Donna and Kelly Assume Employee Relations Specialist

Donna and Kelly

assume employee relations specialist company. The supervisor responsible project advice issue. Members group assigned tasks completing project. Ideally, pieces puzzle smoothly completed. Kelly working overtime ensures piece project completed meet deadlines.

Scenario: Donna and Kelly

In the scenario presented, Kelly does not feel as if her colleague Donna is 'pulling her weight' on a project to which they are mutually assigned. Kelly has not confronted Donna about her anger. Instead, she has quietly allowed her emotions to build as she has grown increasingly frustrated with what she perceives as Donna's lackadaisical attitude about work deadlines. Now, Donna is taking a weekend vacation, leaving Kelly with even more work. In this specific instance, 'ownership' of the problem lies in Kelly's hands. This does not necessarily mean that only Kelly is at fault. However, "for every set of conditions or outcomes, there are some people who are affected adversely by them. These people are the problem-owners. They own the problem, because they suffer the consequences and therefore have the responsibility to resolve the problem" (Owning the problem, n.d., Problem ownership). From everyone else's point-of-view, the project is going smoothly, and there is no record that Donna's actions are causing lowered morale and project delays -- yet.

From Kelly's point-of-view, Donna's behavior is inconsiderate. Kelly works hard to meet her deadlines. She believes that Donna should be aware that adhering to deadlines is essential, and thinks that Donna is 'cutting things too close' to the margins. Kelly is a conscientious worker, while Donna may be a procrastinator, feels she works best under pressure, or simply takes deadlines more literally than Kelly. Kelly also believes that Donna's decision to take a vacation during a critical part of the project shows a lack of sensitivity and places an extra and unexpected burden upon Kelly. This decision seems to be the 'straw that breaks the camel's back.'

While Kelly's displeasure is understandable to some degree, Kelly did not apparently discuss her concern about the deadlines with Donna in a meaningful fashion. Nor did she bring up her concerns with a supervisor, detailing how she believed that Donna was receiving preferential treatment and/or that Donna's work habits were affecting morale or the project. This could mean that Kelly is not well-versed in terms of handling conflict, or simply that her grievances are more personality-based than they are truly about the impact of Donna's actions upon the project. Regardless, rather than letting the problem fester, Kelly should have brought up this issue to Donna or to a supervisor rather than waiting until the problem grew to be overwhelming.

However, neither Kelly nor Donna is entirely at fault. The company should have clear policies about meeting deadlines for projects, when it is acceptable to take vacations, and how much notice people are given when they need to work overtime or cover for other employees. Additionally, the supervisor in charge of the project should not have simply assumed that everything was coming together nicely, without any supervision of the personal dynamics of the two women. It is not enough to merely note that things are getting done: how they are getting done and employee relationships must be managed rather than simply assumed to be 'taken care of themselves.'

At present, even though Donna is not aware of the impact of her actions upon Kelly, it is likely to impact morale in the future. If Kelly feels that she is being treated unfairly, the quality of her work and her office relationships will suffer, and this will have an eventual impact upon all employees. Employee conflicts are seldom confined to a two-person situation. First and foremost, the employees in a conflict should be spoken to separately, rather than directly, to avoid a 'she said/she said' name-calling scenario.

If the supervisor feels that Kelly's beliefs about Donna's lackadaisical attitude is overstated, and Donna is performing to a high standard, he should discuss with Kelly other possible factors that are contributing to Kelly's dissatisfaction with the workplace. If the supervisor feels that Donna's behavior is overly cavalier respecting deadlines, he or she should address this matter. Likely, the root cause is a combination of real workplace stress and personality conflicts, as well as other factors that may contribute to Kelly's sense of aggravation. That is why, as well as talking about Donna, a good employee relations specialist will also talk to Kelly to see if there are any other workplace issues that are bothering her and impeding either her efforts or the progression of the project as a whole.