Complaints are inevitable, especially in office spaces. Often than not, every employee wants their ideas heard and implemented by their bosses or supervisors.
On the flip side, in a toxic work environment, managers destroy their employees’ character while passing a point. It gets personal. Working becomes a nightmare.
Complaints are a day-to-day experience with employees spending a lot of time complaining about their leaders in top management.
According to a survey done by badbossology.com and Development Dimensions International, a majority of employees spend 10 or more hours per month complaining — or listening to others complain — about their bosses or upper management.
Even more amazing, almost a third spend 20 hours or more per month doing so.
With employees spending a lot of hours complaining, how can one whine about an issue the right way?
Zaverio Mwangi, a human resource practitioner with Kenbro Industries says that before an employee lodges a complaint, you should have a purpose.
“Why are you complaining? What is the reason? What happened?” He poses.
Having answers to these questions harbours help reveal whether you are motivated by malice.
Additionally, you should avoid personalisation while airing out grievances. Instead, focus on the deed and not the doer.
Mr Mwangi says you must check your senior management’s schedule so that you do not distract them while they are working or in the middle of meetings. Choose the right time.
“While airing your grievances, ensure your tone is constructive and calm,” he adds.
When employees are aggrieved, emotions are heightened and sometimes respect is thrown out of the window. The rule of thumb while lodging a complaint is never to do it in public.
Even though you have been constantly aggrieved and your patience engines are knocking out, show how what they are doing is making you feel respectful, supporting your claims with evidence or proof.
“Be precise while giving your evidence. Have a date and time when it happened. Do not secretly record them, for instance, if they are abusive but have other employees affirm your accusations,” he observes.
Before the matter escalates to the Human Resource office if it is a supervisor versus a junior employee, Mr Mwangi says that the aggrieved staff should have talked to the supervisor about it first.
“If the latter is not amending their ways towards you and it is detrimental, then by all means you take the matter forward.”
However, even after doing it the right way it is important to note that it is human nature not to accept mistakes.
The subject of the complaint can become combative.
How then can get ahead?
Catherine Nyambura, a HR operational manager at Staffing Partner Africa shares that one can complain the right way and get ahead by showing initiative and providing solutions.
“It is human nature to point fingers at the other person but what have you implemented to change the situation?” She poses.
This shows that you are not eliminating yourself from the problem but having an all-rounded approach.
For instance, if your boss or supervisor always undermines your ideas and calls you names, Mr Mwangi says you could request him or her to write down an email if possible, which will force them to address you professionally.
Further, give room for the suggestion of the other person. Ms Nyambura says, “You do not want to be selfish in that your solution is the final say or the best thing that could have happened. It is a 'we thing' not 'I'.”
Through this approach, she points out, the other person feels included.
At the crux of getting ahead while complaining is offering solutions. The person who is responsible for the business or those that can help you advance in any organisation are the senior managers.
They encounter many complaints from other employees. However, to advance, Ms Nyambura shares that providing solutions even in other departments can set you apart.
“This is because for a business to advance, it needs to understand solving day-to-day challenges, problems and complaints. Providing solutions as an employee differentiates you from the rest of the team,” she emphasises.
Additionally, an employer views such an employee as an asset who not only complains or laments about an issue but also tries to come up with a solution.
How do you ensure you are not complaining to get fired?
Though it is normal to complain about a senior manager to your fellow colleagues, more often than not, there is no solution offered and mostly the colleagues assassinate the character of the boss.
While it helps in venting, Ms Nyambura says that personalising the issues and directly throwing jabs at someone, is the quickest and surest way of being laid off.
“If one wants to get ahead, they would not involve themselves in talking ill about their boss but instead air their grievances to the one involved and offer solutions to them,” she explains.
