Negative Metacommunications In the past few months, Rhamel has frequently called in sick to work. He has received medical treatment for a respiratory infection, but the infection continues to reoccur. He has missed several important deadlines and his

Question

sick leave is dwindling quickly. Rhamel's supervisor has been patient and supportive through this illness, but other employees have recently been asked to handle Rhamel's work in addition to their own workload. Co-workers have started to feel resentful and this is evident in their nonverbal communication with Rhamel when he is at work. Give two examples of negative metacommunication and three examples of kinesic messages that coworkers may communicate to Rhamel that express their frustration and resentment.

Answer 1

Metacommunication examples can include comments such as:

"Maybe you should go to another doctor who might solve this problem.".
"You need to take better care of yourself so that you are more resistant to sickness.".
"Maybe you could do some of your work at home when you can't come to the office.".

These kinds of statements imply criticism of Rhamel's choice of his doctor, overall level of fitness, and other important choices he has made about his work and job.

Kinesic messages from disgruntled co-workers could include the following:

Visual--frowns, avoiding eye contact, ignoring Rhamel, and not engaging in friendly conversation.
Vocal--sarcasm, unfriendly tone, terse verbal exchange of job-related information. No expressed interest in Rhamel's physical condition and prolonged illness.