HR MANAGEMENT - What Are the Causes of Insubordination at the Workplace?

What Are the Causes of Insubordination at the Workplace?

by K.A. Francis, Demand Media

When an employee ignores a direct order, it pays to find out why before taking action.

Insubordination is an employee's disregard of an employer's request. Examples of insubordination are an employee's refusal, for non-for religious reasons, to work on his scheduled day off, ignoring a direct order, or a general disregard for the organization's rules. Not all insubordination is deliberate or calculated, however. There can be underlying circumstances behind the insubordination and it is wise for an organization to examine the reasons before taking action.

Personal Agendas

An employee with his own agenda will disobey a direct order if it will forward that agenda. The agenda could be to oust a supervisor so the employee can take over the position or it could be a more personal reason that only the employee understands. Whatever the reason, this type of insubordination can cause issues among all the employees if left unchecked.

Stress

Stress can cause an employee to act in an insubordinate fashion. The stress could be work-related--for example, the employee is doing the job of three people--or the stress could be personal in nature, causing him to become so overwhelmed that he simply cannot take on more tasks. This is usually a temporary situation, and with some understanding, coaching and perhaps an adjustment in the employee’s workload, the insubordination can be corrected without severe disciplinary action.

Work Environment

Intolerable work situations, if allowed to continue, will cause rebellion among employees. The problem could stem from issues with a supervisor or a co-worker or impossible job requirements. Before taking any sort of disciplinary action, it is imperative that the cause of the rebellion be located and corrected, especially if the insubordinate employee has been a valued member of the organization in the past.