Human behavior, whether that of a child or a grown employee, always stems from a goal or purpose. Starting as a thought, the behavior is further enforced by triggers of the emotions and senses. This behavior, when it is “good”, gets us rewards and recognition, while on the other hand, negative, or “bad”, behavior creates a strain on a relationship, sometimes fatally.
If you were to look at it closely, the misconduct of some employees closely resembles that of a child’s misbehavior while he is seeking his mother’s attention and not receiving it. Remember the antics of a young child in the supermarket who had a “Terrible Two’s” tantrum because his mother won’t but him the candy or toy he wanted? Well, it is my opinion that the goal behind the employee’s purposeful misconduct is to seek attention, in one way or another.
“Every behavior, good or bad, has a goal behind it.”
Looking at the goals that triggers misconduct, let’s begin by looking at the primary misconduct, that of attention-seeking. Behavioral studies show that the desire for attention is universal in all people,...