In Part I we painted a picture of the workplace-bullying problem. Now let’s explore what to do about it.
Bullying is mistreatment involving verbal abuse, humiliation, and work performance sabotage. Sabotaging someone’s work performance is especially damaging, because the effort is under the radar; it’s not as blatant as yelling or finger pointing. Bullying author and researcher Gary Namie stated, “The most vexing situations for HR professionals involve bullying.” Employer counseling to change perpetrator personalities are sometimes ineffective, because hard-core bullies do not change; they have to leave. We agree that counseling and training interventions may be effective if initiated early.
Initial management response to bullying should not focus on defending the organization. The bullied target should be presumed credible until an investigation proves otherwise. Leaders must understand that bullying is an abusive relationship that could lead to violence. Further, the culture must not degrade complainants for becoming a target. In addition, skilled investigators should investigate bullying complaints, because HR professionals are often untrained when it comes to conducting a credible investigation.
What can you do about it?
In our research, we discovered many lofty legal and HR interventions that could be applied to stop bullying. For the record, we support these interventions. However, it took some digging to find effective anti-bullying actions that work for the troops in the trenches when bullying prevails in the culture. Actions to consider are as follows:
1. Confronting a bully early may be enough to stop the abuse. Don’t allow bullying to become frequent. Stating, “Quit finger pointing and yelling; let’s sit down and talk,” may be enough of a response to stop the bullying abuse.
2. Research your organization’s HR harassment policies, mission/value statements, and legal policies to uncover references to bolster your case. Don’t be surprised if your organization has not formally defined and addressed bullying issues.
3. Document your communications with the bully; communicate in writing and note dates, and times.
4. Have a witness present if possible during direct communication.
5. Consider first reporting bullying to a supervisor or manager that you trust. HR departments work for your employer and may not be the best place to report a bullying incident. This issue is especially relevant if the bully is a manager. It’s disturbing, but HR complaints sometimes die in unhealthy cultures.
6. Insist that your bullying complaint is investigated and appropriate corrective actions are taken.
7. Unfortunately, not all bullying can be stopped. Some victims may find they have no choice but to leave the organization if the situation reaches a point where they lose their self-confidence, have adverse health affects, or their families begin to suffer.
Key Takeaway:
We hope your organization is a culture where enlightened leaders define bullying and effectively respond early to complaints. However, you are responsible for taking effective action to protect yourself. As an aside, we were stunned to find that bullying may not be illegal in many states. Our findings generated the need for a Part III blog where we explore bullying issues from a legal perspective.
What are your thoughts?
