There are many ways in which you might encounter escalating behavior at work. You may find people being aggressive, yelling, swearing, throwing items, posturing, or making threats to others. Very often, without de-escalation training, these situations can easily get out of hand and become a power struggle between those involved. If nothing is done to stop this behavior, it can escalate and become the normal way people interact with each other.
Actions that trigger this escalating behavior can be changed, but some steps must be taken to achieve this. It is important to identify how to intervene during an episode and determine what alternative behaviors can be recommended and put in place.
What are the typical phases of escalating behavior?
When coworkers display challenging behavior, it may include these phases:
Calm – At this stage, all parties are engaged in their own business and are responsive and cooperative with those around them.
Trigger – A stimulus sets off aggressive or unexpected behavior.
Agitation – Anxiety will begin to be felt, and there may be confrontation or withdrawal from the parties.
Peak – This is the climax of the incident. People’s behavior at this stage is out of control.
De-escalation – During this phase, the intensity of the negative behavior is reduced thanks to proper and timely intervention. Parties can start receiving training to reduce the frequency of these negative and harmful reactions.
Recovery – Parties that were involved in the incident return to a calm state, as they were before the incident.
What is the proper way of dealing with escalating behavior?
To prevent escalating behavior from becoming the norm in a work environment, it is important to build predictability into the group’s day by establishing a consistent routine with tasks that can be reviewed. However, it is also important to establish a process to manage escalation. This can include the following steps:
Identify the Issues
You know what issues have historically resulted in escalating behavior. Start by identifying them and documenting them. This way, project managers can be made aware of the potential for escalating behavior and be on the lookout for triggers.
Review the Issues
If you have identified the issues that end up being triggers, talk to the team members involved, make them aware of how these issues have turned into triggers for escalating behavior, and make them aware of their role in these incidents in the past.
Open Channels of Communication
Inform all team members that you are aware of the issues and what triggers them. Remind them that they can always come to you before the issue escalates once again. Reassure them that there are available communication channels before they need to resort to aggressive behavior.
Issue Resolution
There is nothing better than identifying the problem that causes these escalating issues because knowing what they are can help decide how each team member is expected to react if they reappear. Each employee will know what is expected of them during these trigger situations.
By taking your team members through this process, you can establish a much more cooperative work environment, make each team member take responsibility for their actions, and make them aware of the impact their escalating behavior has on others.
