What social responsibility does a boss have to a minority employee?

Question

I aboslutely hate to say this but I have a very skilled employee who is very immature in his behavior. I have another employee who is much older and accomplished who is of the same race. When I discuss the other employee's behavior with the older one, he says that it is because "on the streets" you have to have that kind of attitude and he just needs time to "grow up" and realize the rest of the world doesn't operate that way.
That leads me to the question of why should I put up with it and wait for him to finally "get it"? Do I have a social responsibility to him?

I understand the comments about discussing it with another employee, but the older gentleman is sort of a mentor to the younger one.

Answer 1

No. You have a responsibility to treat your employees fairly. You treat two people of the same race based on their conduct, one of them does well with you and one doesn't. That sounds consistent. You're not doing him any favors by sheltering him from the real world. And employees with a bad attitude are bad for business. Do what's right for your business and then you'll be helping every one of your employees in the long run.

Answer 2

My first instinct is to say that if the skilled employee's behavior is affecting his work, then it is definitely something that needs to be addressed.

The younger employee needs to learn (perhaps with your indirect guidance), that "on the job" behavior is much different than "on the streets" behavior... how old is the younger, skilled employee?

I think that most employers, if they are reputable and good, have a social responsibility to their employees. That is what keeps good businesses going -- and growing. You can't give him an open ended wait time -- address the problem, and see if he changes. If he doesn't, it's probably in the best interest of the business to let him go.

It seems as if the issue isn't so much about race but overall maturity, and the employee just hasn't had the upbringing or the example by others to differentiate between professional and personal conduct.

Remember to assess the employee on his skill set, not his race. All cultures are different -- however in a professional working environment, there is a certain amount of assumed acceptable and non acceptable behavior.

I would explain to the employee how his conduct is affecting his work and the difference between what happens at worka nd what happens at home. It's important that he knows the difference... and undersatnds the impact of his conduct -- businesswise and for his future.

Lastly, I would NEVER discuss work-related problems with another employee unless he/she is of equal management level or higher.

Answer 3

First of it all, why would you be discussing the behavior of your one employee with another? Would you mind if your boss discussed any issues she/he has with you with your peers? Probably not.

In terms, of social responsibility it is not important if his behavior impacts his job performance. You should sit down with the employee and discuss what you expect, and why his behavior is impacting his performance. Also give him a reasonable time frame to correct the behavior and document the results.

Hopefully this employee will show some maturity and address the issue, if not, might be time for a change.

Answer 4

This is not "the streets", this is the business world. Having the intellectual knowledge to do the job isn't enough. If someone isn't prepared to accept the behavioral responsibilities that come with the job then they don't belong there. If the problem persists after speaking with this individual about the problem and giving him/her reasonable time to learn a new way of behaving on the job, it is absolutely appropriate to let that person go. Race has nothing to do with it. This is business.

Answer 5

What responsibility does an employer have?

To encourance and develop their employees, and to reward and promote employees that perform activities that support the goals of the company.

If an employee does not perform behavior that supports the goals of the company, he should be encouraged to do so, or encouraged to find a different job.

Answer 6

If he's just being silly and still getting his job done, I wouldn't worry about it. If he's not getting his job done, I'd say fire him. You need the employee who gets the job done. I don't see what race has to do with any of this, since you're focused on the personality of an individual person. Race does not automatically create a specific personality.

Answer 7

The law places certain requirements on you. You need to offer warnings about his behavior before you can fire him, and you need to track that you did it. So you can't just fire him without talking to him.

I would go with the 3-strikes rule. On the first strike, you call him into the office and verbally tell him, "Look, you're very good at your job, but your attitude is hard to deal with. I understand outside the workplace, your attitude might be what gets you by. But in the workplace, you need to tone it down."

2nd strike, you basically tell him the same thing, but in writing. And you clearly state that you've already counselled him once on (whatever date), and that his attitude is making it difficult for you to continue to employ him.

3rd strike he's fired.

Either he'll get it or he won't.

Answer 8

No. If you want to be an extremely kind person, you could give him a 'grown up' deadline. Have you actually told him that his behavior is unacceptable? That is probably the first place to start. If he dosen't mature, tell him that he does excellent work but has poor behavior, and that you may have to fire him. That should wake him up.

Answer 9

No, there is no social responsibility for putting up with idiots. If you start making exceptions for people because of a certain racial perception you are discriminating against anyone not part of that race. If you let one person act one way and don`t accept that behaviour from someone else, that is discrimination.

Answer 10

No his parents do. There is people "on the streets" who have actually learned from what they supposedly went through. I think it is a cop-out. If he wants to act this way he should go back to the streets because he is in the real world now.