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Post by ~Zoey~ on Aug 8, 2014 17:33:42 GMT
My son is filling it out and here's one of the questions. He was stuck between [HASH]5 and [HASH]3. I believe he ended up choosing [HASH]5 but he answered and moved on right after I copied the question to post below. He didn't want to tell me because he's afraid I might tell him it was the "wrong" answer.
What do you all think?
While you are working, you overhear a pair of employees talking. The employees are talking about another team member because he works too slowly. What would you do?
1. Tell the employees not to complain about another team member
2. Tell the team member that others are talking about him and he should work faster
3. Suggest that the employees talk about their concerns with your manager
4. Keep working on my own tasks and say nothing to the employees
5. Suggest that the employees directly talk with the employee who works too slowly
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Post by SnowWhite on Aug 8, 2014 17:48:34 GMT
[HASH]3
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 17:50:18 GMT
If you do 3 first the manager is going to ask if you have already done 5. If not you'll be sent back to do 5 most of the time or the issue probably won't be addressed at all.
Go with 5, if it continues go with 3, then go with 4 ~~ Not my circus not my monkey.
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Post by gmcwife1 on Aug 8, 2014 17:51:08 GMT
Number 3
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 17:52:33 GMT
Hmmm, interesting question.
I probably would have gone with no. 4. I don't think by itself any one single answer is wrong. Sounds like a personality questionnaire and there is probably other questions that balance this one. They might be looking for signs that one would not report stealing. But not listening to gossip isn't in that category.
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Post by lesleyanne on Aug 8, 2014 17:55:45 GMT
I don't think there's a "right" answer between those two choices, except that [HASH]5 might be the better of two right answers. I admit to being biased: in my professional code of conduct I am required to talk to a colleague about my concern prior to talking to our boss. Thus I would choose to say something to the employees first, before going to my manager.
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Deleted
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Apr 29, 2024 17:13:34 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 17:56:42 GMT
I'd say number 3. That is not the kind of situation where I think peers should manage each other.
For all the two complainers know, the manager has asked the "slow" one to go slowly and check the work of the other two because they work too quickly and make too many mistakes. It is not their business to "correct" the other employee.
If they have concerns, they should be brought up with their manager.
There are definitely times and places that colleagues should approach one another before taking concerns to management. I don't think that entry-level retail jobs are generally the right environment for that, though.
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Post by SnowWhite on Aug 8, 2014 17:57:00 GMT
If you do 3 first the manager is going to ask if you have already done 5. If not you'll be sent back to do 5 most of the time or the issue probably won't be addressed at all. Go with 5, if it continues go with 3, then go with 4 ~~ Not my circus not my monkey. It's not an employees job to direct/micromanage other employees, that's managements job. Said other employees have no idea what task(s) the slow employee has been assigned or what the expectations of slow employees jobs are, his [perceived] pace is none of their business. That's why I think #5 is the wrong answer.
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Post by ~Zoey~ on Aug 8, 2014 18:17:45 GMT
Interesting thoughts! Thankfully he didn't ask me for my input because my work experience would skew me towards [HASH]5, but those who said [HASH]3 bring up good points. I'm glad I don't need to answer these personality assessments. On the other hand, they may be preferable to the technical phone interviews I've had lately.
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Post by Sassenach on Aug 8, 2014 18:31:15 GMT
I would go with [HASH]4. I tend to keep to myself and mind my own business.
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Post by mirabelleswalker on Aug 8, 2014 18:34:13 GMT
3.
Remember the pea who posted about her autistic son who was being harassed (IIRC) by coworkers at a big box store because he worked too slowly? If this were the situation, I think management could make a much better judgment call about how to deal with it than the employees who are taking up the issue themselves.
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Post by ~Zoey~ on Aug 8, 2014 19:36:13 GMT
3. Remember the pea who posted about her autistic son who was being harassed (IIRC) by coworkers at a big box store because he worked too slowly? If this were the situation, I think management could make a much better judgment call about how to deal with it than the employees who are taking up the issue themselves. This is a great example for choosing #3. I think I'm changing my answer to #4 now.
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MDscrapaholic
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Jun 25, 2014 20:49:07 GMT
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Post by MDscrapaholic on Aug 8, 2014 19:38:04 GMT
[HASH]4.
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Post by darkchami on Aug 8, 2014 22:57:46 GMT
I remember that personality test being fairly long. Back in the stone age we had to fill that out in the store.
The way I view that question has changed over the years. Just out of high school I would have went with [HASH]3. It would alert the manager to a problem that was possibly brewing. He or she would then at least be aware there was an issue between employees and address it before things escalated.
As a professional, I would go with [HASH]5. We are adults and need to at least try to handle our problems directly. However, I work in a very different environment.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 23:09:05 GMT
In a retail environment you don't have someone assigned to other tasks which is slowing down their work. If they are tasked to stock shelves with you it is easy to see if they are slow or not. If they are tasked to do something else they aren't there with you.
No. 3 will get you tagged by management as a tattler. Tattlers tear down team morale.
No. 4 will keep your job. But you can kiss moving up goodbye.
N. 5involves identifying a problem, finding a solution, and team building. You identify the problem (slow co-worker), communicate with him/her about the issues they have that cause slowness, offer hints/tips on how to pick up the pace (attempt to problem solve) If done in a friendly manner team bonding happens that increases solidarity of the team. You've just tagged yourself for being mature, a problem solver and capable for being promoted.
There are some work environments where you don't know what your co-workers are doing; that is true. But a stocking team or cashering team all know who is doing what and how well they do/don't do.
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Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
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Jun 28, 2014 17:36:35 GMT
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Post by Dani-Mani on Aug 8, 2014 23:09:50 GMT
I've been a manager and have had employees talk about other employees and employees come to me.
Unless the employee is doing something blatantly illegal or dangerous (in which case I would ask you to bypass the small group talk and ome straight to me), my advice is to mind your own business. Because typically, I would take notice about which employees are gossiping (which is exactly what it is) and you don't want to be included in that group.
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MrsDepp
Full Member
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Jun 30, 2014 18:36:02 GMT
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Post by MrsDepp on Aug 8, 2014 23:11:33 GMT
I choose 5 first. If no improvement 3
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Post by AussieMeg on Aug 8, 2014 23:26:10 GMT
Definitely NOT [HASH]5 for the same reason busypea said. It is not my responsibility as an employee (in this scenario the one who is talking about the other employee) to discuss a co-worker's performance with them. That really treading on thin ground and could cause huge problems in the workplace. Especially if you are talking about teenagers or young adults which I'm guessing the OP's son is.
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Post by chaosisapony on Aug 8, 2014 23:27:07 GMT
I would have gone with [HASH]4. I don't believe in adding to workplace drama.
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Aug 9, 2014 2:24:22 GMT
N. 5involves identifying a problem, finding a solution, and team building. You identify the problem (slow co-worker), communicate with him/her about the issues they have that cause slowness, offer hints/tips on how to pick up the pace (attempt to problem solve) If done in a friendly manner team bonding happens that increases solidarity of the team. You've just tagged yourself for being mature, a problem solver and capable for being promoted. There are some work environments where you don't know what your co-workers are doing; that is true. But a stocking team or cashering team all know who is doing what and how well they do/don't do. But 5 isn't about YOU, the test taker, identifying and solving the problem. It's you telling the other two employees to stop bitching and take it up with slow coworker themselves. YOU have no interaction with slow employee.
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gsquaredmom
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Jun 26, 2014 17:43:22 GMT
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Post by gsquaredmom on Aug 9, 2014 2:54:30 GMT
My choice would be 3. They should not be gossiping about another employee. If they think they have a problem they can talk to a manager. If they do not think it is worth taking to a manager then they can stop complaining. If they are not the employee's manager they should not be potentially harrassing that employee. What if that person is a sheltered/disabled employee? They are not privy to the same info the manager has.
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Post by mirabelleswalker on Aug 9, 2014 3:49:05 GMT
No. 3 will get you tagged by management as a tattler. Tattlers tear down team morale. How? You're not going to management. Your suggesting that others take their complaints to management. I don't see that as tattling.
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Post by bluepoprocks on Aug 9, 2014 3:50:57 GMT
If I thought there was a real problem I would go with 3. If I thought it was just someone whining because they thought they were doing more than someone else(there's a person like that in every workplace) then I'd go with 4.
I wouldn't pick 5 because I know people at my job who have told someone else they are doing something wrong and it turned into a lot of nastiness because the person who was being corrected felt it wasn't the other coworkers place to tell them what to do.
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Post by scrapsotime on Aug 9, 2014 4:10:35 GMT
I've been the object of number 5. I didn't finish a reset of an end cap fast enough for a fellow employee. What she didn't know was that the manager had walked by and told me he wanted it changed from the way I had been told to do it and I had to start all over again. It didn't end well when she tried to tell me I was working too slow and the manager basically told her to mind her own business.
So, not number 5 unless I was bored at work, didn't like my co-workers and thought there might be some entertainment value to it.
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anniebygaslight
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Jun 28, 2014 14:08:19 GMT
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Post by anniebygaslight on Aug 9, 2014 5:31:53 GMT
[HASH]4. It is up to management to identify those who aren't pulling their weight.
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Post by julieinmd on Aug 9, 2014 5:43:39 GMT
I would go with number 3 for many of the reasons other peas have given. My first instinct is to go with number 4 but chances are if you are working in a retail store and you've heard other employees talking about someone, chances are good that customers have overheard the conversation as well (unless it takes place where customers don't have access). As a customer I have heard this type of conversation between employees and it makes me very uncomfortable. It doesn't leave a good impression.
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Post by scrapsuzy on Aug 9, 2014 9:53:49 GMT
I'm surprised at how few people have answered [HASH]4.
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Post by Flibbertigibbet on Aug 9, 2014 10:05:14 GMT
None of the above. Tell them to quit talking about employees in the floor. If you can hear them so can the customers.
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Post by ~Zoey~ on Aug 9, 2014 13:29:34 GMT
I'm glad I asked this question because you all brought up great points. I'm going to have my son read this thread so he can get some feedback. I think this will be quite helpful for him going forward if/when he has another of these assessments to fill out, not only if he sees this exact question again, but others that are similar. Thanks for all your input!
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