Why so angry?

A focus on Preventing Occupational Aggression in the workplace and its impact on both consumer and employee

For client facing employees, it is not uncommon to experience aggression from either customer, friends of the customer and family or even bystanders. Occupational aggression, fueled by stressful situations such as a health-related concern, has become a WHS risk for many organisations.

Without diminishing the importance of immediate security response procedures, there is much that the well-trained employee can do to prevent occupational aggression and mitigate the need for further escalation of incidences.

Looking back, I can understand why a persons motivation can easily interfere with an their rationale when things don't go to plan.

The year was 2010, and I had a 18th-month-old and a newborn. I hadn't slept at all and just prior the birth, my 18 month old had started walking. There were plenty of growth challenges going on everywhere, not to mention my sick newborn, who was later hospitalised.

For any caregiver, you'll know that leaving the house in such situations, is a logistical nightmare. So my visit to the local GP was just another inconvenience that I had to arrange around a well-timed nap, breastfeed, nappy changes, food, water, nappy bag, pram, toys, various ointments which I cannot remember and so on. While in a sleep-deprived state. 

The clinic was contacted at 9:00am, confirming our attendance. The lady on the other end sounded quite flustered; she cut me off short when speaking, wouldn't allow me to finish my sentences and hung up before I could say goodbye. I assumed that she was just having a bad day.  I called later to find out if appointments were running on time. Based on my questioning it sounded as though the clinic was well prepared for my visit.  So off the three of us ventured for the trip to the local GP.

I arrived, unloaded the 'truck' and walked in with the double pram and a hiatus of other necessary items. The doctor was running late. I waited, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes and then approached the counter. I was told not much longer. I waited for a further 20 minutes and asked again. Still, I was not getting a clear understanding of how long the wait would be.

The few toy playthings I had brought and the constant bouncing were wearing thin on everyone

My daughter started crying and my newborn, who I didn't know very well, looked distressed. The few toy playthings I had brought and the constant bouncing were wearing thin on everyone. I was running out of food, and nappy changes were required. We had been there for over an hour and still no sign of movement up the queue.

Was it because I was tired or was it because I was not in control of a health-related concern that a feeling overwhelmed me? Such rage where you are paralysed to stop the emotions and ill thoughts towards others.

My eyes started eyeballing the receptionist, couldn't she see I was trying hard to keep things under control, couldn't she work harder for me? Each time a new person was called, I would glare at them with a look as though I was saying, 'You haven't waited as long as me, and I have a newborn who desperately needs to see a doctor. Some nerve!' I approached the receptionist again and stated that I had a newborn and needed to see a doctor. Internally I felt like shaking her, didn't she know how hard it was to get to the clinic?

The outward aggression from the receptionist reflected her anticipation of my annoyance. She had probably had so many irate patients that she had learnt that tearing them down at their most significant time of need was her only form of protection. I recall her yelling at me and ordering me to sit down at once and stop asking or else she would call management. I sat down, infuriated that I had been 'told off' and upset that I was helpless within a system that could not sustain itself with the services they provide.

The outward aggression from the receptionist reflected her anticipation of my annoyance.

It was a helpless situation for both patient and employee and sketched into my memory on how every day, functional human beings can allow themselves to get upset. . I will never forget the lack of empathy, the lack of care for a genuinely helpless human being and the feelings I had when told that everything was okay. I felt abandoned by the health clinic.

If I could roll back the clock to 2010 and approach this situation as the employee, there are many things that employees who serve the general public can do to mitigate spiralling aggression.  

Strategies to deal with personal stress responses to aggression

If you work in a customer focused industry, there will be times when a customer gets angry. Learning to breathe through your reaction to them can help reduce the barrier between employee and consumer. Learning to listen without interrupting is also useful. Talking slowly, calmly and quietly can calm your customer down. Change the focus of your thoughts - if you, think that the client is there to annoy you and upset you then they will. Instead, you could start to think of ways to help this individual during their time of need.

The lady I kept approaching could have spoken softly; she could have smiled and noted the children. A look over from the reception desk explaining 'not much longer' would have helped. She could have invited me to come back in 10 minutes if I still hadn't got through to see what she could do. Even looking at me with genuine kindness would have dissipated any ill feeling I had toward her!

Understanding the cause

By putting yourself in the shoes of the other person, you can start to try and understand why they are reacting poorly. Perhaps by saying the very thing that is causing the frustration will help build understanding, 'It must be hard to come here with a newborn and a baby. I can understand how upsetting it is to have to wait while you are worried about his health. Is there anything I can do to help while we wait?'

Even looking at me with genuine kindness would have dissipated any ill feeling I had toward her!

Understanding Characteristics of aggressive incidents

Consider the following three areas where aggressive incidents are most common impacting individuals. Statistics suggest that these are the more common situations impacting occupational aggression in the workplace:

1. Demographics Young males; People with a history of violence; Association to subculture prone to aggression

2. Clinical Active symptoms of paranoia, delusions or mania, antisocial, impulsive or explosive personality, alcohol or illicit drug use, trauma or medical condition, delirium

3.  Situational Lack of community and connection; Potential relationship to victim impacted by the aggression

By understanding a little about the background of the individual, helps to be aware that aggression may be forthcoming with particular individuals. Knowing this, you can start very early to implement empathy and understanding.

Identifying first signs of stress or agitation

Some sure signs of a person under pressure or agitated are:

• Flushed face
• Raising of voice
• Standing in the service providers personal space or standing over them
• Grinding teeth
• Increased excitability (i.e. waving hands)
• Pounding on the table or desk
• Pacing
• Eyeball to eyeball confrontation
• Repeating the same thing over and over
• The use of depersonalised language
• Sexual or racial language or any demeaning language
• Increased use of course language

Sometimes people who use a soft voice become suddenly enraged. There are so many environmental factors which can exasperate this. The key is to assume that anyone who is under extreme stress can suddenly exert aggression. By looking for the signs, you can start to anticipate aggression. Breathing and not being afraid can help reduce or even stop an incident from occurring.

Common triggers of aggression

• Fear
• Frustration
• Manipulative behaviour
• Intimidation
• Pain
• Altered mental state
• Reaction to loss
• Grief process
• Expression of emotion
• Environmental influences

As a service provider, it is possible to see only the angry person and not the scared person underneath. If you think that there might be something that is frightening your client, try to build a connection. 'I know you must be worried about your son. We really want to help, and the doctors know that you are here. I know that doesn't make things better for you. However, we do care and want to help you through this.'  

If there are items on your desk which could be potential weapons (i.e. stapler), move these out of sight. Having possible armaments on your desk can fuel aggression which then becomes acts of violence. Interrupting an enraged person by saying 'Please don't use that language here or you'll need to leave' is like grabbing the tale of a snake and waving it around. You're going to get bitten! While swearing is unacceptable, it can help to turn a blind eye to some of the behaviours of your aggressor.

Non-verbal techniques to de-escalate aggression

• Distance yourself emotionally
• Use non-threatening body language
• Monitor your eye movement. Try to keep engaged without looking around or rolling your eyes
• It can help to stand up and move to the side of your desk/work area. That way it shows the person that you are actively engaged in what is going on and genuinely want to help

The receptionist could have offered some water and a cup; she could have mentioned the availability of baby change tables, she could have given my daughter some pencils and paper to keep her occupied. Any act of kindness can dissipate aggression. I've seen service officers offer dowdy old magazines to customers to help keep them on the side, they've done this by holding the customer's hand, handing the magazine over as a 'gift'. Any act of kindness builds trust and understanding and the focus on time can become a secondary concern.

Any act of kindness builds trust and understanding and the focus on time can become a secondary concern.

De-escalation of occupational aggression

• Don't respond with anger
• Speak slowly, calmly and lower your vocal tone (i.e. so others nearby cannot hear)
• Communicate with empathy, many service industries fail at showing true empathy
• Demonstrate an interest in resolving the situation
• Avoid making excuses or defending your actions
• Ask what can you do to resolve the situation

Using observable language to de-escalate situations is helpful. 'I can see the lengthy delay is upsetting for you. I'm sorry that the appointments are taking so long'. Using the senses such as "I see", "I feel", 'It seems' are examples of observational language which does not place the blame on individuals.

Document the incident, debrief team

Ensure that there is a process to document incidents. Any incident should comply with risk management procedures and include the actions employees took and the outcome of those efforts. Through documentation, this can support the organisation if consumer advocates are involved going forward. Ensure the documentation is signed off by management and filed for future reference.

Action planning and reflection

In a team meeting, consider how well the team handled the incident. Was there genuine care, kindness and understanding offered? What went well and what didn't? Create a forum where employees can make suggestions in dealing with potentially aggressive clients in a positive, engaging way. Learning how others do manage aggression successfully is the first step in managing situations as a team.

Felicity is an Organisational Development Consultant, providing strategies to support organisations with the development of their people to enhance performance.  Through partnership with your organisation, Felicity develops scenarios to increase awareness of compliance and advocates fair and reasonable support for the welfare of your consumers and employees.

To learn more about development opportunities for your organisation, in particular, Preventing Occupational Aggression in the Workplace, please contact Felicity at:

[email protected]