Not Listening at Work Can Be a Pain in the Mouth

During a session of the Upper House’s constitutional affairs commission in Argentina this week, legislator Graciela Camano hit talkative lawmaker Carlos Kunkel on the mouth. Is this a reasonable resolution to a budget argument? Not really.

Aggression is an all-too-real component of human nature, so of course it exists in the workplace.  Because these feelings can be hard to tolerate–in yourself or in others–it may be helpful to work towards:

1. How you can channel aggressive feelings more productively, and
2. How we all might prevent frustration on the job from turning into rage.

We can relate to what Camano must have felt leading up to that slap: anger, competition, disappointment, frustration and resentment–a veritable cornucopia of unpleasant emotions. While it’s difficult to manage such feelings from workday to workday, physical assault is never an acceptable solution. Unless you’re a professional boxer, natch.

So what’s a workable solution?

In the video, it appears that neither Camano nor Kunkel is listening to the other. Camano stated she’s “been putting up with him all year long” and that “he is always attacking” her, which suggests they may not have a history of listening to each other.

Because budget-related issues often underscore complex, ideological questions, all lawmakers involved in the Upper House’s constitutional affairs commission could benefit from improving their active listening skills.

Have you lost control of yourself at work? What prompted you, and what resulted?