by Dicky Mint

Created on: April 20, 2010   Last Updated: April 21, 2010

I have been in a Supervisor / Manager role for about 15 years, taking responsibility for a variety of Small (6 employees), Medium (24 employees), and Large (48 employees) teams. On the whole I find that most of the employees are diligent, hard working individuals who want to work towards the overall business objective that you have in mind. However, you occasionally come across one or two individuals who insist on test your Management skills by causing you as much disruption and unrest as they can, either intentionally or not.

I have listed below 10 types of these people which I have come across during my employment as a Manager, that I have found to have caused me issues in the past, they are not listed in any particular order as I feel that they are all as bad as each other, and the worst employees to manage. This maybe because I have such high standards and expect everyone to be as committed and hard working as I am. 

The Liar / Idea Stealer

I have combined these two categories as one, as I feel that even though they are technically different, deep down they are the same. I think that every office has a liar, this is an individual who will blatantly lie to you, from a small thing like a doctors appointment in order to finish work early, to asking for time off to attend a funeral of a non existent relative just so they can have an extra day off.

The idea stealer is slightly different, in so much as one person will provide an idea for a cost saving or process improvement etc, and the idea stealer will pass it off as theirs, with a view to reaping any rewards or recognition that are associated. Both these types of people cause unrest and unnecessary tension in the workplace because they cause disharmony between work colleagues. 

Sickness

"I'm sorry, I won't be in today because I have the flu. But I will okay tomorrow, and I will be in." I am sure that I am not the only Manager to have received a call like this. These are the people who generally phone in on a Monday or a Friday with cold / flu like symptoms or even an upset stomach. Too many people have time off for minor ailments, making you skeptical of people who are genuinely unwell. There are some individuals who appear to be constantly absent from work for one thing or another - each one of these individuals are putting additional strain on the remaining staff, as they are unreliable. If you do not approach this type off issue, it could also cause a ripple effect through the building, bringing

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>