HR MANAGEMENT - Policy on Insubordination

Policy on Insubordination

by Ruth Mayhew, Demand Media

Employees who refuse to do their work likely violate an insubordination policy

Insubordination is difficult -- if not impossible -- to define. Classifying insubordinate behavior by describing the way one employee responds to a supervisor's order doesn't work for all employees. Employees and supervisors interact with each other in different ways, even in the same work environment. The root cause of insubordination is lack of mutual respect. Therefore, create a workplace policy that deals with the root cause, because a one-size-fits-all policy is sure to be an ineffective way of handling employee insubordination.

Definition

The actual behavior or action that supervisors define as insubordinate depends on the employee-supervisor relationship. Also, the manner in which the supervisor issues the work directive and whether the employee actually understands the supervisor's expectations are factors in identifying insubordinate behavior. With so many variables, it's hard to give precise examples of insubordinate responses. That said, there generally are three elements that employers rely on in developing a policy on insubordination.

Elements of Insubordination

The three basic elements of insubordination don't address specific acts; however, they provide guidelines for identifying insubordinate behavior. Insubordination typically starts with a supervisor's order, followed by the employee's acknowledgement and, lastly, the employee's blatant or implied refusal, according to employment lawyer Keisha-Ann Gray in her October 2011 article titled, "Defiant and Disrespectful," for Human Resource Executive Online. For example, if a supervisor points to one of the tasks on an employee's job description, and the employee indicates that he realizes the task is indeed part of his job but says he's not doing it, that's a form of insubordination. Also, if the employee simply ignores the supervisor's reminder and doesn't perform the tasks, that may be considered insubordination.

Implementing Policy

Employers who plan to implement a policy on insubordination shouldn't try to codify every type of inappropriate possibility that can occur in the workplace. It's unlikely the company's list can be inclusive and -- even if it could be -- an inclusive list would simply tie the supervisors' hands, rendering them incapable of making decisions about workforce management. A policy on insubordination must be flexible enough for supervisors to interpret what constitutes insubordination based on the relationships they have with the employees who report to them. Supervisors need the latitude to determine employee behavior that qualifies as insubordination.

Flexibility

A policy on insubordination should be flexible, as should the ramifications for employees' inappropriate behavior and actions. Overly restrictive policies typically suggest a verbal warning for the first occurrence, written disciplinary actions for subsequent incidents and termination for the final incident. The reality is that a policy like this may do more harm than good. Supervisors might feel they're being forced to penalize employees for even the slightest infraction. An overly restrictive policy also suggests that supervisors are infallible. If supervisors repeatedly file disciplinary actions, the supervisor's work directives may be problematic or unreasonable, both of which are matters that managers or HR leaders must explore. In all cases of work-related incidents, supervisors must be held accountable for their actions as well.

Alternatives

Instead of disciplining employees for the first time, providing corrective counseling that emphasizes the importance of mutual respect is an effective supervisory response. During corrective counseling, give the employee examples of alternative ways to respond to the supervisor's instructions. For example, encourage employees to ask for clarification of work directives instead of simply refusing to do the work, or ask the employee to act as supervisor in a role-playing exercise. This gives the employee an opportunity to be on the receiving end of insubordination and experience how disrespectful behavior hurts working relationships.