Intro

While it is very important that you encourage your employees to meet their potential by helping them through rough patches at work, it is equally as important to identify when an employee is intentionally avoiding reciprocity. That’s why HRMatrix is here to discuss how you can identify the type of employee who no longer cares about their job and the responsibilities regarding their workplace. Sometimes an employee may be experiencing a difficult time in their personal lives and other times an employee is purely lazy and uninterested. It might be hard to identify between the two, and being forthright with respective conversations might result in deceitful information. Employees, if they want to keep their job, but don’t want to do any of the work, will simply lie. That’s why you must monitor and develop an acumen that comprehends quality, sincerity, and character. 

Lack of Interest 

The first and most evident symptom of a poor work ethic is a genuine lack of interest in work. That doesn’t mean an employee is a bad person, maybe this is not the right environment for them. Maybe they aren’t thriving because they are not excited about their job and respective field. Just remember, if you can change an employee's mind about how they feel regarding their job, then there’s always another candidate who would absolutely love to have the position. Lack of interest may populate different areas of one’s job, but once this absence of enthusiasm is prevalent, it will encompass all areas of the job. 

Deliberately Unproductive 

Other times an employee will aggressively avoid the tasks and responsibilities of their job just to get out of work and find free time. They are deliberate when it comes to avoiding the important facets of their job, and you’ll begin to wonder what they are exactly getting paid for. This type of employee does not care very much about their performance and it might come off as disrespectful. Again, there are candidates out there who would be happy to take this position and some employees might not be grateful for what they have. This type of employee does not offer productive remarks, does not participate, and maintains a poor disposition in the general sense. 

What to Do?

When you are caught in this type of situation, the first thing you should do is have a conversation that assesses the employee and their issues regarding the job. You should impose a warning and then carefully observe their work ethic after the conversation. This will make it easier for you to identify which employee cares about their job and which doesn’t.