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Featured Guest Blogger October 12th, 2009

Mallary Tytel is president of Healthy Workplaces, a national consulting practice.  Specialized areas of expertise are Human Systems Dynamics, Coaching, Cultural Change and Women in Transition. She is the former CEO of an international education and training corporation; has served as key advisor to senior-level civilian and military personnel within the U.S. Department of Defense; and created and delivered an innovative leadership training program in communities worldwide.  She is a Certified Executive Coach and Mediator and in her spare time she writes and mentors budding women entrepreneurs.  Her new book is Vision Driven: Lessons Learned from the Small Business C-Suite. Please note that the views of our guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sloan Work and Family Research Network.

Not too long ago the New York Times reported that the students at an affluent New York suburban middle school were learning to be nicer this year, whether they like it or not. The teaching and emphasis on empathy is the latest offensive in a decade-long campaign against bullying and violence in schools across the country. These lessons are seen as valuable tools in grooming children to be better citizens and leaders, and, hopefully, thinking twice before engaging in name-calling, gossip and other forms of social humiliation.

Now if you think this is just kid’s stuff, look around you; bullying has found its way into our workplaces.

Workplace bullying is the unreasonable actions of individuals (or a group) directed towards an employee (or a group of employees) that is intended to intimidate and creates a risk to the health and safety of the employee(s).  This involves an abuse or misuse of power and includes behavior that intimidates, degrades, offends or humiliates a worker, often in front of others.

Bullying behavior is an on-going workplace pattern that creates feelings of defenselessness in the target and undermines an individual’s right to dignity at work.  A report from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health found that close to one-third of the more than 500 private and public companies studied reported some occurrence of bullying in the preceding year.  Examples of bullying include:

• Unwarranted, invalid criticism or blame without factual justification
• Being treated differently than the rest of your work group
• Being sworn at, shouted at or humiliated
• Being the target of practical jokes
• Exclusion or social isolation

What can you do to take action against this destructive behavior? As an employee you can:

• Identify what is going on.  Recognize that you are being bullied and are NOT the source of the problem.
• Understand that bullying is about control and power, not performance.
• Document in detail occurrences with dates, times, places, what was said or done and who was present at the time.
• Work with your employer or trusted advocate to solve the problem.

As an employer you can:

• Create a zero tolerance anti-bullying policy. This should be part of a wider commitment to a safe and healthful working environment.
• When brought to your attention, the bullying behavior should be addressed IMMEDIATELY.  Reporting should be strongly encouraged and complaints need to be taken seriously.
• Hold awareness sessions for everyone on what bullying is; start by investigating the extent of the problem at your own company.
• Ensure management plays an active and attentive role in what goes on within their teams and departments.
• Encourage open door policies and improve management’s ability and sensitivity towards dealing with and responding to conflicts.
• Clearly demonstrate commitment from the top of the organization about what is and what is not acceptable behavior.

Be it the classroom or conference room, no one needs to put up with a bully’s behavior.  If you or someone you know is being bullied do something about it, for yourself and those around you.  Everyone should have a healthy workplace.

For more information visit the Workplaces Bullying and Trauma Institute at http://www.workplacebullying.org.

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