QUESTION: One who complains can get more attention from the manager.
FACT: Excessive complaining makes you a whiner, and you won’t be taken seriously.
Complainers, no doubt, get more attention. Whenever an employee raises an issue such as about designation, promotion, salary hike, etc.—he comes under the manager’s radar. And it’s important to register a complaint where necessary, so that the manager is in the know and can address it.
But the problem rises when the complainer rimes facts with emotions; this confuses the manager and he might struggle to understand the real issue. Sometimes, complaints are made where the data is wrong; or, there are complaints where the data is correct, but the interpretation Is wrong. Then there might be cases where the employee is right, but not aware of the circumstances due to which the decision was made. In all these cases, the manager must give a patient hearing to the employee, understand the real issue, and explain why a certain decision was taken. Even If the person is unconvinced by the reason, he is at least consoled that he has been heard out.
Some employees complain frequently. It could be about the same issue or new ones. Of course, how frequent is ‘frequent’ is up to the manager’s perception and the nature of the issue—once a month could be ‘frequent’ or even once a year. And as for the complaints themselves, some would be genuine, while some others just a means to exert pressure. This latter will not be seen in a positive way. The manager might address it only under extreme circumstances, like, if a person is critical to a project—but it leaves a bad taste.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS The EMPLOYEE? There are some employees who are ‘habitual cribbers’, irrespective of what the management has done. Be careful if , you are one of them, as the management might ignore your issue, and even be prepared to have you leave.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS THE MANAGER? You should not yield undue pressure from any team member. What matters is Mt.. the number of times an issue is raised, but its validity. You should be consistent in your responses and provide suitable explanations. It should not happen that for similar issues, the response is different towards those who are considered ‘more- critical’ to the project. And if you know that the response is not what the employee is expecting and if you suspect a drastic action on his part, prepare your solution before you break the news.
