A Bad Attitude is a Bad Career Move
As tough as it is to find a job these days, it’s just as difficult to keep one. An employee with a bad attitude isn’t doing anything to help matters.
The Evil HR Lady answered a question in her blog last month about an employee who comes across as having a bad attitude because she doesn’t want to participate in some voluntary office tasks unless she’s compensated in a way that she deems appropriate. The writer – who is also this employee’s boss – told her that her attitude was not only bad for her, but toxic to the office, too.
The Evil HR Lady agreed and recommended taking this employee aside and letting her know that her refusal to join in simply because she wouldn’t receive her ideal compensation reflected badly on her made her boss reluctant to consider her for future promotion.
Some commenters agreed with the Evil HR Lady, but some others felt that the employee’s refusal to participate in voluntary activities is her prerogative, regardless of her reasons.
When I presented a similar scenario to our Ask the Experts panel, I received a response that mirrored those commenters who disagreed with the Evil HR Lady.
“In my opinion, the employee is neither right or wrong …” said career coach, Linda Pophal. “In my experience, these types of contests or activities are voluntary. If that’s the case here, I would simply be pragmatic about the response.”
Sadly, there were some people who told the Evil HR Lady that they thought the employee should be fired. Given the fact the employee is an otherwise good worker who completes her assigned duties as required, many saw this response as harsh and over-the-top.
The consensus among the commenters on the Evil HR Lady’s post is that it’s okay to not want to participate in voluntary office activities, but it would behoove the employee mentioned to keep her reasons for not participating to herself.
Finding a job these days is tough, but keeping one is just as tricky. Employees who share similar sentiments to the employee in the Evil HR Lady’s post could learn a lot from the advice given by the Evil HR Lady and by some of her constructive commenters.
