The more you accept, the more you will continue to receive. This statement is true for both positive and negative behaviors. The problem obviously lies with the negative behavior. It is easy to just ‘let it go’ or avoid addressing the issue hoping it will not continue happening. Eventually if these negative actions are left unchecked, they will continue to gain momentum. Let’s take an example of an employee who comes back late from lunch. You ignore it and assume it was a one-time occurrence. This may be true for some but keep a watchful eye to see if this one-time occurrence starts happening more often. If the lateness goes unchecked, a few minutes slip to a half hour and it soon becomes the norm since no one acknowledged the issue.
This seemingly harmless behavior can be contagious causing others to ‘push the limits’. ‘If they can do it, so can I’ attitude spreads through the department. Before long, several employees have stretched their half hour lunch to an hour. Over time, you will get more of the ‘negative behavior’ you accepted that seemed so innocent in the beginning.
This may sound like an exaggeration but think about the number of employees you manage and all the possibilities of negative behavior that could occur – cell phone, social media, theft of supplies, etc. They can quickly add up. As a manager or supervisor, you decide that you must do something about it. You call a meeting and address the entire group about the policy violation but not pointing a finger at any one person in particular. You might even implement a new policy to check out when leaving and in when returning. But how effective was your message?
The “violators” assume you are not referring to them since you did not say anything to them directly. In essence, they have gotten away with it. The people who have been following the policy feel like they have been ‘chewed out’ or ‘punished’ for something they did not do. Do not make the mistake of underestimating the power human emotions. If ignoring these behaviors and attitudes or generally addressing them in a group setting becomes common practice, a crack starts to open. This crack causes a division of your employees into two categories, the “haves” and the “have-nots”. Cliques form and where there are cliques, there are workplace bullies. Morale starts to plummet, teamwork is all but gone and a jealous competition settles in overtime.
Some of you may be thinking the solution is to call out the violators in front of the group to set them as an example but this is not an effective motivator to change behavior. It leaves employees embarrassed but resentful often looking for a time to retaliate against their boss or against the company, such as theft. They look for any excuse to ‘get even’ or at the very least, become unmotivated.
To avoid this downward spiral, address the negative behavior swiftly before it becomes a habit, directly and in private with the employee. It may be time without pay. Whatever the consequence you chose, the key is being consistent and follow through with the consequences after the first warning. Once addressed, being consistent with the consequences usually stops it from occurring in the future. But remember, whatever behavior you continue to accept, you will get more of over time.
