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I have had the pleasure of managing every group of employee imaginable from the Veteran Generation to generation Y and from white collar to blue collar, so generating a top ten list of the worst employees imaginable is not a difficult task.

#10. The "I'm not feeling it today" employee thinks it is OK to walk into their managers office and ask for a special assignment because they just don't feel like doing their job today.

#9. "The Gate Keeper" who feels it is necessary to chronicle to comings and goings of others and report on which of their peers didn't put in an honest days work.

#8. The "Murphy's Law" employee who is always the victim of an elaborate chain of events that prevents them from being at work on time, coming back from lunch on time, and requires them to leave early.

#7. "The Martyr" who always works harder and longer than everyone else and refuses to take a lunch or a break because they just have so much work to do. This wouldn't be so bad if they didn't spend half of their time letting everyone know how "put upon" they are.

#6. "The Under Achiever" who has more talent and potential than anyone around them, but is too lazy to apply themselves and produce solid business results.

#5. The "Delusions of Grandeur" employee. This employee is the exact opposite of the under achiever. This employee isn't half as good as he wants everyone to believe his, and is constantly angry about being overlooked.

#4. "The High Performing/Low Potential" employee. This employee is a headache for every manager, because although they perform their current role to perfection, they don't have the leadership ability to move to the next level. This employee is always disgruntled, because they don't understand why they are always training the new boss.

#3. The "What's in it for me" employee who thinks they should be rewarded for showing up everyday and doing their job, as if that is not what their salary is for. This is the same employee who complains that their bonus isn't good enough and the company should have thrown a more elaborate holiday party.

#2. "The Narcissist". This employee can't spell T.E.A.M., let alone tell you the meaning of it. Everything is about him or her, and unless their is some glory to be attained for them, sees no value in contributing to a team effort.

And the #1 worst employee a boss can have... "The Saboteur." You can't turn your back on this employee because she is gunning for your job. She will undermine your authority, secretly align herself with your enemies, and throw you under the bus at the first available opportunity. This employee makes it difficult to do your job because you always have to watch your back. The time, energy and effort involved in managing this employee makes them the worst employee you can have.

Learn more about this author, Machelle Williams.
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