Workplace bullying

By Scott Tackett

September 02, 2012

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"I was just having a little fun." How many times have we heard this statement or maybe even made the statement ourselves?

It seems that bullying in the workplace is happening more often. In fact, it’s now being referred to by many as the “silent epidemic”. Despite the attention bullying has been getting recently in the media, many still try to justify this harassing behavior.

The Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) and Zogby International define bullying as "repeated mistreatment: sabotage by others that prevented work from getting done, verbal abuse, threatening conduct, intimidation and humiliation.” According to recent statistics, 35% of workers experienced bullying first-hand and 62% of the bullies were men. A Harris Interactive poll conducted in 2011 revealed that 34% of women reported being bullied in the workplace.

So what''s the big deal, you may ask? Think about the terrible toll bullying causes within an organization. A bully’s discriminating behavior leads to increased levels of stress among employees, higher rates of absenteeism and higher than normal attrition. Studies estimate the financial costs of bullying at more than $200 billion per year.

The breakdown in trust in a bullying environment may mean that employees will fail to provide you with their best work, not giving extra effort or generating ideas for improvement. They will also not provide you with feedback and before you know it, they will leave, a replacement will be hired into the vacant position… and the cycle will begin all over again.

The question to consider is this: Does anyone in my organization participate in various forms of the above mentioned disruptive behavior and, if so, what have I done to stop and/or correct it?
Have you ignored the situation by saying: "He/She didn''t really mean it; it was just meant to be a bit of fun”?

I would suggest that by ignoring inappropriate and unprofessional behavior, such as bullying, you are in essence condoning, and even encouraging, this unacceptable workplace conduct.

So what should you do?

First, confront and deal with the issue head-on. Stop ignoring it; stop hoping that it will go away. Let everyone in the organization know that you have absolutely no tolerance for bullying behavior in your workplace. If you need to, create a policy that supports your words and live by it.

Deal with bullies immediately and their behaviors as soon as possible. Stop it promptly! Make your workplace environment one in which everyone is treated with respect and dignity. Remember that everyone deserves the opportunity to participate within our economic communities and that everyone needs to feel safe in the workplace.

It''s not only the law, it''s the right thing to do.

Scott Tackett has a 32-year background in manufacturing, human resource management and organizational leadership. He is currently a Business Development Advisor for Violand Management Associates (VMA) where he works closely with business owners and their key management staff as both a business consultant and an executive coach. To learn more about VMA’s services and programs, visit violand.com or call (330)966-0700.