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The workplace bully and the bottom line

If your workplace tolerates bullying, recent court cases suggest your organization could be sued and found guilty of harassment. Not only is your organization at risk, worker productivity and morale can be seriously impacted by a toxic culture.

In a high profile case, an employee's doctor advised her to take sick leave from her job in Merritt, British Columbia. She wasn't eating or sleeping, was constantly on the verge of tears and was suffering from depression. She was, in her own words, "terrified to come to work." The cause of her condition was the treatment she was receiving from her boss. She claimed he was verbally abusing her, complaining about her to other staff, undermining her ability to do her job and had even blocked her transfer to another unit. The woman sued, claiming her superior was psychologically harassing her. The British Columbia Supreme Court agreed, ruling that the boss was a workplace bully, guilty of inflicting mental suffering.

Decades ago, an employee who simply didn't fit with his or her boss's "management style" would likely have resigned, been fired or advised to grow a "thicker skin." But today, researchers like such as Gary Namie, cofounder of the Workplace Bullying & Trauma Institute, have identified such behavior as psychological violence -- a form of torment that differs from physical violence in degree only. Namie and many others have clearly shown that workplace bullies -- as bullies do in school and at home -- can poison an environment and wreak serious consequences.

"Bullying contributes to a myriad of stress-related problems in victims such as depression, severe anxiety, sleep disturbance, concentration problems, panic attacks, lack of motivation, exhaustion and even post-traumatic stress disorder," says Joanna Stefan, a trauma consultant with Ceridian LifeWorks Canada.

And so today, the courts are finding more and more employers guilty of workplace bullying -- and more and more organizations are taking seriously their responsibility to ensure a harassment-free workplace.

What is workplace bullying? How do you recognize it in your organization?
Workplace bullying can be difficult to identify. Bullies cross all boundaries of gender, race and roles within an organization. A worker or group of workers might harass a colleague, a manager might harass a subordinate, and a subordinate might harass his or her superiors. The harasser might also come from outside the organization in the form of a customer, a user, a supplier or a visitor.

Targets of bullying often remain silent due to feelings of shame or humiliation or because they feel there's nothing they can do. Employees who witness attacks may do nothing because they fear for their own jobs. Psychological harassment can also take the form of cyber-bullying -- out of sight on Web sites, blogs, chat rooms or social-networking sites such as Facebook.

It's important for employers to recognize a long list of bullying behaviors, which can include:

• Any behavior -- screaming, yelling, abusive language or cursing -- purposely designed to intimidate an individual and make them feel uncomfortable.
• Obvious and not-so-obvious personal attacks in the form of sarcasm, rumors, gossip, unfounded or unreasonable criticism or misleading innuendo. It can take place with or without the employee being present.
• Undermining an employee by unreasonably taking away job responsibilities or, conversely, by overloading an employee with an unreasonable amount of work or setting impossible deadlines.
• Undermining an employee by purposefully ignoring or excluding him or her from work-related activities, by intentionally withholding vital information or providing inaccurate information.
• Manipulating co-workers against the victim.
• Sabotaging the employee by altering reports, removing needed files, etc.
• Spying or stalking.

What are the costs to your organization?
Over the years, settlements for workplace harassment have become increasingly more common. Companies have been ordered to pay individuals tens of thousands of dollars in lost wages, along with hundreds of thousands in damages and penalties.

• In 2002, an Ontario Supreme Court judge ruled that an employee working for a winery was treated by his boss in a way that was "hostile, aggressive, profane, demeaning and intimidating." The judge awarded the employee a year's salary of $75,000, as well as a nearly $20,000 in damages.
• More recently, a judge ordered Honda Canada to pay $1.2 million to an employee the company had treated unjustly and fired. The sum comprised lost wages, a $500,000 penalty, and the plaintiff's legal bill of more than $600,000.

But as high as court-awarded fines and settlements have become, the cost of workplace bullying runs even deeper. Such onerous behavior can create a poisonous work environment that only becomes more toxic if ignored.

Resentment, aggression and poor working relationships can reduce the productivity of everyone directly or indirectly involved. Victimized employees can require leaves of absence or long-term disability or can leave organizations entirely. And since some harassment is aimed at talented employees who are perceived by others as a threat to their own status, it can mean the loss of valuable people. Even those not directly victimized may feel intimidated and unhappy in such a toxic environment, and morale and retention can plummet while absenteeism, short-term leaves and prescription drug costs soar. Word spreads and an organization may find it increasingly difficult to attract talented new employees and may even find its reputation sullied to the point that customers choose to do business with a competitor.

Consider these figures:

• Victims spend up to half their day trying to protect themselves from further harassment.
• Eighty-two percent of victims leave their jobs due to harassment.
• Twenty-one percent of all workers have been targeted by bullies.
• Bullying is three times more prevalent than sexual harassment.

What should your organization do to eliminate bullying?
Workplace bullying affects the bottom line and well-being of your most valuable asset: your workforce. That's why you should do everything possible to ensure a harassment-free work environment, including:

• Create and implement policies that clearly deal with psychological harassment and include guidelines, employee rules of conduct and clearly defined consequences for offenders. Policies should include an anonymous and confidential complaint process, along with a fair and thorough protocol for investigating grievances.
• Build awareness in your organization with training sessions and workshops. Likewise, develop healthy and productive behaviors along with interpersonal and communications skills. Training can include topics such as Effective Communication and Problem Solving, Team Building,
• How Managers Can Motivate and Encourage, What is Workplace Bullying? and Essential Qualities of Leadership.
• Follow rigorous and careful hiring practices and exercise care in checking references.
• Be alert for signs of problems in individual departments by reviewing turnover, absenteeism, changes in performance, short-term disability leaves, early retirement or transfer requests, and difficulty in keeping positions filled.
• Ensure leaders personally check in with all departments and frontline workers regularly, including informal conversations with staff.
• Conduct meaningful exit interviews to identify problems and patterns.

In addition, as researchers like Namie have shown, workplace bullies thrive in organizations characterized by an unrelenting focus on bottom-line and short-term gains. They can be more prevalent at companies with authoritarian leaders who lack true leadership skills.

"Build a positive, inspiring, creative and empowering corporate culture and the bullies will back down," says Stefan.

What to do if you are being bullied?
First and foremost, the law is on your side and employers are obligated to act.

Consider taking the following steps:
Understand what kind of bully you're dealing with.

• Chronic bullies -- bullying is a part of their nature and they do not perceive a need to change their actions.
• Opportunist bullies -- competitive, ambitious people whose desire for career advantage outweighs the feelings or career aspirations of others.
• Accidental bullies -- usually caused by social ineptness and lack of awareness.
• Substance-abusing bullies -- social interactions are impaired by their dependence on substances.

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
• Undermining your job performance

Document the instances of bullying in detail.

• Document specifics, times and dates.
• Identify allies and witnesses to bullying behavior.
• Understand your company's harassment policies and code of conduct as well as the laws in your province or state.

Determine a plan to resolve the bullying.

• Begin by requesting a meeting where you can confront the bully in a professional setting. The bully may be unaware of the effects of his or her behavior and a meeting may make it clear that you will not continue being victimized. Retain your professionalism, remain calm, keep your voice low and simply state your case.
• If a meeting does not work or you do not wish to confront the bully, seek help from your manager and/or HR representative.
• In some cases, the bully may be seen by management as "getting the job done" and complaining about the bullying may draw repercussions against the target rather than the bully. In her book, Taming the Beast: Getting Violence Out of the Workplace, Canadian organizational consultant Frema Engel claims that certain workplace cultures support and foster abusive behaviors because of restrictive structures and practices. "Violence exists because many workplaces are tough, competitive environments with an organizational culture that condones or supports violence," she writes. "Ambitious people are admired, even those who are ruthless. Abusive, aggressive, acting-out behaviors, mainly in the form of verbal or psychological abuse, are often equated with toughness, determination and power, all essential ingredients for success. Equating abusive behavior with success makes this conduct acceptable and even respectable."
• If your company refuses to act and continues to turns a blind eye to bullying behaviors, seek legal advice.
• Take care of yourself. Seek medical attention and/or support from your employee assistance program and do not blame yourself for being victimized.

Ceridian LifeWorks offers employee assistance programs
Ceridian offers employee assistance programs that support employees and managers on a wide range of issues, including bullying in the workplace. EAP services provide employers and their employees with:

• 24/7 access to trained clinicians for emotional support
• Online resources
• Educational materials
• Management consultations
• Training
• On-site support

To learn more about how we can help your organization, contact your Ceridian representative.

This article first appeared in the July 2008 issue of Ceridian Canada's HR Specialist newsletter. It is reprinted here courtesy of Ceridian Canada.

Sources:
Workplace Bullying Institute - bullyinginstitute.org/
Namie, G. and R. Namie. (2004). "Workplace bullying: How to address America's silent epidemic." Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal. 8, 2.