How long to put up with a worker

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

amazing electric

Member
I have a worker that is 20 years older then me, it was all fine when i hired him but lately no respect, gets mad when i point out wrong doing, and one more thing he says its my job i make decisions and he also says he does not like babysiting, when you send your guy out to do a job do you let them make all decisions or you tell the how you want it done and they have to do it. Thanks for your help
 
amazing electric said:
I have a worker that is 20 years older then me, it was all fine when i hired him but lately no respect, gets mad when i point out wrong doing, and one more thing he says its my job i make decisions and he also says he does not like babysiting, when you send your guy out to do a job do you let them make all decisions or you tell the how you want it done and they have to do it. Thanks for your help
Click to expand...

Is he doing it the right way (code) or not doing it "your way"?

Edit to add code
 
Last edited:
amazing electric said:
I have a worker that is 20 years older then me, it was all fine when i hired him but lately no respect, gets mad when i point out wrong doing, and one more thing he says its my job i make decisions and he also says he does not like babysiting.
Click to expand...


If you are not happy with the way things are going then get rid of him. It's your company and you are the one that has to pay the bills so you get to make the decisions ( right or wrong ). I would let him know first thing monday morning that if he doesn't like the way I do things he can start looking for another job because I'm looking for a replacement and it shouldn't take long to find one. If you are lucky he will get mad an quit on the spot. End of story.

If he is 20 years older than you are then he has had plenty of chances to do things his way. If he was motivated then you would be working for him. :wink:
 
amazing electric said:
I have a worker that is 20 years older then me, it was all fine when i hired him but lately no respect, gets mad when i point out wrong doing, and one more thing he says its my job i make decisions and he also says he does not like babysiting, when you send your guy out to do a job do you let them make all decisions or you tell the how you want it done and they have to do it. Thanks for your help
Click to expand...

"gets mad when i point out wrong doing"

Wrong doing, they can cover a number of things, and what appears wrong to you may seem ok to him, please explain what you consider wrong doing.

"he says its my job i make decisions"

By that does he mean he is the one making decisions on the job?

"he also says he does not like babysiting"

Well there may be a problem.


What ever you do make sure any and all warnings were in writing and he signed and received, a copy of the warning, is some states, there are laws proceting the employee, form being dismissed withoout proper warnings, just be carefull before you do anything, check before you act.
 
Last edited:
Well Gee Wally ...

Well Gee Wally ...

amazing electric said:
I have a worker that is 20 years older then me, it was all fine when i hired him but lately no respect, gets mad when i point out wrong doing, and one more thing he says its my job i make decisions and he also says he does not like babysiting, when you send your guy out to do a job do you let them make all decisions or you tell the how you want it done and they have to do it. Thanks for your help
Click to expand...
First thought is that you hired him for his experience!

What ground rules did you instill to him as a course of working for you?
Just about everyone around here works under a thirty day probation period, and your grounds for hiring were what ?

I don't quiet understand your or his statement of baby sitting ?
Is it, He doesn't appreciate his position of driving a job and having to supervise a helper or crew?
Or is it that he doesn't like your input, and feels he's being baby sat?

I've been a floor foreman (assigned to an area), I've been sent out as a foreman to re-fits and upfits. I've had to call the Boss in and the Boss has walked into situtions that he really didn't like my excess usage of erico products, so I told crew to use and apply something else. For example a right angle branket is way less expensive than a stud span bracket...

It's always your job! He is not caring the paper! If he can't stand the constructive criticism well, I guess it time for him to Drag Up...
480Sparky has made a post on how to get rid of people, I beleive documentation of events is involved.
 
amazing electric said:
I have a worker that is 20 years older then me, it was all fine when i hired him but lately....
Click to expand...

How much time and effort do you have invested in him? To me it'd be important to know whether he'd been a good, solid worker for many years and only recently became a problem, or whether you hired him 4 months ago.

If he's been there a while and proven himself, I'd be having him over for dinner and a good, long chat about what's up and what's eating him, and what to do about it. If he's a relatively new hire, well, after the usual corrective attempts I'd probably fill out his time log and send him on his way.
 
A few things to remember :
If he has been good and all of a sudden things changed could be a result of a special root cause in his personal life ?. I am not saying this to use it as an excuse however, it does not hurt to try to find out what is really going on with this guy . Also, it is not what we say, it is how we say it makes a big difference too. He may just be mad about a small thing that once you find out about it,a little talk could solve it all. Last thing is that he may just not want to be there and time to find someoen else ?.
 
If his current attitude is a sudden change from the past, I'd be on the hunt for the reason.

Did he just start using drugs or alcohol?

Is he going through a divorce? Or maybe other 'family' problems?

Did a family member pass away?

Does he hang out at the casino too much, or spend all his spare time at on-line poker sites?
 
amazing electric said:
I have a worker that is 20 years older then me, it was all fine when i hired him but lately no respect, gets mad when i point out wrong doing, and one more thing he says its my job i make decisions and he also says he does not like babysiting, when you send your guy out to do a job do you let them make all decisions or you tell the how you want it done and they have to do it. Thanks for your help
Click to expand...

If you put a Journeyman in charge of a job, it's his job. You don't drop by and announce that XZY should have been done in ABC fashion. The reference to babysitting I take to mean, if you just want him there extoling and enforcing your way, and keeping time, means your not permitting him to run the work, but rather simply babysit the rest of the workforce.
 
growler said:
...I would let him know first thing monday morning that if he doesn't like the way I do things he can start looking for another job because I'm looking for a replacement and it shouldn't take long to find one. If you are lucky he will get mad an quit on the spot. End of story.
Click to expand...

Don't ever tell an employee to start looking for another job, because before they do that, they will start looking for what to steal from you or how to sabotage your job or contacts. Whether you are right or wrong in how you are running your company, if you feel that is the best way, then that is the way it shall be done.

If you thing this employee has positive attributes and is worth keeping (if he follows the plan) then bring him into the office (alone) and explain that you are ultimately running this show, so he is free to recommend solutions or methods of work, but if you override them, that is the end of the story. If his attitude doesn't change within the next couple of days...down the road he goes.
 
Last edited:
LawnGuyLandSparky said:
If you put a Journeyman in charge of a job, it's his job. You don't drop by and announce that XZY should have been done in ABC fashion. The reference to babysitting I take to mean, if you just want him there extoling and enforcing your way, and keeping time, means your not permitting him to run the work, but rather simply babysit the rest of the workforce.
Click to expand...

When I put a journeyman on a project, it is my job that he is completing for me. When he starts taking the risk, paying for material, paying taxes, paying payroll, completing the billing, financing the project for 60 days or so, then he can say it is his job. Until then it is stil my job. If a person can lead a project and complete it with little oversite, that is great, however there will always be oversite, that is my duty as a business owner and manager. If you don't like it, work for yourself!


Let's take this example: What it you bid a job for 5000' of pvc under the deck, but you left your journeyman without oversite and he ordered and installed 5000' of IMC? Is there anyone at fault? Yes, the owner/manager. Of course you cannot nitpick the little stuff, unless it is a quality issue, but leaving them with little or no oversite is a neglect of a manager's duties
 
Last edited:
Babysitting may also have something to do with the type of workers you are employing. My employer has a history of taking any tech. that walks through the door which can be very exhausting. Often times they are poor workers with no experience or drive, not saying this is your situation.

Do you always correct him with the guys in his/your crew present? Sometimes dealing with peoples egos you end up having to address them differently on a case by case basis so you don't end up losing them at an inconvenient time. He could very well be a guy hanging on by a thin thread and is incapable of dealing with the pressures of running a crew.

If he is disrespecting or belligerent to you in front of the work force or other contractors then lay down the law in what ever fashion suits you. This is your mountain and there is only room for one at the top, you!
 
wbalsam1 said:
or the Mike Holt Forum site.....:grin:
Click to expand...

:grin:

If you are the one responsible in the end for things being right then you get the final say as to how things are done. I work for a company but it is my license. The owner allows me to make decisions of how the electrical work is done. We just hired a new guy last week so the post peeked my attention because he is not what we thought we were hiring, but I am thinking it may work out. When working on a job there are a few things that I am adamant about how they will or will not be done, but outside of that, I let a capable worker run a job or task to their discretion. I said all that to say that I believe any licensed EC has the right to make decisions on work that is judged according to his/her license.
 
If I am running a job then I will make all the day to day decisions that are required to run a crew and complete the job, my boss makes the financial decisions like pricing extras and such, but as far as how the job will be done, that is my call. If you don't like how I do things, get someone else to run the job, or do it yourself. JMHSO.
 
When I bid a job, I have already decided how the job will be done. I meet with my J-man on the first day and lay the job out for him and tell him what I was thinking when I bid the job.

The idea that a Journeyman has complete control over how a project will be wired is completely retarded. What if we're doing a new house and I bid the job using Romex but the Journeyman decides that Flex is better?

I don't expect to tell a Journeyman how to pull wire or where to position his ladder, but I do expect him to wire the job according to my specifications.
 
amazing electric said:
.........when you send your guy out to do a job do you let them make all decisions or you tell the how you want it done and they have to do it. Thanks for your help
Click to expand...

I give them as much freedom as possible. Job ownership is important to most guys. Most want to feel like their boss has confidence in them to get the job done, the right way, and as quickly as possible. Most guys want to do a quality job and want to feel important. You let them get there by giving them all the "tools", literally and figuratively, they need to succeed.

Now, I don't recommend just turning a newbie loose on something major and don't mean my post to come off that way but I think you get the point.

As far as this particular individual goes, I can't help you with that. I'd have to be in your shoes to know what I'd do. I know from experience it is tough to fire someone. Even those deserving of it. At least it is for me. I've been guilty of giving too many chances but I can live with that more easily than I can making a mistake the other way. The difficult part of that is deciding how many second chances you can afford.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top