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Employee in Denial
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Employee in Denial
Discuss workforce management, performance management, retention, communication, motivation, contributing to business results and other topics.
Our Receptionist has had a poor attitude lately and it is reflected in her telephone voice. Her supervisor sat her down and discussed this with her and the Receptionist says that she has not changed h
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Employee in Denial
posted at 6/21/2010 12:01 PM EDT
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Posts: 21
First: 6/17/2009 Last: 6/21/2010 |
Our Receptionist has had a poor attitude lately and it is reflected in her telephone voice. Her supervisor sat her down and discussed this with her and the Receptionist says that she has not changed her attitude since she started. When pressed, she said that a friend's child died and that she is upset. Her supervisor said she could take time off to deal with her loss and come back to work when she was ready, but the employee said she doesn't have enough time-off left to do that. The supervisor told her that he has to present a professional image to our customers on the phone.
Her supervisor is concerned that she won't change if she doesn't acknowledge that there is an issue. The owner is the one who complained about the Receptionist's phone manners. I'm a little stumped here. I suggested training, but I'm not really sure that is the answer. What would you do? |
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Employee in Denial
posted at 6/23/2010 9:00 AM EDT
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Posts: 464
First: 6/30/2004 Last: 11/22/2010 |
Dealing with a perception of an attitude is difficult to document. Instead, consider providing concrete examples of the behavior problem.
If the owner perceived the issue, perhaps he can clarify that her phone voice does not sound welcoming. It sounds like she does not like her job or the contact she is having with the customer. One of my friends manages a medical office and was having a similar problem. She brought a 6 inch mirror on a stand and placed it on the receptionist's desk and instructed her to look in the mirror and smile as she answered the phone. She said this helped immensely. |
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Employee in Denial
posted at 6/23/2010 10:32 AM EDT
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Posts: 544
First: 9/27/2004 Last: 9/13/2011 |
It's also hard to perform emotional labor continuously for 8 hours a day, people can wear you out.
I saw this when I worked in retail, we used to rotate customer service duties with other tasks so we wouldn't burnout employees with very good results. Then the policy about cross-training changed and everyone had to stay in their stations and stick with their job descriptions. It was exhauting and it showed. |
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Employee in Denial
posted at 6/23/2010 12:38 PM EDT
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Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
I agree that it is nice to give breaks etc, but I am not sure how being a receptionist is "emotional labor". If it were the actual duties, I would suggest training her in Word and Excel such that you could assign special projects to her. I know our best receptionist ever could produce the prettiest reports, forms and charts that any of our managers wanted. And no one else had time to do.
But it doesn't sound like the issues is the job duties, but rather something personal. And honestly, while I do understand that personal issues can affect job performance, usually I would suggest time off to deal with the issue. Past that, I would let her know that if she can't competently perform her job duties, that you will be forced to find someone who can. |
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Employee in Denial
posted at 6/23/2010 12:53 PM EDT
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Posts: 544
First: 9/27/2004 Last: 9/13/2011 |
The definition of emotional labor includes having to regulate one's emotions as part of one's job. Attitudes stem from emotional states. Being a receptionist is a service and service work is considered emotional labor. If you still don't believe me, spend some time behind a reception desk and you'll understand. |
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Employee in Denial
posted at 6/23/2010 3:05 PM EDT
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Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
Sorry,just never heard of that.....
Don't most jobs require a person to be able to control their emotions? Maybe more in customer service related jobs, especially a receptionist position. I am sure there are some "back office" jobs that wouldn't require as much control of emotions. Honestly, it sounds like a made-up condition and a reason for an employee to be able to offer an excuse for bad job performance. And yes, I have worked in customer service/receptionist type positions....and in professional positions. But I would agree that there are some personalities that would NOT do well in a receptionist position. |
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Employee in Denial
posted at 6/24/2010 7:42 AM EDT
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Posts: 544
First: 9/27/2004 Last: 9/13/2011 |
you're right any social situation requires control of emotions and people vary in thier ability to do this and some are better suited for jobs that require interpersonal transactions.
The emotional labor comes when our natural emotional responses interfere with our ability to conform with socially expected responses. I'm just saying it's difficult to do this over and over for long periods of time without some kind of buffer. And life events can reshape our world view. If someone is sad over the loss of a child they knew, it can be hard for them to be sympathtic because someone was on hold for too long. |
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Employee in Denial
posted at 6/25/2010 9:06 AM EDT
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Posts: 2442
First: 2/12/2000 Last: 9/14/2011 |
Here are a couple of other suggestions to consider. First many companies either monitor or tape their incoming calls for "training purposes". Do this for a while and you will have facts not guesses regarding how she sounds or responds.
You could also have some "mystery callers" who "engage" her with questions and can advise on how she handled them. Again facts not guesses. Once you have this data you have a way forward with disciplinary actions if warranted. |
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Employee in Denial
posted at 6/29/2010 2:03 AM EDT
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Posts: 55
First: 12/23/2000 Last: 8/26/2010 |
I do agree that attitudes stem from emotional states. Tolerance and patience are prerequisites for any job that involves external interaction. Unfortunately, when you're on a job, you're supposed to deliver. The best option is to take time off when you're not in form: The best thing to do is evaluate her behavior thereafter(I like the mystery call idea). Owners don't want to waste time analyzing a receptionist's overt behavior, whatever the reasons. Also, you don't want a doc tell you he messed up surgery in some emotional fit. He'd better control his emotions at the table or be far away. |
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Employee in Denial
posted at 6/29/2010 12:28 PM EDT
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Posts: 544
First: 9/27/2004 Last: 9/13/2011 |
I get that, but human beings are emotional. That's not meant to be an excuse, it's not meant to be a reason, it is what it is - a fact. And it doesn't do us any good to ignore that, your surgeon example only goes so far. Of course control is important, but there is a serious danger when you don't acknowledge and prepare for human limitations. The best way for people to regulate their emotions is to acknowledge them and deal with them, not to control them.
It's like ignoring the potential effects of weather. It's best to expect the unexpected, shore things up and prevent problems from occuring. As far as taking time off, I don't agree, whatever is triggering this receptionist's "attitude" is happening on the job, if you truely want to change that behavior, it would be best to do try to examine while on the job. |
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