Friday, August 05, 2011

Direct hostile communication in the workplace.

I work at a hospital as a security officer. I work for an outside company contracted by the hospital and I am not directly under the authority of the hospital's hierarchy.

A maintenance employee who is directly under the authority of the hospital's hierarchy is apparently under the misguided impression that the security officers are parking lot attendants. On one occasion the maintenance employee complained to a security officer about other employees who parked in the Emergency Department patient parking lot. On August 5, 2011 at 6:15 A.M. the maintenance person directly confronted a security officer who was parked in a space designated for a Senior, close to the entrance to the Emergency Department. The security officer is a Senior, and as a security officer is required to be close to his vehicle for emergency purposes.

The correct action when one sees another employee or contractor violating rules is to write a detailed report of the incident and submit it to your supervisor or the administration safety officer. It is for management to decide the course of action that follows the report.

The purpose for this procedure is to avoid creating a hostile work environment. This procedure is part of regular training for employees at this hospital. The maintenance employee receives this training, indicated by his continued employment at the hospital, therefore, the actions of the maintenance employee are symptomatic of more important personal issues that create frustration that must be vented opportunistically.

Opportunistic aggravation, delusional vindication and self-fulfilled validation: Creating the reason for the way you feel after the feeling.

When someone seeks to create an outlet for frustration, or seeks to create a situation where one feels vindication or validation for the way one feels, by attempting to aggravate another person into action, this person has unresolved feelings of anger or frustration. This emotional state is a chemical imbalance in the brain that is incorrectly attributed to outside causes.

That is why the terms "glass is half-full" and "glass is half-empty" is commonly accepted for describing certain types of personality. Some people remain either optimistic or pessimistic in different situations precisely because their brain chemistry hasn't changed with outside events.

The chemical imbalance is mostly genetic, but frequently the result of consuming substances like alcohol or other drugs.

An employee who receives regular annual training on the subject of workplace cooperation and communication, yet cannot constrain behavior to within the recommended parameters, will eventually become a safety risk to fellow employees and must seek treatment or be removed from the environment.