Tuesday, September 02, 2008

The Whiners

Whining is never an attractive form of behavior. It does appear, however, that whiners get rewarded in many organizations.

Supervisors and managers capitulate, in large part, to shut the person up. They may make a mental note to exact some indirect punishment at a future date, but it is unlikely even that feeble retaliation will ever occur. Memories fade along with the irritation. In the meantime, the whiner enjoys a special benefit.

The other employees, of course, take note of any appeasement. They know when the boss has caved, however cleverly the surrender has been disguised.

The whiner's jubilation is a body blow to the morale of their quiet co-workers and to the moral authority of the leader. What had seemed like a convenient accommodation, a small act, can have much larger repercussions. Moreover, the whiner is usually a repeat-offender with a series of victories that are really management defeats.

The damage may be incremental, but it is damage nonetheless.

4 comments:

DarkoV said...

The whiner's jubilation is a body blow to the morale of their quiet co-workers and to the moral authority of the leader.

Amen, Brother. Add to the whiner's character that he/she has a loud mouth and chutzpah in Sam's Club quantities and you've got a soundtrack for a manager's demise.

And, God forbid, if the whiner knows the company is scared suitless of personal lawsuits then any hint that that manager has drawn a line in the sand as regards her/his whining demand will prompt visits to HR in pursuit of their invented "rights". These types are the bloodsuckers of teamwork, joy, and comraderie in the workplace.

Hire at your own peril!

Michael Wade said...

Darkov,

You're right on target!

Anonymous said...

In my case, I had a director who was a paranoid, vindictive, chronic whiner who was constantly appeased (or ignored, in the hopes she would just stop) by her superiors, while making life for her subordinates a living hell. Bottom line: I had to leave, as did others, and the organization that we worked so hard to be top-notch is a shell of its former self. She is still there, of course. It's just not workers who are guilty of this.

Michael Wade said...

Lady,

Thanks for the reminder that whiners can exist at all levels. Leave them in place and they can drive off good people.