A Survival Guide to Managing Employees from Hell: Handling Idiots, Whiners, Slackers, and Other Workplace Demons

Chapter 16. Too Much, Too Soon

Sometimes on paper, an employee can seem to have all the right stuff. But then, under the stress of a job with lots of tasks and responsibilities, they can’t manage the multitasking and the stress. But rather than simply saying it’s “too much, too soon” early on, they bumble along, trying to conceal the fact that the job is really too much for them to handle. As an employer, it may take you awhile to figure out the problem if they are good at concealing their inadequacies, even if they are not good at the job.

That’s what happened to Edith, the director of a community hospital that not only served patients, but also put on an annual health fair with the help of a team of community volunteers. She hired Barbara to ...