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10 Habits of a Bad Employee

We have all worked with a less than model employee. For some reason their negativity tends to me more pervasive than that of the positive employees. Their attitude can cast a shadow over a team, and unfortunately can end up smothering the positivity of others. Bad employees tend to be easier to spot by their peers and it can take line management longer to spot. It is of course vital for team and organisational success to identify these employees, try and get them to improve their behaviours, or manage them out of the business. So what are the habits to look out for?

 

1.) They are negative

 

It does not matter what the boss or organisation does, they always have a negative angle on it – which they don’t mind sharing their thoughts on with the team

 

2.) They struggle to collaborate

 

Whilst they are happy to air their views to the team, they struggle to integrate and collaborate.

 

3.) They are not very productive

 

Their output is noticeably weaker than their peers.

 

4.) They play the blame game

 

When things go wrong, they are quick to look to blame others and ‘saving their own skin.’

 

5.) They are tardy and absent

 

They are often late to the office, or try to slip out early. Furthermore, they often have a higher than average rate of absenteeism.

 

6.) They don’t buy into company culture

 

Everyone seems to be moving in one direction, and they are doing their best to move in another.

 

7.) They leave diplomacy at the door

 

They have no problem acting undiplomatically and potentially causing unnecessary and unhelpful conflict.

 

8.) They will never go the extra mile

 

It is as if they know their job description off by heart, and they will never go above and beyond.

 

9.)They treat the office like a playground

 

They talk about colleagues behind their back, spread rumours, and even worse bully or harass those around them.

 

10.) They ignore policy and procedure

 

They have no time or interest in following rules and may even intentionally be non-compliant.

 

In Summary

 

As said in the introduction, it can be difficult to observe some of these traits, as many of them will be disguised from management by the bad employee. However, bad employees are typically lazy and at some stage will expose themselves. At this point the line manager must quickly intervene to avoid the negativity and bad practices spreading to other employees.

 

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