Wilma, a certified nursing assistant with ten years of experience, has been working at the local county hospital for the past two years. Although she was smiling and seemingly agreeable when instructed by the house supervisor to give the newly admitted patient in room 415 a shower, she purposely failed to complete the task at any time during the 12-hour shift. When confronted by the nursing supervisor, Wilma meekly responded, "I forgot. I'm sorry." The intended purpose of this article is to assist in identifying passive-aggressive behavior.
NursesRelationsArticle
Most of us have had the unfortunate, bitter experience of working with someone who has displayed passive-aggressive traits. This type of coworker almost always assumes the role of the workplace victim while failing to complete the workload effectively. They always conjure up excuses to explain why something did not get done. Although the passive-aggressive individual might have a smile on his/her face, negativity oozes from every pore on his/her body. In a nutshell, nobody likes to work with this type of person.
Passive-aggressive behavior is a pattern of indirectly expressing negative feelings instead of openly addressing them (Hall-Flavin, 2011). 'Passive-aggressive' is a term that's often used to describe someone who retaliates in a subtle way rather than speaking his mind (Rodriguez, 2011).
There's a disconnect between what a passive-aggressive person says and what he or she does (Hall-Flavin, 2011). So instead of verbally or physically expressing frustration or anger-or even simply saying "no" when asked to complete a task-someone described as passive-aggressive might simply act agreeable but then not follow through with completing the task (Rodriguez, 2011).
Signs and symptoms of passive-aggressive behavior include:
Purposely forgetting to complete tasks
Blaming others for one's own personal issues
Constant whining and sulking
Purposely procrastinating when asked to so something
Complaining that all the coworkers are 'out to get me'
Inefficient, sloppy approach to their work
Secretly resents those with authority over them
Sabotaging other peoples' hard work
Losing important papers on purpose
Insisting that they are overworked
Passive-aggressive coworkers almost never openly disagree or express their displeasure
However, their actions and behaviors strongly suggest that they are disregarding a demand that has been made of them. Fortunately, a handful of techniques exist for dealing with the passive-aggressive coworker. Here are some rules of thumb for dealing with this type of person:
Maintain a paper trail
Keep a written record of every conversation you have with them about about 'forgetting' to do what is asked of them. The written record is important because passive-aggressive people will deny that anyone ever talked to them.
Call the person out on their behavior
Do not permit the coworker to be dishonest and keep 'forgetting' to do things. Question them on why they keep procrastinating, forgetting, or outright failing to do things.
Maintain your composure
Remain calm when the passive-aggressive coworker whines that things are not going his way. Do not react when the person turfs the blame on someone else. Misery loves company, so do not feed the troll.
Draw attention to the contrast between what they say and what they do. Explain to the passive-aggressive coworker that you're wondering why they promised to do something but did not keep his/her word.
Set up clear boundaries
Be straightforward about the type of behavior that you will and will not tolerate. Enforce these boundaries to ensure that the passive-aggressive coworker takes you seriously.
The passive-aggressive coworker is a frustrating challenge for even the most seasoned person. Constantly dealing with someone who routinely does not keep his/her word can seem like an uphill battle. However, clear communication fosters professional relationships between coworkers, so it is important to communicate with the passive-aggressive person on a regular basis. You cannot change the passive-aggressive coworker, but you can change the manner in which they treat you.
