When it comes to doing business and working in the professional world one would only hope that they would be hoping to work with professional business people that aid in the success of the company you work for, however finding that kind of help in today’s day and age is no easy task. I wanted to write a quick post about some of the frustrations of dealing with your bottom feeders or bottom 5%’ers, because as any manager or business owner knows the bottom 5%’ers can often work very hard at disguising how much they really suck
Instead of writing the article from a manager or business owners point of view of what makes a great employee and how to achieve that, I decided to take the time to point out some key reasons to actual employees about why they suck as an employee. Who knows maybe pointing out some of the things that most mature business professionals already know for some of the more confused might actually help the confused to excel in their position and strive to actually be useful for one of the companies they work for.
Chances are that most of the bottom feeders or bottom 5% folks will look at the list of 10 things that make an employee suck and feel as if none of those things pertain to them, you will find in the business world that some of the most worthless associates you have ever worked with will constantly tell you how friggin great they are. Hey, at least I am willing to try to help them out and help them grow.
10 Reasons You Suck as an Employee
- Your more concerned about job titles than you are about achieving anything
- Your willing to complain but never offer resolution
- You think the entire company revolves around you
- You have no idea what any of the policies are
- You fail to do your job, but still expect to be treated like your gods gift
- You spend more time running your mouth than actually doing anything useful
- You need to have Mommy and Daddy medal in your job
- You fail to realize a paycheck is something you EARN, it’s not something GIVEN
- You think by bitching and crying to your friends that it will help, it won’t
- You forget your job description and fail to do your job
There are endless reasons that an employee can suck, in many cases it’s actually the business’s fault that an employee sucks and really doesn’t fall on the employee at all. This of course starts with the hiring process and practices of that company, if you do not have a sound hiring process you will almost always end up with an employee that sucks.
Now here’s where all of you come in to play, what business tips can you offer to other business owners and managers that might help them with hiring the right staff members instead of hiring a bunch of bottom feeders? Leave a comment and share your knowledge with everyone here, I would love to see what I can learn from all of you. If your not much into leaving comments but you like the business tips I post here, please consider following me on twitter @extremejohn or take a moment to subscribe to my RSS feed.
P.s. Check back tomorrow, I have a post scheduled that offers 10 Tips to Hiring Employees That Don’t Suck, you might find it useful.
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Man I feel bad.I do all 10 things on your list and a couple you didn’t list. I especially like number 3 me me me! and me.
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@James, oh yeah your def 10 for 10.
I’m ashamed to admit this but I’m guilty of the 10 reasons you have stated above. But I’m doing my best to change. :-)
@Walter, having goals is important
I’m going to sound like Captain Bitch when I say this, but I have walked into several places after just being hired and had people fired. I cannot stand to sit there and be working my ass off while I watch someone else play on myspace all day or whatnot. Its really unfair for some lazy ass to sit there and do every thing short of twiddling their thumbs at the expense of another. In addition it is very unfair to the rest of the hard workers. My suggestion is that if you hate your job, feel like its not for you or whatever your reason is, if you don’t want to work there don’t waste anyone’s time and money, move on.
Jordasche Bledsoe´s last blog ..LeAnn Rimes Needs To Back The Fuck Up
@Jordasche Bledsoe, not sure about the Captain Bitch, Princess Bitch maybe or better yet So Right Bitch.
Anyone that has any respect for work ethic would feel the same way.
@Jordasche Bledsoe,
That’s not bitchy at all. I think that when someone else is giving a hundred an ten it puts everyone else into a better perspective.
@eSINess,
I think so too
People often expect things without really working for it! They want promotions and fat pay-checks when they dont give proper output! I would recommend this post to as many as possible.
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@Tech-Freak Stuff, thank you I appreciate that, wouldn’t be a bad thing if a few 100,000 people read it.
It is tough to know who is going to be a good employee. I have had my most success hiring good employees from references from other really good employees. Now I am not talking references from just okay employees… as that is what you are going to get or less. Your really good employees don’t want recommend someone that will tarnish their good name…. so they usually recommend good quality prospects. At least most of the time
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I HAVE JUST GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE .I HAVE A LOT OF PRESSURE OF MY PARENTS TO BE INDEPENDENT . LIVE ON YOUR OWN WHEN YOU ARE GRADUATE IS THEIR IDEA OF A PERFECT SON. BUT I WANTED TO BE SOMETHING MORE THAN JUST AN EMPLOYEE . YOUR TIPS ARE SURELY GOING TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
I was real interested to read this.. And got to say all the 10 reasons are very true to the core. Specially liked the (#8). There is lot of bitching all the time going on.. now a days there’s no chance of a healthy competition. Such employees create a bad environment for everyone. I think the recruitment process has to be a good one.. specially focusing on individual behaviour.
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My senior colleagues at the hospital need to read this. They all whine about how they’ve been turned to paupers in a profession where their counterparts worldwide earn huge paychecks. Meanwhile most of them don’t realize they took an oath to protect lives and are only worried about the pay.
Some don’t even come to work on time and when they do, they give some flimsy excuse to exit and leave the bulk of their work on the hands of the interns as we’re in the position of slaves right now.
One of them was wise enough to give me advice NO 8 when I started as an intern and that has been my motivation ever since.
I sometimes bitch about the job though cos I don’t have a passion for it. I’d rather be singing my ass off than attending to patients. If only I had been strong enough to say no when I was emotionally blackmailed into studying Medicine.
@Udegbunam Chukwudi@Strictly Online Biz, quality of life is important and doing a job that isn’t meant for you typically won’t last long.
@Extreme John,
That’s my biggest fear and I pray I move on to doing what I love as soon as possible.
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I like number 6. People get in the habit of talking within a company and just being there is enough to warrant them position but its all too easy to forget the real reason people in in particular jobs.
As an employer I’ve had deal with some pretty bad employees. I honestly think some of them think they are doing me a favor by working for me. I’m sure that some of them think that as long as they turn up for work I owe them money. Too bad if they don’t do their jobs the way it’s supposed to be done.
A lot of the times I believe they act the way they do because union members have brainwashed them into believing it’s their right or something to get paid for nothing.
@Sire@WassupBlog, by far the most aggravating thing about working, period.
I suck big time as an employee… mostly because I do a markedly better job than most everyone else. This always causes a lot of fear and loathing, for some strange reason.
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After working way too long in retail, I’ve seen just about all of those.
The best way that I found to avoid them was to have the person doing the interviewing, be an expert in interviewing. Of course, that takes time and not everyone can do it well.
Of course, there’s a bunch of other things like proper training, proper correction system and of course not being afraid to fire someone…I feel like I could write a whole book. Don’t miss working in retail at all.
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“You think the entire company revolves around you”. I’ve come across a LOT of people who don’t know their place within the firm and think they’re something that they’re not. It’s really bad for employee relations and motivation. Shame.
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Sounds to me like you just described the boss’s son! I have worked at a lot of small to medium sized companies most of my professional career and it was the boss/owner’s son who always gave me grief, Ok, to be fair, once it was the daughter too. Hands down, the worst employee because you can’t fire them!
Dick@pargazer.com´s last blog ..Don’t Be A Dick
I’ll wait for the next one then about how to employ the good ones :P I think I’ll be employing some people in the coming years instead of being employed :twisted:
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Tips? Complicated John, since you know as well as I do that even on certain screening processes, there are still people who can make themselves worth more than what they actually are. I have countless experience recruiting prospective employees only to get disappointed after a while. You are right about two things though and I will maybe use those as an added bonus to stress even further its importance, on your already great list.
One is, learn form your previous experience and improve your screening process. You as a manger should be able to know what went wrong the previous time.
Two and probably one the most important is that in most cases it is the business that makes an employee suck. Motivate your employees and make them part of the game:) If what they are doing is no fun (can mean different things) and are not motivated, they will first get bored and then suck.
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You don’t know how I was identified with this post John. In Venezuela people are getting lazier every day and the government is supporting this behavior.
I got one more fore you: “You always deserve more than what you’re getting paid”.
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@Asswass, Wow! So you’re at Venezuela. I had a few Venezulean friends while I was studying in Medicine in Havana Cuba. I even have a few Nigerians over there now working as doctors sent over from Cuba.
The laziness is something that was expected since they decided to dine with Cubans. Some cubans are like that too. Extremely lazy and waiting for things to be handed down to them.
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@Udegbunam Chukwudi@Strictly Online Biz, We have thousands of unreliable Cuban doctors serving for Chávez. No one trusts this doctors. I wouldn’t even trust them with my pet.
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@john Yeah, the problem is most people have no work ethic. And I completely agree with those talking about how people think they should get paid more when they are severely lacking in their position as it is…puhleese!
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@Jordasche Bledsoe, just imagine what it will be like in 10 years.
You missed a whole bunch of reasons why I suck at my job.
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I think most of the professionals do one or more things from the above list.. and it really creates a unhealthy environment for others to work in..
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“You fail to realize a paycheck is something you EARN, it’s not something GIVEN” – i do agree on this, most of my subordinates has not realized this yet… whining, complaining… makes me sick…!
It’s difficult to tell, when hiring someone, how useful they’re actually going to be.. My main suggestion would keep them on for a probationary period, and during that period keep an extra close eye on them – without being to obvious about it – it’ll at least give you a chance to see how they function in the workplace without tying you to them unnecassarily
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Thanks for tips ;) It will help me when I will be an employee of any company..But right now I am enjoying my young life
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Like you said it starts in the hiring process. Unfortunately some people are professional interviewees. They are convinced they are hirable and they end up pulling the wool over the eyes of many HR reps.
Interviews should be done in steps. There should if possible be a minimum of two if not three interviews by HR, Manager and Peer; before an individual is hired.
I’ve also noticed that the ‘bottom feeder’ is a person that simply can’t work for someone else and needs to tap into their entrepreneurial spirit. So, they will never be a good employee.
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i don’t think if it is a good idea. what ever?
im with you where ever you are.
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I hate this one:
“You think by bitching and crying to your friends that it will help, it won’t”
… especially if they’re bitching and crying to me about it. Maybe it’s just me, but I almost never talk about what went down at work or if I’m unhappy that somebody farted in the hallway. I know that kind of person who just has to tell you about all the things they are unhappy about. Can’t be fun to live like that, always focusing on the negative side of things instead of turning it into something positive.
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@Klaus @ TechPatio, Amen, brother. Keep them away.
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One great tip when hiring a new employee. After, before or during the interview process take a quick look at the persons car ( if they have one ). The persons car will tell you a lot about the person. Now I’m not judging the person by the car they drive but you sure can judge them by the way they maintain their car. If you are looking for a neat and organized person, this person will have maintained their car in the same manner. If their car is dirty, smashed up and full of beer cans, guess what, you are in for trouble. Just take a peak inside their car. This will tell you a lot about them. Now, my truck is always trashed. This does not make me a bad employee, I know I’m unorganized but I sure do bust my ass when working, in fact I work so hard I seldom make the time to stop and clean my truck. Take a look at current employees that you have and look at their cars, you may see a trend between their cars and their work. This may not apply to all job titles but it sure makes since in a position in management or a job that requires organization or neatness. What ever you do, its a freaking crap shoot when hiring an employee. Best of luck to all bosses and business owners. Make it a Super Safari Day.
UFC fight Oct 24th, don’t miss it for any reason! Even if you have a party to go to, unless you have a DVR.
There really are some excellent tips in here and some great input, thank you.
Training and enforcement of policies are my top two. As a matter of fact those two will take care of most problem employees.
The fly in the ointment, though, is that it is sooo difficult to terminate anybody nowadays, even if you catch them stealing. Enforcement can actually land you in court if you don’t document everything. A witness statement from some of the upper 95%ers would also be helpful.
We have a couple who seem to think their jobs intimately involve standing around discussing what was on TV last night. Even when there are no customers around, there is ALWAYS something that needs done in any business, especially retail. Talking about things other than business is what your break time is for!
And these are the same ones who give me a hard if they notice that I have the internet up. I use the bet as part of what I do. Gotta keep the drugs coming in, you know.
Th really bad thing is that those bottom 5%ers can suck your non-sucking employees down to their level, too.
Keith@Norman Rockwell Art´s last blog ..Oct 10, Where Norman Rockwell Art Collectors Begin
I’ve been through some job interviews in my life and I noticed big companies usually have a human resources department with psychologists testing the candidates seriously before hiring them.
Anyway, I think you can only see how much your employees earn their salary by watching their results and how fast they complete their tasks. I worked in a company for 3.5 years so hard that I forgot how life really is, from morning till evening sometimes even not seeing the sun for the entire day. And guess what? I had colleagues who were at their best at 25% of my skills and knowledge and they had a better image in front of the managers just because they were very good at kissing @s* which is a skill I was never interested to develop.
It takes a lot of time to discover who are you really working with.
I don’t really recognise any of your list, neither in myself nor in others. BUT, I have only ever worked for very small companies. Maybe you just don’t get away with that sort of crap there? I sounds like the sort of nonsense I can imagine happening in big companies where their is an opportunity to lose sight of the bottom line.
The worst employee in my opinion is the one that starts to think they are the employer and run the place!
There is nothing worse
@Chris, hey Chris thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
The mentally self promoted are always annoying to deal with from all levels.
Am I getting this right, or did you just say two confused workers = progress ?
The ten points are reasonable, but the issue is that we’re talking about human beings. The sense of depending on another for a wage is sometimes very difficult to bear for many people. If we add the fear or the inability to start an own business, then we have a resentful person. Resentments are always present in an employment relationship.
To bad to says that 10 points that you mentioned is correct
But how we can change our self from those points? I think when we’re employee, we still feel and do those 10 points 
Do we need to become business man? So at least we can feel that we need to achieve something to survive? Not rely on paycheck every month.
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Have you been hiding out in my office?
P.S. I have a similar post. But, I got mine from Yahoo.
Until later,
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The worst employee IMO is the one who forgets his job responsibilities!
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I hit on 8 of the above 10 reasons. I admit, sincerely. Though now, I am trying to improve myself. That was a nice post. Indeed very frank. Most of us follow about 7-8 of the above points. We work as an employee working for an income rather than as a part of the organisation’s family endeavouring for it’s good.
Read the book “The E-Myth Revisited.” Great chapter on your “special” employees. Also, if you make a really sweet operations manual, you can hire even worse employees. McDonald’s is a prime example. The workers there forget my BBQ sauce all the time. Drives me crazy. Why do they forget the sauce? They do not TRULY care about their job or McDonald’s. However, McDonald’s has an operations manual that allows the specialest of the special to operate a chain. The automated operations manual is also in the book mentioned above.
All of these points were true for me when I was an employee. I quit my job 3 months back and started working full time on my own business. It is really satisfactory although no considerable return is there till now, but I am sure I will make it.
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Well… definitely to work as an employee with all the ethics and planned standards is a fine job but in the cut throat competition, all these works no better than applying butter on nuts..
@Used BMW cars, o.k.
Great article! Personally, I find trait No.2 really annoying. And unfortunately, it’s something that’s not exclusive to the workplace, is it? I’ve met quite a number of people that just love to whine and complain about everything under the sun, (I call them the ‘Nitpicking Club’) while never really bothering to offer a meaningful solution to a problem.
It becomes a right royal pain in the neck, after a while. I mean, just quit complaining already! Ugh.
Ok…mini rant over.
Btw, you’ve got an awesome site, dude. Keep it up!
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All very valid points. I used to be employed and found working for someone else a complete pain. It was very restrictive, the wrong people (in my eyes) had all the power and you were forced to do things you didn’t enjoy. What did I do about it? Walk out the front door and start working for myself. It was the best thing I ever did. Two years later I am the happiest I have ever been, I earn less money but my standard of living and quality of life is so much better. Think about what you are doing day in day out. Is this really what you want to do? If so great, if not do something about it.
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These 10 golden points should be handed over to employees that fit in this niche
nowadays everyone takes whole world for granted .As a student i hope i wont be among these ppl when i do job and I will recommend this article to everyone 
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@Ajinkya, thank you for taking the time to comment, you control your own destiny.
“10 Reasons” == Rant. SEO-driven noise/dribble/blah. *Yawn*
@David Rivers, ummm yeah. Exactly David.
Dude! It make me sick how many people at my job are obsessed with #1 on your list…
@Sapphire@Stripper Clothes, that one gets pretty annoying thats for sure.
You are too practical in this field and I think you should write book in this concern to guide people about their jobs. I am doing business and running successfully. I am free from any tension
Good points John. I agree with you. Most of the employees feel shy and afraid to say their needs, feedbacks etc to the employer.
I would have to add in there -
“believes in the company’s missions”
One that makes an employee really good is if they truly treat the company and business as if it’s their own.. that goes a long ways.
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