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The ten worst types of employees a boss can have

I've been supervising people for about a decade, and I've encountered these employees over and over, regardless of the business. They just give you a headache and make you wish you never got out of bed that morning.

1. The complainer.
Sally complains about everything. One coworker left a mess for her to deal with. Another does not work as hard as she. That decision management rolled out is unfair. Nothing makes Sally happy, and you could spend your entire career listening to her complain.

2. The victim.
It's "they" this and "management" that with Jeff. "They" treat us like children. "They" dump stupid rules on us. "Management" sets unreasonable expectations. "Management" doesn't understand what it's really like. Jeff seems to ignore the fact that "they" is really "you".

3. The blame-shifter.
You just can't give feedback to Maria, because she's quick to point out how everyone else set her up for failure. She had absolutely no fault in this, so don't even try to tell her what she could have done to improve her performance. Let's look at what Marcos, Jamie, and Jennifer did wrong instead.

4. The sourpuss.
Nancy may not say much, but that grunt that was supposed to pass as a reply to your "hello" says everything you need to know. She doesn't want to be there, she doesn't want to talk to you, and she doesn't want to do anything other than what's minimally required. She just wants to do her eight hours and go home. Nancy is about as joyful to experience as a cloudy day.

5. The entitled.
Dusty thinks that the company "owes" him a raise, a certain number of breaks, flexibility with his work schedule, a guaranteed position for life, the promotion he wants, the workload that he wants, an email account, Internet access, and free lunch. The bummer about Dusty is that no matter how much you give, he wants more. If you brought in Starbucks for the team last Friday, he suddenly expects it every Friday. Somehow, Dusty forgets that he accepted an offer when he walked in the door, and since he's still getting his paycheck, he's expected to work.

6. The manipulator.
Meet Rob. Rob knows the rules, but he's quick to catch you on a technicality, or if all else fails, claim ignorance. It's hard work managing him, because you have to document every little thing you ever say to him, just to prove that he should have known. Meanwhile, you know full well that Rob is playing you.

7. The sloth.
Brian may be agreeable to your face, but when you walk away, somehow the job still didn't get


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