Insubordination in the workplace: 7 ways to manage

Navigate the challenges of insubordination in the workplace with effective strategies for managing difficult employee behaviors and fostering a positive work environment. Learn the importance of distinguishing between disagreement and insubordination for organizational health.

By Douglas Wade, Attorney

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. What does it mean to be insubordinate at work?

3. What constitutes an insubordinate act?

4. What isn’t classified as insubordinate behavior at work?

5. Two examples of workplace insubordinate conduct

6. Six ways that insubordination at work affects teams

7. Handling insubordinate behavior at work

8. Six guidelines for averting workplace insubordination

9. Keep moving towards your goal despite your worker’s attitude

Introduction

It’s not easy to work with problematic staff.

Conflicts between workers at all ranks will inevitably arise in any workplace from time to time. Workers are people, with distinct personalities, ways of working, modes of communication, and other characteristics.

Misunderstandings and misalignments can occur at any time. Ultimately, we are all still capable of growth. We may all strive to develop our skill sets and better ourselves.

Overseeing and managing daily disputes involving disparate goals, deadlines, and work expectations is a necessary aspect of the work description for supervisors and managers.

However, workplace insubordination is a whole other story. Any office culture might become poisonous due to insubordinate behaviors. Furthermore, workplace insubordination can have disastrous consequences if left unchecked.

Regarding the wellbeing of your staff, it’s more crucial lately to take a proactive rather than a reactive approach. By providing adequate resources and assistance, you may make an investment in the well-being of your people.

What constitutes workplace insubordination will be discussed in this piece. Instances of workplace insubordination will also be covered, along with appropriate responses.

What does it mean to be insubordinate at work?

Let’s define what is meant by workplace insubordination first.

Employees who are blatantly disrespectful or disobedient at work are considered insubordinate. In most cases, the worker is defying fair demands and regulations. Disciplinary action may follow from this.

There is a distinction between normal disputes in the work environment and insubordinate conduct. A worker frequently acts disrespectfully or in open defiance of a supervisor. Other teammates are also impacted by an insubordinate worker, either directly or indirectly by their example.

The employee handbook for your company may occasionally list cases of insubordinate conduct. Let’s examine the specifics of what makes for and isn’t considered insubordination.

What constitutes an insubordinate act?

Determining what constitutes insubordinate behavior might be challenging if you are employed in the HR department. There is no one-size-fits-all definition for insubordinate behavior.

However, we’ve included several grounds for insubordinate behavior when it comes to examining major trends in employee conduct. For direction, we turned to the Society for Human Resource Management. The SHRM states that for something to be deemed insubordination, three criteria must be met:

The direct command comes from the employer.
The worker acknowledges receipt of the instruction.
The worker declines to execute the directive

What isn’t classified as insubordinate behavior at work?

Insubordinate actions by employees are a tricky situation. Certain behaviors might not be accepted. However, they might not be classified as insubordinate conduct at work either.

To assist in recognizing insubordinate behavior at work, speak with your HR and legal departments. Every organization operates in a unique way. For assurance that any instances of insubordinate conduct are properly handled, it is advisable to constantly follow up with HR. The majority of companies have rules in place that define various forms of insubordinate behaviors.

Issues related to employee performance, such as failing in an assignment
At-work disagreements or healthy team conflicts
When a worker refuses to take something that is against corporate policy or the law
A worker who declines to undertake dangerous tasks

Two examples of workplace insubordinate conduct

It could be difficult to identify insubordinate acts. Due to the workplace environment or the specifics of the task, direct directives are less usual in many companies. Acts that surpass insubordination might still be taken with the intention of undermining the leader, nevertheless.

Now that we have a clearer understanding of what constitutes insubordinate conduct, we’ll go over some examples.

1. Insubordination on Zoom

I recently had a conversation with a friend regarding an instance of insubordinate act at her workplace. There was just a new CEO hired. It marked the first occasion that a woman CEO had assumed control of the company in an industry dominated by men.

The CEO gave a presentation and introduced herself to the entire staff during an all-hands conference. The conference took place virtually because the workforce was mostly distributed and hybrid.

Unaware of it, a director of the company was in unmute mode on camera. He referred to the CEO negatively while she was presenting herself before the company. A blatant instance of insubordinate conduct was this verbal abuse. To the entire company, the rudeness was extensively disseminated.

An email was sent by the corporation to every staff member expressing regret for their insubordinate behavior, as it was evidently at odds with managerial authority. Although my friend is unsure, it’s likely that the employee was disciplined. This offense is but one illustration of workplace insubordination.

2. Insubordination within the manager-employee dynamic

As an employee, Marta oversees a group of four people at the director level. An additional team member joined Marta’s group following a recent reorganization.

Greg, the worker in question, has shown signs of negativity. Greg appears to consistently resist new tasks and responsibilities that Marta gives him. It started out simple, like rolling the eyes or letting out a long sigh.

But as of late, Greg has begun to defy Marta’s explicit commands. In team discussions, he has even gone so far as to publicly dispute with her over the instructions issued. Marta chooses to give Greg an oral warning during their subsequent in-person meeting about the insubordinate behavior.

Still, Greg doesn’t follow Marta’s instructions. There have been delays in the firm due to his three missed due dates for a multidisciplinary project. He makes fun of and imitates Marta in front of other employees. When Marta presses him to explain the reason he has not started or finished his assignment, he answers disrespectfully.

Eventually, Marta confers with the HR group. She is able to record Greg’s actions with the aid of the HR and legal departments of her company. She gives Greg an official write-up and formal caution. Marta determines that Greg needs to be fired when his attitude doesn’t improve.

Six ways that insubordination at work affects teams

It affects a lot more than the management when a worker defies legitimate instructions. Six ways that workplace insubordination affects teams are listed below.

It’s detrimental to staff morale.
It might lower worker engagement.
It may lead to misunderstandings and mistrust between supervisors and staff.
It can result in an unhealthy work atmosphere and have a detrimental effect on performance and productivity at work.
It might affect the performance of your company as a whole.

Understanding what constitutes insubordination is crucial to managing it effectively.

Handling insubordinate behavior at work

We understand how difficult things might be for you if you’re coping with an instance of insubordinate conduct at work. To assist in handling workplace insubordination, we have put together a brief guide.

1. Avoid taking things personally

That can seem personal. That very well could be the case for the disloyal worker. Do not take things personally, despite how difficult it may appear.

Do your best to keep your distance from the rude and unruly conduct. Any unpleasant person’s behavior is probably motivated by a deeper underlying issue.

2. Record the incidences

It’s critical to record insubordinate behavior as soon as you start to see it. You will not be able to appropriately address the behavior with action if the documentation is inadequate.

For instance, record important dates, attendees, as well as witnesses of the occurrence. Record any correspondence related to insubordinate action in writing. The more supporting paperwork and evidence, the better.

3. Maintain emotional control

Everyone has experienced their breathing become more worked and their chest constricted when something upsets them. Your body may react if an employee demonstrates disrespect or disobedience.

To maintain composure, practice emotional control. When replying, try inhaling deeply a few times. Prior to replying, you might also try to pinpoint your feelings.

It is always to your advantage to develop your ability to control your emotions.

4. Inform others about the insubordinate behavior

Register the insubordinate action so that the concerned employee can be reprimanded. Collaborate with your legal and HR departments in reporting the behavior.

You’ll be more prepared to handle various forms of disobedient behavior if you get advice from your human resources partners.

5. Make use of your inclusive management abilities

According to a study, insubordinate workers respond negatively to their abusive or ineffective superiors. According to this corpus of studies, workers would become insubordinate if they thought their managers were treating them abusively.

Even though we are aware that this is not true for every form of insubordinate behavior, it is important to emphasize that inclusive management counts. Employee engagement becomes 150% higher, productivity is 50% higher, and innovation is 90% higher. A 54% decrease in staff turnover is another benefit of inclusive leadership.

6. Formulate a plan of action (take assistance from HR)

Every instance of disobedience needs customized assistance. As you formulate a plan of action, ensure that you’re collaborating with your human resources department.

This could occasionally lead to a written or verbal warning. Others can call for an official report or more training for the staff member. Additionally, some acts of insubordinate conduct lead to job loss.

In any event, be sure to rely on the advice of the professionals. You can discuss your strategy with your coach as well.

7. Seek coaching assistance

Employee difficulties are challenging issues to resolve. However, a coach can provide you with the assistance and direction you require to handle even the most difficult circumstances.

Six guidelines for averting workplace insubordination

Establish trust and a sense of psychological safety. Establish psychological safety and trust as a foundational element of your workplace culture.
Elicit meaningful interactions with team members. You wouldn’t believe the strength of connections. Greater productivity, general well-being, and performance are all correlated with more relationships.
As soon as harmful behavior occurs, address it. Toxic behavior tends to seep into your company’s culture more readily the more it is tolerated. Adhere to the fundamental principles of your organization and deal with harmful conduct as it arises.
Ensure that the boundaries are explained clearly. All employees should have straightforward access to your employee handbook and standard of conduct. To make sure that boundaries are defined clearly, think about collaborating with the internal communication staff.
Organize frequent training sessions for employees at work. Training is necessary for your staff.
Serve as an example of inclusive management. Your leaders ought to provide an exemplary example. To ensure that your staff is prepared for success, make an investment in developing inclusive leadership abilities.

Keep moving towards your goal despite your worker’s attitude

Managing an employee who is insubordinate is never enjoyable.

Supervisors can acquire essential abilities to lead in an increasingly inclusive manner and to have difficult talks. You will be in a stronger position to stop insubordinate actions from spreading throughout your company if you make investments in the professional growth of your staff.

Have a quick question? We answered nearly 2000 FAQs.

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