How Do You Deal With Defensive Employee Behavior?
Dealing with defensive employee behavior might actually improve the quality of work for well-behaved employees as well as other employees. The following techniques can be used with an employee who is acting defensive. But even though some people may be able to handle stress better than others, that does not mean they do not still feel defensive when they are criticized. Improve employee-manager relations by communicating openly, staying positive, respecting employees and giving them room to grow. Address the defensive behavior when it happens. Don’t wait until an hour or two later or schedule a special meeting to talk about it. Odds are, this will only make things worse. The employee is being defensive because he feels insulted and criticized. Giving him time to stew about the confrontation will only give him more time to justify his attitude before you have a chance to talk about it with him. Share how the defensive behavior affects you as the manager. For instance, it might be helpfu
