by Mark Butler

Created on: June 29, 2010

Life is full of irritations and from time to time the irritations can get to the point where a person feels the need to yell, scream or even hit something or somebody.  Those types of actions were unacceptable during childhood and in an adult they are even more unacceptable.  The difference is that a child has the excuse of being a child whereas an adult is out of excuses and the immature display of uncontrolled temper is cause for concern.  In the workplace it is also cause for dismissal and the end of a career.  

Besides honesty and integrity, a key component of workplace success is self control.  Those supervisors and managers, who are quick to yell, scream profanities and make physical threats or even push or shove co-workers or subordinates are not exercising good management skills.   To the contrary, they are creating an environment that is not conducive to good teamwork, loyalty or a willingness to tell the boss about a problem because of fear of the response. 

When a company has that kind or environment the company is one step away from a lawsuit alleging a hostile work environment, workplace violence or a supervisor being arrested for assault or battery due to a complaint to the police.  The legal implications are staggering because society has little tolerance for violence in the workplace or the constant belittling of subordinates.  Any seasoned manager or company executive who becomes aware of such a worker or supervisor and does nothing is exposing themselves and the company to legal damages and costs that could reach millions of dollars and serious damage to their reputation. 

There will always be those things that cause irritation but uncontrolled displays of anger because the person cannot control their temper should never be tolerated.  Good managers find ways to express disappointment and irritation through proper counseling.  When managers find that one of their workers or supervisors is abusive or has a short temper that routinely gets out of control the manager will counsel a few times but after that termination is the best and only option.  Those people who don’t want to change generally won’t unless provided with enough incentive and the potential loss of a job is enough incentive for many people.  Some people will not change and those must be let go before the damage is made any worse. 

The importance of self control and the ability to maintain an even temper cannot be over stressed.  Lack of control, wanton expressions of anger, screaming at subordinates and co-workers or engaging in physical violence is an express train looking for a wreck.  Those types of people must either find a way to change their behavior or be terminated.  This may make it difficult for them to find a job in the future but it goes a long way to make the work environment a lot better for everyone else.

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