company rules, policies or workplace etiquette. WorkZilla should be given the opportunity to chose an alternative meeting date or time within reason. The nightmare employee must be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations verbally or in writing shortly after the actual confrontation. Once the confrontation is planned and WorkZilla is notified, the entire matter should be kept strictly confidential. WorkZilla should be informed that he or she is not to discuss the meeting or purpose of the meeting before or afterward with other employees. The only contact regarding the matter available to it should be a member of upper management. There must be a clear and immediate sanction available if WorkZilla discusses the matter with others in the workplace or refuses to attend the meeting. The idea is to begin to socially isolate WorkZilla from other employees and make him or her aware that their reign of terror is coming to an end. Because most of these creatures have egos bigger then their ability to control a workplace, the average WorkZilla will probably throw in the towel and resign. However, you must remember that WorkZilla is also a kind of jailhouse lawyer that loves to exploit the system. You must be prepared to follow through with the meeting in case he or she doesn’t leave. Before you hold court against WorkZilla, make sure that everyone on your side of the table is on board with the agenda. That agenda isn’t to create a lynch mob designed to take down WorkZilla. It’s an organized effect on the part of management to restore order and increase productivity within the workplace environment that had been disrupted by an employee‘s inappropriate actions. The idea is to bring WorkZilla into the mainstream of accepted employee behavior. While it’s doubtful that will happen, the last thing you need is for WorkZilla to perceive the meeting as a corporate witch hunt with him or her caught holding the broomstick. Once WorkZilla is isolated from his or her support system of dedicated followers, the idea is to give this creature enough rope to hang itself. Removing its ability to manipulate the workplace and those in it is like taking drugs away from a drug addict. It’s unlikely that WorkZilla will be able to cope with losing the power he or she has worked so hard to consolidate. Instead, they’ll probably try and negotiate one final victory in the form of a lump sum payment designed to bribe them to resign. Paying WorkZilla to leave would be a mistake and send the wrong message to other potential workplace monsters waiting in the wings. It would be better to hold its feet to the corporate rulebook fire. WorkZilla is not a problem exclusive to workplace management. It will attack other employees for any reason or none at all. If you find yourself facing WorkZilla on a daily basis, it’s important to keep a logbook. You should carefully document any unnecessary sarcasm, insults or outright slander directed toward you (not others). Incidents of project sabotage or purposeful work disruption are likely to be of particular interest to upper management. If you do decide to blow the whistle, be discreet. While it may seem wise to engage other employees in a discussion of WorkZilla and even ask them to join you when reporting this creature, that’s exactly what you should not do. WorkZilla exists because it The True Defining Spirit Of Entrepreneurialism Is anned and flawlessly executed.So.....You want to be RICH do you?Yes? No?Do you know what it takes to make it? Or do you simply THINK you know what it takes?Becoming an entrepreneur, no doubt about it, is perhaps the toughest challenge you will ever face, because I can guarantee that you will start out life full of enthusiasm and you will face FAR MORE SETBACKS than you will successes - guaranteed.. period! ok?Entrepreneurialism. It can hit anybody at any time. I remember hearing about a lady who was never very good at school and failed most of her exams. She started out one day being given a piece of old furniture by a family relative. She decided to restore this furniture item, and soon went on and sold it for a profit. Years later she became the boss of her own company which is one of the must successful furniture businesses today which deals in restored items.All it takes is an idea...... that spark... one day it just hits you... it's that defining moment when everything is going crazy inside your head, you are frantically talking to yourself, pacing up and down, ey Any confrontation must be based on facts, not here say. Simply rattling off a number of complaints from its peers will not be sufficient to take down WorkZilla. It would simply enlist an equal number of followers to discredit the whistle blowers. Complaints must be based on inappropriate behavior or actions that have been documented by upper management as they occur. This means that a period of observation and work evaluation will be needed before any confrontation is scheduled. Immediate supervisors and upper management should conduct the confrontation and WorkZilla should be notified well in advance. Notification must be in writing and include a receipt signed by the nightmare employee and witnessed by at least one supervisor and a member of upper management. The purpose of the sit down must be clearly spelled out. That purpose is be to present specific allegations of violations of company rules, policies or workplace etiquette. WorkZilla should be given the opportunity to chose an alternative meeting date or time within reason. The nightmare employee must be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations verbally or in writing shortly after the actual confrontation. Once the confrontation is planned and WorkZilla is notified, the entire matter should be kept strictly confidential. WorkZilla should be informed that he or she is not to discuss the meeting or purpose of the meeting before or afterward with other employees. The only contact regarding the matter available to it should be a member of upper management. There must be a clear and immediate sanction available if WorkZilla discusses the matter with others in the workplace or refuses to attend the meeting. The idea is to begin to socially isolate WorkZilla from other employees and make him or her aware that their reign of terror is coming to an end. Because most of these creatures have egos bigger then their ability to control a workplace, the average WorkZilla will probably throw in the towel and resign. However, you must remember that WorkZilla is also a kind of jailhouse lawyer that loves to exploit the system. You must be prepared to follow through with the meeting in case he or she doesn’t leave. Before you hold court against WorkZilla, make sure that everyone on your side of the table is on board with the agenda. That agenda isn’t to create a lynch mob designed to take down WorkZilla. It’s an organized effect on the part of management to restore order and increase productivity within the workplace environment that had been disrupted by an employee‘s inappropriate actions. The idea is to bring WorkZilla into the mainstream of accepted employee behavior. While it’s doubtful that will happen, the last thing you need is for WorkZilla to perceive the meeting as a corporate witch hunt with him or her caught holding the broomstick. Once WorkZilla is isolated from his or her support system of dedicated followers, the idea is to give this creature enough rope to hang itself. Removing its ability to manipulate the workplace and those in it is like taking drugs away from a drug addict. It’s unlikely that WorkZilla will be able to cope with losing the power he or she has worked so hard to consolidate. Instead, they’ll probably try and negotiate one final victory in the form of a lump sum payment designed to bribe them to resign. Paying WorkZilla to leave would be a mistake and send the wrong message to other potential workplace monsters waiting in the wings. It would be better to hold its feet to the corporate rulebook fire. WorkZilla is not a problem exclusive to workplace management. It will attack other employees for any reason or none at all. If you find yourself facing WorkZilla on a daily basis, it’s important to keep a logbook. You should carefully document any unnecessary sarcasm, insults or outright slander directed toward you (not others). Incidents of project sabotage or purposeful work disruption are likely to be of particular interest to upper management. If you do decide to blow the whistle, be discreet. While it may seem wise to engage other employees in a discussion of WorkZilla and even ask them to join you when reporting this creature, that’s exactly what you should not do. WorkZilla exists because it Should You be the (Sole) Owner of That Solution? f the meeting before or afterward with other employees. The only contact regarding the matter available to it should be a member of upper management. There must be a clear and immediate sanction available if WorkZilla discusses the matter with others in the workplace or refuses to attend the meeting.A solution can be almost everything. An answer to a problem. The outcome of a complex equation. In business however, you can solve issues by finding solutions in areas like: • Human resources • Systems • Infrastructure.In any of those areas you should ask three questions regarding the best (type) of solution:Are we the first? Is our company really different? What is our focus?Here are some examples: An issue in the human resource area could be the remuneration policy, which is found to be unsatisfied (this is the case when market conditions are good). Solving this problem for a group of employees or for the whole organization could be done by raising the main salary –- the fixed part -- or the incentives -– performance based –- remunerations. In addition, you could think of extra benefit programs. Also in the systems area you could think of a solution for a problem; your production (and purchase) process requires more and more external suppliers. Chaining suppliers in an electronic way could be a solution. The The idea is to begin to socially isolate WorkZilla from other employees and make him or her aware that their reign of terror is coming to an end. Because most of these creatures have egos bigger then their ability to control a workplace, the average WorkZilla will probably throw in the towel and resign. However, you must remember that WorkZilla is also a kind of jailhouse lawyer that loves to exploit the system. You must be prepared to follow through with the meeting in case he or she doesn’t leave. Before you hold court against WorkZilla, make sure that everyone on your side of the table is on board with the agenda. That agenda isn’t to create a lynch mob designed to take down WorkZilla. It’s an organized effect on the part of management to restore order and increase productivity within the workplace environment that had been disrupted by an employee‘s inappropriate actions. The idea is to bring WorkZilla into the mainstream of accepted employee behavior. While it’s doubtful that will happen, the last thing you need is for WorkZilla to perceive the meeting as a corporate witch hunt with him or her caught holding the broomstick. Once WorkZilla is isolated from his or her support system of dedicated followers, the idea is to give this creature enough rope to hang itself. Removing its ability to manipulate the workplace and those in it is like taking drugs away from a drug addict. It’s unlikely that WorkZilla will be able to cope with losing the power he or she has worked so hard to consolidate. Instead, they’ll probably try and negotiate one final victory in the form of a lump sum payment designed to bribe them to resign. Paying WorkZilla to leave would be a mistake and send the wrong message to other potential workplace monsters waiting in the wings. It would be better to hold its feet to the corporate rulebook fire. WorkZilla is not a problem exclusive to workplace management. It will attack other employees for any reason or none at all. If you find yourself facing WorkZilla on a daily basis, it’s important to keep a logbook. You should carefully document any unnecessary sarcasm, insults or outright slander directed toward you (not others). Incidents of project sabotage or purposeful work disruption are likely to be of particular interest to upper management. If you do decide to blow the whistle, be discreet. While it may seem wise to engage other employees in a discussion of WorkZilla and even ask them to join you when reporting this creature, that’s exactly what you should not do. WorkZilla exists because it High Testosterone Doesn't Mean More Sales, Low Testosterone Sales Mean Stronger Relationships the broomstick.Hard charging sales men out to conquer the battlefield, slay the competition dragon and slaughter their customers thru raping and pillaging with their high testosterone displacement do not necessarily make more sales.In fact they do make sales due to their hard work ethics and constant tenacity pushing customers into the sales process and then the close, but they do not typically make as many quality sales and develop long-term relationships like their low testosterone counterparts. This should not surprise anyone who looks at human interaction, dating or marriages really.You see, High Testosterone does Not mean automatic increases in Sales, but low Testosterone sales mean Stronger and Longer Term Sales Relationships, which will equate to more referrals, repeat business and long-term success. Often we hear folks talk about these high-testosterone salesmen and they say they can sell anything, they are a natural sales person, and yet in further review usually it is not true.Sure they can make sales, but the natural sales person with empathy, charisma and who listens and then Once WorkZilla is isolated from his or her support system of dedicated followers, the idea is to give this creature enough rope to hang itself. Removing its ability to manipulate the workplace and those in it is like taking drugs away from a drug addict. It’s unlikely that WorkZilla will be able to cope with losing the power he or she has worked so hard to consolidate. Instead, they’ll probably try and negotiate one final victory in the form of a lump sum payment designed to bribe them to resign. Paying WorkZilla to leave would be a mistake and send the wrong message to other potential workplace monsters waiting in the wings. It would be better to hold its feet to the corporate rulebook fire. WorkZilla is not a problem exclusive to workplace management. It will attack other employees for any reason or none at all. If you find yourself facing WorkZilla on a daily basis, it’s important to keep a logbook. You should carefully document any unnecessary sarcasm, insults or outright slander directed toward you (not others). Incidents of project sabotage or purposeful work disruption are likely to be of particular interest to upper management. If you do decide to blow the whistle, be discreet. While it may seem wise to engage other employees in a discussion of WorkZilla and even ask them to join you when reporting this creature, that’s exactly what you should not do. WorkZilla exists because it understands the system better then you do. Enlisting the help of other employees will merely cause it to bring on those who are part of its personality cult. In the end, you’ll look like the villain instead of the victim. WorkZilla’s worst enemy is upper management. They are unlikely to be as intimidated as immediate supervisors. For them, it’s all about productivity. If you can prove that good people are leaving, missing work or slowing down because of WorkZilla, its days will be numbered. When reporting incidents, carefully follow company rules and do not expect an immediate response. If you have been the victim of any sort of direct harassment or threat of physical violence by WorkZilla, report the matter to your company security office. If you honestly feel that you’re in immediate physical danger because of a verbal or written threat, contact your immediate supervisor and ask them to notify the Police. The key is to work within the system as an ally, not an annoyance. While it may seem that I have been unduly crass when it comes to describing this kind of nightmare employee, everyone who has ever worked for any amount of time has probably met or even been the victim of a WorkZilla. That’s because this creature is a control freak who randomly attacks its fellow workers as handily as it goes after management. I cannot tell you how many emails I have received over the years from people who lived in outright fear of going to work because of some horrible dark cloud personality who ruled the roost and took on all comers. WorkZilla is a non-discriminatory monster bent on making the lives of others as miserable as its own.
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