A man I hired is driving me up the wall with his white night tendencies

I think he's having trouble processing your feedback - what may be blunt and clear to you may not be to him. I'd guess that he might be thinking "I've tried so hard to protect OP and she's saying I'm doing something wrong, but protecting her is a good thing so I need to do it better."

Would it work to phrase your feedback in line with the way he thinks, such as "I'm really glad you're protecting me! But the best way you can keep protecting me from irate customers is to focus on organizing the makeup (or other assigned task) when I'm dealing with the customer, so that other customers don't get upset." Basically, if his motivation is protecting you, tell him that doing his tasks well is what makes you the most protected.

That being said - I'm not sure this job is a great fit for him because the retail environment might be overstimulating. If he's smart and a good worker, are there parts of his job he could do in a back room where he wasn't affected by things happening on the floor?

/r/Advice Thread