How to Deal With a Difficult Employee
Once you understand the actual behavior, how to deal with a difficult employee becomes much clearer.
You probably already have someone in mind.
The employee who creates tension.
The one everyone complains about.
The person who constantly pushes back.
The employee who doesn't follow through, has an attitude, creates drama, ignores expectations, or somehow manages to consume far more management time than everyone else.
Eventually, you start asking:
How do I deal with this employee?
That's a reasonable question.
But before deciding what to do about the person, there's another question worth answering:
What exactly is the problem?
Because “difficult employee” describes your experience with someone.
It doesn't diagnose what's causing it.
And if you get the diagnosis wrong, you can spend months trying to fix the wrong thing.
What Makes Someone a Difficult Employee?
There isn't one type of difficult employee.
One person may consistently underperform.
Another produces great results but treats coworkers terribly.
Someone may refuse to take accountability.
Another challenges every decision their manager makes.
Someone creates conflict everywhere they go.
Another may simply be in a role that doesn't fit their strengths.
And sometimes an employee gets labeled difficult because they keep pointing out a problem nobody wants to address.
Those situations require very different responses.
That's why the first step isn't:
“How do I get this person to change?”
It's:
“What behavior is actually creating the problem?”
Get specific.
Instead of saying an employee has a “bad attitude,” identify the behavior that's actually causing the problem.
Are they disrespectful to their manager? Creating tension with coworkers? Complaining in front of customers? Refusing direction? Bringing down the rest of the team?
The same goes for labels like “toxic” or “not a team player.” Those words describe how someone is perceived, but they don't tell you what the person is actually doing.
And that's what you need to know.
Labels make people easier to categorize. Specific behavior makes problems easier to solve.
Sometimes the Difficult Employee Really Is the Problem
Let's get this out of the way.
Sometimes you have the wrong person.
You've clearly communicated expectations.
They've been trained.
They understand their responsibilities.
They have the tools to do the job.
They've received feedback.
You've coached them.
You've given them opportunities to improve.
And the same behavior continues.
Maybe they blame everyone else.
Maybe they undermine their manager.
Maybe they create conflict.
Maybe they treat coworkers badly.
Maybe they refuse to follow reasonable expectations.
Maybe their performance simply isn't good enough.
At some point, continuing to search for another explanation isn't leadership.
It's avoidance.
You don't have to redesign your company around one person who repeatedly demonstrates that they aren't willing or able to meet the standard.
But Sometimes “Difficult” Is a Symptom
There are also times when the employee isn't the whole problem.
Imagine an employee constantly pushes back about scheduling.
Leadership sees:
Difficult. Negative. Always complaining.
But when you look closer, schedules are routinely changed at the last minute and employees are expected to rearrange their lives with almost no notice.
Now you have more information.
That doesn't mean the employee's behavior is acceptable.
They can have a legitimate concern and still handle it poorly.
Both things can be true.
Or maybe someone is constantly frustrated about another employee.
Leadership thinks it's personality conflict.
Then you discover they've been quietly fixing that person's mistakes for six months.
Again:
More information.
Understanding why behavior is happening doesn't automatically excuse the behavior.
It helps you decide what you're actually dealing with.
Be Careful With the Employee Everyone Likes
The “difficult employee” isn't always the person everyone complains about.
Sometimes it's the person leadership loves.
They're charismatic.
Customers love them.
Their numbers are fantastic.
They've been with the company forever.
The owner trusts them.
And underneath that?
Coworkers are constantly cleaning up after them.
They ignore processes.
They speak to people however they want.
Managers hesitate to correct them.
Rules bend when they're involved.
Leadership sees:
One of our best employees.
The team sees:
The person who can get away with anything.
That's where a difficult employee can become an accountability and favoritism problem too.
If that sounds familiar, I've written more about it in Favoritism in the Workplace: What
Performance doesn't automatically cancel out the damage someone creates around them.
Look at the Wake Behind Them
One of the best ways to understand a difficult employee is to stop looking only at the person.
Look at what happens around them.
Do coworkers avoid working with them?
Are managers constantly stepping in?
Does communication break down whenever they're involved?
Do other employees have to redo their work?
Are customer complaints connected to them?
Does everyone seem relieved when they're off?
Do good employees repeatedly raise concerns about the same behavior?
Does productivity improve when they're not involved?
Or is there actually very little evidence beyond one person's complaint?
Look for the pattern.
One frustrated coworker doesn't automatically prove someone is the problem.
Repeated independent experiences deserve more attention.
Don't Ignore the Manager
Sometimes an employee performs well under one manager and becomes “difficult” under another.
That's information.
Maybe the employee doesn't respond well to accountability.
Maybe the manager doesn't communicate clearly.
Maybe there's a personality conflict.
Maybe expectations changed.
Maybe the manager is micromanaging.
Maybe the employee has lost respect for the manager.
Maybe the manager is doing everything appropriately and the employee simply refuses to accept their authority.
Again, don't assume.
Investigate.
If several employees become “difficult” under the same manager, that's a different pattern than one employee struggling with every manager they've ever had.
What Happens When Employees Raise Concerns About This Person?
This matters.
Imagine employees repeatedly tell a manager that one coworker is creating problems.
Nothing changes.
They bring it up again.
Still nothing.
Eventually, they stop mentioning it.
Leadership may conclude:
Good. That issue seems to have settled down.
But it may not have.
The employees may simply have learned that talking about it doesn't accomplish anything.
That's one of the reasons good employees sometimes go quiet.
Silence isn't proof the problem disappeared.
Sometimes it means the information stopped reaching you.
Don't Let Your Best Employees Carry the Difficult One
Strong employees compensate.
That's part of what makes them strong.
They fix the mistake.
They cover the shift.
They calm down the customer.
They redo the work.
They avoid the argument.
They keep things moving.
And because they keep things moving, leadership may underestimate how disruptive the difficult employee actually is.
The business appears to function.
But someone is paying the price.
Usually the dependable people around them.
Eventually those employees may start asking:
Why am I working this hard when nobody is dealing with this?
That's when one difficult employee can start contributing to a much bigger problem.
And suddenly the person you lose isn't the difficult employee.
It's the person who got tired of carrying them.
How Do You Deal With a Difficult Employee?
Once you understand the actual behavior, deal with that.
Not the label.
Be specific about what needs to change.
Explain the expectation.
Explain the impact of the behavior.
Give the employee an opportunity to respond.
Determine whether there's information you're missing.
Then establish what needs to happen next.
For example:
Not:
“You need to have a better attitude.”
Instead:
“When your manager gives you a work assignment, you've repeatedly argued about it in front of the team and then delayed starting the work. If you disagree with the assignment, bring the concern to your manager privately. Once the decision is made, you're expected to move forward with it.”
That's something an employee can understand.
And it's something a manager can follow up on.
Document What Matters
If the behavior is serious or recurring, document it.
Not because you're trying to build a case against someone from day one.
Because memory is unreliable.
Managers change.
Details get forgotten.
Stories evolve.
Good documentation helps establish:
What happened?
When?
What expectation was communicated?
What did the employee say?
What support or coaching was provided?
What happened afterward?
That gives you something more useful than:
“We've talked about this a bunch of times.”
For formal discipline, termination, discrimination, accommodation, protected leave, retaliation, or other employment-law issues, make sure you're following applicable laws and your HR/legal requirements.
How Many Chances Should You Give a Difficult Employee?
There isn't a universal number.
The seriousness of the behavior matters.
A minor performance issue isn't the same as harassment, violence, theft, serious safety violations, or other severe misconduct.
But for ordinary performance and behavior issues, the bigger question is:
Is anything changing?
If you've had the same conversation six times and nothing has changed, conversation number seven probably isn't a new strategy.
At some point, leadership has to decide whether the employee can and will meet the standard.
If the answer is no, continuing to tolerate the situation sends a message to everyone else.
The standard isn't actually the standard.
When Should You Let a Difficult Employee Go?
Termination is a serious decision and should be handled carefully, consistently, legally, and with appropriate HR or legal guidance when needed.
But from a business standpoint, there's a question leaders sometimes avoid:
If I were hiring today and knew everything I know now, would I hire this person again?
If the immediate answer is no, ask yourself why they're still there.
Fear of replacing them?
Their production?
Their knowledge?
A personal relationship?
Hope they'll eventually change?
Avoiding an uncomfortable conversation?
Those concerns can be legitimate.
But keeping the wrong person has a cost too.
Sometimes the question isn't whether removing someone will be disruptive.
It's whether keeping them is already more disruptive.
Before You Decide What to Do, Make Sure You're Solving the Right Problem
When one employee seems to be creating constant problems, it's tempting to focus entirely on fixing that person.
Sometimes that's exactly what needs to happen.
But look at the whole picture first.
Is the expectation clear?
Is the behavior documented?
Are standards consistent?
Is the manager part of the issue?
Are coworkers compensating for this person?
Is there a process problem contributing to the conflict?
Do multiple people independently describe the same behavior?
Does the employee understand the issue?
Have they been given a reasonable opportunity to correct it?
And after all of that:
Are they actually changing?
The answer may lead you to coaching.
A clearer expectation.
A management change.
A different role.
A process fix.
Or a personnel decision.
The point isn't to avoid making the hard decision.
It's to make the right one.
Frequently Asked Questions About Difficult Employees
How do you deal with a difficult employee?
Start by identifying the specific behavior causing the problem rather than relying on labels such as “toxic,” “negative,” or “bad attitude.”
Clarify the expectation, discuss the behavior with the employee, listen for information you may be missing, explain what needs to change, and follow up.
If expectations are clear, appropriate support has been provided, and the behavior continues, the situation may need to be addressed as a performance or personnel issue.
What are signs of a difficult employee?
A difficult employee may repeatedly create conflict, refuse accountability, ignore expectations, undermine managers, mistreat coworkers, underperform, resist reasonable direction, or require disproportionate management attention.
However, one complaint or personality conflict doesn't automatically make someone a difficult employee.
Look for specific behaviors and recurring patterns.
How do you deal with an employee who has a bad attitude?
“Bad attitude” is too broad to manage effectively.
Identify the actual behavior.
Is the employee disrespectful?
Arguing in front of customers?
Refusing assignments?
Complaining constantly?
Rolling their eyes in meetings?
Undermining coworkers?
Once the behavior is specific, you can establish a clear expectation and determine whether it changes.
Can one difficult employee affect the whole team?
Yes.
One employee's behavior can create additional work, conflict, resentment, inconsistent accountability, communication problems, management distractions, customer issues, and eventually turnover.
The impact may be especially easy to miss when dependable employees quietly compensate for the difficult employee.
Should you fire a difficult employee?
Not every difficult employee should be terminated.
Some situations can improve through clearer expectations, coaching, better management, training, role changes, or addressing an underlying workplace problem.
However, if expectations are clear, appropriate support has been provided, the employee understands the issue, and serious or recurring behavior continues, a personnel decision may be necessary.
Employment decisions should always be handled consistently and in accordance with applicable employment laws and appropriate HR or legal guidance.
How many chances should you give an employee before termination?
There isn't one number that applies to every situation.
The severity and type of behavior matter, along with company policies, previous communication, documentation, applicable employment laws, and whether the employee has been given a reasonable opportunity to improve.
The important question is whether the employee understands the expectation and whether meaningful improvement is actually occurring.
What If the Difficult Employee Isn't the Whole Problem?
Sometimes the person everyone points to really is the problem.
Sometimes they're part of it.
And sometimes they're the most visible symptom of something happening underneath the business.
That's why making a personnel decision without understanding the full picture can be expensive.
A Workplace Reality Assessment provides an outside look at what's actually happening inside your business—what leadership sees, what employees experience, where patterns are developing, and what may not be making it to the owner.
You may discover you have the wrong employee.
You may discover a manager needs support.
You may uncover inconsistent accountability, unclear expectations, a broken process, or a problem that's been misdiagnosed entirely.
The goal isn't to protect the employee.
The goal isn't to blame leadership.
It's to find the real problem before you make the wrong decision.
If employee issues are already consuming management time, hurting productivity, affecting customers, or driving good employees away, see What It's Costing You.
Find the real problem before you fix the wrong one.
Learn About the Workplace Reality Assessment
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