Any Unison members/local Govt employees here?

[MarianneSolong]

... because I'd like a bit of feedback re a work-related problem.

I'm a Unison member & local govt worker.

Hi Pinky, it's been a long day and I'm going to try and clarify things with my line manager tomorrow.

Basically a problem with an abusive service user - a specific disability caused him to behave in a very aggressive way including saying f* off and calling me a c**t repeatedly.

I was effectively left alone to deal with this person, had no back-up and the conversation with senior staff when the problem was flagged up was about the need to behave in a non-discriminatory way.

I had been courteous to the service user throughout, but felt frightened by his manner and words. Although more experienced staff were present in the area where I working they did not come to support me and one colleague commented afterwards that he'd found the situtation 'funny.'

I'm a low paid worker and had been told not to challenge difficult clients myself - because was the job of more experienced colleagues to sort these situations out. However, though the overall manager was made aware of the problem, rather than coming out to witness the situation or intervene she chose to hide in her office.

I'm sorry you've had such a difficult day.

When you say "his disability caused him to behave" do you mean this is something he had no control over? I'm assuming so. Is this a role/post that is new to you? Your OP reads as though you kind of expected this kind of situation might come up but that, when it actually did, it didn't pan out as you imagined because you were left on your own? Was it also worse than you had imagined? Or different?

There are a few things here aren't there?

There's the fact that you had believed you would be given help/support and this wasn't forthcoming - so it is worth asking what you would need to do in future to flag the fact that you need immediate support with a situation.

There's the fact that your colleague was being a bit of an arse - presumably lacking the awareness to see that you were struggling? Is there some kind of way that other colleagues attract attention to the fact that they need help/intervention from other members of staff? I'm guessing that if you are in a lower scale role you maybe don't feel comfortable telling him he was an arse?? Are you going to ask your line manager to raise it with him?

Also, it sounds as though your feelings haven't been acknowledged at all by your colleagues or your line manager? Sometimes that happens when workplaces develop a culture of baptism by fire. Is that what happened here - it's a horrible and clumsy meanness that can arise when people feel that they were left to struggle in the same situation so they pass on the baton. If that's the case it is a completely unacceptable way to behave.

I think it's really important to raise all this with your line manager - maybe ask what training is available to you as well (in dealing with conflict, threatening situations etc.). What opportunities do you have to offload about difficult clients/situations?

As a final thought - what policies exist in your workplace about harassment, threats, violence etc.?

I hope your conversation with your line-manager goes well. I know that kind of thing is hard to do - maybe write some notes before you go in, in case you find yourself getting upset and forget everything you need to say?

Thanks so much Pinky. That's such a good, clear analysis. I've got some detailed notes, which I'll take with me tomorrow.

I believe the service user had Tourette's in a form which includes what's known as coprolalia, was under stress and had not been taking medication.

I've been working in this role for a year (very) part-time and although quite a lot of service users are 'challenging', this is the situation which has got to me most. I was also with the two colleagues who - for different reasons - were least likely to be proactive.

The point re training etc gets to the heart of it. Essentially cuts have meant a) there's almost no training and b) what there is goes to full-time staff even though a raft of part-time posts have been created as part of 'efficiency savings'. There's a policy re aggression, abuse etc being unacceptable - it's displayed on the wall! - but in this instance my sense was that management were more fearful about doing anything that could result in accusations of being discriminatory than about taking care of staff.

Oh god that cuts thing is so familiar!

Have you had opportunities to watch experienced staff dealing with the same situation? Expecially if this is a regular client? Do your colleagues have a particular approach that helps the service user to feel calm (which would then lead to reduction in stress/symptoms)?

Do you know exactly what it was about this situation that was particularly hard for you? Was it the language he was using? Were there specific things that made you feel vulnerable? It would be really useful if you could think about what some of those issues might have been, so you can be very clear with your line manager about what you need. Always good to go into a conversation like this with a clear sense of what you're asking for.

Workers who provide services for vulnerable, yet often challenging, clients walk a difficult line - a situation can still be experienced as being abusive when the client has not intended that outcome, or did not have the power to behave differently. That's another reason structured offloading/supervision/debriefing is so important.

I'm off to bed soon - expect you are too, you've had a crappy day - but I'll be thinking of you tomorrow. Drop in and tell me how it went if you gat a chance.