Almost everyone has encountered a difficult person in the workplace. Sometimes, it's a hothead who erupts in anger with no provocation or warning. Other times, it's a silent sulker whose dark moods suck the life out of his entire team.
Princeton, N.J.-based market research firm Opinion Research Corp. International/Integra Realty Resources Inc. conducted a survey of 1,300 U.S. workers titled "Desk Rage in America: The Year 2000." Forty-two percent of respondents said yelling and verbal abuse were issues in their workplaces, and 29 percent admitted to yelling at co-workers. Furthermore, the Center for Aggression Management in Winter Park, Fla., estimates there are 6 million instances of employees being verbally threatened and 16 million instances of employee harassment in the United States per year.
These common explosions of work rage and harassment, including verbal abuse and threats, create a hostile work environment that increases employee tardiness, absenteeism and turnover. Victims of work rage also experience increased stress, which may lead to hypertension, substance abuse and decreased productivity. These negative outcomes can affect a business's bottom line.
Causes
There are several theories about the primary causes of work rage. Experts cite external stresses, such as the pace of life, corporate downsizing, crowded conditions and a negative work environment as some reasons.
General increases in rude behavior, including road rage, also factor into the increasing levels of work rage in the United States. "Aggravating Circumstances, A Status Report on Rudeness in America," a study conducted in January by the nonprofit public opinion research group Public Agenda, New York, found that 79 percent of those surveyed believe rudeness is a problem that affects them on a personal level.
The focus group and survey participants pointed out it is difficult to avoid anger and rude behavior during the course of a typical workday. Furthermore, pervasive rude behavior has a compounding effect that raises stress levels and makes people more likely to lash out. In fact, 40 percent of those surveyed reported experiencing disrespectful behavior from colleagues and 31 percent had encountered rudeness from supervisors.
The perceived increase in offensive, rude behavior begs the question: How should one react to this abuse? Of those involved in the Public Agenda survey and focus group, most admitted they are uncomfortable challenging rude behavior because they fear even a minor situation could escalate quickly. Forty-two percent believed ignoring rudeness is the best approach, and 36 percent favored responding to rude people by "killing them with kindness" and hoping they learn by example. Twenty percent of respondents believed it was best to correct rude behavior that takes place in public areas.
People also believe abuse from others can stimulate them to lash out and cause a negative chain reaction. This explains, in part, how rude or disrespectful behavior on the job can create a hostile environment that leads to violence. When verbal attacks are combined with heavy workloads, layoffs, uncooperative co-workers and micromanagement, a minor incident can push a highly stressed employee to the breaking point. Understanding some of these issues can help reduce the possibilities of rudeness in the workplace, and your superintendents and foremen should be able to recognize such behavior within their crews.
"Companies must be sensitive to unfair, degrading or mean behavior that can lead to a hostile work environment," explains Jerry Cooper, executive director of human resources for The Beck Group, a general contracting company in Dallas. "Companies that allow those situations to develop are more vulnerable to a hostile reaction by current or former employees."
Identifying problems
Identifying potentially disruptive workers during the interview process is the preferred way to minimize potential problems. However, correctly assessing these tendencies can be challenging and expensive. The most effective approach includes a thorough interview process and screenings for drug use and criminal and civil court histories.
"Civil court history is often ignored during the pre-employment screening process," says Richard L. Balcolm, a Dallas-based licensed security consultant and certified mediator. "Many times, bringing criminal charges is more trouble than it's worth, so people resort to dealing with the civil court system."
Free access to criminal and civil court records is available at most county district clerk offices. Employee screening services also are available to perform employee background checks.
Dale Paulson, president of Allegiance Research Group, Alexandria, Va., and creator of the CareerEthic Inventory, a pre-employment screening tool used to identify potentially disruptive employees, explains that asking open-ended questions or role playing during an interview can help identify potentially disruptive employees through the values they hold dear. These values can be excellent predictors of future problems on the job.
"Human beings are feeling creatures that think rather than thinking creatures that feel. Values are the lens through which we see the world," Paulson says. "... The interesting thing about values is that people are proud of them. They will tell you if you ask."
Positive values to seek in employees depend on your company's culture. Paulson believes respect for authority, willingness to operate as a team member and respect for tradition can be effective in a command-and-control department or organization. Empathy, self-discipline and reciprocity are important values for departments or organizations in which individuals have less supervision.
Associated costs
When disruptive employees slip through the hiring process, it's important managers take steps to limit the effects of any negative influences. When left unchecked, abuse can cause victims to suffer from several conditions, including stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, shame, nightmares and poor concentration.
The outcome of these problems can add up quickly in terms of dollars and cents for employers. According to the National Council on Compensation Insurance in Boca Raton, Fla., the average workers' compensation cost for a violence-related claim is $21,000—nearly twice as high as the cost of a typical workers' compensation claim.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration fines also can result because employers are required to "furnish, to each employee, employment and place of employment that is free from recognizable hazards that are causing, or likely to cause, death or serious harm to the employee."
Businesses with hostile work environments also can face declining employee performance as productive employees leave and seek work elsewhere. Another threat is lawsuits stemming from negligent hiring, supervision or retention.
Managing problems
There are several ways to improve your company's work environment. Establishing a formal policy or program for employees to report threatening behavior is a great way to start. Such a policy provides an outlet for venting concerns and helps employees feel comfortable reporting suspect behavior. The policy also should outline management's responsibilities for responding to these complaints in a timely manner (for more information, see "Controlling workplace violence," November 2001 issue, page 19).
Once a policy is in place, managers can use counseling techniques to diffuse difficult employees. Consider this example: You learn a roofing worker who had been a dependable employee is becoming increasingly disruptive. He is disgruntled and rude to other crew members. Recently, several members of his crew have requested to move to other projects.
In this situation, a good first step is to take the employee to a private location and begin a dialogue to establish rapport. For example, an informal meeting in a restaurant may help put the employee at ease. The point of such a meeting is to understand the root cause for the verbal abuse.
You may discover the worker feels unappreciated. Perhaps he believes a co-worker isn't pulling his weight and seems to be the foreman's pet. The worker has become so frustrated with the situation he has started lashing out. There also may be personal issues causing the change in behavior, such as an ailing parent, divorce or financial problems.
Regardless of the underlying factors, it is critical to express your understanding of his frustrations while demanding a resolution to the negative behavior pattern. In many cases, the employee may have ideas about mutually beneficial resolutions to the problem. If you cannot agree to a solution, a professional counselor may need to be retained.
"It's a lot more common to look toward external professional help for problems with employees," Cooper says. "Looking to the future, companies must be willing to resort to the help of psychologists and other external resources early on when … a problem [is] developing."
In addition to receiving help from external resources, teaching managers about conflict resolution and listening can help limit the escalation of problems from disruptive employees. Resolving conflict is uncomfortable; however, it's much more effective to intervene early, listen, ask questions and correct problems.
Managers also may benefit from understanding how their personal supervisory style can set a work environment's tone. Indeed, the way a manager treats subordinates and what he expects from them largely define employees' performances. It is important supervisors have confidence in their abilities to lead and transmit that confidence to their employees.
Wrapping up
Although some behavioral problems must be resolved with employee termination, you can minimize these situations and their associated costs by increasing awareness.
Setting standard company policies regarding work rage and violence, providing training for conflict resolution and understanding factors that contribute to a hostile work environment will give your management team the proper tools to handle difficult situations. Taking these steps also will make your company a more attractive place to work.
Laura Schieber is a marketing consultant and free-lance writer in Dallas.
Information sources
The following books will provide useful information regarding how to address disruptive and/or violent behavior in the workplace:
Anger and Conflict in the Workplace: Spot the Signs, Avoid the Trauma
by Lynne Falkin McClure
Managing Workplace Negativity
by Gary S. Topchik
Preventing Workplace Violence: A Guide for Employers and Practitioners
by Mark Braverman
Risky Business: Managing Employee Violence in the Workplace
by Lynne Falkin McClure
Violence in the Workplace: A Prevention and Management Guide for Businesses
by S. Anthony Baron
The Violence Prone Workplace: A New Approach to Dealing With Hostile, Threatening, and Uncivil Behavior
by Richard V. Denenberg and Mark Braverman
Working with Difficult People
by Muriel Solomon
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