Problem People in Orgs LO7906

Rol Fessenden (76234.3636@CompuServe.COM)
15 Jun 96 23:11:37 EDT

Replying to LO7878 --

I knew I would get into hot water with my answer to Ben. I really do cherish
differences in people. Sad to say, I have a very few times, had to give up on
trying to make someone a functional member of a group.

At the same time, I accept that there are trade-offs. It really is not possible
to do all things. We don't know how to 'save' all the dysfunctional people. I
wish that it were not so.

Paradoxically, I know of two people who quite literally 'saved' themselves when
I fired them for their behavior. One was just plain immature, and expected that
his behavior would never cause him any pain -- only other people. When he was
fired for long-term, consistently, patently offensive behavior to other people,
he was quite shocked. He and I spent 2 days together after the event discussing
why this happened. I offered him counseling at company expense even after he
was terminated. He eventually accepted his own responsibility for his own
behavior.

The second case was a woman who was an alcoholic. Her behavior was unacceptable
because she was not getting her work done. Excessive absenteeism, especially on
Mondays and Fridays, coupled with excuses that blamed others for her not getting
her work done. I told her that I really cared about her, and wanted her to
remain in the company. Nevertheless, I viewed -- and I said many others did as
well -- her behavior as uncceptable, and I perceived that she was an alcoholic.
I told her I expected zero absenteeism for the next 6 months unless she could
provide a doctor's excuse. I offered help from an employee assistance program.
She was shocked beyond belief that I suspected her of drinking. She totally
stopped the absenteeism, and she got help from the EAP. She retired 2 months
ago, 15 years after that incident. She thanked me personally the day she left.

In both cases, I sought professional counseling before I made my decisions, and
I ended up following the professional advice. In the first case, the whole
process took over two years -- three if you count the subsequent conversations
we had, but in the second, it was over in 6 months. Today, I count both of
these decisions as among the finest and most painful I have ever made. The
first one should not have taken so long. Unfortunately other situations did not
end so satisfyingly.

Could less drastic means have worked as well? Perhaps. I would be interested
in hearing others' similar experiences.

To look at this from another perspective, let's talk about what behavior is
already condemned as offensive. Physical abuse and sexual harrassment, for
example, both constitute behaviors that we will not accept in the workplace. So
there are behaviors that are already outside the pale. Furthermore, emotional,
verbal and mental abuse -- if extreme enough -- are recognized in the mental
health professions as cause for removing kids from their parents. Pretty
serious stuff.

So why are we willing to accept abusive behavior from someone in the workplace?
There is no good reason for it in my opinion. There is no substantive
distinction between verbal and physical abuse.
If, by taking the regretful step of moving someone out of an organization, I
have the opportunity to protect many, many others from that person's destructive
behavior, then I will do it, and fundamentally, I think that in doing so I am
acting in the spirit of the LO. That is a pretty personal response, and it may
not be for everyone.

-- 

Rol Fessenden LL Bean, Inc. 76234.3636@compuserve.com

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>