Analysis: workplace bullying has serious consequences yet many organisations do very to little to respond to this issue
A recent story in the Irish Times recounts several harrowing stories of bullying in the workplace. These stories make it clear that bullies are a common phenomenon at work. Bosses bully their subordinates but bosses themselves are sometimes bullied, particularly if they do not fit the mould. Bullies are a bit more likely to be male than female and here is no shortage of bullies in any demographic group.
Workplace bullying has serious consequences. It affects mental and physical health and it makes the experience of work miserable. It affects workplace productivity and the profitability of organisations. While there are some proven strategies for dealing with workplace bullying, organisations often fail to implement them.
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From RTÉ Brainstorm, how workplace bullying costs Ireland €239 million every year
Why do employers do so little to respond to bullying in the workplace? There are several potential explanations for the failure of management to respond to bullying, but three strike me as particularly important. First, a common response to bullying is to "blame the victim". We often respond to bullying by asking what the target of bullying did to cause or deserve bullying. A variation on victim blaming is to ask why the target of bullying is not fighting back or responding effectively. Managers who blame the target for the bullying they receive are unlikely to respond effectively.
The second explanation is that people who observe bullying often think it's "not serious". Sometimes, this is a variation of victim-blaming (the target is just too sensitive), but observers often think that the incidents of bullying they observe are too minor to deserve a response. For example, a manager who sees one employee insult another might not think it is serious enough to deserve a response.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime in 2017, Barry Lenihan reports on allegations of workplace bullying at the National Museum of Ireland
What people often fail to appreciate is that small incidents of incivility might not be a big deal in isolation, but that the cumulative effect of repeated incidents of this sort are substantial and seriousness. The worst thing about bullying is that it is likely to be repeated, and frequent exposure to bullying, even if each incident is a small one, has serious effects on the health and welfare of the target.
The third issue is that managers often respond with "it’s not my job". They might recognise that bullying is causing problems in the workforce, but they are not sure who should respond. Is this a problem for management, Human Resources, unions or someone else? Managers may fear that they will get in trouble if they intervene and the behaviors they observe are not violations of workplace rules or policies. If anything, this belief is almost the opposite of the truth; managers who fail to respond effectively to bullying can be held legally liable for their failure to look out for the welfare of their employees.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne, Barry Lenihan reports on how some political staff at Leinster House say they have been bullied in the job
What can organisations do to respond to bullying? An effective response to bullying starts at the top. Executives who bully their subordinates are not likely to encourage managers to respond to bullying in the workforce. Organisations need to build and advertise their cultures that discourage misbehavior and that sent a clear message about the behaviors that will or will not be tolerated in the workplace.
It is also important to recognise the range of behaviors that constitute bullying. For example, the Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety lists the following examples of bullying:
- Spreading malicious rumours, gossip, or innuendo.
- Excluding or isolating someone socially.
- Intimidating a person.
- Undermining or deliberately impeding a person's work.
- Physically abusing or threatening abuse.
- Removing areas of responsibilities without cause.
- Constantly changing work guidelines.
- Establishing impossible deadlines that will set up the individual to fail.
- Withholding necessary information or purposefully giving the wrong information.
- Making jokes that are 'obviously offensive' by spoken word or e-mail.
- Intruding on a person's privacy by pestering, spying or stalking.
- Assigning unreasonable duties or workload which are unfavourable to one person (in a way that creates unnecessary pressure).
- Underwork – creating a feeling of uselessness.
- Yelling or using profanity.
- Criticising a person persistently or constantly.
- Belittling a person's opinions.
- Unwarranted (or undeserved) punishment.
- Blocking applications for training, leave or promotion.
- Tampering with a person's personal belongings or work equipment.
We often think of bullying in terms of behaviors like yelling at co-workers or physical assault, but bullying is a much broader phenomenon, and managers need to recognise bullying when it occurs. Organisations need to empower managers and insist that they respond sooner rather than later. There is clear evidence that responding on the spot is much more effective than waiting for things to get so serious that the harm has already been done.
We often think of bullying in terms of behaviors like yelling at co-workers or physical assault, but bullying is a much broader phenomenon
The advantage of responding to small things before they get out of hand is that a small response might be quite effective. Once bullying behavior has escalated to the point of doing obvious harm, it might be necessary to respond through cumbersome formal means (e.g., disciplinary processes). Sometimes, bullies don’t even know that what they are doing could have serious implications for them, their co-workers and the workplace, and early intervention can keep the problem of bullying from getting out of hand.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
