Bullies may graduate from high school—but they don't always shake their manipulative, power-seeking ways in tandem. In fact, a 2014 study conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) revealed that nearly 30% of workers had experienced some form of bullying on the job.
Moreover, 72% of those surveyed felt that their workplace either rationalized or encouraged a culture of bullying, or denied its existence altogether.
When your workplace has any presence of bullies, it's impossible to give your employees the safe environment that encourages them to have the confidence, motivation and ability to be truly productive and happy in their jobs.
When employees complain about "workplace bullying," managers and HR are often confused about how to respond. Could this be harassment that requires a legal response? Is the employee using the term to describe a colleague who is simply annoying? Find out here...
Here are a few simple ways to prevent and manage bullying in your workplace:
• Know what it looks like. The easiest way to manage workplace bullying is to create an environment that discourages it from beginning altogether. But the actions that constitute bullying in a professional environment are broad, and, at times, slightly subjective.
According to the WBI, bullying in a professional environment includes repeated mistreatment, whether by a supervisor, a co-worker or even a person on the lower levels of the organizational chart.
Though the more obvious bullying is physical or overtly verbal abuse, including yelling, using profanity, making racial remarks and name-calling, it includes behavior "designed" to make it hard for another person to succeed in the workplace. This may include outright sabotage of a person's efforts, but can also be subtle. For example, refusal to give a co-worker the attention or support they need to complete a task could be considered bullying. Likewise, workplace "cliques" that make a worker feel excluded or intimidated could qualify as bullying.
• Look out for the targets. Though anyone can be bullied, there are some types of co-workers who tend to be targeted more frequently than others—and it may not be the ones you expect. Experts at the WBI explain that workers who are particularly skilled in their jobs, favorites of management, well liked in the company, ethical, honest and not particularly aggressive—even if confronted—are common targets.
Left unchecked, bullying can result in reduced productivity, increased turnover and serious legal problems. To break this unhealthy cycle, both parties need coaching on appropriate workplace relationships.
• Be a persistent observer of interactions. When the WBI surveyed more than 600 respondents who had been bullied, their top three reasons for why it occurred all included the fact that bullies aren't punished—by management or the law. But bullies are only as powerful as the sense of fear, coercion and intimidation they cultivate.
The more present an observer you are throughout the workday to such behavior in the making, the better you can gauge the tone of your employees' relationships with one another.
• Make a point to consistently observe as a proverbial "fly on the wall." Check in the employee break room periodically and take stock of who seems to have a positive relationship. Note who doesn't seem to interact with the group, and whether there seems to be animosity among any workers. Employees who are feeling bullied may not feel comfortable reporting the behavior, but you can gain a sense of the nature of the interactions through observation.
• Encourage a zero-tolerance environment. When the WBI surveyed bullied victims for how their employers handled the issue, those who did nothing and hoped the behavior would pass were successful in their approach just 3% of the time. But bullied victims who reported the behavior to management or human resources had the same success rate.
Clearly, management's attitude toward workplace bullying is imperative in preventing and dealing with such incidents. Let every member of your team know that bullying in any form is something you take seriously—and that it's a behavior the entire group needs to work together to police and proactively prevent. Encourage employees to stand up for the safe and trust-based culture that will allow them all to thrive and be successful.
If they overhear a person who is speaking inappropriately to another co-worker, let them know they have the responsibility to speak up. Make it clear that they're not "tattling," but rather, maintaining the departmental culture that will allow them all to succeed professionally.
Dealing with Workplace Bullying: How to Control the Perpetrators, Coach the Victims & Avoid Legal Pitfalls
Join us Sept. 27 to discover: - Workplace bullying: What it is & what it isn't
- How an office is different from a schoolyard
6 signs that you might have a bullying problem- Bullies vs. jerks: Four specific bullying behaviors
- Understanding the dominator/victim relationship
Abuse of power: The worst form of bullying- Controlling the dominators: Expectations & boundaries
- Coaching the victims: Assertiveness & role models
- Using group coaching to heal fractured teams
- The problem of rogue managers & toxic executives
- How to protect yourself against current legal claims
- What you need to know about proposed anti-bullying legislation
Don't let bullying be the elephant in the room at your workplace. Join us Sept. 27 to find out how to control the perpetrators and avoid legal pitfalls.
No comments:
Post a Comment