Thursday, March 28, 2024

How to identify Insubordination in the workplace? Look at 4 Behavior Types

Insubordination means refusal to obey orders. This phenomenon is not common, yet it happens many times that an employee doesn’t follow the rules of his boss. Disobedience doesn’t merely mean defiance of authority, and it turns into a lot of things if an employer doesn’t pay attention to it. If you want to run your business smoothly, then you have to manage your people well. If a person is confronting you without any reason, it is essential to take some actions.

What is Insubordination?

Insubordination defined as defiance of authority or refusal to obey orders. There are three parts which explain that your employee is insubordinate.

  1. First part is when you give your employee an order or assign him a task.
  2. The second part describes as your employee thoroughly knows how to obey this order or to complete this task. He knows what you are expecting from him as an employer.
  3. The final part is one where he refuses to obey your order or doesn’t complete his task as you ask him to. Roles, duties, rules of a job are well defined in an employee handbook.

Some insubordination actions are severe, while others are minor kinds. For example, when an employee doesn’t care to come on time in office, it might not be a big deal for a few days. However, when he develops this habit, then you should take some actions which are necessary to keep him on the right track.

In some cases, an employee doesn’t care even when you take swift action. In such a case, the only step you need to take is to terminate him. However, you should follow the protocol outlined in an employee handbook. Because when you follow protocol, you can save your business or company from legal action.

Types of Insubordinate behavior of an Employee

Here are four main common types which explain an employee’s action as an insubordinate.

Failure to Perform

An employer hires an employee to perform a job defined. It happens many times that an employer assigns a duty to his employees, but he ignores his command on purpose. This behavior is termed as failure to perform. In this case, an employer will ask for reasons. It is good to write an excuse for failure to perform in the employee’s file for future use. In the case of legal action, it might serve as a written record.

An employee can refuse to obey orders of his directive, in case that order puts his life in danger; or it causes some conflicts with expressed legal or ethical issues.

Intimidation or Harassment

For making your workplace productive, you must have a zero-tolerance policy for harassment and bullying. As an employer, you must keep your workplace safe and secure. So, everyone who works in your company feels protective. In an employee handbook, a zero-tolerance policy is clearly written, even actions to deal with harrassing behaviors are also mentioned. In case, your employee is reportedly involved in harassment scandal. You need to star an investigation and add notes in the employee’s file. These notes will help you take disciplinary action, just to put evil back in its bud.

Confrontational Actions

The workplace is filled with people with diverse opinions and behaviors. You are living in a democratic world where people can speak up their mind. It sometimes happens that an employee disagrees with his boss. Insubordination behavior is one when he confronts or disagrees with his boss in front of all members of his teams or other employees. This behavior is unacceptable in many companies and categorized under Insubordination.

Confrontation doesn’t just mean confronting boss in front of other employees. It may refer to defaming other people, spreading rumors to divide a team or co-workers, sharing bad comments all the time about your colleagues or boss. If it happens one time, a boss can ignore it, but when confrontation occurs frequently, it is good to take actions. Add a note in the employee’s files, and these notes will be used to take disciplinary actions.

Abusive Language

Colleagues often use bad work among each other. It is a common phenomenon among adults. When taking bad words in private or with some colleagues is a regular routine. Then it does not consider Insubordination. But, when the abusive language uses in response to an action or words of managers, then it regarded as Insubordination. Sometimes, heated debate causes offensive language. So; it can be noted in a file, but does not need action. However, when it becomes a common phenomenon, then the response requires dealing with Insubordination.

Wrap up 

Insubordination refers not only to the refusal of order, but it is a broad term that explains some unacceptable employee behavior. Only extreme cases of disobedience lead to termination.

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