Watch Out for Workplace Bullies:
They Can Hurt You - in Your Bottom Line
When you think "bully," it probably brings to mind a distant playground image of a mean-spirited juvenile tormenting an innocent victim. Ring a bell? Now fast forward to your office: there's a grown-up kind of bully you need to watch out for. This one's a risk to your employees, and could create a legal liability for your firm.
In all likelihood, you haven't worried about the threat of a bully since you graduated from the schoolyard. But, it may surprise you to know that you're not out of harm's way - even in the professional world. In fact:
- 37% of working Americans have been bullied on the job, and
- 21% have witnessed bullying.
This is according to a 2007 survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) and Zogby International, in what's considered the largest scientific study conducted on the topic. What it means is, more than 71 million professionals are affected by workplace bullies - enough to raise cause for concern for employees and employers alike.
What's more, the same WBI-Zogby Survey found that bullying is four times more common than harassment, yet it remains one of the most overlooked problems by employers and the courts.
What Exactly Is Workplace Bullying?
By its definition, workplace bullying involves behaviors not covered by
anti-discrimination or harassment laws because they do not involve or discriminate against a particular protected class status. Bullies are basically status blind, transcending race, sex, or national origin. In fact, in only one of five bullying cases does discriminatory conduct play a role. And, unlike the "sticks and stones" or physical threats hurled at you by the schoolyard bully, the tactics of the workplace bully are much more subtle.
To help characterize bullying behavior, WBI-Zogby research has identified the 25 Most Common Tactics Used by Workplace Bullies.
Here are a select few:
- Falsely accusing someone of "errors" not actually made
- Using the "silent treatment" to "ice out" and separate from others
- Starting, or failing to stop, destructive rumors or gossip about the person
- Singling out and isolating one person from co-workers, either socially or physically
- Assigning undesirable work as punishment
- Creating unrealistic demands (e.g., workload, deadlines) for the singled-out person
- Sabotaging the person's contribution to a team goal and reward
How Bullies Hurt Your Employees and Your Firm
45% of targeted individuals suffer stress-related health problems (such as cardiovascular problems and adverse neurological changes) and psychological-emotional injuries (such as clinical depression, panic attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder).2
"Bullying poisons the workplace, undermines productivity and morale, and contributes to significant exposure to risk because it can easily lead to harassment and workplace violence claims," says Dr. Gary Namie, Phd., founder of the Workplace Bullying Institute, and author of The Bully At Work.3
Bullying causes turnover. And, according to Namie, you're going to lose the wrong people. You're going to lose the best and the brightest...because those are the people who pose the perceived threat to the aggressor (the bully). "That's who they drive out...and they are tenacious. You're not going to lose the slugs," he said.
The impact on co-workers and their families is reflected in the estimated
$250 billion in annual expenses, including4:
- Direct employee health care costs
- Turnover from employee talent-flight and re-training costs
- Accidents related to stress-induced fatigue
- Litigation: counsel/settlements/jury awards
- Staff resistance to top-down change initiatives
- Bad public relations
And, proof positive that a bully creates a liability: The Indiana Supreme Court recently decided one of the first-of-its-kind bullying litigation. The court reinstated a verdict of $325,000 in favor of an employee who was assaulted by a surgeon during a verbal altercation at the hospital - allowing into evidence the surgeon's prior aggressive acts in order to prove that he was a workplace bully.4
It Could be Going On at Your Firm
Maybe some of these statistics have gotten your attention, but you're still thinking, "Oh, that doesn't happen here - not at this firm." Think again. According to Namie, employers shouldn't be so quick to make that conclusion; 40% of targets never tell, so employers simply may not know about it.
"Bullying happens everywhere," says Namie. "It happens in the most professional of environments - healthcare and legal firms - that's where the outrageous conduct is. You can't get much more professional than a doctor or a lawyer."
But, astoundingly, despite its harmful and negative health effect on victims, only 3% file lawsuits and 40% never make a complaint at all. More to the point, whether or not it's reported, bullying poses a risk to employees and creates a legal liability for your firm.
Why Do Bullies Get Away With It?
62% of U.S. employers either ignore it or make it worse when bullying is reported to them.
A common response to a bullying scenario is: "Why didn't this person just stand up to the bully?" Namie says it's because often they are shocked by his or her unprofessional conduct. "All bullies catch everyone by surprise with their aggression," he said. "Though bullies temporarily motivate by fear, it has nothing to do with getting work done - it actually prevents it."
What is the profile of a bully? "They're perceived as a rainmaker to executives, a super-performer...a mover and a shaker," explains Namie. And he agrees, "The stereotype is real - 72% of bullies are bosses; 55% of those bullied are rank and file workers. But the reality is, he or she is a walking liability...who poses a legal risk to the firm."
On the other hand, the targets or victims of bullying are typically unable or unwilling to confront or counter the aggression with aggression. And, according to Namie, "Given that formula, a bully could function unchallenged for years in a leadership role, causing recurring emotional damage and fleeing of customers and employees."
Another common problem, according to Namie, is that targets who decide to tell their story often face disbelief from co-workers, bosses and human resource managers.
Despite advocates of "Healthy Workplace" introducing 13 active anti-bullying bills in various states, there is no anti-bullying legislation in place to support them. "We're in a similar position to where we were 15 years ago, before there were policies regarding sexual harassment," he said. This lack of specific legislation makes it difficult to identify prohibited conduct, and leaves employers with lack of direction in dealing with the problem.
What Can You Do to Prevent Risks of Bullying?
Namie explains that one of the most common excuses or arguments against calling out a bully is, "It's just too fuzzy - it's too hard to define." "Employers allow bullying to happen thinking it's inevitable, that it's by default, or that aggression is the American style of business. They tolerate it as long as it produces results for Wall Street. But the truth is, allowing this to happen and failing to address it poses a greater risk.
So, the message here is simple: By creating a workplace culture that doesn't allow bullying, employers can help prevent workers from being harmed and avoid lengthy court battles. Namie promotes that it's more efficient to communicate your policy to everyone and to train supervisors how to deal effectively with complaints than it is to have people questioned or deposed because bullying has occurred. It's your responsibility as an employer to intervene and avoid legal exposure - and protect your bottom line.
Brought to you by the AICPA Employment Practices Liability Insurance Program.
- Address bullying in your written employee policies. Your firm's anti-bullying position should be specifically outlined in the policy statement each employee signs when hired.
- Distinguish bullying from other behavior such as conflict. It is not conflict. It's a form of violence. It's not routine managerial prerogative.
- Pay attention to department dynamics, track turnover rates, decline in performance ratings, and increases in absenteeism and short-term disability. If you learn how to measure the losses, management will make it a priority.
- Take action. You must apply policy and credible enforcement. Enforcement is as critical as policy.
- Set conduct and behavior expectations.
- Establish whistleblower protection for workers who come forward by creating steps for reporting incidents. Make it clear that your employees will be free from retaliation if they make a complaint.
- Provide a confidential reporting system, in house or through a hotline or referral service
- Get executive support. Senior management needs to lead by example. Even a bully in a high-powered position needs to be dealt with straight out.
- Coach, mentor and train to prevent bullying. You don't necessarily need a stand-alone anti-bullying course, but it should be a component of your firm's harassment training
- Discipline bullies, don't reward them. Some firms tie a component of their managers' annual bonus to employee feedback in their reviews.
All in all, it's in the best interest of both the individuals being targeted by abuse, and your firm as a whole, to identify and implement strategies to stop workplace bullying. In Namie's words, "I'm not mandating a hug or saying it's about love in the workplace. I'm saying it's the about the absence of abuse."
1,2http://www.bullyinginstitute.org/
3(Sourcebooks, 2003)
4http://bullyinginstitute.org/education/bbstudies/econ.html
5(See Raess vs Doescher, IndSupCt, April 8, 2008).http://www.elt-inc.com/blog/topics/ethics_training_compliance_tra/
6http://www.bullyinginstitute.org/
Sidebar: How to Bust the Office Bully
Eight Tactics for Explaining Workplace Abuse
to Decision-Makers
Here are some tips to help targets of bullying best tell their stories so that other people listen and find them credible:
1.) Be rational.2.) Express emotions appropriately.
3.) Provide consistent details.
4.) Offer a probable story.
5.) Be relevant.
6.) Emphasize your own competence.
7.) Show consideration for others' perspectives.
8.) Be specific - give examples.
*For additional guidelines for your employees, you may want to visit the website www.asu.edu/clas/communication/about/wellness/ The Project for Wellness and Work-Life, a strategic initiative of the Hugh Downs School of Human Communications at Arizona State University.
First-Hand Experience of a Workplace Bully Victim
Susan, a senior-level finance professional (who asked to remain anonymous), says she was a victim of a workplace bully in a former job at a consulting firm. She describes how the persistent bullying of a newly hired CEO damaged her both personally and professionally.
"I would step into an office and, if he was there, the conversation would stop," said Susan. "In meetings when I spoke, he would roll his eyes, mutter under his breath and turn away." The CEO's regular belittling tactics took Susan by surprise and left her feeling "humiliated and somewhat dumbfounded," since she had always been highly regarded in business dealings with her colleagues and clients.
Susan says she had also overheard the new CEO talking unfavorably about her on the phone with a client. "He was not only sabotaging me personally, he was inadvertently damaging the whole firm's reputation," she said. "I'm certain this is why we started losing clients."
By and large, the CEO's adverse behavior created a posturing that filtered down through the firm. "It was like he was pitting people against each other," says Susan, noting that the atmosphere at the firm turned abruptly hostile. "And suddenly, there I was - this high-producer with my MBA and five successful years in management at the firm - doubting my own competencies and standing," she said. "I felt kind of ruined. It became highly unproductive."
Susan describes her growing feelings of submission, "It was subtle...at times I couldn't put my finger on it. But, I felt like I had the rug slowly pulled from under me. I felt ashamed and demoralized by the way the CEO treated me. It actually affected my health. But I couldn't tell anyone. I didn't feel I could go to HR with what could be construed as petty occurrences...and he came to the firm as this 'icon' in our industry," she said.
When she was eventually dismissed for "not performing," Susan was relieved. "You don't realize how bad it is until you're out of it," she says. "It took me a long time to recover my 'mental health' and regain my confidence." And even though she believes she had obvious grounds for a wrongful termination suit against her firm, she decided not to take any action.
Although she decided not to retaliate, Susan agreed that she may have handled her situation differently had there been a workplace bullying policy in place at the firm, including guidelines stating that this type of bad behavior would not have been tolerated.
