Tusken Raider
Footballguy
I supervise a team of 5 employees. Four of them have been very good at their jobs, handle their business, and usually need nothing more than minor oversight from me. However, “Richard” has been a load of trouble to work with. He’s very immature, has a poor work ethic, and needs to be told what & how to do simple, daily tasks. Our team has tried to mentor/work with him since he joined us about a year and a half ago, but he takes no pride in his work.
Several friendly conversations, as well as training, and even write-ups, have not helped “Richard’s” behavior and work ethic. The other team members don’t like working with him, nor do other people at work. He’s a social media warrior who repeatedly cries victim, but also posts some extremely offensive racist & sexist topics on his private social media account that several coworkers have brought to my attention.
A couple of weeks ago, “Richard” and another coworker not on our team got into it over some minor stuff at work. Both guys were counseled separately about the incident. The other coworker is well-liked by everyone, while “Richard” has worn out his welcome (everyone is tired of him.) “Richard” asked for a transfer to another location, which I’ve gladly signed off on. Everyone at work is ready for it to happen.
“Richard” will be transferring away at the end of the month. Our last day before Christmas, I give each employee a small gift, and they typically all go in together to buy me something. This year I had some gear custom-made with our team logo on it. They’re all identical, and I’m proud of how they turned out. (Another team’s supervisor liked them so much when I showed them to him that he asked me to have some made for his crew as well.)
I’ve decided to give each person on my team their gift in private, and tell them thanks for their efforts this year. For “Richard,” I‘ve decided to not give him the custom gift, but instead go with a gift card of equal value. Our team takes a lot of pride in our work, and since “Richard” has such a poor work reputation (which has already become common knowledge throughout the entire department), I’d rather not have him sporting our custom logo elsewhere.
He’ll no doubt see the others’ gifts later, but I don’t want to have an awkward Christmas moment for “Richard” when each employee opens his gift, and sees that he is the only one without the custom gear.
My question to y’all is: is the gift card the right move, or would a different type of gift be better? (“No gift at all” isn’t an option - I try not to be a complete D-bag.)
Thoughts?
Several friendly conversations, as well as training, and even write-ups, have not helped “Richard’s” behavior and work ethic. The other team members don’t like working with him, nor do other people at work. He’s a social media warrior who repeatedly cries victim, but also posts some extremely offensive racist & sexist topics on his private social media account that several coworkers have brought to my attention.
A couple of weeks ago, “Richard” and another coworker not on our team got into it over some minor stuff at work. Both guys were counseled separately about the incident. The other coworker is well-liked by everyone, while “Richard” has worn out his welcome (everyone is tired of him.) “Richard” asked for a transfer to another location, which I’ve gladly signed off on. Everyone at work is ready for it to happen.
“Richard” will be transferring away at the end of the month. Our last day before Christmas, I give each employee a small gift, and they typically all go in together to buy me something. This year I had some gear custom-made with our team logo on it. They’re all identical, and I’m proud of how they turned out. (Another team’s supervisor liked them so much when I showed them to him that he asked me to have some made for his crew as well.)
I’ve decided to give each person on my team their gift in private, and tell them thanks for their efforts this year. For “Richard,” I‘ve decided to not give him the custom gift, but instead go with a gift card of equal value. Our team takes a lot of pride in our work, and since “Richard” has such a poor work reputation (which has already become common knowledge throughout the entire department), I’d rather not have him sporting our custom logo elsewhere.
He’ll no doubt see the others’ gifts later, but I don’t want to have an awkward Christmas moment for “Richard” when each employee opens his gift, and sees that he is the only one without the custom gear.
My question to y’all is: is the gift card the right move, or would a different type of gift be better? (“No gift at all” isn’t an option - I try not to be a complete D-bag.)
Thoughts?
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