Just Fire Him?

[Anonymous]

I work for a construction support company in Annanadale that employs a lot of misfit toys. Everybody needs a job and I applaud the owner's 'charity', but it is often trying.

Take, for instance, Mark. Mark is a new hire of 3 months. Mark is older (66), not incredibly spry-takes a good 6 minutes and a dozen curse words to climb a flight of steps- and is not a fast learner on the easiest of things- like how to use Outlook. This, despite teaching him for probably 10 minutes a day, every day, for the last two months. He's charming in a clueless dad sorta way, but he's just exhausting. I can't take it amymore.

I've just looked at my shared calendar to get an idea what tomorrow will look like and he has, literally, put 5 or 10 reminders to himself on our shared project management calendar used by 15 people. It now reads like:

"Send water bill to American."
"Call vendor about project "
"Call Aunt Sue"
"Make sure invoice for X was paid"
"Dispute Chewy charge"
"Take pics of roof for Geico"

He can't grasp the concept that we use this calendar professionally to sheppard 7 figure projects to completion, not to make sure his Aunt Sue gets a birthday call.

In the past, when he's told of this he gets highly agitated and aggressive.

I don't have it in me anymore. Do I just can him? Make me feel OK with it.

[Anonymous]

You are not a mechanic, your job is not to fix him.

[Anonymous]

Does he do his job? You don’t really address this.

[Anonymous]

We have half a dozen Marks. We keep them around, because that's all we can find for $30-$40 an hour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does he do his job? You don’t really address this.

He does a C- version of his job after having other people hold his hand to make him do it and answer 20 questions about what to do next. Its one breathe away from being more work having him around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does he do his job? You don’t really address this.

He does a C- version of his job after having other people hold his hand to make him do it and answer 20 questions about what to do next. Its one breathe away from being more work having him around.

He’s been on the job for three months. Do you have a training program? Metrics that new hires are expected to hit at the 3-month mark? 6-month? Year? Are you his manager?

[Anonymous]

^If you are his manager, you sound like a poor manager. Your job is to set your employees up for success. You sound personally frustrated by this guy and it’s unclear how you’ve prepared him and/or supported him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have half a dozen Marks. We keep them around, because that's all we can find for $30-$40 an hour.

See- this is another issue. The owner is late 70s and thinks $80,000 a year is "a kings pay". His brain is stuck in 1980.

I've beat my head against a wall explaing that if we hired a college grad for $110,000 a year who has been using computers and a hundred different software programs, building spreadsheets and doing basic accounting for his entire life that he'd replace 2 Marks in an instant, but he thinks that is insane. So, we get poor, technology illiterate broken old men tha need babysitting.

[Anonymous]

Yes you fire him. It's been 3 months and he's not fitting in and performing as he should be. Don't waste anymore time on him. Move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does he do his job? You don’t really address this.

He does a C- version of his job after having other people hold his hand to make him do it and answer 20 questions about what to do next. Its one breathe away from being more work having him around.

He’s been on the job for three months. Do you have a training program? Metrics that new hires are expected to hit at the 3-month mark? 6-month? Year? Are you his manager?

Yes, by month three, one is expected to know how to use Outlook and follow repeated instruction to stop using the group calendar as a personal junk drawer.

That work?

[Anonymous]

Gosh, what an awful lot of very specific, identifiable information about your employer and his construction business.

Better hope none of the "misfits" from work are wasting time on this forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does he do his job? You don’t really address this.

He does a C- version of his job after having other people hold his hand to make him do it and answer 20 questions about what to do next. Its one breathe away from being more work having him around.

So let him go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gosh, what an awful lot of very specific, identifiable information about your employer and his construction business.

Better hope none of the "misfits" from work are wasting time on this forum.

Relax- I changed the details. And if someone reading this recognizes themself, than it should be a wake up call. Cause you're gettng fired tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

So sad. Maybe he’s trying to make it to age 67 for social security, who knows what his family finances and dynamics look like. I don’t want to make excuses, just trying to be empathetic. And ageism is a real thing, too. Figure out what you can do to help him grow, think outside of the box.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gosh, what an awful lot of very specific, identifiable information about your employer and his construction business.

Better hope none of the "misfits" from work are wasting time on this forum.

Relax- I changed the details. And if someone reading this recognizes themself, than it should be a wake up call. Cause you're gettng fired tomorrow.

Karma is a b$f*#&. With your personality, I hope it knocks on your door soon.