Employee behavior has always been a source of frustration for managers, and it’s led to important works like Fredrick Winston Taylor’s four principles of management and Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y.
But problematic workplace behavior seems more common now than ever.
For instance, Vonda White, 46, recalls having an unsettling feeling about an employee at her Tarpon Springs, Fla., insurance-brokerage firm Collegiate Risk Management. He demonstrated a negative attitude and seemed distant in his day-to-day dealings with her. Eventually she discovered he had copied the company’s database and was trying to help a friend launch a competing company, White says.
There are hundreds of other examples, though, and bad attitudes in workplace spread like wildfire. A single employee’s bad attitude can have a huge effect on the entire workforce. Mistakes might occur more often and output will likely slow. If your customers encounter bad attitudes from your employees, they won’t come back.
Losing your competitive advantage to a direct rival as a result of your employees’ selfish interest is unbearable and has serious effect on company’s…