Reader Question: Manipulative Employees

 I recently received an email from a frustrated office manager.  A new employee was hired who is "two-faced and manipulative" yet the boss doesn't seem to be concerned as long as the job is done.  This office manager would like to know how to handle a stubborn boss.

Unfortunately, if you as an office manager are not given hiring and firing authority, it puts you in a very difficult position with new employees.  Most firms have a 90-day probation period where either the employee or the employer can terminate the relationship at any time if the situation does not seem to be working out.

I cannot tell you how many times I have let employees go, sometimes the very same day of hiring for this very reason.  Productivity and morale go down when employees mix business with personal concerns. 

If your employer is not concerned about a particular employee, yet everyone else in the firm is being affected, start documenting everything.  Within a month, if there is substantial evidence of lack of productivity, a decrease in company morale, an increase in the number of employee sick days, etc. then take the information back to your supervisor and have a serious conversation.  If there are other employees complaining, as the office manager, you should advise other employees to document as well.

Good luck and let me know how it goes!