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For the benefit of everyone in the workplace, complaining employees shouldn\u2019t be allowed to spread their discontent unchecked. They will sow seeds of animosity among their peers and will misrepresent their personal indignation as a reality within the company when new employees join the team. <\/p>\n
In collaboration with company leaders, HR professionals must work to create and maintain the culture they desire. If an employee\u2019s conduct opposes that ethos, it is HR\u2019s responsibility to stop the conflicting behavior.<\/p>\n
The chronic complainer will often attempt to engage co-workers in their negative and unproductive discussions. They view their co-workers as allies and believe they are equally passionate about the issues. <\/p>\n
While co-workers may understand the concerns, they often don\u2019t want to get involved, and the constant barrage of unwanted negativity has a significant impact on the team\u2019s mental health, produc\u00adtivity, engagement and ultimately retention. <\/p>\n
Toxic culture is the top driver of employee attrition, according to survey results published in the MIT Sloan Management Review<\/em><\/a> <\/em>in January 2022. \u201cA toxic corporate culture … is 10.4 times more powerful than compensation in predicting a company\u2019s attrition rate compared with its industry,\u201d researchers concluded in the article, titled \u201cToxic Culture is Driving the Great Resignation.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n With negativity as the top reason employees are quitting their jobs, HR can\u2019t allow complaining employees to spread their unresolved negative musings. Complaints must be addressed head-on, and if an amenable solution can\u2019t be agreed upon, the complaints must be stopped. <\/p>\n When new employees join the team, they are eager to start contributing to the success of the company and are ambitious to grow in their careers. The new hire is the perfect prey for the complaining employee. <\/p>\n The opportunity allows the complaining employee to share their choicest \u201cLet me tell you how things really are around here\u201d stories. The complaining employee views themself as the only mentor who will be honest with the new hire and feels as if they\u2019re doing them a favor by cluing them in to the otherwise unspoken inner workings of the company.<\/p>\n However, such complaints can result in expensive damage to the organization\u2019s internal reputation. The cost of replacing an individual employee can range from one-half to two times the employee\u2019s annual salary, according to Gallup<\/a>.<\/p>\n Complaints can also end up triggering the underlying issues being complained about. If the employee complains that the team is overworked and individual expectations are too high, a new hire may be persuaded by this view and begin to see every interaction with leaders as proof that the concerns are real. This perception of a toxic work environment could cause the new hire to quit, increasing the team\u2019s workload and expectations that the new employee was meant to alleviate. This undermining pattern by the complaining employee reinforces their cynicism about the company. Leaders demand to know why no one is staying after they\u2019re hired, and HR continues to sort through resumes trying to fill the gaps and get productivity back on track.<\/p>\n Complaints from employees may have value and should be investigated. An engaged employee will seek to make the workplace better by finding a solution to their issues and concerns. But the employee who spreads negativity without seeking an honest solution is a detriment to the company and must be shut down before they cause irreparable damage to the culture that HR is working so hard to sustain.<\/p>\n Scott Pate, SHRM-SCP, is manager of HR operations for Milwaukee County, Wis.<\/em><\/p>\n Taking time to listen is the key to a productive workforce.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n When so many employees are quitting, managers and HR professionals should listen to those who may have legitimate complaints and are trying to help the company.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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