Alive HR

I’ve been floating around the pool at my tropcial hotel, reading the June, 2010 HR Magazine from SHRM. (This is a highly recommended way to read professional journals of all kinds, in case you’re wondering.)  Before leaving DC, I’d tabbed the article “Checking Passive Aggression: Refuse to be a Victim,” which I looked forward to reading, since I’ve known one or two passive aggressive co-workers in my time.

The author lists several characteristics of passive aggression and a handy sidebar offers a dozen ”tell tale signs.”

And then the article ends. I thumbed forward through the pages, puzzled, thinking surely there must be a mistake and  be more. But no, that was all.

I don’t about you, but I don’t need help recognizing passive aggression; that’s easy. What I need is help for my managers to deal with the behavior. By its very nature, it is slippery, difficult to pin down, it is easy to spot but harder to define, document or address; it is a pattern rather than a singular event, and often a very subtle yet damaging pattern at that.  And when you identify the pattern, they will deny it and refuse to take responsibility. It is frustrating, annoying and draining.

If the HR Magazine won’t help me on this issue, maybe my readers will. Whether as manager, co-worker or HR professional, what are your best tips for repsonding to passive aggressive behavior at work?