Work Place Bullying
"Workplace Bullying: Haven't We all Grown Out of This?"
Michael Fryar
Bullying – the word brings an image of schoolyard fights, kids demanding lunch money, large kids picking on smaller children. While a common trope for movies and television shows, it’s an uncomfortable topic when it comes to adults. “Haven’t we all grown out of that?” “Adults can stand up for themselves, so why worry about it?” But we have taken steps to deal with some types of bullying from state statutes to internal school and company regulations.
Sexual harassment laws were specifically created to prevent a form of bullying based on a person’s gender. And employees and management all attend trainings, lectures and have printed materials detailing what is and isn’t, what can and can’t, what should and shouldn’t. But the core of sexual harassment, and similar laws, is that we believe that people have the right to go to work, do their jobs, and then head home without the stress of people threatening, harassing, or bothering them. Even if they are the customers.
But why is it that only a certain portion of the population should enjoy that protection, and then only under certain circumstances?
People have the right to go to work and not have to be subjected to the same treatment as they may have witnessed in the schoolyard at the age of 10. It is estimated that 1 in 4 adults will be the victim of bullying in the workplace, while still more will suffer similar effects as witnesses to the bullying.
For-profit companies have come to realize that bullying costs businesses billions of dollars a year in lost wages, hours, and staff turnover. It is not just the victims who are likely to quit, but the witnesses and bystanders are as stressed and as likely to move on. And it is not just fellow employees, but management as well that suffers if they are unable or unwilling to stop the bullying behaviors.
It’s easy to see an issue when your bottom line is impacted by the costs associated with turnover, training, morale and sick time all associated with a workplace bully. And even in the public sector where there is no competition, profit, or incentives – what is the motivation to deal with the issue?
One does not have to go far to find a worker with a horror story of out of control staff, a management team unwilling to act or take control over the bully. This causes increase turnover in departments which can leave the bully in charge as valuable, but frustrated, employees leave in a revolving door.
I represented a victim of sexual harassment that went through the process of filing a complaint with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO). The case proceeded through investigation and up to the point of a hearing. Despite video tape and eyewitness testimony of the bully's actions, the department was unwilling to punish the bully and wanted the victim to change positions and work location to accommodate the department because the bully was deemed to dangerous to work with.
This is not an uncommon situation. Management fears the bully more than any potential penalty blaming the victim. This usually works in management’s favor since the victim is likely to quit and leave rather than fight. After all, it’s easier to write a check than it is to confront a bully. Ultimately it took the hearing officer letting the agency know how large a check the department would have to write to finally get them to take action. They transferred (not fired) the harasser to a new location. And only threats of a retaliation claim could move the department to block the harasser from coming back to the premises after the transfer to finally stop the harassment.
Unions are beginning to respond to membership complaints about bullying. While there is an attempt to address the issue through contract language, there is pushback from management and a lot of the time it becomes identification without teeth. After all, it is just easier to give the bully what they want rather than address the needs of the victim.
The idea that the victim must be weak is outrageous. I am a trained combat military police officer (think SWAT with a really large budget), trained to work with a fire team of four soldiers in the most hostile of combat environments. I am also a litigator who has had to sit across from a parent and explain to them why I was going to fight to terminate their parental rights. I have been in some bone chillingly hostile situations. But I was a victim of bullying in the public sector workplace
There is a stark difference between being in a threatening environment when you are part of a team, and an environment where you are isolated and targeted by a bully while those responsible for keeping you safe retaliate against you for seeking an end to the harassment. In combat you are surrounded by people who protect you. A bully isolates and demeans you while management and fellow employees enable the bully by not reacting.
Just like that child who is lying on the ground, under a bully, looking around at the crowd to see no one meet their eyes, no one moving to help, bullying in the workplace has that same emotional impact. You are alone and there is no one who will help you. Worse, there are people in responsible positions who will lash out at you rather than take on the bully.
And just as that lack of intervention is empowering to the bully in the schoolyard, the adult bully is even more empowered by the awareness of what they can get away with.
The adult victim has more to lose than pride in front of peers. The fear of losing a job, an inability to pay bills or provide for a family is profound. The damage to reputation for quitting, for forgoing opportunities, or even the shame at being demeaned in public and those fellow employees who stand around…staring…watching…glad that it is not them, glad that the bully has a target, and angry that the victim would dare look to them for help that would put them at risk for losing everything as well.
If you’re having trouble with a climate issue, up to and including a bullying incident, it is better to seek help early rather than run the risk of greater exposure and legal trouble at some point. Having a consultant on call to assist with document review, training, or individual incident mediation can help you to deal with the issues and relieve the stress.
Schedule your assessment at : www.quincunxconsulting.org
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