Workplace Bullying

Definition of Workplace Bullying

Bullying at work is the repeated, health or career endangering mistreatment of one employee, by one or more employees.  The mistreatment is a form of psychological violence and is often a mix of verbal and strategic insults preventing the target from performing work well. 

The problems of Workplace Bullying

• Litigation is not effective
• Few laws regarding it
• Difficulty in building the case
• Some bullies have the attitudes of “so sue me” due to the difficulties in building a case
• Employers can outspend and outlast lone plaintiffs
• Financial jeopardy for the target due to the high legal costs
• The payoff due to bulling wins are relatively low and often do not justify the costs of litigation

• Poor support for the targets
• It is up to the person being bullied to address it on their own
• Many companies look for bulling amongst the workers, but most bullying actually comes from management

The cost of bullying

82% of targets feel they have to leave their jobs   *The Bully at Work, Gary and Ruth Namie
When employees voluntarily leave their job, 50% of them have done so due to issues with their supervisor

Steps to solve bullying:

1. Understand the bully
• Chronic bullies – people who identify that bullying is a part of their nature, and do not perceive a need to change their actions
• Opportunist bullies – competitive people who are interested in making career gains even though it may involve stepping on other people
• Accidental bullies – bullying caused by social ineptness and lack of awareness. 
• Substance abusing bullies – people whose social interactions are impaired by their dependence on artificial stimulants

2. Identify the type of bullying
• Unrealistic job demands
• Unreasonable criticism
• Creating an inconsistent or unfair work environment
• Not giving credit where it is due
• Insults, putdowns, yelling, screaming, and other abusive behavior

3. Document the instances of bullying in detail
• Document specifics, time and date
• Identify allies
• Determine code violations

4. Determine a plan to resolve the bullying
• Request a meeting time where you can confront the bully in a professional setting
• Seek assistance from senior management.
• Seek third party mediation
• Seek legal advice
• Get medical attention
• Establish and protect boundaries
• Do not blame yourself
• Solicit witness statements
• Follow internal complaint processes

5. Communicate the problems with the bully or two levels of management higher than the bully

• Taking the bully on directly at work may have undesired or unpredictable consequences for the target
• In many cases, the bully may be seen by management as “getting the job done”
• complaining about the bullying may draw repercussions against the target rather than the bully.

When a target reports bullying in the workplace:

*WBTI Research (2003)

The Anonymous Option

When communicating with either the bully about their actions, or with management, it may be suggested to remain anonymous so that you have a greater sense of the outcome without needing to endanger your position. 

• Communicate anonymously to the bully at AnonymousEmployee.com
• Communicate anonymously with the bully’s boss at AnonymousEmployee.com to determine how much support they may be willing to offer
• Suggest better employment practices
• Determine cost to company of downtime/turnover

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