Said supervisor Ann Jones, "I'm so frustrated by what's going on in my section that I'm about ready to get rid of two fairly productive employees just for the sake of peace and quiet."

 

Fellow supervisor and friend Bonnie Smith replied, "I can't see getting rid of good employees for any reason. They're too hard to come by." 

 

"I said fairly good, or at least fairly productive. They both would be practically ideal if I could keep them out of each other's way. But they work in the same office- there are 13 of us crammed into a pretty limited space and they just don't get along. "Personalities?" 

 

"Don't know. But if one of them says something's black the other says it's white, seemingly just for spite. When anything's wrong with one's work input or if anything's out of place at one workstation, the other is blamed. They're always competing, and if one thinks the other is gaining favor in any way the jealous behavior becomes intolerable.

 

" Bonnie said, "Maybe they deserve each other. Why not stick the two of them in the farthest corner and leave them be?" 

 

"I can't. They both relate to about half the rest of the staff on any given day, and when they're not getting along the tension affects others. It gets so bad sometimes that these two so-called adults who are supposed to be communicating with each other regularly throughout the day will speak to each other only through a third party."

 

"Childish."

 

"Childish indeed, but the effects of their behavior are serious. They have been talked to about it, more than once, in fact, but even though things simmer down a little when they're spoken to, they're back at each other's throats in a week."

 

Instructions

 

Describe in detail how you would advise supervisor Ann Jones to proceed in addressing the problem presented by the apparently incompatible employees.