Wednesday, June 13, 2012

That One Employee



Hey all,

Hope you are having a good week. As you know, I am speaking at the state meeting this weekend. I had been pretty calm up until last night. I have tried not to over-think the whole thing, and I haven't really changed the lecture from last time. But now I am almost in a complete panic. I know my stuff is good and I know people will like it, but I am starting to totally freak out. If any of you read this and are at the lecture, come say hello.

Trying not to think about my lecture, I watched a few movies this week. We Bought a Zoo and War Horse were both okay and worth the rental. I am almost done with “50 Shades of Grey.” I will give you my review next Wednesday.

Today I want to tell you about a friend I have. He has a staff a lot like mine, a pretty good, small team. Speaking of a team, they like to do stuff together. They do stuff with the doctor and even plan things just with themselves (like "girls night out"). Most of his staff are getting older and now that the kids are out of the house, they don't have to run home to their families. The ones that do have families get babysitters so they can enjoy a night without crying, boogery kids.

As you can imagine, my friend is thrilled. We all go through the day and realize that, to some of our staff, it is just a job This guy has a staff that really like each other. Damn him.

But the other day he was telling me that one of the staff members doesn't ever do anything with the others. She can’t go to a movie because she has to take her dog to the vet. She can’t make it to girls’ night out because her husband has “this thing.” She didn’t make it for dinner and drinks because she forgot.

Oh, and it can't be the money. When they go out, the doctor pays (he thinks it is worth the money). She always goes to the CE (again, doctor pays). But when it is just fun, an after work thing, she never goes.

My friend said he and the rest of the staff like her. She comes to work and she does her job. But he is concerned about this. He thinks the others might be getting a little hurt because she won’t hang out with them. Also, as the leader of this team, he feels like it is important to maybe have a beer with the people you are in battle with everyday.

I don't really know how I feel about this. It is good for morale, but there is no reason that she has to fraternize. There becomes a sense of team. People will have your back when things get messy. If you are just in your room, saying hello when you come in, then doing your work and going home, there is not a whole lot of unity being built.

I know what some of you are thinking and I think about the same thing: leave her alone. Don't mess with happy. We all, as bosses, want our team to like each other. We want them to like us. But, as I get older, my expectations of my staff are not as lofty. I am just happy when they don't talk behind my back and they like their jobs. I want everything the magazines and lectures tell me could happen, but I also know reality.

What do you think? Would you leave well enough alone? Should the doctor try to sit her down and tell her how important building a team is? Does he tell her she has to go? I am interested in your opinion or your stories.

Have a great rest of the week. See you at the FNDC.

john

5 comments:

dentist philadelphia said...

Wow, this was a really quality post

Anonymous said...

Some people like to separate their work and personal lives. There is nothing wrong with doing so.

I own a practice and personally don't feel comfortable fraternizing much with the staff outside of work. We have a few dinners or lunches throughout the year to celebrate good months, anniversaries, etc. We also have breakfasts catered for birthdays.

We all like each other and support one another, but let's face it--we spend A LOT of time together. More time than we spend with most of our family members, at least during the week.

Also, from an employer/HR standpoint--there is a certain line you don't want to cross. You want to have a good relationship with your staff, but you don't necessarily want to be 'friends' or 'buddies'.

Just my two cents.

gatordmd said...

I totally agree with you.
But what if that one employee has to "get her tires rotated" when you are going to celebrate a good month.

I think that is what my friend is concerned about.
That there is no time when this person wants to be a part of the office...except 9-5.

Thanks
john

Anonymous said...

Lucky lady, she can separate work from home. Or alternatively, like me, she has a social phobia. Many people battle with this quietly -because we have to work- but going home at the end of the day is such a blessing!
Team building doesn't have to mean living in each others pockets - your friend could just have a lunch caterer come in to the surgery itself every so often.
The lady could also have family/other obligations that she doesn't want workmates knowing about.
I love employees who are independent and "do their own thing". We go to CE and feel proud of our practice but we are not in each others pockets. Success is celebrated with gifts, from chocolates to money, which they can go home and share with their families in their own ways.Spouses, in particular, seem to appreciate this.

Evellaca said...

Hurry up already! :)

on the review of 50 shades. Is it A1.........is it A2......or C3?
Haha! Thank you for your AGD exam blog. I scraped by a couple of years ago.

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