Tips and Tricks for Managing Unhappy Employees

Last Updated: 

October 13, 2022

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If you have an employee or several employees who are unhappy, then it’s important to find solutions. Otherwise, your business is going to end up in a heap of trouble.

Unhappy employees can lead to high staff turnover, poor-quality work, and a toxic office environment. Naturally, you won’t want any of this to happen.

So, what’s the plan? It’s simple. Just use the following tips and tricks that are designed specifically for managing unhappy employees.

Not only will these tips and tricks help you to turn the situation around, but they will also make your business better.

Focus on employee wellbeing

You can’t put a price on wellbeing in the workplace. When your employees are happy and well looked after, then you’ve already won half of the battle.

To improve employee wellbeing, try these tips:

  • Offer one-to-one monthly meetings to discuss feedback and concerns.
  • Provide mental health support.
  • Create a fun and exciting workplace culture.
  • Give staff plenty of breaks to ensure they don’t burn out during the day.
  • Put an immediate stop to any workplace bullying or harassment.

Sure, it can be easy to forget about the wellbeing of your employees, especially when there are sales targets to reach, but you need to prioritise it. Otherwise, your employees will suffer.

Move them to a different team

If a specific employee is unhappy, they might be working with other individuals with who they don’t get along in the office. When this is the case, it’s a smart idea to move this employee to a different team so that they can work with a fresh group of people. If this doesn’t work, try the next tip.

Switch roles

Providing it is within the realms of possibility, you could try switching the employee to a different role. For example, if they are a telephone sales agent, you could switch them to being a field sales agent instead. This way, they won’t be in the office all the time and can experience working while out on the road.

However, you should only switch roles if you believe the employee has a genuine shot at being good at it.

Remain impartial

It’s important to remember that it’s not usually personal when an employee is disgruntled. With this in mind, make sure to remain impartial when dealing with them. If you allow yourself to become personally invested, this will only worsen the situation and make it more difficult.

Keep an open dialogue

Very rarely is a problem immediately solved when it comes to unhappy employees.

This is why it’s essential to keep an open dialogue with them as you move forward. By constantly checking in with an employee and maintaining regular communication, you will gain an understanding of whether the problem is resolved or requires further work.

Lastly, keep a record of everything

Every day, you’re probably extremely busy. However, don’t let this distract you from your employee’s problems. When there is an open dispute and dialogue, you should document the conversations and meetings that you have. This is primarily for legal protection as well as to keep a thorough track of everything that has been said.

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