4 Types of Difficult Employees and How to Manage Them

Being a leader or HR has numerous advantages and perks, including attractive salaries, bonuses, private offices, parking space, etc. However, the roles that come with these positions are challenging. And one of the most difficult is managing employees or teams.

Managing multicultural teams is not an easy task. At least, there is one difficult employee at every workplace. And most of them won't show their actual color until after you have hired them.

So, you have no choice but to manage them. Unfortunately, difficult employees can stunt the company's growth even without knowing. Difficult employees also reduce other employees' morale, performance, and productivity. The best way to manage them is by knowing the category they fall into and handling them accordingly. Check out these four types of difficult employees and how to handle them effectively.

The Pessimist

It is crucial to have employees that can give different opinions when it comes to the affairs of a company, but that is not who a pessimist is. A pessimist will spread negativity on every endeavor of the company. They are comfortable with mediocrity. They never want to change or take calculated risks that benefit the company. And if you investigate such employees, you will find out that they lack self-confidence or are generally lazy. Therefore, they pose a significant threat to the company’s productivity and growth. Moreover, if they are not correctly handled, they can easily infect others with their negativity.

How to Handle

• It doesn't matter how valuable an employee is to the company; you must not ignore or condone their pessimistic behavior.
• Let the employee know how their actions affect the company's growth. Give this feedback professionally and constructively.
• You can also train them to communicate more effectively. For example, encourage them always to give constructive feedback instead of complaining.

The Hostile Aggressive

This type of employee is the most difficult to manage. A hostile, aggressive employee might add tremendous value to the company in revenue and productivity. But they are challenging to work with, and they never go along with their fellow employees. They are hostile, abusive, pushy, and violent. These types of employees can significantly damage other employees' morale, hurt customer service and even make you lose the loyalty and trust of other employees.

How to Handle?

• Offer them the benefit of the doubt.
• Find out if their rude attitude is due to happenings in the workplace. If they say yes, try to find solutions.
• However, if it's not, you need to ask yourself how valuable this employee is to the company. If you feel like the advantages of having this employee in your company outweigh the disadvantages, then you must find a way to tackle the problem. For example, if you notice they like working alone, allow them to handle individual projects.
• And if they can't work alone, think about the boundaries you can set that will make other employees feel respected and safe.
• You must also let the aggressive employee know there are consequences for their actions.

The Passive-Aggressive

These types of employees are toxic for a workplace. They are submissive, meek, and always avoid confrontations. They keep taking on tasks and projects they can't complete because they don't know how to say "no". And this can have a significant impact on the company.

How to Handle

• Identify these passive-aggressive employees.
• Give them a project at a time.
• Encourage them to be assertive or let them undergo assertiveness training.

The Know-it-all

A know-it-all employee holds very rigid views, so they are always difficult to convince. They feel they are superior to other employees, either because they have been doing the job for a while or they have the assurance and confidence of a newly graduated student. They have poor reception to constructive criticism because they feel they can do no wrong.

How to Handle?

• Identify the know-it-all employee.
• Tell them how their rigid views are affecting the productivity of the company.
• Encourage them to learn to be open to others' views and opinions and accept constructive criticisms.

Final Thoughts

Your role as a leader in managing difficult employees cannot be overemphasized. You cannot determine the behavior of your employees, but you can determine your responses. It would be best if you addressed any difficult employees on time. If not, you can lose other valuable employees to your competitors. You can even lose their trust and loyalty. Addressing difficult employees will prevent these and even positively impact your company.