Your boss is breathing down your neck to continue cutting costs in your department and become more “lean”. You have slashed your budget as thinly as possible without resorting to pay cuts, overtime reductions, reduced work schedules, and other measures that could affect your team member’s pocketbooks and even their future with the company. You are still committed to avoiding such measures, but they are not sure you can. So far, you have not asked the team for their input on ways to cut costs. You are not sure whether or not you should talk with them now.

Manuel has become a broken record. For weeks, he has come into your office to complain about something. Often, his complaints have to do with the way his co-workers are performing. Sometimes, he complains about a specific co-worker and subtly implies how superior his performance is to the co-worker. He then suggests how underpaid he is. Occasionally, he has even threatened to quit and find a better position elsewhere. Manuel is a good performer, but on average no better or worse than his co-workers. You would like to pay everyone more, but budget and market considerations don’t allow it. Also, you do not feel additional pay is warranted for Manuel in comparison to his co-workers. Also, you want the complaining to stop.