Dealing with inflexible workers

[mdshunk]

Say you have an employee who is... oh, 73 years 2 months and 14 days old. :smile:

This man is an excellent craftsman, and fairly productive. Does not complain about the symptoms of old age and shows up every day... BUT, this person is not flexible. This person thrives on a daily routine, which is good for construction work. Any deviation from a daily routine makes this person miserable, and he'll make anyone that will listen to him miserable.

What do you do? Just deal with it, and struggle to keep him doing the routine and predictable work OR fire him and take pot luck with another candidate OR counsel him?

 

[480sparky]

Gee, Marc, you sure don't look 73! :grin:



Put him to work doing prefab.

 

[mdshunk]

Put him to work doing prefab.

I don't happen to have any, but I'm getting a little tired of the guy going from happy and content to major pain-in-the-butt in 1.3 seconds just for asking him to pull off and go run a service call or go someplace different today then he's been at for the last 5 days. I'm not quite sure how to handle it. The guy actually is 73.

 

[480sparky]

I don't happen to have any, but I'm getting a little tired of the guy going from happy and content to major pain-in-the-butt in 1.3 seconds just for asking him to pull off and go run a service call or go someplace different today then he's been at for the last 5 days. I'm not quite sure how to handle it. The guy actually is 73.

Sounds a bit bi-polar. Last time I worked with a guy who ran hot-and-cold, he was let go.

How big is your company? If it's big enough, you can always make enough prefab work for him. Even if it's putting pigtails on devices all day.

Maybe you should hint he stop what he's doing and head down to the unemployment office?

PS, Marc, empty your PM box a bit.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

The question is -- Is he making you money? and Is it worth the aggrevation? Only you can decide that. On the other end-- look at the chance to be a good samaritan.

 

[mdshunk]

The question is -- Is he making you money? Yes, he is productive. and Is it worth the aggrevation? That's the million dollar question. I'm not sure. Everyone has their quirks you have to work around, but this one ticks me off. Only you can decide that. On the other end-- look at the chance to be a good samaritan. Yes, I had considered that too.

 

[hardworkingstiff]

I think the way you worded things here sounded calm and thoughtfull. You addressed the problem, and showed concern for the worker. I wonder what would happen if you approached the worker with the same calm and thoughfullness.

He should understand, and if he doesn't, then I guess it's time to move on. I'm sure you'll keep good written documentation of the communication between you two.


EDIT: Marc, he does need to know who the boss is (if it comes to that).

 

[sgr1]

Some electricians can be real big whinners. I have one thats works for me, he is a good guy knows what he is doing and does what I tell him to, but he still complaims about everything. I just let it go in one ear and out the other. As long as he is making you money I won't worry about it. This guy is 65 by the way. Maybe it comes with age LOL. We are all getting there.

 

[SEO]

I'd have a talk with him and explain your dilema. It will be a much easier decision to make when you have a one on one with him.

 

[Fulthrotl]

Say you have an employee who is... oh, 73 years 2 months and 14 days old. :smile:

This man is an excellent craftsman, and fairly productive. Does not complain about the symptoms of old age and shows up every day... BUT, this person is not flexible. This person thrives on a daily routine, which is good for construction work. Any deviation from a daily routine makes this person miserable, and he'll make anyone that will listen to him miserable.

What do you do? Just deal with it, and struggle to keep him doing the routine and predictable work OR fire him and take pot luck with another candidate OR counsel him?

in a state of change, he's not comfortable, and feels unsure of what is
expected, and complains loudly so that nobody will think poorly of his
performance. as a result, people think poorly of his performance.

he's just creating his own worst fear, that he will be thought
"not good enough".

if you didn't value his craftsmanship, you'd have smoked him already,
so he's worth saving.

if it were me in your situation, i'd have a chat quietly on the side with
him, and explain how valuable his work and reliability are to you, and how
you make every effort to keep him working on stuff he likes doing.

but "the economy" being what it is, work is more changeable now,
and sometimes it'll be hard keeping people employed doing the
stuff they are best at, 'cause that isn't always available.

let him know you'll give him as much advance notice of changes
in the work picture as you are capable of.

some of these suggestions come from my wife, who is director of
compensation for a large health care provider. she is phenomenal
at getting people to do exactly what she wants, while thinking
it is their idea, and being happy to do it.

don't ask me how i know this.:smile:

anyway, the more advance notice you can give this guy, the less
he will crab about the changes. it smooths them out. he's adapting
at the highest level he's capable of, so him doing anything drastically
different at this point is not a realistic expectation. the less abrupt
the rate of change, the less complaining you'll hear.

good luck. it's a difficult situation.

randy

 

[Dennis Alwon]

Here is my opinion. Deal with it... He makes you money and that's partially what you are in business for. Try and avoid the situations that cause anguish for you and him. If the situation occurs when you have to get him to do something he doesn't want just start by saying "hey, I know you hate this but I have to.... would you mind helping me out here.."

On the other end I had a boss who would send me 30 miles to a job (commercial job) and then would call me up at noon and ask me to come back and hit a service call or two. I did that for a while but the GC was getting angry-- eventually when he called I told him I couldn't and he needed to deal with it. He never bothered me on that job again. :smile: I realize this is probably not your situation but I thought it would shed some feeling the worker may have.

 

[mdshunk]

If the situation occurs when you have to get him to do something he doesn't want just start by saying "hey, I know you hate this but I have to.... would you mind helping me out here.."

Yeah, I pretty much do that already, but I hate having to walk on eggshells when I'm the guy that's supposed to be in charge. A friend of mine (a plumber) suggested that next time he acts up, fire him, then hire him back in a couple days to see if that gets the message across.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

Yeah, I pretty much do that already, but I hate having to walk on eggshells when I'm the guy that's supposed to be in charge. A friend of mine (a plumber) suggested that next time he acts up, fire him, then hire him back in a couple days to see if that gets the message across.

If you do that he may feel indispensible. I bet he would say that you screwed up that's why you hired him back. Would make me more cocky..

 

[mdshunk]

If you do that he may feel indispensible. I bet he would say that you screwed up that's why you hired him back. Would make me more cocky..

I'll bet you're right. It wasn't an idea I was seriously considering, but I thought I'd add it to the mix.

 

[peter d]

Yeah, I pretty much do that already, but I hate having to walk on eggshells when I'm the guy that's supposed to be in charge.

That right there is why you should sack him immediately.

 

[220/221]

Geez dude! How flexible to you expect someone to be at SEVENTY THREE years old.

At 57, I can barely tie my shoes.

People become increasingly inflexible, both literally and figuratively, as they age. Don't try to change people just use them according to their strengths.

Expecting him to be comfortable outside a routine is no different than expecting a 19 year old to show up happy and ready to work Monday morning. It just aint gonna happen.

 

[Rockyd]

Send the guy home for a couple of days (maybe three), without pay, so that he has time to call around to other shops. He will discover that he has a good deal, and should be grateful that the door wasn't slammed.

By sending him home for a short time, it shows that this was a predisposed action, and that you are in charge. Being master of the game, often wakes others up when they realize it is you for the paycheck.

 

[mdshunk]

Geez dude! How flexible to you expect someone to be at SEVENTY THREE years old....
Expecting him to be comfortable outside a routine is no different than expecting a 19 year old to show up happy and ready to work Monday morning. It just aint gonna happen.

That, right there, is a pretty accurate summary of why I'm so torn on what to do. If they guy was 40, the problem would already be solved some way or another.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

That right there is why you should sack him immediately.

Hey Peter-- May I call you Ruthless... You and Danny DeVito

 

[peter d]

Hey Peter-- May I call you Ruthless...

He is the boss...he shouldn't have to walk on eggshells. That's all I was trying to say.