Insubordination

What is Insubordination?

Insubordination implies deliberate non-compliance with or defiance of superiors placed in a hierarchical structure, such as a workplace. It can be seen in different ways, such as insubordination to the management, disregarding the company policies and procedures, open opposition, and disrespectful behavior towards the supervisors and colleagues. Insubordination tears down a chain of command, disturbs the harmony and degrades an organization's trust. For example, it may develop conflicts of dissatisfaction among employees and, ultimately, affect a person's work productivity and culture. Employers deal with cases of insubordination by providing disciplinary actions, which may include verbal warnings, written reprimands, suspension, or dismissal, depending on the seriousness of the offense and the organization's policies. The neat communication of expectations, the equitable enforcement of rules, and the promotion of mutual respect and responsibility are indispensable for insubordination at work.

Example

An instance of insubordination in the workplace is when a supervisor tells an employee to accomplish a certain project by a particular deadline. Then the same employee is going to decline to follow the instructions, without giving a justifiable explanation. Despite persistent prodding and making several efforts to resolve the problem, the worker still ignores the supervisor and openly disputes his command in front of other staff. This incompetence not only weakens the leadership of supervisors but also destabilizes the workflow and teamwork in the workplace. After allowing the employee to improve through coaching and counseling, the employee continues with their disobedience, negatively impacting the work environment and employee's morale. At a certain point, disciplinary measures and reconciliatory efforts have been exhausted, and the ultimate step would be dismissing the employee to safeguard the organization's standards and productivity.