Workplace Bullying—Prevention Takes Management Commitment

Recently, we interviewed Catherine Mattice Zundel, a consultant, author, speaker and adviser to companies on a range of human-resource issues, particularly efforts to combat employee bullying that can lead to a range of problems, including low morale, high turnover, workplace disruptions and—in extreme cases—violence.

While a certain level of conflict is inevitable in any work setting, managers at all levels must be vigilant in order to minimize the problems that arise when staff members or managers disrespect co-workers. The tipping point between kidding or jokes that sometimes shift to workplace bullying are usually not difficult to spot. The problem in many workplaces, says Zundel, is that managers either are unaware of, or are reluctant to intervene in employee disputes. “Conflict certainly can escalate into bullying if one person is engaging in behavior that keeps the power tipped in their favor,” she says. “One problem I see is that a lot of managers do not address that type of behavior because they don’t know how. They may also be conflict-avoidant. They might be a little afraid of this person too.”

What’s more, workplace conflicts may not trigger the response that, say, incidents of sexual harassment would in a manager who’s versed in a company’s human-resource policies. Instead, they may figure that employees—like bickering siblings—will work out problems on their own. The problem is they may not, and that can hurt your business. Zundel recommends prompt interventions in such situations. “The answer is managers need to learn to help employees resolve conflict and be mediators,” she says. “That manager should meet with each side separately, find out their side of the story, help each side find solutions, and stay involved until the conflict is resolved.”

Like any management commitment, intervention in employee bullying works best when the company’s top leadership makes it clear that it won’t tolerate such behavior. That means companies should consider incorporating mutual respect among staff members as part of its mission statement; then follow through with strict enforcement. While helpful, training on resolving workplace conflicts and bullying isn’t enough, especially if top management isn’t serious about the idea. “The problem with training is that organizations rely on it where it’s like, ‘OK, you’ve been through a civility training; now you’re going to be civil.’” Zundel says. “It doesn’t work that way. Training is just an event where a trainer transfers information. The training has to be supported by their culture.” In other words, unless workplace respect is part of a company’s “core values,” seminars on it are of limited value. “Core values really are meant to be an internal guiding document for how to behave,” Zundel says. “If one of your core values is respect, then maybe do a training on respect, but training is just one piece of a much larger process.”

That broader effort should include not only close scrutiny of employee disputes, but also the questioning of employees in review settings. Business operators can enhance the value of these sessions by encouraging managers to show respect for employees at all times. In yearly (or, ideally, more frequent reviews), employers should focus on positive developments by staff. Where negative issues are present, such as high absenteeism, a focus on queries—rather than accusations—is likely to generate better results. Zundel calls for a “paradigm shift” on performance reviews to make them more like coaching sessions aimed at helping employees improve the quality of their work. “If you have a coaching conversation around performance, it’s less likely that someone would come out of that feeling attacked,” Zundel says.

A similar approach can help employers identify job candidates who may have bullying tendencies. Zundel suggests asking prospective hires about employee disagreements in past jobs, or if they ever felt disrespect for a co-worker and why, and how they resolved it. Of course, any such questions should steer clear of personal characteristics such as race or sexual preferences that might trigger discrimination claims. “Sometimes, people volunteer that kind of information,” Zundel says, adding that, “The less you know about that type of stuff, the better.” To learn more, tune into Zundel’s June 5 TRSA webinar on workplace bullying. For details, go to www.trsa.org/events/webinars.

Jack Morgan
Senior Editor
jmorgan@trsa.org § @trsa_jackm