Case Study: Passive Aggressive Behavior at the Work Place

Case Study: Passive Aggressive Behavior at the Work Place

Introduction

Passive aggressive behavior can be described as an indirect expression of hostility and discontentment within a given situation by an individual or a group of people. These feelings may be expressed through actions such as procrastination, resentment, intentional inefficiency, sarcasm, and other negative tendencies like chronic lateness. Considering it from an occupational front, passive aggressive behavior generally leads to a decreased efficiency at the workplace as productivity and team work are drastically affected by these negative attitudes regardless of whether it stems from the management or the subordinate staff members. The work place is basically a place of cooperation, where the efforts of each individual contribute in one way or another to the organizational performance. In the case of the employees, they have to meet the organization’s expectations of them by doing what they are expected to do, as efficiently as possible. The managers are on the other hand expected to manage the organization’s activities along with the employees. Generally, the workings of an organization require cooperation amongst all the concerned parties. A passive aggressive attitude in this case thus jeopardizes not on the cooperation of these concerned parties but also the management’s ability to run the organization effectively. This paper examines a hypothetical work place situation in which passive aggressive behavior was evident, the actions involved in that situation, and how this behavior would affect the organization in question. The paper will also discuss what the other parties in the situation could do to address the situation effectively.

The Passive Aggressi...

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...k place, the consequences are often so widespread that an early intervention is the only option if the organization is to be saved from destruction. In most cases, cases of aggressive mentality are not dealt with on time, they may strain relations within the workforce and hamper performance.

References

Cavaiola, A.A., & Lavender, N.J. (2000). Toxic coworkers: How to Deal with dysfunctional people on the job, (1st Edition). New York: New Harbinger Publications.

De Angelis, P.M. (2009). Blindsided: Recognizing and dealing with passive-aggressive leadership in the workplace, (2nd edition). New York: Create Space Independent Publishing Platform.

Maravelas, A. (2005). How to reduce workplace conflict and stress: How leaders and their employees can protect their sanity and productivity from tension and turf wars. New York: Career Pr Inc.