Racial, pride or respect?

Question

I am a supervisor & 1 of my employees is older then me and african american. I feel he has a problem giving authority to a women who is younger and white. At one point he said I did not like him because of his skin color. Which is the furthest thing from the truth. Anytime I had to correct a mistake or wirte a concern for something he did it was not because he was wrong it was becuase of his skin color. I promised myself I would make an effort to have a better relationship with the person. It was OK for about a month but the first time I had to address something I was disrespectful, i think it is his pride. He has managed to piss off the other supervisors and is keeping a log of everything we do that he feels is disrespectful or us not doing his job. My manager has not taken any steps to say to him, change your attitude toward supervison and your shift will go much smoother.last night when i corrected one of his mistakes he waved me away, my manager is playing the safe card afraid

He has managed to piss off the other supervisors and is keeping a log of everything we do that he feels is disrespectful or us not doing his job--- i meant our job not his

Answer 1

All you can do is document your interaction with this employee. Not all ethnic people think that everyone else is out to get them but this guy obviously has the racial chip on his shoulder. Write down a sentence or two for every conversation you have with him, in the event you are called to justify your treatment of this guy. Recording a conversation might be considered extreme, so I wouldn't do that. However, I would write down some brief notes just so you have some way to record your interactions and discussions.

For example, your note might say:

"I asked Jim for the status of the Tower project and he said that I should stop bothering him if I wanted the work completed. He waved me off with a dismissive gesture."

Yeah, it stinks that you have to do this but this guy is a management problem and you have to document what you are doing to give him the necessary supervision. It's not a race thing, not really. It's a supervisory thing and he probably would be difficult for any manager.