Employee Misconduct: Types and Solutions

Employee misconduct can disrupt workplace safety, morale, and productivity, requiring swift and consistent managerial intervention. This article outlines types of misconduct and offers actionable strategies for addressing and preventing these issues to protect your business.

By Brad Nakase, Attorney

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Table of Contents

1. Why is employee misconduct a problem?

2. Which kinds of misconduct are there?

3. How to deal with and resolve employee misbehavior

4. In sum

Why is employee misconduct a problem?

The idea that some workers deliberately cause chaos in their own offices is hard to comprehend. It is sad to say that it is true. Every year, businesses bear the price for workers who disregard safety precautions and endanger their employers. Even the best employers might experience theft, fraud, harassment, inappropriate behavior, and other issues. Effectively handling employee misbehavior is crucial to developing an ethical corporate culture and a safe, inclusive workplace.

We’ll look at the different kinds of employee misconduct in this post, along with strategies for dealing with it at work. Additionally, you’ll get advice on how to tighten up your current disciplinary procedure, including when it’s appropriate to fire an employee. Learn what to do in the event that an employee commits misbehavior and how to shield your company from claims of wrongful termination.

What is employee misconduct, to put it simply, if not a deliberate disregard of business policies and procedures? An employee acts inappropriately or makes a poor choice. This unfavorable conduct undermines the employer’s faith in the worker. When an employee breaks a written or unwritten policy on purpose, that is called misconduct. There will always be consequences for this kind of behavior, from simple verbal and written reprimands to suspension and firing (and possibly legal action based on how bad it is).

It’s not what any boss wants, but it does happen too often when workers aren’t watched and lose interest in their job over time.

Which kinds of misconduct are there?

Misconduct falls into two categories: general and gross. Although not as severe as the other, both call for managers to intervene when there is unfavorable employee behavior.

Simple or general wrongdoing

General misconduct, also known as simple misconduct, refers to actions taken with no intention of hurting other people or the business. It typically doesn’t call for firing any employees right away. However, it does imply that any disciplinary action to address it must be documented and implemented by HR and the employee’s direct supervisor. An employee who consistently arrives late to work or who has made offensive remarks to a coworker is an example of general employee misbehavior. Although their behavior is bad, it is not their deliberate goal to harm the business.

Here are some more instances of general misconduct:

Falsifying information on a job application, which is found out after the candidate gets hired
Not carrying out a direct supervisor’s instructions
Catching someone smoking in a designated non-smoking area

These are violations, but they can be fixed and don’t mean the person should be fired right away. For first-time problems, the only requirements can be a written warning for wrongdoing on the part of the employee and temporary supervision. Alternatively, more drastic measures like suspension may prove necessary.

Gross misconduct

When an employee engages in egregious employee misconduct, their actions justify their immediate termination, or what’s known as a “summarily dismissed.” People who act in this way are obviously out to hurt the company and their coworkers.

A lot of the time, an employee’s actions are enough for the company to have to fire them and take them off the property right away. This covers a serious first offense as well. If firm finances or property are damaged, employees may be sacked without notice and their final pay withheld.

Gross misconduct can take several forms, some of which are as follows:

Theft of assets or money through dishonest means from the business (including suppliers, customers, and coworkers)
Property loss or carelessness on the part of an employee
Ignoring safety precautions that endanger coworkers and the employee
Severe disobedience

Other examples of employee misconduct include extremely offensive actions such as stalking, bullying, and making threats of violence both physically and verbally. All of these call for an instant termination from one’s job. Many industries’ organizations view deliberate breaches of confidentiality as serious misbehavior. When there are drug and alcohol regulations in place at work, using these substances while on the job may result in an automatic termination.

It’s important to remember that employee misconduct can happen digitally on a remote team as well as physically at an office. An illustration of this may be a worker who, in a virtual team meeting, talks negatively about the firm CEO while leaving their camera and microphone on. Or an employee who sends a racist group email — similar to the GoHealth worker who was fired for sending a racist picture.

It is possible for an employee to deliberately breach the terms of their employment if they work a second job for a rival company or manage a business that conflicts with their primary workplace.

How to deal with and resolve employee misbehavior

You should never overlook misbehavior by employees. Ineffectively handling employee misbehavior situations might result in expensive lawsuits in addition to hurting staff morale. One company lost a wrongful termination case in 2019 for more than $1.1 million because it couldn’t show enough proof that it fired an employee for breaking a work policy.

Your company can do a number of things to deal with and successfully handle cases of employee misconduct.

Establish a strict disciplinary policy.

Your staff members must be aware of the repercussions for misbehavior.

Your policy should outline what will happen if an employee misbehaves, how the process will go forward, and what constitutes an instant firing. Make sure the people who work for you understand this and confirm so in the employment contract. Additionally, make this policy easily accessible by adding it to your company wiki or employee handbook, for example.

Describe how to report employee misbehavior.

Tell employees who to contact and how to report an incident of misconduct. Can they stay anonymous? Whether in the reporting stage or the investigative stage, it is imperative to safeguard all individuals concerned in a complaint.

Over 30% of people who have seen unethical or wrongdoing behavior in some organizations don’t report it. Workers may believe that the company won’t take any action and fear retaliation. It is crucial that your team members are aware of the safe ways in which they can report employee misconduct as well as the procedures your organization follows in handling such allegations.

Look into any and all allegations of wrongdoing by employees.

It is your duty to make sure nothing is overlooked. Describe the investigation strategy, including the steps you will take to look into wrongdoing, the people involved, the people you will interview or watch, and other details.

Remember that your procedure for looking into and resolving employee wrongdoing must comply with local laws.

Gather data and record any relevant information about the event in question.

To investigate employee wrongdoing and effectively address it, you will require certain information. Note all relevant dates, times, locations, and discussions in relation to the incidence of employee misbehavior. In the event that your employee chooses to file a lawsuit, you will need to have credible documentation of your inquiry. Furthermore, OSHA mandates comprehensive documentation in cases of safety violations.

React to employee wrongdoing promptly but cautiously

In the event that employee misconduct occurs at work, you must move quickly to address the matter and preserve workplace security. Exercise caution and have an active role. This might also assist you in stopping other wrongdoing, such as retaliation.

Explain the company’s stance on misbehavior by employees.

If an incident occurs, it is vital to take this opportunity to educate everybody else that this type of behavior will not be accepted. Encourage a moral culture at work and provide staff members the authority to report wrongdoing when they see it.

Select a strategy for external communication.

Any business can be embarrassed and negatively impacted by an employee’s misconduct. A lot of the time, people share on social networks and the news gets involved. To protect the business, you must therefore have a plan in place for informing internal employee teams and the appropriate sources about the incident.

Think about getting outside help with your investigation

You should hire a third party to carry out a fair and impartial inquiry into employee wrongdoing if an unbiased internal probe isn’t possible. If you don’t have a professional workplace investigator on staff, this is just as important. Furthermore, it might be a good idea to think about hiring an outside investigator if you’re handling a complicated case that could take a lot of time to resolve.

Consult an employment lawyer to review the paperwork.

In any matter involving employee wrongdoing, legal counsel is essential. Workers frequently file claims of discrimination or wrongful termination, so having a lawyer on call can shield your company from the fallout.

Educate staff members on your misconduct and disciplinary procedures from the outset.

Make sure your workers know what you expect from them and how they can get help if they get upset, angry, or otherwise unable to do their job. Make it a requirement for all supervisors to exhibit the proper conduct.

Be consistent

To ensure that you manage and investigate every issue in the same manner, keep a set of forms for employee misconduct. To ensure there is no mistake, use the same terminology. This also applies to any disciplinary measures implemented, including written and verbal warnings, promotions, and other standard procedures.

Keep reviewing your employee misconduct policies.

Always check to see if your current rules still fit with how things work at your company. How would you, for instance, look into cases of discrimination and harassment in a remote environment? You may need to update your policy.

In sum

Dealing with improper behavior by employees is unpleasant for everyone concerned. But if you have a good plan for how to deal with it, you can make your company a better, more secure, and more welcoming place to work. Create an employee misconduct strategy using the suggestions listed above to handle any situations that can upset your company.

Have a quick question? We answered nearly 2000 FAQs.

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