Workplace Bullying

Arthur Breese M.S., M.A.

James Calderone, EdD

Berwick Area School District

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Icebreaker

• Find the person you least know in the room• Introduce yourself to your partner (Name, organization, your

function in the organization etc.)• Discuss a time when you have been bullied or you have

witnessed an act of bullying• What did you do?

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Session Outline

• The Phenomenon

• The Perpetrators

• Who Gets Bullied

• Why Bullying Happens

• Impact on People

• Impact on Organizations

• Solutions

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Workplace Bullying

Takes one of the following forms:

• Verbal abuse

• Threatening, humiliating, or offensive behavior / actions

• Work interference sabotage – which prevents work from getting done

Workplace bullying defined as:

• Repeated health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the target)

• Done by one or more perpetrators

Workplace Bullying

Harassment• Illegal discrimination• Offensive and unwelcome conduct• Adversely affects the terms and conditions of the person’s

employment • Usually occurs because of the person’s protected class (race,

gender/sex, national origin, religion, disability etc.)

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Workplace Bullying

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0qKDiq1fNw

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Workplace Bullying

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoCVnr0LZLQ

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Workplace Bullying

Retaliation• Occurs after a person makes a complaint of illegal

discrimination• Becomes the subject of an adverse employment action or

subjected to harassment because he/she made the complaint• WORKPLACE BULLYING in general is not ILLEGAL

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Workplace Bullying . . .

• Is driven by the perpetrators need to control the targeted individuals

• Is initiated by bullies who choose targets, timing, place, and methods

• Escalates to involve others who side with the bully, either voluntarily through coercion

• Undermines legitimate business interests when bullies’ personal agendas take precedence over work itself

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Adult Bullies

• Adult bullies, like their schoolyard counterparts, tend to be insecure people with poor or non-existent social skills and little empathy

• They turn this insecurity outwards, finding satisfaction in their ability to diminish the capable people around them

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Workplace Bullying is also referred to as . . .

• Psychological abuse

• Psychological harassment

• “Status blind” harassment

• Mobbing

• Sub-lethal, non-physical workplace violence

• Generalized workplace abuse / mistreatment

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Statistics on Workplace Bullying –A Study of Self-Identified Targets

42%

58%

20%

80%

8%

50%

12%

30%

Men

Women

As bullies

As targets

Bullying women

Bullying men

As bullies

Astargets

Bullying women

Bullying men

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Statistics on Workplace Bullying –A Study of Self-Identified Targets

42%

58%

20%

80%

8%

50%

12%

30%

Men

Women

As bullies

As targets

Bullying women

Bullying men

As bullies

Astargets

Bullying women

Bullying men

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Statistics on Workplace Bullying –A Study of Self-Identified Targets

• 84% of targets describe themselves as college educated

• The mean work experience was– 21.4 years in the workplace– 6.7 years with the current employer

31%36%

10%

12%

11%Non-Profit

Gov’t Corporate

OtherSmall Business

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Workplace Bullies

• 71% of the time bullies are of higher rank than the target (another study identifies 605 as supervisors)

• Only 23% of the time do they bully alone

• An average of 3.5 people are enlisted to help

• Women bullies are more likely (68%) to torment more than a single target than men bullies (62%)

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Workplace Bullying Over Time

• Respondents in two surveys indicated that they endured bullying for 18.6 months and 16.5 months

• Chronic abuse over two years in duration show even deeper and more far-ranging effects

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Experiences Outside of Work –You are Probably Bullied When …

• You throw up the night before work

• Everyone is fed up with you obsessing about work at home

• Your doctor tells you to change jobs because of blood pressure and health problems

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Tactics Used by Workplace Bullies

1. Blame for “errors”2. Unreasonable job demands3. Criticism of ability4. Inconsistent compliance with rules5. Threaten job loss6. Insults and put-downs7. Discounting / Denial of accomplishments8. Yelling, screaming9. Exclusion, “icing out”10. Stealing credit

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The Screaming Mimi

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The Screaming Mimi

• Prefers public setting to affect shame

• Intimidates to instill fear in target and witnesses

• Yells, curses, screams to mask incompetence

• Makes physical threats

• Invades personal space

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The Constant Critic

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The Constant Critic

• Prefers 1-on-1, private settings for deniability

• Destroys confidence in demonstrated competence

• Lies about performance appraisal

• Thoroughly de-humanizes, is contemptuous

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The Two-Headed Snake

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• Jekyll-Hyde, passive-aggressive backstabber

• Manages image as seen from above, terrorizes individuals below

• Difficult to detect

• Controls target’s reputation

The Two-Headed Snake

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The Gatekeeper

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The Gatekeeper

• Denies / Blocks resources needed for success

• Unrealistic deadlines

• No training budget or help from others

• No accommodations for physician orders

• Disruption of family / health obligations

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Workplace Bullying by Race

Race Bullied Now

Been Bullied Combined Witnessed

No Bullying

Experience

Hispanic 12.7% 23.5% 40.2% 12.3% 51.4%

African-American 11% 27.6% 38.6% 7.9% 51.5%

White 7.9% 25.7% 33.6% 16.8% 49.6%

Asian 3.8% 9.7% 13.5% 37.6% 48.9%

2010 8.8% 25.7% 34.5% 15.5% 49.6%

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Workplace Bullying – Sexual Orientation

• 1 in 5 lesbian and gay people have experienced workplace bullying from colleagues because of their sexual orientation (Stonewall Research and Policy)

• 13% of the workforce has witnessed verbal homophobic bullying in the workplace

• 4% of the national workforce has witnessed physical homophobic bullying at work

• Research has found that gay staff who can be out at work in a safe environment are more productive than their gay colleagues who are in the “closet”

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IMPACT on PeopleIMPACT

on People

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Cost of Bullying

Understanding the costs of bullying can be worthwhile for unions and employers – the costs of bullying are multidimensional

Identify potential costs for:A – Toll on bystandersB – Value’s toll on targetC – Tangible costD – Intangible cost

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Cost of Bullying – Toll on Bystanders

• Suffer deterioration of their work place environment and fear being the bully’s next target

• Internal confusion and anger at being forced to ostracize and / or dehumanize others and choose between self and others

• Altered mentality – justifying situations that create hostility and abuse by copying the behavior of the bully

• Decreased job satisfaction and commitment

• Possible loss of life if target resorts to violence

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Cost of Bullying – Value’s Toll on Target

• Will catastrophize – where targets freeze themselves getting caught up in worst-case thinking

• Fear of living life itself leading to suicide or complete restructuring of core personality

• Loss of faith in self, higher power, or community at large

• Loss of trust making interactions with family and friends difficult

• Desire to cocoon self to protect energy and feelings

• Loss of work, outside friends, and family members due to withdrawal and others getting compassion fatigue

continued >>

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Cost of Bullying – Value’s Toll on Target

• Everyone is fed up with the target obsessing about work

• Days off spent exhausted and lifeless

• All desire lost

• Target suffers permanent damage to reputation

• Loss of security and safety

• Co-worker isolation from fear

• Families and co-workers encourage compromise with bully and resent if no compromise is found

• Wavering support from family

• Children / Friends outside work show strain

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Cost of Bullying – Tangible Costs

• Increased sickness and 26% higher absenteeism and presenteeism

• Reduced performance / productivity including damage to equipment

• Increased mistakes and accidents

• More premature retirements and higher turnover requiring more recruitment, training, and advertising

• Increased payments for Workers’ Compensation benefits, disability, and healthcare benefits

• Increased health and social welfare costs

• More expensive grievance, litigation, compensation, and liability insurance

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Cost of Bullying – Intangible Costs

• Loss of morale, negative public relations

• Talent flight where the best and brightest leave or are driven out

• Loss of reputation and service capacity due to employee theft

• Higher staff resistance to management initiatives

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Health impairment

Loss of social support

Economic harm

Individuals Pay the Price – For Unsolicited Targethood

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Psychological / Emotional Impact

85%85%

WBI 2003

• Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)– 30% of targeted men– 21% of targeted women

• Betrayal / injustice / assault on dignity

• Shame and guilt

Anxiety / Panic attacksInduced clinical depression39%39%

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Environments that Traumatize

• Provide little predictability or control

• Present an intense, overwhelming threat

• Destroy a sense of security and safety

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Individuals Pay the Price – For Unsolicited Targethood

Health impairment

Loss of social support

Economic harm

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Co-Worker Inaction

• Everyone FEARS being next

• Witnesses agree about circumstances but don’t share, silence prevails – Abilene paradox

• Cliques pursue passive-aggressive self-interest groupthink

• Many side with aggressor

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What Co-Workers Do and Don’t Do

WBI Labor Day 2008

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Individuals Pay the Price – For Unsolicited Targethood

Health impairment

Loss of social support

Economic harm

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What Stops the Bullying?

WBI U.S. Natl 2010

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$$$ Impact on Organizations$$$ Impact on Organizations

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Workplace Bullying – Organizational Culture

Can and does create an environment that allows and encourages bullying

• Win/Lose Culture – Everyone is out for himself / herself, and withholding information from colleagues is common; it’s usually a highly competitive environment

• Blame Culture – Causes individuals to be afraid to step out of line for fear of being blamed for doing something wrong

• Sacrifice Culture – Requires people to put their jobs before their personal lives to the extent that they may become ill

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Tangible Employer Costs

• Turnover and replacement costs

• Absenteeism and presenteeism

• Fatigued-caused errors and accidents

• Suspended interdependent team productivity

• Litigation and settlement expenses

• Workers’ Compensation / disability

Workplace Bullying

Bullying as defined by law, means an intentional electronic, written, verbal of physical act or series of acts directed at another student, parent, employee or board member, that is severe, persistent or pervasive and has the effect of doing any of the following:

• Interfering with a student’s education, employee’s job performance, or board member’s governance ability

• Creating a threatening environment• Substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the school/

district This policy includes cyberbullying.

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Workplace Bullying

Legislation was introduced to the PA house in December 2013 For The

Healthy Workplace Bill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6SbYi7jvJ0

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Bully Free at Work : the Facts on Workplace Bullying

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-q2VRAxjh8

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