How to Deal With People Who Complain on the Job All the Time

An employee who complains all the time can affect the morale of the rest of your workers.

As a manager, you are responsible for coaxing the best possible performance from your workers and ensuring a high level of employee morale. But some employees just have bad attitude about work, no matter what the work situation. Your strategy for how to deal with an employee who repeatedly complains at work should depend on the quality of that employee's work as well as the extent to which his complaints are affecting his co-workers.

Instructions

1. Assess the extent to which an employee's complaints are affecting the rest of the workforce. This will depend of whether she is working closely with the rest of your staff, and whether she is prone to complain to her coworkers or to the management. Start by observing nonverbal signals, such as coworkers rolling their eyes when he starts to complain or employees discretely leaving the room when she expresses negative opinions. If you determine that her behavior is affecting her coworkers' morale, speak to key employees about the situation. Start with a worker who you particularly trust, who generally has a balanced perspective on work situations. Ask if he believes the complaining employee's behavior is affecting your workforce in general as well as this employee in particular.

2. Evaluate the complaining employee's performance to determine whether his work is good enough to balance the negative effects of his complaints. This equation will depend on the severity of the complaints, his proximity to other workers and the quality of his work. If he consistently does a good job despite his negative attitude, consider ways to work around the situation, such as assigning him to tasks where he will have little contact with other employees or customers. If his work is not good enough to counteract the negative effects of his ongoing complaining, consider firing him.

3. Speak to the employee about her ongoing complaints. If your company has a formal performance evaluation process, use this as an opportunity to broach the subject. Even if your company does not have a formal employee review process, find an opportunity to speak to her alone. If she is a good worker, praise her performance but explain that her attitude is having a negative effect on her coworkers. If you have a good rapport and history with this employee, ask whether there is some other situation in her life that is affecting her morale. If you are not pleased with her overall performance, gently warn her that if she continues to complain all the time, you will have to let her go.

4. Fire a complaining worker if his work is poor and his complaints continue after you speak with him about the situation. Present the situation as if you are considering his needs as well by saying, "You don't seem happy here."

References

• Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC: The Delicate Art of Managing Complainers
• Boston.com and Monster Hiring Hub: From Whiners to Winners: Channeling Employee Complaints
• TipsforSuccess: How to Handle Difficult People