Management musings 10: everyone can be difficult at times
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120310454557 |
| Published date | 01 February 2003 |
| Date | 01 February 2003 |
| Pages | 86-87 |
| Author | Maurice B. Line |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Management musings
10: everyone can be
difficult at times
Maurice B. Line
Some people are born difficult; some achieve
difficult-ness; and some have difficult-ness
thrust upon them. The first can sometimes,
with help, grow out of being difficult; while
the last, who become difficult in reaction to
impossible circumstances, shift back again
when the circumstances disappear. This
musing is not concerned with the first, nor
much with the third; it deals principally with
the second, staff who are generally sensible,
sometimes very good, but suddenly behave
badly for no very obvious reason.
But there must be some reason when people
depart from their normal behaviour. They
may become less productive, make errors, or
combine less well with their fellow workers. In
such cases the cause is often stress outside the
library ± perhaps a parent who is sick or dying,
or a marriage that is in danger of breaking up.
The unusual behaviour usually stops when
the crisis is over, though not immediately;
there are often ``after-shocks'', or sheer
exhaustion after nursing a sick relative for
several months. Here the person's relations
with his/her colleagues, and particularly
reporting officer, can be crucial. In the first
place, there ought to be both mutual trust and
sensitivity on the part of reporting officers;
otherwise, they may never know what is
wrong. The person in question may not want
to confide, but he/she ought to be free to do
so if they wish; and in any case sensitivity and
sympathy on the part of other staff can be felt
without being expressed. Knowing that other
people understand is all-important. Equally, it
is vital that all staff make efforts to know staff
who work with and for them as people, not
just as workers ± just as presumably they
regard their neighbours as human beings
(admittedly this can sometimes be hard).
Alas, in my consultancy work I encountered
again and again staff who said with deep
feeling that no-one was interested in them ±
only in getting work out of them, which would
have been easier if their managers had been
interested in them. I also found again and
again managers who seemed more interested
in avoiding their staff once they have given
them orders rather than getting to know
them; often, if they had more than 30 staff
working under them, they could not even
remember all their names.
Out-of-character behaviour can equally be
caused by bad circumstances within the
workplace. It may take any number of forms ±
for example, not willingly co-operating, or
The author
Maurice B. Line, Harrogate, UK.
Keywords
Personnel management, Employees, Behaviour
Abstract
Discusses the problems of handling difficult people in the
workplace ± why there might be out-of-character
behaviour and how to handle it.
Electronic access
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The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
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86
Library Management
Volume 24 .Number 1/2 .2003 .pp. 86-87
#MCB UP Limited .ISSN 0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/01435120310454557
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