Tackling Troubling Employee Behavior

Tackling Troubling 

Employee Behavior

EMOTION 

e·mo·tion 

A mental state that arises 

spontaneously rather than through 

conscious effort and is often 

accompanied by physiological 

changes; a feeling: the emotions of 

joy, sorrow, reverence, hate, and 

love.

How might you rate your 

emotional stability? 

1. My emotions are stable 

2. My emotions tend to be stable 

3. Don’t know 

4. I occasionally feel unstable and have mood 

swings 

5. I have frequent and significant emotion/mood 

swings 

• Now think about those in your workplace who 

may answer this as a 4 or 5 

*http://www.diagnose-me.com/questionnaire/Q2835.html

How does heightened emotion on the 

job affect the workplace? 

Damages morale 

Lessens cooperation 

Increases worker conflict 

Increases absenteeism 

Decreases productivity 

Deflects focus from the job 

Increases employee turnover 

Impairs judgment and reaction times, therefore raising 

the risk of errors and accidents

Emotion Principles 

• Our emotional responses are learned, usually 

patterned. 

• Involves mental conversations that deal with 

contradictions to our beliefs and expectations. 

• Negative emotions, such as anger, are internally 

created and thus can be internally managed. 

• Our feelings are most often expressed to those 

that are meaningful to us.

Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions

The Emotion Effect 

If left unresolved or unaddressed, a primary 

emotion can lead to a secondary emotion, 

and ultimately to a tertiary emotion. 

Example: Anger > Rage > Hostility 

Sadness > Neglect > Alienation 

Fear > Horror > Panic

Troubled 

trou·bled 

Disturbed, worried, distressed, 

agitated.

Why might your employee be 

troubled… 

• Are they displeased with the 

outcome of a situation? 

• Were expectations unmet? 

• Was there a misunderstanding? 

• Do they feel things are out of 

their control? 

• Do they feel mistreated? 

• Are they creating their own 

internal stress?

Can they control/stabilize their mood and 

actions?

From Expectations to Responses 

EMOTION 

Primary Feeling 

Mental Conversion 

Behavioral Response 

Situation 

Expectation

Warning Signs: 

•Obsessive involvement or emotional 

attachment to the job 

•Prone to making direct or indirect threats 

•Aggressive, anti-social behavior 

•Overreaction to work policies or 

performance appraisals 

•Inconsistent or apathetic work performance 

•Stressed relationships with co-workers 

•Frequently irritable, moody or sarcastic 

behavior

Keep in mind… 

Persistent or excessively irritable, 

angry behavior may be a symptom of a 

larger psychological problem – 

such as: 

Addiction 

Post-traumatic stress disorder 

Depression

Common causes of 

supervisor/employee conflict: 

• Poor communication 

• Disrespect/undermining authority 

• Betrayal of trust 

• Excessive negative feedback from manager 

• Unreasonable demands made by managers 

• General harassment – sexual, bullying 

• Failure of a manager to take disciplinary action 

when needed 

• Micromanaged environment with little 

opportunity for decision making

DEFENSE OR TRAP DESCRIPTION OR EXAMPLE COUNTER MOVE 

Excuses & Sympathy 

Problems 

Employees will have a good reason for everything that happens. 

“You’d have the same troubles I do if you had a family like mine.” 

“You may have problems at home. I am 

concerned about your performance and my 

data here says you are not doing your job. ” 

Apology & Promises “I’m really sorry. You know that I’ll never do it that way again.” “I appreciate your apology. But what you did is 

serious. I need to file a deficiency report.” 

Switching 

“I know about that, but look what a good job I’ve done on that Harris 

job!” 

“You did do well on Harris. I want good work 

on all jobs. You have had more problems than 

success lately. Look at the record.” 

Anger 

“Damn it! One mistake and the roof falls in – after 15 years of killing 

myself for this place.” 

“I expect you to listen to me. Just getting 

angry won’t help anyone, especially you. I’m 

concerned about your performance. And I’m 

not talking about one mistake. Look at the 

record.” 

Tears “I don’t know what to do. I’ll never get out of this mess.” (Cryin “I appreciate your feelings. I want you to know 

that I want to help, which is why I set up this 

meeting. You have been a valuable part of our 

organization. I want to tell you about our 

Employee Assistance Program.” 

Self Pity 

Innocence & Blaming 

Friendliness & Deduction 

“I knew this would happen. I’ve never been able to do anything 

right.” 

“It’s not my fault. Joe let me down. I don’t get any help at all around 

here.” 

“Now, you know we’ve been through this before and we worked it out 

together. Let’s get together after work and figure this out where we 

can be more comfortable. ” 

“I wouldn’t be taking the time to talk with you if 

I didn’t have faith in you. So let’s move on to 

talk about what can be done to help. You 

know our Employee Assistance Program could 

help.” 

“I’ve checked into this in detail (points to 

record). We need to start with what we can 

do.” 

“I know we’ve been through this before, and 

this time things will be different. I am filing a 

report because I’ve done all I can do to work 

this out on the job. I think something is wrong 

and I want you to see the EAP.” 

Hopelessness “I may as well quit right now.” “You may have done excellent work. I 

want more of that from your department 

which is why I set up this meeting.”

When is an Employee Considered 

High Risk? 

• It is advisable to seek consultation from Employee 

Relations immediately when you have knowledge of 

employees presenting with the following traits or 

behaviors, especially more than one: 

• Known history of violence 

• Preoccupation with violence or weapons (or owns 

weapons) 

• Threats with intent to harm self, others, and property 

• Defiant/ demanding/intimidating behavior 

• Frequent disruptive behavior in the workplace 

• Mood swings

How to Counsel Troubled 

Employee 

Step 1: 

Take note of dramatic changes in the employee's 

performance and on-the-job behavior. 

• Adequate documentation will assist you in evaluating job 

performance and confronting an employee when 

necessary. 

– Documentation should be: 

• Specific 

• Objective 

• Factual 

• Thorough 

• Timely

What to look for and document in 

job performance: 

1. Absenteeism (Most Obvious) 

– Frequent unscheduled short-term absences (with or 

without medical explanation) 

– Frequent use of unscheduled vacation time. 

2. “On the Job” Absenteeism 

– At work but productivity and efficiency lacking 

– Continued absence from job location more than job 

requires 

– Frequent trips to water fountain or restroom 

– Long breaks.



3. Accidents 

• Physical complaints on the job 

• Accidents on and off the job 

4. Observed Changes in Work Pattern 

• General absentmindedness, forgetfulness 

• Alternative periods of high and low productivity 

• Coming to work intoxicated 

• Missed deadlines 

• Inability to perform tasks they were able to do in the past



4. Observed Changes in Work Pattern (Cont.) 

• Mistakes due to poor judgment 

• Outside complaints about the employee’s work 

• Improbable excuses for these poor patterns 

• Carelessness 

5. Employee Relationships on The Job 

• Overreaction to real or imagined criticism 

• Borrowing money from co-workers 

• Repeated and compulsive criticism of Department or 

University



6. Employee Relationships on The Job 

(cont.) 

• Unrealistic expectations for promotion 

• Abrasiveness with others (managers and coworkers) 

7. Work Relationships in the University 

Community 

• Inappropriate behaviors 

• Complaints from other departments or customers



8. Changes In Employee’s Behavior 

Appearance 

– Sloppy 

– Inappropriate clothing 

– Mood 

– Withdrawn 

– Sad 

– Mood swings (high and low) 

– Suspiciousness 

– Extreme sensitivity 

– Frequent irritability


Employee Continued… 

• Step 2: 

Meet with the employee and determine whether 

the problem is personal or job-related. 

• Step 3: 

Avoid becoming involved in an employee's 

personal problem. If the employee needs 

professional help (including anger management), 

put him or her in touch with Employee Relations 

or EASE.


Employees Continued… 

• Step 4: 

Focus on performance issues if the trouble is jobrelated. 

In a calm, non-accusatory manner, point out 

the changes in the employee's performance. 

• Step 5: 

Ask what you can do to help. 

• Step 6: 

Work with the employee to develop concrete goals 

and a timeline for resolving the performance issues. 

– Do establish the levels of work performance you 

expect. Set the limits that you will tolerate. 

– Determine what is acceptable and unacceptable to 

you. 

– Be consistent. Treat all employees equally.



• Step 7 

• If the person shows behavior that poses a direct threat to 

themselves or others (including physically being unable 

to perform at work safely), call Employee Relations 

and/or Security immediately. A condition of employment 

or mandatory referral can be made that requires the 

person to be evaluated by a mental health professional 

via EASE or outside EASE and recommendations made 

as to whether the individual can safely and effectively 

perform in the job. They would be on a suspension 

during this period to give them time to provide 

documentation from their physician. Once we receive 

documentation, they can be placed on a leave. 

• Important: If you feel threatened, you should suspend 

immediately and deactivate the employee’s accesses.



If you suspect an employee is under the influence 

Step 1: 

Take note of dramatic changes in the employee's performance 

and on-the-job behavior. 

• Adequate documentation will assist you in evaluating job 

performance and confronting an employee when necessary. 

– Documentation should be: 

• Specific 

• Objective 

• Factual 

• Thorough 

• Timely



Observations may include: 

• Odors (smell of alcohol, body odor or urine) 

• Movement (unsteady, fidgety, dizzy) 

• Eyes (dilated, constricted, watery, involuntary eye 

movements) 

• Face (flushed, sweating, confused) 

• Speech (slurred, slow, distracted mid-thought) 

• Emotions (argumentative, agitated, irritable) 

• Change in performance (errors, failure to follow through, 

inability to multi-task)



Step 2: 

‣ Contact Employee Relations (ER) immediately for advice and 

guidance. 

‣ In consultation with ER, prepare the Positive Corrective Action form 

placing the employee on an investigatory suspension. 

‣ Schedule the suspension meeting with the employee and ER 

representative or another supervisor, if an ER representative is not 

available, as soon as possible. 

‣ During meeting, recap previous meetings and refer to 

documentation of observed behaviors or performance issues.



‣ A mandatory management referral will be made to the 

Employee Assistance Program, EASE. 

‣ EASE will determine if a treatment program is 

necessary. 

‣ The employee will be placed on an investigatory 

suspension until documentation from a Health Care 

Provider is submitted. At that time, the employee will be 

on a personal medical leave.

Summary of Supervisory Guidelines 

Focus on behavior 

• Observe 

• Document 

Confront and Support the Employee 

• Don’t diagnose 

• Use documentation 

Follow Through 

• Monitor and document 

• Be consistent

Employee Assistance Program 

(EASE) 

• Assists troubled employees in handling personal and/or 

health related problems that adversely affect job 

performance and productivity. 

• Supervisors are responsible for considering EASE as an 

option for an employee whose work performance or 

behavior/conduct is not meeting standards or could 

warrant corrective action. 

• Supervisors must contact Employee Relations or Human 

Resources Administrator before taking action when work 

performance issues occur and/or corrective action is 

warranted.

Case Studies 

• Joe Employee (JE) seemed really angry when he came into work; 

he slammed doors and was extremely gruff with several coworkers. 

Although what he was saying couldn’t be clearly 

understood, JE was observed talking to himself in an aggravated 

manner. What should JE’s manager do? 

• For the past two weeks, Sydney Employee (SE) has refrained 

from joining her team’s internal meetings as well as her 

extracurricular work softball team games. She avoids 

conversation and has been withdrawn. When approached, she 

“doesn’t feel like talking.” Her work assignments have shown lack 

of effort. What should SE’s manager do? 

• Kathy Employee (KE) has been voicing concerns to her manager 

that she fears she’s being followed at work and at home and that 

her phone line is tapped. What should KE’s manager do?

The EAP Can Help! 

Anything from anger management to EFT 

techniques to conflict coaching, to 

management skill-building…the EAP can 

improve productivity and profits, help build 

relationships and repair them, and 

enhance employee morale.

USE YOUR RESOURCES 

You can benefit from the EAP’s services: 

• Consultation 

• Assessment and Referral 

• Case Monitoring

Tackling Troubling Employee Behavior

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