Scenarios to assist managers/supervisors to practice deciding on appropriate disciplinary action and then practicing communicating and administering disciplinary action

1. ScenarioOne:
Wanda has beenlate atleast1-2 timesperweekinthe pastfew months. Initially,she wouldcome in,
wouldbe veryapologetic,andreporttohernursingstation. Now she justwalksinand simplygoesto
work. Her co-workersare not pleased. There isobvioustension amongthe staff due toherattitude and
the increasedworkloadonthem.
You have beentiedupina lot of meetingslatelysoyouhaven’tkeptupwithcheckingthe time sheets.
Plusyouknowshe has beengoingthroughsome toughtimessoyouthoughtit mightbe bestto back off
a bit andnot add evenmore forherto worry about. She has beena goodemployee exceptforrecent
issuesandhasworkedat The Marshesfor a few years. You didhave a previouscounselingsessionwith
Wanda to talkabout herlatenessproblemandthingsseemedtogetbetterfora bit.But now you see
the patternhas emergedagainplusnowyouhave an issue withthe staff’sresentmentdue toher
lateness.
You needtowrite upa disciplinarydocumentandmeetwiththe employee.
EE side: Yourmanagerhas calledyouinto her office tospeakwithyou. You have noideawhy.You
don’tmuch care whatshe wantsas you have biggerissuesonyourmind.Youjustneedto keepgetting
thispaycheckso youcan pay the bills. Yourmom hasbeensicklatelyandyouare takingcare of her and
herbillsaswell. Youare a veryproud personanddon’twantto botherotherswithall your issuesdo
youhave stoppedtalkingaboutitor makingexcuses.Youalternate between“I don’tcare attitude”and
emotional wreckdue toall the stressyouare under.

2. ScenarioTwo:
Allisonhasbeenamaintenance employeefor5 years. You gave herassignmenttocomplete andshe
missedthe deadline. Infact she neverevenstartedthe assignmentasfaras you know. The assignment
she was giveninvolveddevelopingalistof commonlyheldeventsatThe Marshesand to thendetail out
expectedworkordersthatwouldcome asa resultof thisevent.Youthoughtthisassignmentimportant
because of increasingworkloadwithlessmanpoweravailable. YouselectedAllisontodothis job
because she isknownforher attentiontodetail.
You needtomeetwithAllisonaboutherfailure tocomplete the assignmentandthe impactthat hason
your abilitytotrustherin the future. Melissawasgivenacoachingand counselingaboutlatenessinthe
past yearbut otherwise hasneverhadanytype of performance issue. Prepare yourdisciplinary
documentandthenmeetwiththe employee.
EE side: Yoursupervisorgave youanassignmenttwoweeksagotodetail outcommoneventsatThe
Marshesand the anticipatedworkordersthatwouldcome fromthose events. Youdidnot complete the
assignmentbecause youthoughtitwasstupidanda waste of time. Asyour supervisorbeginstodiscuss
the issue withyou,youtell himthatyouthinkthe assignmentwasstupidanda waste of time.

3. ScenarioThree:
Chrishas beena full-time employee for1year. He hasthe responsibilityfordishwashingand
completingall recordsof equipmenttemperatures. Whena temperature isoutof the standardrange,
he is to notifyyouaboutthis. On several occasionshe hasnotrecordedthe temperaturesand/or
notifiedyouwhentemperatureswere substandard. Youhave givenhima writtenwarninginthe past
yearbasedon these actions.Today,youhave confirmedanotherincidentwhere he hasnotchecked
temperaturesandthe coolerisabove the acceptable temperature of 46 degrees.
EE: Your supervisorisaccusingyouof notnotifying/checkingtemperatures. Nomatterhow hardyou try
youcannot please thissupervisor. Asyoursupervisordiscussesthe issueswithyou,donotspeakunless
askeda directquestionandthengive ashort or sarcastic response becauseyouare tiredof being
harpedon. Oftenlookaroundandnot at your supervisordirectlyashe istalkingtoyou. You thinkyou
didn’tdoanythingwrong.Butof course youalso needtositthere and listentoyoursupervisorsogo
aheadand lethimgive itto you.