You’ve had an inkling one of your employees hasn’t been happy at work. Maybe it was a comment, a look, or even a vibe, but the seed has been planted and you want to know more before scheduling a sit-down. This can be challenging, because while some employees shout their unhappiness from the rooftops, some work hard to conceal it. So what should you look for?

• Body language. Body language can be tough to spot, but it can be an early indicator of employee unhappiness. Your employee might not be outright scowling or frowning, but are they smiling less often? Rolling their eyes or sighing? Doodling, fidgeting, or checking their phone? Is their posture closed off when it was open before? Keep a close watch for these signs, as body language can appear involuntarily and may be your first (or only!) tell of an unhappy employee.
• Lack of cooperation. Is your employee pushing back when asked to do something? Taking their time to complete tasks? Are they missing all-staff meetings or mandated trainings? Consistently refusing to contribute to the team? This may be an unhappy employee’s way of rebelling.
• Isolation. Does your employee avoid lunches, happy hours, and breaktime birthday celebrations? Do they not participate in social conversations like they once did? Perhaps they never made any personal connections in the first place. Isolation can be a cause or a symptom of workplace unhappiness, but either points to the same conclusion.
• Inertia. As we learned from Office Space, “It’s up to you whether or not you want to just do the bare minimum,” but the bare minimum—especially if an employee once reached for more—is a classic sign of unhappiness. While this employee is technically doing no wrong, they are clearly disengaged from their work.
• Attendance. Speaking of disengaged, where is your employee? If they have been wandering in late, taking long lunches, calling out more, or just plain watching the clock, they probably aren’t very excited to spend time at work.
• Secrecy. Is your employee whispering to colleagues or closing doors more often? Swapping computer windows whenever you draw near? Keeping their problems from you? All this secrecy points to unhappiness in the work environment, and can be poisonous to the entire team.

If any of these signs corroborate your initial inkling, sit down with your employee to see if you can turn things around. A workable solution might be simpler than you think!