Anger Management

Listening to angry employees instead of disciplining them may be better for the workforce -- and for the workers -- according to a recent study. But there's a difference between productive employees who have begun expressing anger and workers who are chronically angry. HR leaders must teach their managers to recognize both and learn what to do about them. By Katie Kuehner-Hebert A recent study shows that managers can better resolve workplace issues if they listen to outraged employees instead of just punishing them for angry outbursts. But first, experts say, human resource professionals need to train their managers to discern what's acceptable angry behavior, and how best to handle the underlying causes -- which may or may not be work-related. Often, firing an irate employee does not solve underlying workplace problems, according to The Trouble with Sanctions: Organizational Responses to Deviant Anger Displays at Work, published in the February edition of the Human Relations journal. The study of 194 people who had witnessed a display of deviant anger at work was conducted by Deanna Geddes, chair of the Fox School's Human Resource Management Department at Temple University in Philadelphia and Lisa T. Stickney, assistant professor in management at the University of Baltimore's Merrick School of Business. The study also concluded that even a single act of support by a manager or co-worker for the angered employee can ease workplace tension. We found that supportive responses by management and co-workers promoted substantial change at work, while sanctioning or doing nothing did not, Geddes says. The authors distinguish between suppressed anger and deviant anger. Suppressed anger is either when an individual bottles up anger, which may lower productivity, or gossips to workmates, which may lower morale but doesn't solve the problem. Deviant anger is hitting someone, damaging workplace objects or cursing in front of customers. The goal for managers is to allow for expressions of anger that fall between these two categories so that a resolution may be achieved. If you give people more room to express an honest emotion and if they are not afraid that they'll be fired if they let their emotions get the best of them, the boss can benefit from that situation, Geddes says. The boss can see it as a signal that there may be a policy or practice that needs to be addressed. HR leaders should ensure that managers are trained to spot acceptable angry behavior and how to deal with the underlying causes, experts say. Sometimes that can lead to a fruitful discussion of workplace issues, and sometimes that can lead to referrals to the company's employee-assistance program for psychological issues that fuel the anger. For rational employees who typically are solid contributors but have begun expressing anger, managers should be taught ways to coach the employees about expressing emotions in constructive ways, so they can be involved in workplace resolutions, says Randy Martin, director of clinical services at Harris Rothenberg International Inc., a New York-based employee-assistance provider. For employees who have problems with chronic anger -- viewing themselves as a perpetual victim -- managers need to initiate performance-improvement plans to lessen their angry outbursts, and then refer (or suggest the employees self-refer) to the company's employee-assistance program, he says. Some of these employees might need a fitness-for-duty evaluation, particularly if the managers fear potential violence. If they can't correct their behavior, those people may need to be managed out, Martin says. Of course, it may not be work-related issues that are causing employee anger. Angry employees with underlying personal problems, such as conflicts at home, sleep disorders or substance abuse, or psychiatric problems -- such as mood disorders or depression that manifests as anger -- should also be referred to the company's EAP. One thing is clear, he says, there are certainly expressions of anger that are blatantly unacceptable and can create a hostile environment, such as violent acts on people or breaking office materials. Those need to be documented and managers really have to draw a line in the sand and make it clear that those behaviors are unacceptable, he says. But for angry displays in the gray areas -- raising one's voice, robust debating, speaking out about perceived slights in a group setting -- those are displays managers can possibly learn from and hence, should be tolerated, Martin says. Most people are uncomfortable with displays of anger and have an instinct to suppress anger in work settings, he says. But I think we have to pay attention to angry actors who may be whistleblowers and people who may serve as the workplace's thermometer on how the organization is being run. Paul Jewitt-Harris, practice director at Lane4 Management, a consulting firm in London, cautions that managers be cautious when counseling angry employees. If a manager is a trained counselor, then they can do this, but if the manager isn't, they may be crossing boundaries when the employee opens up about childhood experiences, Jewitt-Harris says. Still, managers need to know their employees well enough to be able to refer them to EAP services if necessary, and it's the HR professional's job to make sure their managers are adequately trained to do this, he says. Better managing may result in less anger, he says, noting that giving employees some autonomy in their jobs is a positive technique. People like to feel competent; it gives them meaning and it links what they do to a greater cause, Jewitt-Harris says. If managers can help people do this, then maybe they wouldn't get the anger as much. HR leaders also need to balance the company's ever-present mandate to get more out of their employees by encouraging the C-suite to allow their staff appropriate downtime to regenerate. It's not always about keeping shareholders happy and driving employees constantly to improve performance, he says. One of the challenges of the HR professional is to look after the human resources and challenge the C-suite to consider sustainability of performance by supporting appropriate 'nutrition'. 管理新知 您可能感兴趣的文章 麦当劳这么暖心的招聘广告，HR不来学习一下吗？（附视频） 2017-05-12 LinkedIn创始人里德·霍夫曼的16条人生经验 2015-06-26 Subtleties Abound Regarding Injured Undocumented Worker 2011-09-03 最近文章 嫖娼被抓不属无故旷工，公司解雇赔4万！（法院判决） 2018年01月15日 如何判断你是否具有HRBP胜任力？

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