Preventing Workplace Violence: Dealing With an Angry Employee
Violence in the workplace is an increasingly common yet poorly understood problem. But experts agree that workplace tensions reflect what is happening in the society at large. Stress, personal problems and the uncertainty of modern life have left many workers feeling alone, vulnerable and ill-equipped to cope with conflict—now more than ever. When anger is unresolved, the chances of violence increase.
Recognizing the early signs of a problem before it becomes a disaster is the key to preventing workplace violence. Although there are no clear-cut indicators that tell us when anger will turn to violence, there are signs that tell us when anger is unresolved and becoming destructive.
Anger is a normal emotional response to stress, a perceived threat or conflict. Reasonable people can disagree, sometimes vehemently, without ever threatening or intimidating another person. In fact, research shows that expressing anger appropriately is healthy—like releasing the pressure in a tire that has been overinflated. But if the pressure remains too high and the tire is driven at high speeds, a blowout is inevitable.
Stressors
Rarely does a single event send a happy, cooperative worker over the edge into violence. And while we seldom know all that is going on in our co-workers’ lives, stress is the common denominator for workplace violence. It usually comes from:
- a serious personal problem that has made its way to the workplace
- changes or threats to job status, such as a new assignment or supervisor
- a personality conflict with a manager or another employee
Stages of anger
Whatever the cause, angry workers generally progress through predictable and sequential stages of increasingly negative attitudes and behaviors. The four stages of anger are:
- negative attitude
- power struggle, excessive arguing
- cutting criticism, malicious gossip and sarcasm
- revenge, vandalism and violence
For example
Let’s say you have just been promoted as the new manager in a new department. After several weeks, you observe that one of your employees frequently challenges your decisions. You are aware that this employee was expecting to get the promotion that you received. This individual is hurt, angry and choosing to deal with it by arguing and power struggling with you (stage 2). Consequently, one of two things may happen:
- It will get worse—he will progress into stage 3 and become more covert with his anger via gossip and sarcasm, which will escalate the situation.
- It will get better—he will quit power struggling, and slide back into stage 1. This is a sign that things are improving.
By understanding the stages of anger, you can assess if the strategies you choose to implement are making the situation better or worse.
What you can do
If you are concerned about an employee’s anger, try to place him in one of the stages of anger. That will give you a baseline of understanding the present situation—so that you can create appropriate intervention strategies—and a way to measure if strategies to remedy the situation are working or not. Second, try to pinpoint a time when things weren’t so tense. This may offer a clue as to what may be contributing to the present situation. For example, a recent divorce or an expected promotion that did not happen may be contributing factors.
Remember, whenever there is a potential for violence, talk with an employee assistance program (EAP) professional. They are trained in counseling, conflict resolution and communications, and can discuss options to help you develop a strategy to effectively handle the situation.
By Drew W. Edwards, MS
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