I'd upset employees, giving stick (7)
I believe the answer is:
distaff
'stick' is the definition.
(distaff is a kind of stick)
'i'd upset employees' is the wordplay.
'upset' is a reversal indicator.
'employees' becomes 'staff' (I've seen this before).
'id' backwards is 'di'.
'di'+'staff'='DISTAFF'
'giving' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for distaff that I've seen before include "(referring to the women)" , "Rod for flax - not the spear side" , "Female - rod on which wool or flax is wound before spinning" , "Characteristic of or peculiar to a woman" , "What holds spinning tow" .)