A Survival Guide to Managing Employees from Hell: Handling Idiots, Whiners, Slackers, and Other Workplace Demons [Paperback]

Gini Graham Scott Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 8, 2006 | ISBN-10: 081447408X | ISBN-13: 978-0814474082 | Edition: 1

All managers get saddled with ""problem"" employees from time to time; what sets great managers apart is how they deal with them. Drawing from real-life stories, this helpful and humorous guide provides readers with practical advice for handling a wide range of difficult types, including: * The Impossible ""I""s: Incompetents, Idiots, and Imbeciles -- clueless employees who simply don't know what they're doing * The Bull in the Office China Shop -- the frequently angry worker ready to confront anyone and everyone * The Party-Time Performer -- the employee who, although great with people, constantly turns work-time into fun-time * I've Got a Problem -- employees whose work is compromised by any of a range of personal demons, from drug and alcohol problems to emotional issues From whiners and wastrels to the needy and nefarious, this book gives readers the tools they need to handle any type of difficult employee.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

"All managers get saddled with ""problem"" employees from time to time; what sets great managers apart is how they deal with them. Drawing from real-life stories, this helpful and humorous guide provides readers with practical advice for handling a wide range of difficult types, including:

* The Impossible ""I""s: Incompetents, Idiots, and Imbeciles -- clueless employees who simply don’t know what they’re doing

* The Bull in the Office China Shop -- the frequently angry worker ready to confront anyone and everyone

* The Party-Time Performer -- the employee who, although great with people, constantly turns work-time into fun-time

* I’ve Got a Problem -- employees whose work is compromised by any of a range of personal demons, from drug and alcohol problems to emotional issues

From whiners and wastrels to the needy and nefarious, this book gives readers the tools they need to handle any type of difficult employee."

About the Author

Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D. (Oakland, CA) is the founder and director of Changemakers and Creative Communications & Research. She is the author of 35 books, including A Survival Guide for Working with Bad Bosses and A Survival Guide for Working with Humans. She wrote the "Work it Right!” column for the Oakland Tribune.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 15 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM; 1 edition (December 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081447408X
• ISBN-13: 978-0814474082
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #168,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Only for the clueless, but then again probably even worse for them, June 13, 2008

By 

LK (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Survival Guide to Managing Employees from Hell: Handling Idiots, Whiners, Slackers, and Other Workplace Demons (Paperback)

A pile of fluff that seems to have been churned out only to add a notch to the author's list of publications. It is unclear whether the author has had any experience managing anyone, let alone difficult people, and while a lack of experience with the topic could have been replaced with a journalistic approach, no outside research (on solutions) is offered.

Each chapter outlines a management scenario, and after each scenario is a brainstormed list of possibilities for what the put-upon manager could have done differently, frequently including some fairly ridiculous options and always ending with "Other?". While it's true there are likely to be different ideal solutions for specific situations, this author seems to simply not have any idea what to do about any given problem employee.

Each chapter ends with "Today's Take-Aways." Here you'll find such gems as:
* "If you think an employee may be a threat to you, try to avoid hiring that employee and risking that this threat may become real."
* "If an employee is calling in sick a lot, it could be they are sick -- or may [sic] they just want the time off for other reasons."
* "Sometimes the law of karma may really come to your aid and take care of a very difficult problem for you, though you can only hope and pray!"

These points are fairly representative of the quality of information you'll find in the book. If they seem enlightening to you, go for it.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A common-sense approach to the difficult employee, January 28, 2007

By 

Jonathan Groner (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Survival Guide to Managing Employees from Hell: Handling Idiots, Whiners, Slackers, and Other Workplace Demons (Paperback)

We have all known the "employee from hell" in all of his or her guises: the complainer, the egomaniac, the troublemaker, the passive-aggressive type, the clever con artist, and many more.

In this plain-spoken book, management consultant Gini Graham Scott categorizes bad employees into some three dozen pigeonholes (like the "impossible intern," the "negative Nelly," and the out-and-out liar) and assigns each a brief chapter that opens with a succinct case study. In each setting, Scott asks the same question: Did the boss handle the situation well? Should she have fired the employee on the spot, put him on probation, called a staff meeting, had a one-on-one conversation with the troublesome employee, let the whole thing go, or done something else entirely?

Scott's advice springs largely from common sense. She acknowledges that there isn't just one way to handle a difficult worker. A good deal depends on the office atmosphere, the employee's and boss's personalities, and other intangibles. In discussing a saleswoman who gives so much attention to the first customer of the day that she neglects her duties to other customers, Scott suggests a variety of steps: giving the worker one more chance, explaining that she will be fired if she doesn't change, clarifying where she has gone wrong, asking another employee to monitor her behavior, and rewarding her with small bonuses if her performance improves.

Of course, some problematic behavior - drug use on the job, stealing from the employer, a pattern of lying -- can't be tolerated, and Scott urges that supervisors should fire people who do those things, even if the employee is a friend, or the friend of a friend. Still, there are a number of ways to dismiss someone, and Scott insists that even a fireable employee should be shown the door graciously.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very Disappointed, January 22, 2008

By 

Kevin Johnson (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Survival Guide to Managing Employees from Hell: Handling Idiots, Whiners, Slackers, and Other Workplace Demons (Paperback)

It would appear that the author of this book has no actual experience in supervision. The contents of this book sounded very interesting. Unfortunately, the recommendations are not well thought out or beneficial. In some cases, the recommendations are just plain bad advise. A Survival Guide to Managing Employees from Hell: Handling Idiots, Whiners, Slackers, And Other Workplace Demons