Re: Troublesome Writers

[Elizabeth Ross <beth -at- vcubed -dot- com>]

On 12/14/00 10:42 AM,  Miller, Lisa wrote:

<snip>
> My answer was (wow, this is hard) that I have attention deficit disorder.  For
> me it means that I was (and am without help) unable to put up an effective
> filter on my thoughts, passions, and impulses, so my actions were often
> inappropriate in ways that made my employer and peers uncomfortable.  I have
> taken steps to overcome this disability, and I have been very successful
> since.
> 
> I make this confession to bring to this list's attention that there are
> usually underlying reasons for a person being difficult.  Obviously, everyone
> must make their own choice about how involved to get in a peer's or employee's
> life. However,I didn't want this thread to continue without saying that there
> might be a possibility that the difficult employee might need some help, and
> you must determine your own personal level responsibility for the other
> person. Hopefully you will make this determination with a deeper level of
> knowledge than just the persons actions and the response that is easiest for
> you.

Lisa, thank you for bringing up this very important point on the list. I
respect your courage in doing so. I certainly hadn't thought of the human
resource aspects of the original question, which can be so vital to the
problem.

My take on it:
When acting in a managerial role, we would do well to find that balance
between mollycoddling and browbeating. All employees are human beings with
human needs that do need to be attended to.

Perhaps this is the step that Andrew feels he missed. Andrew, does your
company have an HR department that could have worked with you and
troublesome employee to help identify the exact issues creating the problem
and work towards a solution? Maybe this employee had stuff going on that a
confidential-type HR person could have helped her with. Then again, maybe
not.

Speaking for myself, I have had a boatload of personal crap that I have had
to deal with over the past year. I don't expect my company to put up with
crap from me on an ongoing basis (and I do get my work done!), but it was
wonderful for me to be able to call on HR for assistance with some of these
matters (divorce, moving, etc.). Receiving the company's support has only
strengthened my resolve to put these issues behind me and get on with the
business of doing the very best job I possibly can for my employer. I will
vouch for the efficacy of EAPs.

As Lisa indicates, this kind of support only works when the employee is
willing to take advantage of it and take responsibility for his or her part
in the situation. If the troublesome employee doesn't want to play,
encouraging her or him to move on is the best solution.

My $.02 Cdn, 
-- 
Elizabeth Ross
Senior Technical Writer, V3 Semiconductor Corp.
mailto: beth -at- vcubed -dot- com          http://www.vcubed.com
Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum.



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