8/12/2019 Management Skills Can Deter Workplace Anger
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Management Skills Can Deter Workplace Anger
Jack wont honor a production deadline with Sam, Mary wont give
Susan her messages, and Him has to go homeearly because he cant
take it anymore. Is this a daycare or a workplace?
he !merican Management !ssociation took the lid o"" what many
had suspected "or some time. #iting survey
results, it reported that anger is alive and well in the
workplace, triggered by employee dissatis"action withmanagement and
une$ual workloads between employee.
%o matter how small the company, as soon as there is even one
employee,good management re$uires an e$ual investment in working
with both people and products. &ood managers createproductive
and satis"ying relationships by using two tools, working agreements
and con"lict management.
'ilter out angry or irritable people in the interview and
re"erence checking process. !"ter hiring, written workingagreements
and "ive con"lict management methods can help prevent blowups and
similar un"ortunate events.
Working Agreements
Some employers or managers are so glad to have another body to
help out they think hiring the person is the end o"
the process. Its only the beginning. %ew hires who are e(pected
to "igure out the )ob or trail a"ter someone who hasdone it be"ore
are the least success"ul on the )ob. Managers who spend even an
hour with new hires outlininge(pectations and getting agreement on
how they will work together increase the likelihood o" good
per"ormance and
)ob satis"action.
Making a written working agreement helps both employer and
employee understand what is e(pected. *achemployee may be a bit
di""erent, but everyone should have a record o" agreed+on
e(pectations. hese agreementsinclude e(pectations regarding
attendance, promptness, customer service, relationships, learning
the )ob,per"ormance standards, support, accountability,
disagreements, and giving and receiving "eedback. he list can
bead)usted based on what makes sense, and kept in the company "ile
and by the employee.
ay particular attention to e(pectations about how employees
disagree, with each other or with the boss. -nepersons
insubordination is another persons participation. !ssume there will
be disagreements and decide how youwant to handle an opinion
di""erent "rom your own and e(plain it to your employee. !gree on
how to disagree.
he part o" the agreement that includes giving and receiving
"eedback is especially important "or goodcommunication and
e(pectations. eople like to know how others, especially the boss,
think they are doing. heymay not like a per"ormance appraisal, but
they usually like that someone paid attention and has something
use"ul tosay about their work. his in"ormation must be relevant and
speci"ic. 'or e(ample, a manager might say to anemployee, /hen you
told Mrs. Harrington 0Im )ust doing what Im told. It sounded as
though you didnt care abouther problem, and you didnt particularly
agree with how you were handling the situation but you had to do it
that way.It would have been better to say something like, 0we cant
give you a cash re"und without the receipt but were happyto trade
merchandise. I" youd like something else, Id be happy to call the
manager.
his is much more e""ective than a manager saying nothing, or
1oure not very good with customer service.2 1oungerworkers are
usually much more interested in "re$uent, use"ul "eedback because
most o" them had it in school or ingames. More mature workers
usually pre"er less "eedback or smaller doses over a longer period
o" time.
he important thing "or the manager to do is discover each
employees pre"erence. heres no point in sending amessage that cant
be received, and silence is the most di""icult message to
interpret. hese agreements set thestage "or managers to make
corrections and provide encouragement "rom the beginning.
3elationships withemployees who have been in the company "or a
while can bene"it "rom such an agreement. 4ring it up over co""ee
asa way to clari"y working e(pectations. his conversation is a
two+way street and doesnt come across as a commandor evaluation,
but as an invitation to problem solve and be clear. he secret with
both new and long+term employeesis not )ust to set the e(pectation,
but "ollow+up on it. In this case words without acts are worse than
no words at all.
Handling Conflict
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Malcomb 'orbes said work without con"lict is a hobby. Success"ul
managers come to terms with con"lict and learnhow to manage their
own con"licts and help employees manage theirs. #on"licts can be
big or little, about who getswhat promotion or who comes in late.
/hen managers have an !chilles heel, it is usually in handling
con"lict. heyreally need to know how and when to collaborate,
avoid, accommodate, compromise and compete.
/hen the manager and an employee, or two employees, arent
getting along, use a simple collaborative resolution.Have each
party e(plain, without interruption, the concern and perception
while the other listens and then
paraphrases the understanding. Many con"licts are due to
misunderstanding rather than disagreement. /ith goodcommunication,
misunderstandings almost resolve themselves, but "ester i" le"t
untended. &ood managers helpemployees resolve con"lict by
giving suggestions about how to hear what each is saying, or
moderating, they )ustdont say go work it out.2 Staying out o"
employee con"lict is advisable at times, but not at the e(pense o"
losing agood employee who is "ed up with a co+worker or letting
con"licts, instead o" customers, become the main "ocus atwork.
he managers who are least success"ul in dealing with employees
are so uncom"ortable with con"lict that it is ignoreduntil someone
blows up or leaves. /hen a manager avoids or ignores ongoing
con"lict the employee hears I dontcare.2 It doesnt matter what the
manager means, what matters is how it appears to the worker. It is
easy "ormanagers to get busy with the product and "orget the person
that only adds to employee anger.
Managers who arent skill"ul at handling con"lict can wait so
long to step in that, when they do, they overcompensateby getting
angry and making unilateral decisions about even trivial things.
5escribing the problem "rom the managers
perspective and soliciting employee opinion is pre"erable. Save
managerial clout "or when its really needed.
Sometimes a manager may want to accommodate an employee i" the
employee has a pre"erence about a method orpro)ect. 3elying on
employee )udgment about non+critical issues develops sta"" ability
and is usually appreciated as asign o" respect and recognition by
the manager.
#ompromise is another strategy "or resolution, but
unsatis"actory i" the issue is important. o split the di""erence2
is a$uick method, but tends to encourage game playing by parties
who want to swing a decision in their "avor. Issues areadded so it
appears they are giving up a lot when the compromise occurs.
!nother con"lict resolution method, high in aggression, is
competing 6also known as 5o it my way27. ! use"ul strategyin
emergencies, en"orcing unpopular decisions and relationships with
those who take advantage, its most "re$uentlythe result o"
"rustration I" used too much, it may result in being surrounded
only with people who agree, which caneliminate constructive
dialogue.
Many techni$ues are available, and in the case o" anger and
con"lict an ounce o" prevention really does have a bigpayo"".
8 9unell Haught, h5, #M#
