Set Clear Boundaries with Needy Employees

November 13, 2017

Set Clear Boundaries with Needy Employees

As a manager, you probably wish you could give all the people on your team more attention. But sometimes certain employees seem to need more than their fair share of your time. Maybe they repeatedly ask you to review their work, or regularly show up at your desk with questions. If one of your employees is demanding too much of your resources, try setting clearer boundaries. The next time the employee comes over, you could say, “I have 15 minutes before my next meeting, and I can talk to you for that amount of time,” or “I am just going into a meeting. Can we table this conversation for your next one-on-one?” And be explicit about your expectations. You could say something like, “You’ve been coming to see me three times per week. Let’s try once per week from now on.” You need to help your employee unlearn a pattern of coming to you for every little thing.

Adapted from “How to Manage a Needy Employee,” by Rebecca Knight