Supporting Employees in an Angry America

Though a topic of discussion currently, research and news outlets have been showing increased aggression in the workplace for decades as evidenced by physical and non-physical aggression examples by Glomb, et al. (2002). Brooks brought this topic back up last fall with the question, “Why are Americans so mean?” As more professionals leave the service industry due to difficult clients or patients (Brooks, 2023), more needs to be done to promote healthy employees in what should be a thriving workplace. All have personal stories of difficult co-workers, challenging students or clients, and negative or hostile behaviors of stakeholders. Several articles and research pieces have been written on burnout as many leave service professions, a career of choice, for a job elsewhere.

Brooks (2023) points out that the American society is in a crisis that is both ‘emotional’ and ‘relational.’ Though some researchers agree, such as Glomb, et al. (2002), there is a lack of research in this area. I propose that studies on this topic are limited due to what can be asked about employees and clientele due to privacy issues. Glomb, et al. (2002), suggest that it has just been ignored as more extreme behaviors have been studied first and current models do not include affect and emotion. Regardless, results on such topics lack data on ‘affective/emotional variables’. 

Research and discussion should be on what works to sustain quality workers and promote a positive business culture. A system of check and balance as Drucker and Zimbardo suggest supports a business system of healthy positive interactions. Zimbardo, author of The Lucifer Effect (2007), posits that good people will make wrong choices without a system of accountability. Drucker (2010) states that accountability is needed and must be tied to the needs of the organization. Organizational focus on a system of accountability that maintains the purpose of the entity is paramount.

In Drucker’s time, the experience was totalitarian government and aggression of a hostile ideology. My time, 2024, is a time of the absence of a sense of social community for the sake of individualism. Now is a time void of accountability in home, work, school, or society. Drucker experienced Hitler’s ability to convince ordinary people shunned by society that they should live with a sense of entitlement. This small group of people became an entitled race with only a sense of what was important to their small community and not society as a whole. Now we observe not just the notion of small in-group versus out-group thinking, but individualized entitlement. Now each student, client, each citizen lives with a sense of individualized entitlement. Campbell, et al. (2004) posit that ‘perceptual entitlement’ has a negative influence on interpersonal skills which “severely impacts social skills.” How do we reverse this? How do we keep Americans from believing that they are deserving of more than others? To answer this, more research is needed. In the meantime, organizations can do the following to reduce and diffuse negative encounters for their employees now.

Steps toward positive workplace culture

Whether a for-profit or non-profit, the organization must create a system of accountability, of check and balance, that is directly aligned to organizational purpose and supports positive growth behaviors in employees. Though management has control over this process, aggressive behavior in clientele cannot be neutralized. So how does one retain talented staff when repeated outside influences can be so negative and beyond control?

Create a buffer between aggressive and hostile clients and staff. When possible, have frontline employees that are well-equipped to handle angry clientele. Trained management should be prepared to step in before an escalation to be a buffer in these situations.

Create a safe space for frustrated employees to voice their feelings and concerns when negative encounters occur. Often speaking aloud to a non-judgmental coworker or management is enough to reduce the stress caused by the negative situation and shows the employee that the organization is supportive.

Create a menu of coping strategies for all employees including management so individuals are equipped to deal with a stressful situation, not take it personally, and avoid personal entanglement. These choices should be in line with the accountability process that is directly related to the organization’s goals and purpose.

Create an environment that promotes well-being and positive interactions. Individualized for each organization, management can promote positive behaviors through suggestion or influence. Visuals, trained employees, and strategic management that redirect behaviors may influence clientele response. Does the person feel listened to? Understood? Supported? Is clientele asked to restate comments or asked to communicate productively?

Being forward in clientele behavior expectations can cause initial stress and negative reactions, but it does support employee and clientele emotional health. Businesses and organizations are often at the forefront of what is needed for society. In an America that Brooks and Glomb et al. refer to as in ‘crisis’ and prone to ‘non-physical aggression,’ organizations need to focus on employee well-being and positive work culture through a system of accountability and intentionally created aggression-response systems.

This is a start to what needs to be continued research and implementation on this subject.

References

Brooks, D. (Sept 2023). How Americans Got So Mean. The Atlantic

Campbell, W. K., Bonacci, A., Shelton, J., Exline, J., Bushman, B. (2004). Psychological Entitlement: Interpersonal Consequences and Validation of a Self-Report Measure. JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT, 83(1), 29–45

Drucker, P. (2010). Managing the Non-Profit Organization. Harper-Collins, e-books.

Glomb, T. M., Steel, P. D., & Arvey, R. D. (2002). Office sneers, snipes, and stab wounds: Antecedents, consequences, and implications of workplace violence and aggression. In R. Lord, R. Klimoski, & R. Kanfer (Eds.), Frontiers of industrial and organizational psychology: Emotions and work: 227–259. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Zimbardo, P. (2007). The Lucifer Effect. Random House, NY.