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Bullying Replacing Sexual Harassment as #1 Workplace Problem

Bullying in the Workplace: Another Step Towards 'Ethical Oblivion?'

Workplace bullying seems poised to overtake sexual harassment as the number one workplace problem facing employers. According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, up to a third of workers may be the victims of workplace bullying. About twenty percent of workplace bullying crosses the line into harassment. The New York Times found that about sixty percent of workplace bullies are men, and they tend to bully male and female employees equally. Female bullies, however, are more likely to bully other females. This may be because there is more pressure on females trying to succeed in male-dominated workplace, and more competition between females for promotions.

On-the-job bullying can take many forms, from a supervisor’s verbal abuse and threats to cruel comments or relentless teasing by a co-worker. And it could become the next major battleground in employment law as a growing number of states consider legislation that would let workers sue for harassment that causes physical or emotional harm.

“I believe this is the new claim that employers will deal with. This will replace sexual harassment,” said Sharon Parella, a management-side employment lawyer in New York. “People who oppose it say these laws will force people to be polite at work. But you can no longer go to work and act like a beast and get away with it.”

Many companies already recognize workplace bullying as a problem that can sap morale, lead to increased employee turnover and even affect the bottom line. Half the employers in a 2011 survey by the management association reported incidents of bullying in their workplace, and about a fourth of human resource professionals themselves said they had been bullied.

Some employers have put into place anti-bullying policies, but advocacy groups want to go even further. They have been urging states to give legal rights to workers who do not already fit into a protected class based on race, gender or national origin.

More than a dozen states — including New York and Massachusetts — have considered anti-bullying laws in the past year that would allow litigants to pursue lost wages, benefits and medical expenses and compel employers to prevent an “abusive work environment.”

A valid question with workplace bullying is whether an employer should be punished for the acts of an employee. I believe it is appropriate to do so because the employer has an ethical obligation to provide a safe workplace environment, and bullying creates a level of fear that can infect the workplace, prevent workers from achieving their potential, and cause long-lasting harm to the bullied person. We already sanction employers for wrongdoings of an employee such as fraud and bribery, environmental violations, sexual harassment, and other forms of discrimination.

I believe increased instances of workplace bullying mirror the disturbing trend in society where bullying can start in elementary school and last for many years. We are on the verge of having bullying become a part of our national psyche – another step down the ethical slippery slope into what I call “ethical oblivion.”

It is important for all of us to act in a civilized manner towards others whether in school, the workplace, or in casual encounters. The first step is to recognize the various forms of bullying.

1. Physical bullying

Physical bullying includes hitting, kicking, tripping, pinching and pushing or damaging property.

2. Verbal bullying

Verbal bullying includes name calling, insults, teasing, intimidation, homophobic or racist remarks, or verbal abuse.

3. Psychological bullying

Psychological bullying includes playing mind games with another person so that it creates mental distress and can lead to irrational behavior on the part of the bullied. Taken to its extreme, psychological bullying can threaten the well-being of the bullied and lead to suicide.

4. Covert bullying

Covert bullying is often harder to recognize and can be carried out behind the bullied person's back. It is designed to harm someone's social reputation and/or cause humiliation. Covert bullying includes:

  • lying and spreading rumors
  • negative facial or physical gestures, menacing or contemptuous looks
  • playing nasty jokes to embarrass and humiliate
  • mimicking unkindly
  • encouraging others to socially exclude someone
  • damaging someone's social reputation or social acceptance

5. Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is overt or covert bullying behaviors using digital technologies. Examples include harassment via a mobile phone, setting up a defamatory personal website or deliberately excluding someone from social networking spaces. Cyberbullying can happen at any time. It can be in public or in private and sometimes only known to the target and the person bullying.

Organizations of all shapes and sizes need to take heed of workplace bullying before it gets out of hand. Just as sexual harassment training has helped to sensitize employers and employees to the wrongness of sexual harassment, anti-bullying training is also needed.

A code of ethics should clarify the types of bullying that may exist at the firm and what will happen to those who violate ethical standards. Provisions should include; a statement about “mutual respect” and civility in the workplace; zero tolerance for harassment, abusive language and bullying behavior; and punishment for those doing the bullying including suspension, termination, reassignment or mandatory anger management training.

Workplace bullying is bad for business. Some of the ways that companies suffer due to bullying include:

  • High turnover, which is expensive for companies as they invest in hiring and training new employees only to lose them shortly thereafter, possibly to a competitor
  • Low productivity since employees are not motivated to do their best and are more often out sick due to stress-related illnesses
  • Lost innovations since the bully is more interested in attacking his or her victim than advancing the company, and the victims become less likely to generate or share new ideas
  • Difficulty hiring quality employees as word spreads that the company has a hostile work environment

The key to preventing workplace bullying is to create a culture that does not tolerate it and employer responses to instances of bullying that are swift and sure. Top management must walk the talk of anti-bullying policies and make it clear in word and deed that bullying has no place in the workplace.

Blog posted by Steven Mintz, aka Ethics Sage, on March 27, 2013

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