Angry Supervisors -- How to Respond to Them

Suppose it's an extremely busy day at work. You've got a pile of paperwork to process, or a long list of customers to contact or visit, or many service calls to make, or a huge project to tackle. You're going about your day, trying to get as much as possible accomplished and to do a good job at it. Suddenly your supervisor approaches you with a scowl on his or her face, pointing out that an error had been made the previous day which created all sorts of problems for many people, and blaming you for having made the error. Your supervisor shouts, "This isn't a kindergarten! Stop playing around and do your work the way you're supposed to do it!" Several of your co-workers are standing around, watching this scene. You know that the error wasn't yours, because it involved a piece of work that a co-worker had performed. You feel angry over having been accused of something you didn't do, humiliated over having been dressed down in the open work space, disrespected because you have been a loyal employee who always tries to do your best, and disappointed that the co-worker responsible for the error is standing close by witnessing this episode but not owning up to it. What do you do?

Let's look at your options:

1. Shouting back at your supervisor that it wasn't your error.
2. Remaining silent, but slamming things around to show your anger.
3. Apologizing to your supervisor just to keep the peace and hoping the incident will blow over quickly.
4. Looking your supervisor in the eye (respectfully), acknowledging that an error had been made, and stating that you will do whatever is necessary to correct the problem.

Option 1 might cost you your job or a negative notation in your personnel file. Option 2 will perpetuate your supervisor's current impression that your behavior is childish. If you follow Option 3, you will ignore your own feelings about the situation, running the risk that they will "come out sideways" some time in the future.

Your best bet is Option 4, because it will not fuel your supervisor's current anger and it leaves the door open for you to express your feelings about the situation later. When things have cooled down, you will be able to speak with your supervisor privately, empathize with his or her anger over the error, and express your surprise over having been blamed because the error wasn't yours. If you do this respectfully, you can set the record straight and maybe even get an apology from the boss! It's even possible that in the future your supervisor will think twice about how to handle situations in which errors are discovered.