Dealing with Workplace Bullying

First Published on Linkedin Pulse

Bullying is almost always associated with childhood. However, adult bullying not only exists, but is prevalent in the workplace and can be devastating to the recipient and extremely disruptive to the organisation.

So, why is bullying in the workplace often ignored or disregarded? It comes back to what was said above. There can be a perception that bullying is only carried out by children on other children, and so when it is seen happening with adults, it is labelled as something else. In the workplace, that label of something else, can be Supervision, Management, or trying to get someone to work harder or do better.

Unfortunately, this is what allows abusive behaviour to flourish. There are plenty of very talented people, who are also hard workers, who have found themselves on the receiving end of bullying, only to have their concerns dismissed as a supervisor or manager, managing. This is extremely worrying, as it allows a culture of bullying to be dressed up as something else; too, it encourages poor unethical behaviour to exist in the workplace.

It can be tricky for senior management and human resources to deal with this issue, namely because the bully is automatically put in the position of preference - Adult's don't bully - they are a supervisor/manager trying to do their job - they are looking out for the best interests of the company by trying to get an employee to work harder and better.

However, if the bully has a track record of upsetting otherwise model employees, then this needs to be taken very seriously at the risk of causing very serious disruption within the company, and of losing talent and creating churn. It also allows a climate of fear to prevail and for bad behaviour and unethical practices to win out over doing the right thing. Another issue that a business has to watch out for is a law suit that could have been avoided if bullying allegations had been taken seriously instead of brushed under the carpet.

What needs to be looked out for? Constant criticism of an employee that your own instincts tell you is a good worker. If it feels wrong, then it probably is wrong. Trust yourself. If have never had any reason to believe that this person has been anything other than good for the company, then why are they on the receiving end of never ending criticism from their supervisor/manager?

Has the employee been denied their vacation time more than once? If this is a recurring theme, then something is wrong. It can be a tool of the bully to use whatever power they have to exercise it, just for the sake of exercising it. Trying to say that they cannot go on such and such a date due to work issues or non cover, even though they themselves could cover, should be enough to have alarm bells ringing. Check the vacation records and if it is found that a person is simply not taking all their allotted annual leave, then you have a problem. A bully can quite often just be making life difficult for the sake of it, rather than any valid reason. Of course, they will claim a valid reason, but this should not be taken at face value, especially if others are not subject to the same treatment.

Sending harassing Emails. If there is an employee who is on the receiving end of emails that are critical of their work or that always seem to ask leading questions, then this may be a cause for concern. The clever bully tries to frame their harassment in the form of a question that if you read between the lines, is actually a criticism. An example of this would be: "I received this letter today from one of our supplier's. I thought it was very well written. Why can't you send letter's like this?" It's is fairly obvious that this question is actually a blunt criticism of a person's work and most likely does not follow company policy and procedure in relation to same.

Take this sort of behaviour seriously and demand that any complaints be dealt with through the proper channels. Also, in relation to emails, are they being sent directly before a person is due to go on vacation? Is there one of these blunt messages exampled above sent at 4.55 on a Friday afternoon, when the employee is due to start a vacation? This is harassing behaviour and be a cause for very serious worry and upset that may have been totally unnecessary.

Likewise, are accusatory emails being sent during vacation time knowing that they will be seen first thing upon an employee's return? This is a perfect example of bullying behavior, in that it is designed to have maximum impact. Again, if your company policies and procedures are not being adhered to, there may very well be a bullying culture that is allowed to grow with your organisation.

Is there an employee being asked to do thing's that the supervisor/manager would not do themselves? i.e is someone being asked to engage in unethical or even illegal business practices, while the manager/supervisor shields themselves from the consequences?

Apart from this being highly immoral and perhaps damaging to your business, it get's to the heart of bullying. If the manager/supervisor is not prepared to do it themselves, but wants someone else to it it for them, then this is most definitely a form of bullying and needs to be stamped out immediately and perhaps disciplinary proceedings taken against the said manager or supervisor. They should never be putting an employee into a position whereby they may be engaging in suspect behaviour and putting a companies reputation at risk.

Requesting an employee to lie or give misleading or even doctored information is a bullying technique. If someone has found themselves in a sticky situation, it has and does happen that they abuse their position of authority in asking a subordinate to lie on their behalf. This can extend to falsifying documents and providing erroneous information. If this has been found to be happening, it is bullying and must stop.

To deal with workplace bullying, make sure that the company policies and procedures are adhered to. That means, that they are not to be taken as a mere guideline. Ensure that your management and supervisory teams are fully aware and familiar with its contents and understand that it must be followed at all times. Failure to have a company culture that has respect for the people within the organisation, can only lead to trouble.

Allowing bad behaviour to repeatedly happen, only makes for more of it, and that is a recipe for disaster. Taking care of your employees extends to taking bullying seriously. There are always knock on effects to not dealing with it and quite often it leads to unforeseen circumstances, which will not be good for your business. There is also the ethical responsibility and duty of care to your people that has to be considered.

Allowing bullies to bully in the name of management or supervision will always come back to bite you. Deal with it for the sake of the person on the receiving end and for you and your business.

Robert E. Kearns 2017