2 years ago,
I was transferred to this particular workplace and took on a
leadership/managerial role.
One of the
first few tasks that was given to me involves working with a co-worker who had
3 years working experience ahead of me, yet held an appointment lower than me. Within
the 1-2 days of working experience with him, I perceived him as sloppy and
unmotivated, frequently taking short cuts. In addition, he tried means and ways
to persuade me to adopt such incorrect methods. Having been through the necessary
training prior to the transfer, I was aware of what is the right way of doing
things as opposed to the incorrect/short-cut method. Therefore, I have insisted
in adopting the correct yet tedious way of completing the task despite the
constant persuasion from him.
After a day
of working with him, I decided to send an email to his superior (since he was
from another department) and highlight the many tasks which(which is time
critical) he failed to achieve. Subsequently, I have talked to him about this
issue and told him that I respected him due to his wealth of experience, yet I
am unwilling to turn a blind eye on his failure to accomplish the critical
tasks.
However, he
started to make negative comments about me in the coming months. Such act was
put to a halt only after a meeting involving both of our superiors and me.
Subsequently, we did not interact with each other apart from work-related
purposes.
Possible
solutions: I could have spoken to him and understand the difficulties that he
faced before sending an email to his superior. This allows me to portray myself
as an empathetic figure who is willing to hear him out, thereby increasing his
motivation to work.
Questions
to reader: Given the time critical nature of the task, what will you do to get
an unmotivated co-worker to complete that task?
Dear Jun Han,
ReplyDeleteI felt that you could have been too harsh and sent that email out too quickly. Like you said, you could have been a more empathetic listener. Maybe he was facing some issues in the family/work that you were unaware of. However, if he has always been this lazy, then i felt that you could have talked to him in private and try to motivate him again. Allow him to identify his own weakness and ask how he can improve in his work performance. Or else, you can try to refresh his mind about the appropriate training method that he was suppose to apply in his work. Make him know that work isnt easy and it requires much discipline and effort. Remind him why did he even signed up for this job. Whatever situation it is at work, i believe that sending out an email to your superior should always be the last resort.
Hi Jun Han
ReplyDeleteI think it is better to have a friend than an enemy. Often, first perceptions are hard to overcome than one can realized. I think because your first impression of him had become your brain's default perception. And as you later learnt information that concur with your impression, you would inevitably categorized him as negative. Thus, when you were given an urgent and important task, it would be hard for you to empathize him. Nonetheless, i think that you have handled the situation very well especially well in the aspect of the accountability and I would have done the same thing as you. However, things could have been better if you were able to handle feelings better. For example, you could let him know your point of view and your concerns after the whole incidents. And let bygones be bygones. :)
Hi Jun Han,
ReplyDeleteI agree that you should have spoken to him first to find out the deeper reason behind his lack of motivation to work. Perhaps he was going through a rough patch in his life or something. Talking to him first shows that you're still human whereas reporting him behind his back to his superior after only after one day certainly indicates your hostility and the only way a normal person would react back, in your particular work environment, is certainly with hostility too.
You said that you and him had a talk with your superiors regarding the matter. A question to you, how then did his superior handled the case and ensured that he followed standard operating procedures after the confrontation? Or was he still lack-luster in his work attitude?
Hi Jun Han,
ReplyDeleteThis is indeed a hard situation to handle. There is a fine line between handling it in an objective manner and letting your feelings come into play. As humans, it is inevitable that we experience frustration when faced with such a problem. However, in a work setting, I feel that is it of utmost importance that we always consider the welfare/effectiveness of the company before anything else. I personally feel that it was right that you raised this issue to your superior, as long as you were doing it with the right intentions (because you wanted to ensure the effective functioning of the company, and not because you were frustrated with your co-worker).
Regarding your question, I feel that a possible solution would be to talk to him and find out what is the cause of his sloppy attitude. Perhaps he was really going through a rough patch, or maybe his skills were not suitable for his current job? In the latter situation, a transfer to another department which could make good use of his skills would be a good solution as it benefits both you and the company.
Yup, just my two cents worth.(: