Ratings are out, appraisals have been received… lots of heartbreaks, plethora of frustrations, and in some cases euphoria of promotions!!!!! This kind of sums up the corporate mood .. doesn’t it ? 😜
Seeing a lot of LinkedIn rantings, Twitter posts and WhatsApp discussions got me thinking about the categories of corporate employees. To my utter shock, upon thinking about it, I realised that most of my connections on LinkedIn and colleagues past and present fall under one of these categories, including me.
Category 1: The self-motivated, high flyers, high performer workaholics. This category is every supervisor’s dream as they are self-critical and compete with themselves. They have a strong sense of responsibility and a drive to succeed. Their work ethic is par excellence, and they are fiercely loyal to their department/supervisor/jurisdiction. These employees love to work and thrive on chaos. The more the work, the better they excel. They are not bogged down with work hours and mental shackles of “this isn’t my job”. If the work gets done by going the extra mile, they would do so.
A word of caution, these employees are an asset and they would perform their best and beyond but provided they are appreciated and they feel valued. If they feel unwanted and are not appreciated, over time, their drive for perfection diminishes and they tend to move on, which is a loss to the organization and in turn to the managers. As these people are self-critical, their acceptance of criticism is low. They would appreciate constructive criticism only if backed with data/facts. They tend to dismiss criticism based on perceptions and hearsay; rather, such biased perceptions are a major turn off for them. Dismissing their efforts and ignoring them is a sure shot way to drive them away and kill their motivation, avoid!!!!
Category 2: The whiners – perpetually dissatisfied, melancholic workers. This category is every supervisor’s worst fear. They are not only mediocre performers but also find fault with everything. The manager is a tyrant, the colleagues play politics, the pay anomaly to the work expected is humongous, the free tea and coffee tastes bad, employee ABC is the manager’s pet and therefore got promoted and the litany of complaints and dissatisfaction goes on and on and on and on…..
These employees will never be satisfied as they have a sense of superiority without the substance to back it. They feel they get the short end of the stick without realizing that this is what they deserve. They find every high performer manipulative and each supervisor biased and unsupportive.
A bit of advice to managers who are bound to have at least 50% employees in their team with these characteristics, avoid loose talk and personal tete-a-tete with them. Stick to the facts and don’t raise your voice. Allocate work on emails and have a defined dashboard for reviews. Avoid giving them ambiguous tasks; leave it for your “high flyers”. Allocate quantifiable and measurable goals that force them to work as per the requirements. Be extremely cautious on the words you choose in both your verbal and written communication, as they will nitpick and find ways to whine and cry to colleagues/seniors outside their work jurisdiction on the perceived unjust treatment being meted out to them, thereby creating a general perception of mismanagement and illtreatment by the supervisor. They tend to play the victim card and are quite adept at appearing forlorn and hurt.
Category 3: Couldn’t care less attitude. Unfortunately, a lot of GenZ’s are falling into this category. They have been mollycoddled all their life and now when they are asked to work under defined norms and accept discipline and authority, their fragile ego gets bruised. Typically, nearly 50% of the young workforce comprises of this category of employees. They prefer to work at their own pace, break down under stress, react to criticism, and usually have lower sense of loyalty and responsibility. They expect to be treated like “God’s gift to mankind”, yet do nothing to get that treatment. The sense of urgency and the criticality of their role is lost on them, and they treat a job as a job with a means to earn and that’s it. A lot of GenZs are also category 1 employees and they are a great asset due to their young age, high octane energy and the drive to change the world, but these examples are rare.
Now, coming to this category, it is imperative to be clear in your communication with them. Avoid being personal while giving feedback. The feedback should be in writing, and so should the appreciation backed by facts and incidents. Appreciation to be sent to the group, while reprimand to be one on one but in writing so the words are not misconstrued. This group tends to disrespect authority, so be careful on how you come across as a supervisor, be approachable but maintain your distance psychologically, so your aura of authority is not breached. Team them up with high-flyer individuals, but give them small, quantifiable, and defined roles with clearly articulated deliverables and timelines. Do not micro-manage them, but encourage them to ask questions. Be clear in your asks and do not accept non-performance or sub-par performance. In case the employee fails to meet the defined and communicated deadlines consistently and you have it documented, get the HR involved and a formal disciplinary action issued. One such incident will ensure that the others in the team will not take you and the work for granted.
But a word of caution, do keep control of your emotions and be professional with them so nothing untoward against you is quoted by them.
So a shout out to all supervisors out there- do a sense check, internalise, and slot your workforce according to the categories mentioned, and then tailor your management style accordingly.
All the best!
Pic courtesy: www.freepik.com
Amazing sharing. Beautifully explained. Looking forward for more