I make every effort to be fair and considerate to those employees who report to me and still I find a few who think I am making their lives difficult. What actually seems to be the case is the unrealisitic expectations of what it means to work, some examples: a non-exempt employee comes and goes as she pleases without requesting time off in advance; the same employee fails to call the supervisor to say she will be an hour late; and someone who lacks the follow through on items left in his/her inbox because “he/she didn’t put them there, someone else must have.” These are unacceptable behaviors and attitudes that must be dealt with, however when the attempt is made to do so in a fair manner the manager is portrayed as “expecting too much” from the employee. Then what is a supervisor supposed to do? Turn the other cheek despite employees not following the basic rules of work in order to win a popularity contest?

So what is the balance between appropriate warnings and discipline vs. being too policy driven?

I know, every office has the chronic “migraine sufferer”. I have worked with people who legitimately have serious headaches – as well as the frauds who use it as a convenient way to leave work early or not show up at all. This particular individual should be confronted with her “illness claims”. Does anyone out there have any ideas for how to cope with a self-serving control freak who should be held accountable for her lack of consideration for the extra work she causes for co-workers?