How to Deal With Difficult Employees?

Difficult Employee. Every manager has had at least one. Every organization has had its own fair share of frustrating participants in its workforce. We have come to believe that it is an inevitable part of running a business, regardless of the scale and industry.

Unfortunately, a lot of employers and managers fail to recognize both the short and long-term domino effects that a single difficult employee can cause. At the very least, it takes only a single person to mess up the seamless dynamics of an efficient team and set back your productivity for a month.

It is especially challenging in the case of people who have just recovered from addiction. We’re all up to giving second chances to people who deserve them and we understand how difficult it is for these people to find a job.

However, you also need to take note of the challenges you can potentially face. For instance, it can be difficult for someone who’s faced constant prejudice to constantly feel defensive and maintain good communication.

Hence, in this article, allow us to help you out by sharing a quick guide on managing difficult employees. We will be listing the red flags that identify them, discussing the importance of learning how to deal with difficult employees and disruptive behaviors, sharing the different types of difficult employees along with tips on how to deal with them, and more.

Who are difficult employees?

Each manager probably has his own definition of who a difficult employee is. For the purposes of this article, though, we define one as a worker who fails to conduct himself in a professional manner in the workplace.

Here are just some of the red flags that identify them from others:

1. Evokes complaints

One of the first tell-tale signs of a difficult employee is the complaints coming in, not just from customers but co-workers as well. You can also look for indirect details like a significant increase in product returns or growing reports of missing and/or broken items from your customer service team.

2. Outwardly displays a negative attitude

Negative behaviors can be expressed in different ways, from a lack of engagement to a clear absence of initiative. It can also be displayed as demotivation which is typically displayed through poor punctuality.

This should be dealt with immediately to prevent affecting employee morale.

3. Violates company policies knowingly

Lastly, be on the lookout for employees who act contrary to company rules. They might work efficiently by themselves or with their team一customers might even enjoy their company.

However, this doesn’t give them a free pass to commit serious misconduct such as threats of violence, possession of weapons, harassment, and more.

Importance of managing difficult employees and disruptive behaviors

Failing to manage disruptive behavior can severely impact your company in ways you might not even realize. As we have mentioned above, it can affect your work environment, employee morale, and job satisfaction levels. You may lose both good employees and loyal customers over it.

More pressingly, though, it can ruin your company’s reputation in the long run. Do not underestimate the damage that interaction with a single employee can do, especially one committedly repeatedly.

Unfortunately, bad events are more memorable than good ones and can spread via word-of-mouth (both offline and online) like wildfire. This applies not just to the stories that your customers tell about your company, but to your employees too.

Types of difficult employees

Dealing with difficult employees can be tricky, especially when each one brings a different challenge to the table. Here are a few common types you might come across and how they typically show up at work.

1. The lazy

Lazy employees are easy to spot, but we can see why they are easy to mistake with under-performing employees. So what’s the difference? Well, it lies in the struggle. Under-performing employees are workers that work hard but fail to deliver the expected result.

It can be caused by several things: family issues, financial problems, and just lack of skill and experience. Meanwhile, lazy employees don’t put in any effort at all. They heavily rely on others to pull their weight.

2. The overly ambitious

There’s nothing wrong with ambition. It can provide motivation and inspire excellence. On the other hand, nobody likes a show-off and a try-hard一characteristics that define not someone who wants to assume a leadership role, but an overly ambitious employee.

Tread carefully when spotting them as you don’t want to discourage and demotivate perfectly good employees. Instead, try to look for workers who constantly go out of their way to outdo and outshine not just their co-workers but authority as well.

For instance, a driven employee will strive to deliver a great performance. Meanwhile, an overly ambitious employee will question the assignment given to him and will blatantly go his own way instead of following what’s instructed.

3. The dramatic

Interestingly, finding the overly ambitious employee might uncover who the dramatic one is too. After all, dramatic employees love intrigue and action. They thrive in days filled with shouting, tears, and betrayal: things that overly ambitious employees sometimes tend to provide.

Unlike the others, the dramatic employee is more like a character and can be dressed in many forms. He can be the emotional employee shouting his heart out one day and playing the sympathetic gossipmonger the next. He will do anything just to be the center of attention, up to the point of creating problems if no real drama is available.

4. The comedian

There are also times when an attention-grabber can come in the form of a comedian instead of a dramatic. You can say that they occupy the opposites of the attention spectrum. One thrives in tears, the other in laughs.

Honestly, wanting others to laugh is not bad behavior. A comedian’s intentions usually come from a good place and can make difficult workdays more tolerable. However, these employees tend to cause disruptions and make other employees lose focus.

You also need to be careful when dealing with them. Be discreet if you don’t want to be tagged as a killjoy.

5. The cynical

This type of employee is the bane of the comedian’s existence. This worker never smiles and always looks like he’s bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders. He will also rarely participate in after-work bonding sessions, team lunches, and other fun company events. Other employees have consistently tried and failed to include him in things and now they have just given up.

He does his job well, keeps his head down unwilling to attract attention, and respects your authority. So what’s the problem? Simply put, a bad mood is contagious and can affect everyone else’s job satisfaction.

How to deal with difficult employees: A proactive and structured approach with Empuls

Difficult employees can disrupt team harmony, lower productivity, and create a negative workplace culture if their behavior goes unaddressed. While challenging, managing these situations effectively is a hallmark of strong leadership. It’s not just about reacting to conflict—it's about building a culture where clear communication, consistent feedback, and accountability are the norm.

Here’s a structured, people-first approach to handling difficult employees, along with how Empuls can support you at every step:

1. Recognize the root cause—not just the behavior

Difficult behavior is often a symptom, not the cause. Stress, disengagement, unclear expectations, or lack of recognition can all contribute.
Start by identifying what’s really driving the behavior. Is the employee misunderstood? Do they feel unheard or undervalued?

2. Document incidents objectively and consistently

When patterns of disruptive behavior emerge, begin documenting occurrences. Keep your records factual, noting dates, times, and witnesses if any. Communicate transparently with the employee that you’re tracking progress toward resolution—not punishment.

3. Give timely and actionable feedback

Don’t wait until things spiral. Address issues early with clear, constructive, and private conversations. Avoid vague criticism—be specific about what behavior needs to change and why it matters to the team and company culture.

4. Reinforce positive behaviors alongside accountability

It's easy to focus only on what’s wrong, but progress also depends on recognizing improvements and reinforcing effort. Reward positive shifts in attitude or behavior, no matter how small.

5. Maintain consistency and fairness across teams

A common mistake is letting “star performers” off the hook while holding others accountable. This erodes trust and fosters resentment. Apply the same standards across the board to protect your leadership credibility.

6. Set clear consequences and align them with policy

Consequences should be proportionate, clearly communicated, and tied to company policy. Whether it’s a verbal warning or formal action, clarity helps eliminate ambiguity.

7. Don’t manage in isolation—collaborate with HR

If a case is particularly complex, emotionally charged, or repetitive despite intervention, involve HR. Together, you can plan a more formal response or next steps.

8. Know when to escalate or part ways

In rare cases, despite clear feedback and fair support, the employee may remain unwilling to improve. In such cases, it’s important to make a decision that protects your team’s wellbeing and business goals.

Letting go of a toxic presence—respectfully and professionally—can open space for healthier team dynamics and growth.

Empuls: Your partner in proactive people management

Dealing with difficult employees isn’t just about correction—it’s about creating a culture that makes difficult behavior the exception, not the norm. Empuls helps you build that culture with tools for recognition, continuous feedback, transparent communication, and behavioral alignment.

By using Empuls to reinforce positive behaviors, listen to employee voices, and maintain accountability, organizations can address issues early and prevent negativity from taking root.

Examples of dealing with difficult employees

A lot of times, things are easier said than done. So allow us to share a couple of cases on how we handled employees in the past. We will be withholding the names of the people involved for the sake of privacy.

Case #1

There was an employee who started coming in late one day. He wasn’t like this before so the manager talked to him after a week. The manager also called his attention after just the third occurrence.

After interviewing the employee, we found out that his tardiness was caused by issues concerning his personal life. His mother got sick and there was no one to take care of her.

Temporarily taking some time off from work wasn’t an option as well. Instead, the issue was resolved by adjusting his work hours on the condition that he must never come tardy.

Case #2

A female employee complained that a male co-worker turned off the lights and touched her breasts. Upon investigation, it was found that the co-worker did graze her breasts unintentionally while turning off the lights of the conference room after a meeting.

The initial action was a warning for the male co-worker to be more careful next time. The incident was recorded.

A similar incident occurred after a few months with the same female employee, only this time with another male co-worker. Another investigation was done. This time, it was found through CCTV footage that the female worker intentionally cornered her co-worker.

She was trying to use the issue to threaten him out of employment for personal reasons. This case was tagged as harassment, and due to the company’s zero-tolerance policy for it, the female employee was promptly terminated.

Conclusion

Knowing how to deal with difficult employees is an essential leadership skill that directly impacts team morale, productivity, and workplace culture. Whether you're facing disruptive behavior, resistance to feedback, or recurring conflict, the key lies in approaching the situation with empathy, structure, and consistency.

Successful leaders don’t just react—they build environments that prevent issues from escalating by fostering transparency, communication, and continuous recognition. From documenting patterns to offering constructive feedback and collaborating with HR, every step plays a role in managing difficult employees and disruptive behaviors effectively.

With platforms like Empuls, you don’t have to do it alone. Empuls helps you take a proactive approach to engagement and behavior alignment—ensuring challenges are addressed early and culture stays strong.

Lead with empathy. Act with clarity. Empower with the right tools. That’s how you turn tough situations into opportunities for growth—for both individuals and teams.