Listening is a lot harder than most people realize. It is not a passive act. You will probably need to ask questions to get the facts clear and to get important information that the worker leaves out. The more information you gather from your initial conversation with the worker, the easier it will be to handle the grievance. Spend enough time to get all the facts before you make any judgments about the problem.
Upset people offer a lot of opinions and inferences.
These are not facts, and though they may help you understand why a problem has occurred, they will not help you make your argument. If you probe the worker, you might learn that, in fact, Joe has been giving other workers preferential treatment, a fact which can be used to win a grievance. All rights reserved.