Bullying Moves from Playground to Workplace

Bullying may be a fact of life on the playground, but in the workplace it is costly and soon may be illegal.

While “bullying” specifically is not addressed in current employment laws, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 permits relief for protected classes based on a theory of a “hostile work environment.” Federal courts have not yet extended the hostile work environment doctrine to include bullying conduct based on characteristics other than those in a protected class.

The avenue usually taken by employees seeking relief for abusive treatment in the workplace has been the state common law tort claim of intentional infliction of emotional duress. In the past, alleged victims have had a difficult time winning those cases. This is about to change. Legislators in 13 states have introduced antibullying workplace laws. These include California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Washington.

Smart companies can’t wait for the enactment of new laws to tackle this issue. Why? Because the future of your business could be at stake.

It’s been said that bullying is the sexual harassment of 20 years ago, everybody knows about it, but nobody wants to do anything about it.

According to the Workplace Bullying and Trauma Institute, workplace bullying is “the repeated mistreatment of one or more employees with a malicious mix of humiliation, intimidation and sabotage of performance.” Like childhood bullying, workplace bullies use aggressive or unreasonable behavior to get their way.

Bullying can exist at any level of an organization. Bullies can be superiors, subordinates, co-workers or colleagues. The typical “bully” tends to target those who are less powerful than they are, or anyone whom they see as a rival in the workplace, whether for position or social standing. Bullying behavior ranges from aggressive screaming, yelling, threatening, intimidating, making unreasonable job demands, to personal insults, spreading rumors, criticizing and humiliating targeted victims. Other forms of bullying include treating others as if they are invisible, taking credit for the work of others and excluding targeted employees from meetings and relevant information. Most bullies use a variety of these tactics. However, very few resort to violence because they know that could cost them their jobs.

There are no significant gender differences in those who choose to “bully” in the workplace. It seems to be equally shared among the sexes. Women tend to be the target slightly more often than men. However, males are more likely to bully other males and females tend to bully other females.

We’ve all been temporary bullies for a moment, due to stress or having a bad day, but this is very different from an individual who is persistently nasty, negative and demeaning.

Bennett Tepper, a well-known researcher of psychological abuse in the workplace defines bullying as “the sustained display of hostile verbal and nonverbal behavior, excluding physical contact.”

According to recent studies, bullying in the workplace is three times as prevalent as illegal discrimination and occurs at least 1,600 times as often as workplace violence.

A recent study by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs found that approximately 36% of their employees reported “persistent hostility” from co-workers and or supervisors at least once per week. Nearly 20% admitted being “bothered” by it and felt their work performance was affected by it.

Bullying breeds an atmosphere of fear and mistrust. The target—as well as bystanders—experience feelings of helplessness and a lack of control.

Aside from a moral obligation to provide a civilized workplace, allowing bullies to thrive in an organization affects the bottom line. Long-term costs include increased healthcare expenses, rising absenteeism, reduced productivity due to lower employee morale, higher turnover costs and a diminished public image that makes it harder to recruit talent—not to mention the significant legal costs and management time associated with handling internal complaints, preparing for and attending court cases, etc.

First, have a written policy that prohibits bully-type activities in the workplace. This can often be included in your general equal-opportunity policy. Take complaints seriously. Handle bullying complaints just as you would any other discriminatory activity.

Second, provide training to all employees about the importance of treating others at all levels of the organization with dignity and respect. Give more extensive training to supervisors and managers. Let managers know they are held accountable for ensuring that they do not allow bullying to take place in their departments. Additionally, provide training and encourage constructive confrontation in the workplace. The right kind of friction can drive performance. It should be focused on finding the truth—not on putting people down.

Third, quit ignoring and rewarding those who bully other employees. Many managers who use bullying tactics are viewed as effective and are rewarded for their “take no prisoners” style of leadership. Identify those who persistently leave others feeling demeaned and de-energized. Train them, reform them, and help them change their behavior. If that’s not possible, you may need to dismiss them. If you fail to eliminate bullies in your workplace, they may be all you have left.

Lastly, operating a bully-free workplace starts at the top. Top management sets the tone for the whole organization. Like children on a playground, your employees not only hear what you say, they watch what you do. TR

Kelly Saliba, SPHR, is corporate human resource director for Economy Linen & Towel Service Inc., Dayton, OH. She also chairs TRSA’s Human Resources Committee. Contact her at 740/454-6888 or ksaliba@economylinen.com.