We suggested further that, regardless
of the level of bullying, it is incumbent upon employers to recognize
the physical, psychological, and professional costs for victims, the
potential liability for managers, and the bottom line costs for their
own organization; these costs are literally incalculable.
In Part 1 we addressed the need for
employers to acknowledge the magnitude of workplace bullying, that
they consider the high cost of bullying in terms of human suffering
and their own bottom line. We also suggested that employers should
be pro-active, adopting a Zero Tolerance stance toward bullying in
their workplace. Part of the problem, addressed in Part 1 in the
tendency of many organizations to fail to notice bullying
behavior—sometimes even when it is brought to their attention by a
victim. Finally, Part 1 cautions organizations to be prepared for
resistance when they adopt substantial changes that are reflected in
new cultural patterns.
We begin Part 2 with a series of
admonitions, suggesting that employers pay attention legal issues,
employee relationships, training and education, focused anti-bullying
Policies and Procedures, and taking a systemic approach to eliminate
workplace bullying.
6. The Legal
Dimension: Tort Law/NIOSH/OSHA
At this writing, bullying victims have
relatively little legal redress unless they can prove that they have
been bullied because of their status as members of a protected class
(race, creed, color, national origin, ability/disability, age,
gender)
Nevertheless, bullying victims who do
not belong to this class can try to obtain legal redress by
contacting an attorney who will try to prove that the victim suffered
serious psychological or physical damage as a result of their
workplace experience.
Nevertheless, until the Healthy
Workplace Bill is enacted into law in your state, know that, bullying
victims do have some recourse to help Note that, as a part of civil
law, tort law is designed to help victims win compensation for any
lost wages, pain and suffering, medical bills and other related costs
if they have been damaged in the workplace. In addition, the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) considers
bullying as a form of workplace violence, which they define as “any
physical assault, threatening behavior or verbal abuse occurring in
the work setting.” The Occupational Health and Safety
Administration (OSHA) states that “employers have both a legal duty
and a moral obligation to provide a safe workplace. Under the General
Duty Clause of OSHA’s act is that employers are required to provide
their employees with a place of employment that is free from
recognizable hazards. This duty includes inspecting the workplace to
discover and correct any dangerous condition or hazard and to give
adequate warning of its existence. Further, this Clause has been
interpreted to mean that an employer has a legal obligation to
provide a safe workplace.
7. Don’t Tolerate (or Participate in)
Apparently “Consensual” Relationships
Although it is true that many people
meet the person they eventually marry in the workplace, it is also
true that many relationships come to a parting of the ways—sometimes
with positive feelings and sometimes with enmity. But whether the
individuals in such relationships stay together or not, there remains
a real possibility that an apparently consensual relationship between
a manager and a subordinate can later be proven to include a bullying
component which is likely to cause considerable liability for the
organization. Keep in mind that no relationship between people with
disparate power can be shown to be truly consensual.
That’s why, whether the couple walks
into the sunset together or not, there is a great deal of risk in an
employer tolerating romantic relationships between managers and their
subordinates. It makes sense for either the manager or the
subordinate to move on, either within or outside of the organization.
With workplace bullying being the
reality it is, the prudent response is for the employer to take
action to end even the perception that the subordinate is being
bullied to stay in the relationship.
8. Policy & Procedures
Every organization should have Policies
an Procedures that focus on eliminating workplace bullying. In
general, most Policies, whether focusing on harassment or
discrimination are straightforward boilerplate documents that can be
reconfigured for bullying prevention. The place where organizations
sometimes err is with their Procedures, which often cavalierly
suggest that victims complain to their manager (who may, in fact, be
the bully,) with senior officers or with the President. The problem
here is that 1) these individuals have intimidatingly high status and
2) that they have scarcely ever been taught how to respond
appropriately to a complainant. We suggest, therefore, that there be
carefully selected and well-trained employees to whom complainants
can report. When possible, employers might choose to have such
investigators reflect the organization’s demographics.
Consider this. Bringing a complaint to
an authority figure is always somewhat intimidating. Therefore, is
the victim takes their complaint to Human Resources or to an
investigator whose level in the organization is not too many rungs
above theirs, they will be more willing to come forward, especially f
the investigator is of the same gender and, possibly, even of the
same color/ethnicity. The bottom line for the employer is to
discover inappropriate behavior so that they can act to stem the tide
before situations get out of hand.
9. Don't Train Some; Educate All
Although "training" and
"education" are terms often used interchangeably to
describe ways in which employees are taught, they actually imply
quite different means and ends. As defined here, training refers to
issues and practices that require skills development. A trained
person does not need to know the why of something, only the
how. If bullying was only about learning the organization's
Policies and Procedures, it would be easy to simply to list the five
things everyone should do and the five things everyone should not do.
If eliminating bullying behavior was that easy, then training would
be adequate.
But workplace bullying is not simply
learning about the organization’s Policies and Procedures. Bullying
is an extraordinarily complex issue that requires--and
deserves--in-depth understanding of human behavior, of the whys
as well as the hows in the struggle to finally "get
it." Preventing abuse of any kind requires that everyone
in the workplace develop a keen sense of why this issue is so
important for them as well as for the organization. They should
expect to be treated with respect and dignity and to respect others
in return. Even defining these terms requires explanations, e.g.,
one person’s respect may be another person’s disrespect, one
person’s joke may be another’s insult. Bullying prevention
requires employees to develop the ability to exercise judgment, to
understand and to act appropriately. It is not common sense.
If it was, we would all have it and all use it. If that were the
case, then training would be enough.
A comprehensive educational approach
teaches employees to discern, to anticipate, to act--because they
understand the why’s of behavior. Education encourages
insight; it places bullying in cultural and historic context; it
helps learners understand the roots of differences in perception
between men and women, and between cultures. Finally, education
invites active participation and a dedication to continuous learning.
10. Take a
Systemic, Systematic Approach
Education, alone, however, cannot
eliminate workplace bullying. Only a systemic, systematic approach
offers the promise of a reasonable degree of success. For example,
such an approach suggests the following:
- a dedicated investment in time and resources from top management; not only must their investment be clear to everyone, but as champions of change they must model the behaviors they require from everyone in the organization;
- an equally strong commitment from second-tier and mid-level managers and supervisors whose work necessarily brings them into closer contact with employees as well as with customers, vendors, and contract workers;
- a Trust culture that, both formally and informally, treats employees, customers and vendors with respect and dignity, whether on or off site expecting and this treatment from everyone inside and outside of the organization;
- an infrastructure in place, e.g., well-educated investigators, a policy and complaint procedures that have been disseminated to all, equitable and swift investigations, an educated workforce, and more;
- recognition that a bully-free environment is an effort without end, requiring a consistent approach and having as its goal continuous, incremental improvement as well as dedication to ongoing excellence; the willingness to deal with sensitive issues, e.g., reprimanding a senior officer, a customer, or a vendor who has been accused of and/or found to be guilty of bullying.
The Big Question . . . and An Answer
What does it cost to create a systemic,
systematic approach to ending workplace bullying? The real question
is: "What does it cost to do less?"
One cost is acceptance of the status
quo and the organization’s potential liability. Another cost is
outright cynicism among employees reflected in increasingly
dysfunctional behaviors. When employees receive unintended messages
from their employers that do not reflect the reality they live every
day, their trust level drops, communication declines, anti-social
behaviors increase, and everyone loses.
Successful implementation of this
approach affords the promise of developing and sustaining a trusting
bully-free culture where morale is high, where employees perform to
their maximum potential, and where the organization’s reputation
among customers and the community is enhanced. In short, the
objective is one where everyone wins: employees, employers, and the
community.
