What HR Professionals Need to Know About Workplace Bullying
Workplace bullying, just like childhood bullying, is when individuals or groups intentionally humiliate another person. At school, the victim is another student. At work, it is another employee—and it may be more rampant than you think!
In 2012, the Workplace Bullying Institute conducted a survey about the prevalence of bullying in the workplace (http://www.workplacebullying.org/multi/pdf/WBI-2012-StrategiesEff.pdf). Fifty-eight percent of respondents reported being bullied currently, 39% reported having been bullied in the past, and 3% reported having witnessed workplace bullying. Most perpetrators (63%) and victims (79%) were women. Women bullies torment women in 89% of cases; men bully women in 63% of cases. Most of the bullies (75%) are bosses; 18% are coworkers or peers, and 7% are subordinates.
The effect of bullying can range from lower job satisfaction and health complaints to suicide. Stress is the most predominant health effect associated with bullying in the workplace and can result in an increase in the use of sick days or time off from work. Workplace bullying is also expensive: Author Robert Sutton reports that one company estimated annual losses of $160,000 from handling problems caused by one salesman’s bullying behaviors.
In this interactive online training program, participants will learn:
What employees can do if they are being bullied at work
What employers can do to create a zero tolerance toward workplace bullying
The benefits of addressing workplace bullying
How to manage real-life scenarios
ABOUT THE PRESENTER
Judy Lindenberger
President, The Lindenberger Group
Judy Lindenberger "gets" leadership. She is a certified career coach and HR consultant capable of coupling personal growth with professional development, which is why top companies and individuals invite her to work with them. Judy's background includes designing and facilitating the first-ever sexual harassment prevention training for federal government workers, leading the management training department for a major financial organization, and creating a highly successful, global mentoring program for a Fortune 500 company which won the national Athena Award for Mentoring for two consecutive years. Her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Training and Development Magazine, and other publications. Judy holds an MBA in human resources and is based in New Jersey.
2. Workplace bullying defined
The definition, according to
the Workplace Bullying
Institute, is “repeated, healthharming mistreatment of one
or more persons, by one or
more perpetrators, in the form
of verbal abuse, offensive
conduct/behavior and work
interference.”
3. Bullying behaviors
A 2006 study of
workplace bullying
identified bullying
behaviors.
F. A. Moayed, N. Daraiseh, R. Shell, and S. Salem,
“Workplace bullying: a systematic review of risk factors
and outcomes,” Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science,
vol. 7, pp. 311–327, 2006
Threat to professional status
Threat to personal standing
Isolation
Overwork
Destabilization
unwarranted or invalid criticism
and blame without factual
justification
being sworn at, shouted out, or
humiliated
preventing access to
opportunities, withholding
necessary information, or using
silent treatment to “ice out” and
separate the victim from others
being given unrealistic work
deadlines
failure to acknowledge good work,
allocation of meaningless tasks,
setting the target up to fail
4. Bullying stories
“I had to make a bank
deposit so I left the office
and locked the door. When
the bully could not get in,
she called me, screamed,
and threatened to have me
fired.
The next day another
employee showed her the
office key on her key chain.
She never apologized. Her
response was just ‘Oh, silly
me.’”
5. Top 10 bullying tactics
Talking behind back
Interrupting
Flaunting authority
Belittling
Failing to communicate
The ‘silent treatment’
Insults, shouting
Verbal sexual
harassment
9. Negative eye contact
10. Condescension
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
6. Gender differences
Women bullies
Tend to use subtle tactics
‘Silent treatment’
Encourage colleagues to
turn against the victim
Men bullies
Tend to use overt tactics
Ridicule or yell publicly
7. Ways men bully
Public screaming
Sabotaging a person’s contribution
Post-complaint retaliation
Timing mistreatment to correspond with
medical or psychological vulnerability
Withholding resources for success, then
blaming the target
Name calling
Threatening job loss
Interfering with pay or earned benefits
Blocking access to equipment and resources
Assigning person to an unsafe work
environment
Threatening to do physical harm
Boasting about owning and proficiency with a
weapon
Engaging in physical aggression
8. Ways women bully
When bullies are women, they
choose other women as their prey
the majority of the time
Rolling their eyes
Spreading rumors
‘Silent treatment’
Encouraging
colleagues to turn
against the target
9. Bullying by the numbers
Workplace Bullying
Institute (2012)
56% reported being bullied
http://www.workplacebull
ying.org/multi/pdf/WBI2012-StrategiesEff.pdf
currently
39% reported having been
bullied in the past
3% reported having witnessed
workplace bullying
Most perpetrators (63%) and
victims (79%) are women
Women bullies torment women
in 89% of cases
Men bully women in 63% of
cases
Most bullies (75%) are bosses;
18% are coworkers or peers, and
7% are subordinates
10. What’s the cost?
Author Robert Sutton reports that
one company estimated annual
losses of $160,000 from handling
problems caused by one salesman’s
bullying behaviors.
Plus serious health
effects…
Hypertension
Auto-immune
disorders
Depression
Anxiety
11. Bullying stories
In addition to emotional and
psychological turmoil,
victims can have their work
and career disrupted.
“I did not go to the satellite
office for months because I
did not want to see the
bully.”
12. How do bullies see themselves?
Rakesh Malhotra, founder
of Five Global Values,
writes, “most bullies
portray themselves … as
polite and respectful, as
they are charming in
public.”
Gretchen, from the movie,
Mean Girls, says, “I’m sorry
that people are so jealous
of me … but I can’t help
that I’m so popular.”
13. Bullying stories
Bullies often see themselves
as the victim and don’t get or
care how they make others
feel.
Says one bully, “The
biggest problem I have at
work is that I don’t get
respect from others.”
14. Why do they do it?
Most believe that bullies have
psychological issues (88.1%)
while others see bullying as
career-driven: to weed out
competition (60.3%) or to get
ahead (52.4%).
16. Bullies by name
Eddie Haskell
Idi Amin
Saddam Hussein
Al Capone
Cleopatra
Bluto from Popeye
Attila the Hun
Donald Trump
Mike Tyson
Queen Elizabeth II
Marlon Brando
Angelica from Rugrats
Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over
the Cuckoo’s Nest
17. Why put up with it?
Most bullies are at a
level above the
victim!
18. The boss as bully
In the movie, The Devil
Wears Prada, Andy says
about her boss, “She's not
happy unless everyone
around her is panicked,
nauseous or suicidal.”
19. Bullying in the news
Former Asheville Citizen-Times editor
Susan Ihne settled a $15 million
wrongful termination lawsuit against
the newspaper's publisher Randy
Hammer and the parent company,
Gannett.
Ihne’s Claims:
Hammer yelled and
raised his voice at her
Belittled and degraded
her on the job
Misused his power
Calculated efforts to
destroy her selfconfidence and get her
to resign from her job
20. Bullying in the news
Two employees in Texas were
awarded $250,000
Plaintiffs’ Claims:
Supervisor continually
yelled at them
Put his head down and
“charged at them like a
bull”
Made an employee
wear a sign that said "I
quit"
21. How to spot bullying
Is the employee…
intimidated,
threatened?
picked on unfairly or
unreasonably?
humiliated in front of
others?
being threatened with
dismissal without
cause?
22. What should employees do if they are
being bullied at work?
(Mark all that apply)
Group Poll
P1
23. What should be done
Over 90% think that
discipline is the best
course of action, 88.8%
favor policies, 86.4%
want to know how to
report bullying, and
84.8% favor training.
Says one executive, “It’s
important to take
complaints seriously and
handle things quickly.”
24. What should happen if an employee
forgets to follow someone’s directions?
Group Poll
P2
25. What should happen if a co-worker is
angry at another employee?
Group Poll
P3
27. Share your voice…
What experiences have you had regarding
workplace bullying? What have you done about
it?
What must organizations do to prevent
workplace bullying?
28. What organizations must do
Human Resources
Managers
Leaders
Develop policies, provide
training, let employees
know how to report
bullying, offer coaching,
and create exit strategies
Take complaints
seriously and follow
through with disciplinary
action
Create a culture to
prevent workplace
bullying
29. Sample policy
The Company will not tolerate bullying behavior. Employees found in violation of this
policy will be disciplined, up to and including termination.
Bullying may be intentional or unintentional. When an allegation of bullying is made,
the intention of the alleged bully is irrelevant, and will not be given consideration
when meting out discipline. As in sexual harassment, it is the effect of the behavior
upon the individual which is important. The following are examples of bullying:
Verbal Bullying: slandering, ridiculing or maligning a person or his/her family;
persistent name calling which is hurtful, insulting or humiliating; using a person as
butt of jokes; abusive and offensive remarks
Physical Bullying: pushing; shoving; kicking; poking; tripping; assault, or threat of
physical assault; damage to a person’s work area or property
Gesture Bullying: non-verbal threatening gestures, glances which can convey
threatening messages
Exclusion: socially or physically excluding or disregarding a person in work-related
activities
30. Sample policy (cont’d)
In addition, the following examples may constitute bullying in the workplace:
Persistent singling out of one person
Shouting, raising voice at an individual in public and/or in private
Using verbal or obscene gestures
Not allowing the person to speak or express him/herself (i.e., ignoring or interrupting)
Personal insults and use of offensive nicknames
Public humiliation in any form
Constant criticism on matters unrelated or minimally related to the person’s job
performance or job description
Ignoring/interrupting an individual at meetings
Public reprimands
Repeatedly accusing someone of errors which cannot be documented
Deliberately interfering with mail and other communications
31. Sample policy (cont’d)
Spreading rumors and gossip regarding individuals
Encouraging others to disregard a supervisor’s instructions
Manipulating the ability of someone to do their work (e.g.; overloading, under
loading, withholding information, setting meaningless tasks, setting deadlines that
cannot be met, giving deliberately ambiguous instructions)
Inflicting menial tasks not in keeping with the normal responsibilities of the job
Taking credit for another person’s ideas
Refusing reasonable requests for leave
Deliberately excluding an individual or isolating them from work-related activities
(meetings, etc.)
Unwanted physical contact, physical abuse or threats of abuse to an individual or an
individual’s property (defacing or marking up property)
If you observe or experience workplace bullying, report it immediately to your
supervisor, Human Resources, or any member of management.