The secret to limiting employee turnover? Well that’s a happy team of course! Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to keep everyone happy. A great work environment with a reasonable schedule and generous benefits are always a positive start, but what about how the other team members themselves behave? This is where keeping your staff happy & the workplace enjoyable can get tricky. As they say, one bad apple can ruin the whole bunch!
Here are a few tips for dealing with some of the most common types of negative employees.
The Gossip
This is probably the most common type of negative team member and the one that we’ve all worked with. A gossip has to spread the latest news, and usually has very little regard for facts or other people’s feelings. Maybe it’s something personal about a fellow employee that leaves the other person feeling isolated from your team. Or a business related rumor to spark fear in the rest of the time, such as hearing that layoffs are looming. This behavior does nothing but leave your staff on edge.
It’s best to handle a gossip gently & not feed into any rumors yourself, but stay above them. If a staff member comes to you concerned about layoffs or other company issues that simply aren’t true, put it to rest by answering their questions with facts. Let them know that you appreciate them making an effort to seek truth in their concerns and encourage them to help stop the spread of any unsubstantiated rumors in the future.
Your best allies in dealing with a gossip are facts and other team members committed to stopping the rumor mill.
The Victim
This negative personality is another that can cause a lot of harm within your team, and it can be hard to pick up on at first. It can start innocently. The sous chef who messes up a full night of prep, but says it’s because he wasn’t given the instructions clearly. The waiter who leaves your dining guests without food for far too long, but the hostess oversat his section.
Any of those things can easily be truth and happen in restaurants every night of the week. When it becomes an issue is when you start to see a pattern. The same person making mistakes & those mistakes always being the fault of something or someone else. This behavior can infect your team as staff who are doing their jobs properly will get tired of being falsely blamed for issues & having to pick up the slack. It can be hard to address, because no one wants to be told that they are being negative or called out directly for not taking ownership of problems. You can try empathy while also asking “What could you have done differently to make sure this doesn’t happen again in the future?”. This allows the employee to see that they can change their circumstances without creating any negative feelings.
The Negative Nancy
No matter how great things are for your business and team, the negative nancy is going to find a problem and be sure to point it out. We’ve all worked with this person before. You just passed a new income goal & are excited to share the news, but they respond by telling you how much harder it will be to reach the next one. Or you’re booked out for reservations all weekend for the first time this year, but they’re quick to let you know how long & difficult those nights will be in the kitchen. It can make you and your employees hesitant to share good news for the fear of having the wind knocked out of their sails. Over time it also creates a negative outlook for the entire team, which will obviously impact your business. This behavior is best addressed head on, as difficult as that may be. Gently explain to this person how their responses and behaviors are affecting the time.
Most of the time, negative nancys don’t realize just how gloomy they’re being. If pointed out in the right way, you can help them correct the behavior & become a more supportive part of the team.
