Recruitment & Staffing
Employers should define insubordination
Q: What constitutes insubordination?
A: Employers often have policies prohibiting insubordination but may not have guidelines defining which behaviors will be regarded as insubordination. Insubordination can be divided into two categories: unwillingness to carry out a directive from a manager or supervisor and disrespectful behavior toward a manager or supervisor.
Unwillingness to carry out a directive from a manager or supervisor can manifest itself as a verbal refusal, a nonverbal refusal or an unreasonable delay in completing work. Disrespectful behavior toward a manager or supervisor can include cursing at a supervisor, verbally or physically intimidating a manager or supervisor, or speaking loudly or argumentatively to or about a supervisor.
Employers that face insubordination in the workplace usually handle the situation using their normal disciplinary procedures. While insubordination can be addressed using verbal warnings, written warnings and suspensions, extreme examples of insubordination may warrant immediate dismissal. While employers do not want to act hastily in disciplinary matters, delaying disciplinary action or ignoring insubordination can give employees the impression that disrespectful behavior is acceptable.
When addressing situations involving insubordination, the employer should consider the circumstances in which an incident took place. For example, if cursing is common “shop talk” in the workplace, the employer would need to consider whether the language used by the employee was unusual enough to be considered abusive.
Further, managers may incite insubordination through abusive or abrasive behavior of their own. In these situations, the manager may need performance coaching or even disciplinary action.
In addition, a refusal to carry out an order may result from a misunderstanding of instructions or a fear of unsafe work. In certain circumstances, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration protects workers who refuse to perform work if the employee believes in good faith that performing the work would put the employee in imminent danger. An employee's refusal to do something that is illegal, unethical or a violation of company policy would not be considered insubordination.
Article by Amy Maingault, SPHR, is an information specialist in SHRM's Information Center from http://www.shrm.org/kc/solutions/articles/archives/CMS_020144.asp#P-8_0