In life and at work, due to the different characters of our co-workers, we can encounter manifestations of verbal aggression almost every day. By becoming either its recipient or, very often, under the influence of an impulse, also a sender of the moment. Aggression is behavior that is directed and intentional, externally or internally, intended to cause physical or mental harm.

At work, as recipients, we experience various degrees of verbal aggression: from simple insults and biting remarks to vulgar rudeness, we are exposed to contact with „tyrants”. Senders can be bosses, co-workers or clients. Verbal aggression is expressed primarily through epithets, malice, ironic remarks or verbal manipulations aimed at achieving the intended goal, i.e. psychological harm. Such statements are often accompanied by invasive forms of emotional and motor expression, such as: screaming, pressing the body, waving hands in front of the face, grimacing and facial expressions, and often also shortening the personal distance to „standing eye to eye” „face to face”. The causes of aggression are various, including:

• injustice – when, for example, we feel that we are treated unequally;
• frustration – when we are unable to complete the task;
• insult – when we feel attacked, insulted or when someone makes us feel uncomfortable;
• loss of control – when we believe that we have lost control of ourselves or a given situation.

The basic rules for responding to verbal aggression are:

• Never play the role of a victim. Taking on the role of someone poor, weak, and scared generally increases the aggressiveness of the other party.
• Be consistent. In order not to explode into aggression, you need to be assertive and do it consistently. This means that when someone behaves rudely and aggressively towards us:
  • firstly, he must be informed about it.
  • in the second stage, you should express your irritation by changing the tone of your voice to a more assertive one (e.g. You are disturbing me. It really annoys me!).
  • thirdly, we announce what we will do if the interlocutor does not change his behavior.
  • the fourth stage is to take the announced actions.
• Use pro-assertive sentences: „I have the right to take care of my dignity”; „I have the right to defend myself against aggression”; „I have the right to oppose rudeness and brutality.”

Source:https://www.seka.pl/jak-sobie-radzic-z-agresja-w-pracy/

Supported by Norway through Norway Grants 2014-2021, in the frame of the Programme “Social Dialogue – Decent Work”.