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The secret to having happy employees is to fire the unhappy ones says Jay Goltz who is a typical entrepreneur who runs five successful small businesses in Chicago, employing more than 100 people.  If you think his advice is controversial, read the follow-up post that he has in The New York Times. He has clarified what he means by unhappy employees. He maintains that this works well particularly for small enterprises which have their own rules and constraints.

Happy employees are not those who are perennially smiling or cheerful. They are ones who are not disgruntled. There is a big difference there.  Disgruntled employees tend to spread bad news. They exaggerate their woes imaginary or otherwise and make a huge issue of perceived injustices. These can have a dramatic effect on their colleagues at work- if not on the customers they serve or more accurately are supposed to serve.

You may or may not agree entirely with Mr. Goltz but there is a lot of truth in what he says. Get down to tackling the problems caused by disgruntled employees before they become more successful in communicating than you. As the old saying goes- one rotten apple spoils the basket. This can’t be more true when it comes to employees. Don’t underestimate the negative influence of disgruntled employees.

Do something about them even if it means making them disgruntled ex-employees!

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