Expert advice for dealing with frustrated employees — and controlling your own frustration

Conflict in the workplace, regardless of what industry it occurs in, interferes with getting the job done. It’s up to employers to help resolve communication breaks and to prevent destructive conflict and deal with it when it does occur.

Employees can often get frustrated in today’s work environment, resulting in greater workplace tensions between employees and employer.

“Employees work longer hours with less help,” says Chuck Maglio, CEO of Maglio & Co., an Elm Grove, Wis.-based human resource consulting firm. “Because of the way companies are now organized — with an employee/supervisor ratio changing from 20-to-1 to as high as 200-to-1 — employee frustration becomes more of a problem,” he says.
If an employee gets angry with his employer, the best thing an employer can do is communicate with the employee. However, it depends on the environment where the conflict is taking place and the level of anger, says Maglio.

“If an employee is yelling at his boss in front of others, then that employee is exhibiting unacceptable behavior,” says Maglio. An employee that has taken his frustration level to that extreme is jeopardizing his employment.

In this situation, an employer should evaluate if termination is an option, he adds. If not, then the employer should take the employee somewhere private to discuss the problem one-on-one.

“It’s important to find out the problem and determine how it can be remedied,” says Maglio. “An employer should be concerned that the situation has reached this level of confrontation and how it got to this level.”

An employer might not be aware that a problem exists. For instance, if a very loyal and hard-working employee, who has been employed with the company for 10 years, has an outburst, an employer needs to talk to the employee, says Maglio.

“First you listen to the employee and then categorize the problem — can it be remedied? It might be that the employee is having family problems,” says Maglio. An open line of communication helps to put the situation back on track.

There also are things that an employer should never do when talking to a frustrated employee, according to Maglio.

“An employer should never blow up or exhibit anger toward the employee. The key is being calm and in control of the situation,” he says. “If you’re not, then it disrupts other people and the business.”

If an employee is agitated, an employer should sit down with the employee and determine the problem. The employer can learn a lot about the problem and how to help fix it by listening to what the employee is saying, says Maglio.

However, an employer can avoid confrontation with frustrated employees by discovering the problem before it grows larger. One way this can be done is through annual reviews.

“Annual reviews let the employer see if something is changing with the employee’s behavior,” Maglio says. “An employer will be able to notice if an employee has a different attitude or has been frequently tardy.”

Reviews allow the employer an opportunity to talk to the employee and also let the employee express any concerns.

“Communication is essential. It helps employers notice a problem before it gets too far gone,” he says.

Occasionally, the tables turn and it’s the employer who is frustrated with the employee. According to Maglio, situations like those require similar actions.

“The best way for an employer to handle his emotions is by staying calm and not yelling. The employer should discuss the problem with the employee,” he says. “The employer should be clear and concise about what is causing the problem.”

For example, if there’s an employee who is repeatedly performing a task wrong after numerous corrections by the employer, the employer needs to discuss why this is happening, Maglio says.

Whatever the problem, by communicating and asking questions, the employer can convey what is expected of the employee and determine why there is a problem. “An employer might set up a weekly review of the employee or send the employee to counseling if there is something serious like a drug problem,” he says.

“When there’s a problem an employer should sit down with the employee to discuss the situation and figure out a goal to overcome the problem,” says Maglio.

“In today’s workplace an increase in employer-employee communication is needed to make sure everything is ‘okay’ within the working environment.”

— Kari Strobel