My "Problem Child": No Longer a Problem

It’s been a few weeks since I started working with my student employees and things are going pretty well, but I have noticed a few red flags about the work ethic of a couple employees. I have always had high standards for people, especially when someone applied for a position. I told my staff at our first staff meeting that I would be expecting a lot of them, and most of them have been following through. However, it makes it that more frustrating for the staff and myself when an employee doesn't follow through.

What’s even more frustrating is that he was living up to all the bad news I had heard about him before I met him. I took everything that I heard with a grain of salt to give him the benefit of the doubt. We met at the beginning of the year and he told me that last year was rough, but he was certain this year would be better. I could tell that he didn't like his performance last year and he wanted to be a better team member. I had such high hopes that he would be different this year. However, I was quickly proven wrong.

He wasn't too concerned about getting projects done in a timely manner if the customer didn't give him a date then needed it by. This led to few projects slipping through the cracks and then the whole staff had to pick-up his slack. He didn't even seem to be that apologetic about it and there was always someone else to blame for those forgotten projects. I’m not one who likes to micro-manage people, but I was considering placing myself in the graphics office whenever he was working to make sure things were getting done. I felt bad for the other staff members because I was thinking about how to deal with the “problem child” and not getting to know them.

Surprisingly, or maybe luckily, his last day in graphics was Friday. I hope that his departure will help the rest of the staff feel at ease. I could tell that the employees that came for the shift after him were always worried that they would be thrown into finishing his projects and be able to work on their own. He was making things much more stressful than they should have been.

In Student Development Theory we talked about characteristics of the millennial generation, and I could definitely see some of those in this employee. It makes me worry about how he, and my other employees, will be able to adjust to the real working world. Having a job in college is a great way to prepare for life after graduation, but it’s still very sheltered. How can I make sure that I’m preparing my staff to be successful at whatever they do? I don’t want them to fall prey to how the world sees millenials. As their supervisor, I want to help them succeed; I’m just not sure how to do that.