The dictionary definition of ‘insubordination’ is the refusal to obey someone who is in a higher position and has the authority to give instructions and directions to achieve results. Insubordination is an act of disobedience against authority.
Insubordination increases stress and anxiety for the person working in authoritarian position and for the other employees. The manager feels unappreciated by his subordinates. He and his team both experience distress because some employees in the team purposely don’t take the load which often gets shared by others in the team members. Poorly performing employees can negatively impact ability of an effective manager.
Insubordination starts mainly by manipulation. Some employees try to damage reputation of their bosses by bad-mouthing them to others and filing irrational and frivolous HR reports. These employees go to the extent of speaking poorly of their superior to even outsiders such as suppliers, clients, marketing channels as well as other industry professionals. Many competitive managers have lost better opportunities in their careers just because of defiance by few subordinates in their team. Many employees in an organization refuse to perform a lawful, ethical, and judicious directive from a manager in spite of the directive being clearly understood and acknowledged.
When an employee publicly disrespects a leader, other employees begin to view the leader as unproductive and that reputation can affect the leader’s status with other team members. Regular clashes between the manager and his subordinates spoil relations of the manager with other business partners. Antisocial behaviours such as speaking negatively about others behind their back kill chances of those people. Subsequently, more and more employees may begin to show defiant behaviour.
Organizations must address disrespectful and rude employees in time:
It is lways a good practice of organizations to address discourteous behaviours of employees as early as possible. When insubordination is tolerated, manager’s morale gets affected and the disrespectful employee gets more confidence and feel justified in carrying on their impolite behaviour. In addition, such behaviours can be very damaging to workplace morale and emotional wellbeing.
When confronting an employee about his or her behavior, it is vital to present with specific examples of rudeness or insubordination. It doesn’t make sense in trying to retain a rude, disrespectful employee; fire the worker and hire a replacement.
However, if the employee has potential, particularly if the quality of his work is good, HR must offer the employee counselling and give a warning of intolerance. Listen carefully what the employee has to say. Sometimes employees behave unruly because of various kinds of stress. Often we see some an employee who seems sullen and non-communicative may be unhappy about something in their private life. They need attention and cooperation.
Organizations must treat all employees respectfully. The culture comes from the top. Tolerating insubordination when some employees have made mistakes or have violated workplace rules, sets wrong example. The managers and supervisors are accountable for good and bad results. They must be trained to uphold standards of professionalism. This means treating workers with respect and taking responsibility for how one presents concerns, challenges and criticisms.
During the interview and recruiting process, attentions must be paid to employee’s behaviour. Organizations must have employee handbook and on-boarding process in place to reinforce employees’ commitment to civility and respect. Politeness and respect to each other and that subordinates is a must. Individuals who find it difficult to look at the brighter sides of life complain and spoil the entire work culture. They themselves hardly work and they influence others. Workload distribution becomes undemocratic; it leads to a decline in workplace morale and productivity suffers.
