Labor Day advice | Keep your cool as work piles up

Anger in the workplace is almost inevitable, especially in a downturned economy with underpaid, overworked employees.

But before a worker throws his or her computer out the window, snaps at a manager or walks out on the job like JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater (who slid off his job down the airplane's emergency chute, beer in hand), training and development officials say there are some positive steps managers and employees can take to resolve conflicts.

Some local managers and employees are taking precautions to address any possible threat of violence in the workplace.

"With the economy, there is downsizing where people are asked to do more with less. ... It's going to create a lot of stress in the work place," said Tom Raub, president and founder of The Raub Group, a Myrtle Beach-based employee training and development firm that has worked with such organizations as Carolina Health Specialists and Full Steam Ahead Inc.

"Conflict within an organization is healthy, constructive conflict, not personal conflict," Raub said. "An organization should have an open, honest environment where people can say what they want to say.

"It is constructive conflict on ideas, and not an individual, that helps an organization move forward. Employees choose their attitude and how they respond to it."

Slater's response Aug. 9 - when the veteran flight attendant finally had enough after he said a passenger was excessively rude to him aboard a JetBlue flight - has become legendary.

He commandeered the public address system, according to news accounts, hurled profanities, grabbed a beer, deployed the emergency chute and slid into national fame.

But even though Slater's antics made him a hero to many, Joyce Hankins, director of corporate services in human resources at Carolina Health Specialists, said violence and harassment should never be tolerated.

The Myrtle Beach-based company has updated its policy and procedure on workplace violence and harassment, Hankins said, and each employee is made aware of it during orientation. She said the company's physicians are also trained on the policy, and anyone who violates it will get written up.

Before it reaches that point, she said, a manager would talk to an employee and try to empathize and defuse the situation.

Hankins suggests workers get physical exercise and eat and drink right to help relieve stress and anger.

"I exercise," Hankins said. "I go to the gym. It does work when in a stressful work situation. I also drink three gallons of water a day."

At Full Steam Ahead in Myrtle Beach, Barbara Ford, director of administration, said workers show respect for each other, communicate regularly and have teambuilding training where they learn each other's personality type.

"Most times, anger feeds off not understanding each other and a lack of communication," said Ford, who has worked at FSA for two years. "We're a smaller business, so it's easier to communicate with each other."

The Slater moment is one that most workers, particularly in customer service, hospitality or sales clerk positions, can relate to, but for Jordan Brock, a server at a local restaurant, walking it off and venting to co-workers is what works best.

"They understand as they have been through the same situations," said Brock, who also works at Sports Zone at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach.

Rick Kligman, owner of Klig's Kites at Barefoot Landing, said a couple of employees have had meltdowns and they no longer work there.

"In this environment, you can't afford to stay mad long," Kligman said. "You have to eliminate them from the scene or work it out."

Klig's Kite manager Derek Johnson said acting as a mediator between both parties involved helps resolve the situation.

"There's no benefit to me getting angry," said Johnson, who said he probably would deal with his own anger by asking for some breathing room. "I generally listen to the situation with both people involved after I remove them from the customer area. And if it doesn't get resolved, depending on staffing, I would send one home for a cooling down."

The Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.