Aggression in the workplace: how can you manage this as an employer?

Aggression in the workplace includes all incidents in which employees are verbally, mentally, or physically threatened or attacked. And these incidents have a major impact on employees’ well-being. Insights into the various types of aggression and tips to handle these can help prevent a lot of damage.
 

Daisy Buttiens: “It’s primarily frustration aggression that has been increasing in recent years. Indeed, the Covid-19 pandemic, the financial crisis, and the war in Ukraine are causing more stress for many.”

There is an important distinction between two types of aggression: instrumental aggression and frustration aggression. In the first type, the perpetrator aims their aggression personally at the victim to achieve a specific purpose. “This includes incidents where a passenger doesn’t want to pay for their train ticket, so that they act out aggressively towards the on-board staff in the hope that they will not have to present any ticket,” says Daisy. The passenger uses premeditated instrumental aggression in that case. Using abusive language and intimidating actions, they will try to hit the staff member as hard as possible.

Frustration aggression, on the other hand, is an impulsive reaction, stemming from a build-up of stress and frustration. “Everyone has a window of tolerance, a window within which they can tolerate stress. But a long day, bad news, or an unexpected event sometimes causes a person to experience more stress than their window of tolerance allows for at the time. The instinctive brain then takes over, resulting in a fight, flight, or freeze response. In the first case – fight mode – a person then suddenly reacts aggressively.”

In frustration aggression, the aggressor does not want to hurt the victim personally, but acts out of a sense of fear or frustration at the time. “For example, a patient who is told after surgery that the procedure did not produce the desired effect, and lashes out at the doctor who delivers the difficult news.”

Initially, instrumental aggression seems to leave deeper wounds. Daisy adds, “The targeted nature of that type of aggression is very frightening. Just imagine someone threatening your family or waiting for you at the entrance to your company.”

Yet frustration aggression causes just as much damage to victims. Even when you are suddenly slapped in the face or someone yells at you unfairly, it leaves a big impression.

If an incident of aggression occurs in the workplace, it will affect employees’ sense of safety. The fact that aggression is increasingly reported by healthcare providers, emergency services, drivers, and teachers, among others, is therefore worrying. “It’s primarily frustration aggression that has been increasing in recent years. Indeed, the Covid-19 pandemic, the financial crisis, and the war in Ukraine are causing more stress for many.”
 

Both types of aggression require different approaches to calm tempers as quickly as possible. These are best learned by employees during targeted training courses. “When a person deliberately lashes out, the employee can set clear boundaries to control the situation. If the aggressor does not respect those boundaries, then the employee can state that they will take further steps, by contacting the police, for example.”

It is different with frustration aggression. The person who is the target of the aggression can then often intervene before the situation escalates. “If employees notice that a person is experiencing a lot of stress and frustration, it is important that they acknowledge that person’s feelings. By sympathising with the other person’s emotions reduces frustration and keeps the situation under control. If a stressed person suddenly reacts aggressively regardless of this, then the employee can set clear boundaries in that case too.”

As an organisation, you can make employees more resilient against aggression in the workplace in various ways. By training staff to learn to recognise both types of aggression and respond appropriately, they can prevent the situation from escalating in many cases.

“But not all aggression is avoidable,” adds Daisy. “If an incident of aggression still gets out of hand, then the organisation’s response plays a crucial factor in the coping process. The way in which the organisation responds after the fact is extremely important to victims of aggression within the work context. Is the person later asked about their experience, were they telephoned, has the organisation offered sufficient support? Those things are crucial to maintain the connection and help employees make sense of it. Therefore, always provide support for employees after an incident and rebuild a sense of security.”

In some cases, in-house counselling is not enough to deal with an incident of aggression. Employees can then always contact the external prevention adviser. “But even then, support from the organisation is crucial.”
 

Is aggression in the workplace common? Then organisations must roll out a policy-based approach. Importantly, they should consider how often aggression occurs and which forms of aggression employees most often come into contact with. Those details are mandatory for organisations to keep in a registry of ‘acts committed by third parties’. Based on the data in that registry, the employer and internal prevention adviser draw up targeted action points.

“Once you have established a policy, the crucial next step is to raise awareness about this. Make sure the hierarchy is aware of the action points and procedures, and let employees know that they are never alone,” Daisy concludes.