No Yelling, No Crying, No Walking off the Job

A full charge nanny and housekeeper called late Friday night in tears. Her boss had come home in a mad rush eager to get ready for dinner guests that evening. As she drove into the garage, she ran over a toy that was left inadvertently by her child and not picked up by the housekeeper. The employer was naturally upset. She didn't want to have to deal with this when she was already under pressure to get ready for the evening plans. She reacted emotionally and raised her voice; at which point, the employee also responded emotionally, began to cry and walked out 30 minutes prior to her scheduled departure from work. All of this was inappropriate on everyone's part. The toys should not be left in the middle of the garage. First of all, children should be trained to put their toys back. In this case, the child was old enough to know better. The nanny should have been vigilant in checking that the child had followed through. If the child hadn't, then the nanny's role is to ask the child to put the toys to one side, explaining that when mommy gets home and pulls her car in the garage, if the toys are not put away, she might run over them.

Here is more about how everyone was at fault: the mother yelled because she was frustrated, maybe had a bad day, maybe just because she was under pressure about the evening and getting ready for it. Raising your voice at anyone, especially employees wears thin. No one likes it, and eventually, no one will tolerate it. Everything between employees and employers must be handled in a civil manner - it becomes a "conversation". Secondly, the employee was completely unprofessional in turning to tears and leaving the job 30 minutes early. This is an employee/employer relationship, not one that you have with a boyfriend or husband. Tears are inappropriate. If an employee is not happy about her employer's conduct, then this is a "conversation" and should not be an emotional one. When you bring emotion into the equation, you risk elevating the problem and losing sight of how to solve it.

Problems can be solved only by a "conversation" where both parties are understanding of everyone's position and needs and seek to find a solution.