Bullying Beyond the Playground
In the Workplace, Your Employees and Business Could be at Stake
By Kelly Tyler
A girl makes piggy “oink oink” noises as she walks near another girl eating an apple, one boy tells another the wrong rules for a game, four girls are whispering about another behind her back, three boys don’t tell the other boy on the team about a practice.
These might be familiar incidents on a grammar school playground, but they actually occurred in a variety of workplaces. And, all involved were well beyond the age of 22.
Bullying diminishes the morale of a 29-year-old just as it does a 9-year-old. Yet, at the school playground, a teacher might step in to admonish the bullies. In the workplace, it is rare to find someone who steps in.
It is hard to step in at work because people fear retaliation, people worry about lawsuits when there are accusations, and people don’t know if they are being too sensitive.
Some employees are rude. Some are bullies. Some are harassers. How’s a company leader supposed to know the difference? And, along with that, how are leaders supposed to do anything about it?
Here are basic definitions:
- Rudeness: Discourteous on purpose.
- Bullying: Rudeness, but heightened and affects reputation and work performance.
- Harassment: Illegal discrimination which often affects terms of employment of a legally protected class.
Since bullying is not illegal, some organizations do not worry about it much. Some leaders are surprised to know such activity goes on in the workplaces they lead. Don’t get too comfortable because laws are changing.
Plus, bullying negatively impacts organizations in several ways, including the following:
- Increased turnover as a result of being bullied or having a friend bullied. (Is turnover cheap and easy at your organization?)
- Loss of talent and expertise. (Bullies chose people they are threatened by, so you would be losing someone talented enough to be a threat.)
- Reduced productivity as staff copes and commiserates.
- Reduced productivity of the victim, who is stressed and unable to pay attention to work.
- Reduced productivity as a result of investigating and handling an incident. (How many people would be involved in an investigation?)
- Increased legal fees.
- Reduced effectiveness of teams. (Did you spend money forming a team environment? If so, bullying could be sending that investment down the drain.)
- Increased workers compensation, in some cases.
- Diminished corporate reputation, which affects good employees and clients.
- Decreased employee morale and loyalty. (Do you say you care about your people? If so, and nothing is done about bullying, they don’t buy in.)
Eliminating bullying starts at the top, with leaders who hold each other and their direct reports in high esteem.
David Kelly, of HRWire.com, describes four types of bullies to be aware of in the workplace:
- The Two-Headed Snake // Destroys the target's reputation by manipulating the impression of co-workers and supervisors.
- The Constant Critic // Is committed to systematically destroying the target's confidence.
- The Gatekeeper // Sets its target up to fail by controlling resources such as time, budget, support and training.
- The Screaming Mimi // Attempts to publicly humiliate its target, resorting to screaming and yelling when convenient.
Leaders should watch out for these four types of bullies, not allow themselves to fall for the bully’s tricks, and stick up for employees who might become victims.
What percent of bullies do you think are managers? 10 percent, 35 percent, or 75 percent?
Close to 75 percent (according to the 2007 WBI-Zogby Suvery). When employees have bullies as role models of acceptable behavior, organizations lose.
In addition to knowing the types of bullies, organizations can implement the following to help ensure they are not fostering a culture of bullying:
- Assess. Consider a survey to learn how bullying impacts the organization now.
- Establish screening procedures for new hires.
- Train employees, including managers, to watch for bullying and how to handle it.
- Establish a policy, so all employees understand expectations and consequences.
- Determine reporting procedures and take all reports seriously.
- Confront the bully and monitor his/her impact on the team going forward.
- If necessary, separate the bully from the workplace.
- Prevent retaliation against the employee who reports of being bullied.
- Monitor turnover and stress-related complaints, as they could be indicators.
Clearly, with the highly competitive marketplace being what it is today, organizations do not need internal strife affecting their performance and ability to thrive. It is tough enough facing the competition and meeting customer needs, without spending time and money on internal bullying. Face up to it now, before it becomes a bigger legal problem than it needs to be.
Face up to it now, before the talented employees go elsewhere, just as the nine year old who takes his ball and goes home.
Kelly Tyler is an author, speaker, and professional development expert. (816) 353-8786//www.KellyTylerTrainingServices.com.
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