One bad apple is enough to spoil the barrel, and the same is true in the workplace. The effects of a disruptive individual are wide-reaching, from upsetting teamwork to harming the wellbeing of colleagues.

Nearly one in three employees in firms which completed the Best Companies process say there is an individual in their team who is disruptive. Even in the very best workplaces (the top 10 mid-sized and top two big companies) nearly one in five employees (18.8%) complain of disruptive individuals, against 29.4% overall.

“It may be that people are not maliciously but inadvertently bullying colleagues, which can cause upset in the workplace,” says Ben Willmott, senior public policy adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the sponsor of this supplement.

Disruption is occurring at all levels of business and if the situation is this bad among Best Companies to Work For, it suggests a serious problem across British business as a whole.

Managers and supervisors are facing the brunt of the problem, suggesting that some have been promoted to a role they are not suited for.

More than 31% of managers and supervisors say they work with a bad apple. This drops to 29.6% for team members and 23.1% for senior managers.

“If you work in a team, you can get on with a job even if you experience some disruption from colleagues,” says Dr Pete Bradon, head of research for Best Companies Ltd. “If you are the manager of that disruptive person, however, it’s your responsibility to deal with them.”

My Manager factor scores drop by an average of 13% where a disruptive employee is present, suggesting managers are being held accountable by their teams for those undermining office spirit. It falls to them to deal with conflicts, and they need to be equipped with the tools and support to do so.

“People management skills sometimes get overlooked,” says Willmott. “Employees are frequently promoted because of technical skills, not because they can manage people. They don’t necessarily have the aptitude for that.”

If an informal discussion with the individual doesn’t resolve the situation, managers shouldn’t shy away from taking disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal, according to Willmott.

At communication technology company Data Connection a strong emphasis on personal development ensures managers know how to spot and deal with problems. The firm bucks the trend of more supervisors reporting disruptive individuals than team members or senior managers. Here, only 3.5% of managers and supervisors say they work with a disruptive employee, significantly less than any other firm. This rises to 6.4% of team members (again, the lowest of all the companies) and 11.8% of senior managers.

Managers at Data Connection have close relationships with team members and are trained to take full responsibility for their group of staff.

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