Archive for April, 2008
April 25, 2008 at 12:25 pm
· Filed under work, workplace bullying ·Tagged business, culture, life, management, organizations, Politics, work, workplace bullying
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I wish I had an actual link to this, but a friend sent it to me. Its premise, that workplace bullying is like deliberate policy is certainly true of some workplaces. For example, an internal study done of the United States Department of Interior cited a “Culture of fear” had developed among its employees.
Well, that doesn’t just come out of nowhere. In most places I have worked, I have not been afraid. In someplace like that, though it is hardly the only one.
that seems like a deliberate management choice. In other places though, I am not so sure. I think the bully can come in and before the company or the
employees know what has happened, the place is ruined.
International Journal of Management and Decision Making |
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Issue: |
Volume 4, Number 1 / 2003 |
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35 – 46 |
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URL: |
Linking Options |
| Bullying and organisational politics in competitive and rapidly changing work environments
Denise Salin
A1 Department of Management and Organisation, Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration, PO Box 479, FIN-00101 Helsinki, Finland
Abstract:
This paper argues that workplace bullying can in some cases be a form of organisational politics, that is, a deliberate, competitive strategy from the perspective of the individual perpetrator. A cross-sectional study conducted among business professionals revealed that there was a correlation between a politicised and competitive climate and bullying. This finding implies that globalisation, increased pressures for efficiency, and restructuring, which limits the number of management positions and thereby contributes to increased internal competition, may lead to more bullying. The findings have important implications for management, since the possible political aspects of bullying must be taken into account in order to be able to undertake successful prevention and intervention measures. |
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April 23, 2008 at 1:39 pm
· Filed under work, workplace bullying ·Tagged bullying, culture, family, life, Politics, work, workplace bullying
A recent article in the Hartford Courant, April 22, 2008 examines workplace bullying as abuse and compares the way people treat workplace violence vs. bullying. Workplace violence is a serious problem. I have a colleague whose brother was punched at work. He did nothing because he didn’t want to lose his job, but he had recourse. That’s a physical assault, and most workplaces have policies about it and there are state laws about assault and battery. But what if an employer throws an object towards you and it misses (on purpose?) but scares you and intimidates you, and is part of a repeated behavior of yelling, belittling, humiliating, etc. that is making you sick? There are no laws that prevent that.
Check out the article. Bullying affects men and women; it is done by men and women. And HRs want to put people together in a room and have them talk it over. I would not allow a violent spousal abuser to be placed in a room with his target. Why would HR allow a workplace bully to do that? In my case, the bully was actually the state alternative dispute resolution head. That makes me feel so secure!
We need a law, fair and balanced. It shouldn’t be a law where disgruntled employees can put a company out of business. It should be a law where abused employees can sue the bully, but only if they can prove the bully did it with malice and harmed their health. You have to have this high bar so bullies don’t sue targets. There has to be medical proof involved.
For those of us who want a law it’s not about the money. We want to be able to do our jobs well and enjoy our work. Americans work very hard as a nation. Collectively we work harder than almost anyone else, but workplace bullying is on the rise. Maybe this is because people are stressed over the economy, but I think it is just that management practices often don’t vet the people they are putting in charge of others. A productive person in the office may not be a good manager and may not be a person able to motivate by inspiration rather than fear.
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April 20, 2008 at 11:57 pm
· Filed under work, workplace bullying ·Tagged bullies, federal legislation, health, healthy workplace bill, Politics, work, workplace bullying
Read deeply into today’s article in The Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/18/AR2008041802324.html
Workplace bullying is mentioned underneath the schoolyard bullying issue that headlines the article. It brings home the situation that articles in California and elsewhere have about suicide, cancer and heart attack risk, etc.
During the past two decades, bullying has been linked to hundreds of deaths worldwide, underscoring the need to address this urgent public health issue.” and
“Maryland should look at public policy strategies that involve the participation of public health officials to promote community understanding of the health problems linked to bullying, provide guidelines for the detection of health problems and work with school authorities to conduct periodic assessments of the prevalence of bullying. Community partnerships are essential to promote understanding about bullying and to advocate for its prevention.”
I believe this is only the second mention in The Washington Post of workplace bullying. The other, concerning the recent Canadian study was:
Federal legislation is needed to protect federal workers; state legislation is need to protect state employees and private employees. I hope the Post will have that influence.
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April 15, 2008 at 12:10 pm
· Filed under work, workplace bullying ·Tagged bullies, bullying, culture, discrimination, harassment, law, life, Politics, Schools, work, workplace bullying
There are a couple of stories in workplace bullying news today that merit attention. There is a great interview with Dr. Gary Namie of the Workplace Bullying Institute. You can see the whole article here, but I have excerpted highlights:
Previewing his “Workplace Bullying — the New Harassment” presentation, Namie agreed to do a Q & A with the Sioux City Journal.
Sioux City Journal: “Why is workplace bullying considered a new sort of harassment? Hasn’t it been going on forever?”
Namie: “Yes it has, but it’s been like a dirty little secret. People know that sexual harassment is illegal but bullying is four times as prevalent. (Bullying) has been a silent epidemic because people felt they couldn’t talk about it and because they knew employers would look the other way and do nothing about it. The WBI has been working with state legislatures and the courts in an attempt to effect anti-bullying state laws. We’ve also been working with progressive businesses to recognize its impact on their employees.”
Journal: “What’s the difference between acceptable, routine conduct versus abusive bullying?
Namie: “Workplace bullying doesn’t mean merely being rude to a subordinate. The workplace bully publicly humiliates a co-worker, deliberately sabotages a co-worker’s career, verbally threatens, or even physically threatens the co-worker. The impact on the bullied co-worker can range from anxiety, depression, all the way up to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).”
Journal: “Why is workplace bullying prevalent among educators in schools?”
Namie: “The kind of person drawn to teaching wants to develop and educate people. That person may be a nurturing type of person who’d rather turn the other cheek than confront the bully. Everything that makes that person a good teacher also makes them an easy mark for a narcissistic, egotistical bully.”
Journal: “What impact does it have on students?”
Namie: “The impact is great. Forty-five percent of the people who experience bullying also experience stress-related health complications. This increases the rate of absenteeism which impacts the teacher’s ability to teach your child. A good teacher may even decide the work isn’t worthwhile because of the abuse. How can a teacher tell a student that it’s wrong bullying others if it happens to the teacher? How much credibility will this teacher have with the student?
Another article also appeared in the The Ledger: http://www.theledger.com/article/20080414/NEWS/804140393/1326.
The media is learning that this is an epidemic problem, with nearly 54 million people being bullied in their workplaces. The Indiana Supreme Court (see my post below) is the only “law” that exists out there acknowledging workplace bullying as a tort, a personal injury.
It’s important that women and racial minorities have protection from discrimination and harassment. But there is bullying that happens to all people in the workplace and we need status blind legislation for that–doesn’t matter if you are a man or woman, of any color or ethnicity or religion. Because anyone can bullied.
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April 14, 2008 at 12:39 pm
· Filed under work ·Tagged AFL-CIO, bullying, culture, Election 2008, family, jobs, life, Politics, polls, statistics, surveys, Women, work, workplace, workplace bullying
On May 15, Working America and the AFL-CIO will launch the Ask a Working Woman survey. Weigh in on the joys and frustrations of life on the job. When you fill out the form, you become part of the largest survey in the nation to identify the concerns of women in the workforce. We share the results with elected officials and organizations to highlight the problems and demand solutions. To participate in this year’s survey, visit the Working America website at www.workingamerica.org.
If you have been bullied at work, I especially urge you to participate in the AFL-CIO survey. Unions often cannot or will not help with workplace bullying. Sometimes the bully belongs to the same union. It is very important to get union support for legislation such as the Healthy Workplace Bill supported by the Workplace Bullying Institute. Thirteen states have considered such legislation, but none has yet passed it.
We are also in an election year where there is a strange mixture of sexism and listening to women’s voices like they haven’t been listened to before. Let’s make our voices heard and talk about our work experience. Many of us love our jobs and really try to excel at them. That’s important to get across as well. The glass ceiling isn’t gone, but we can crack it if we keep trying!
By the way, I wanted to add some statistics I found on Katiebird’s site. She did the research and I am crediting her:
Jobs did not fall during the Clinton Administration. I went and looked at the BLS for the top 100 US markets under Bush 41, Clinton and Bush 43. Bush 41 led in 12 (Gary, Honolulu, Des Moines, El Paso, Little Rock, Fresno, Seattle, Witcha, Riverside/San Bernardino, Tacoma, Raleigh/Durham, Madison). Clinton led in all the rest or 88. None for GWBush.
Here are numbers for Pennslyvania markets:
| |
GHW Bush |
Clinton |
GW Bush |
| Allentown |
0.59% |
1.72% |
0.00% |
| Harrisburg |
1.18% |
1.73% |
0.31% |
| Philadelphia |
-0.95% |
1.51% |
0.14% |
| Pittsburgh |
1.10% |
1.24% |
-0.51% |
| Scranton |
0.42% |
1.10% |
-0.75% |
Someone needs to point this out and soon.
The data is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sen. Obama was mistaken when he said jobs were lost during the Bill Clinton years.
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April 10, 2008 at 1:11 pm
· Filed under workplace bullying ·Tagged abuse, bullies, bullying, culture, family, Indiana, law, lawsuits, Politics, violence, work, workplace bullying
The Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that workplace bullying can be intentional infliction of emotional distress. While a state supreme court ruling is binding precedent only on that state’s courts, other states often use such decisions to inform their own legal thinking. For a complete overview of this case’s history, see http://bullyinginstitute.org/education/indianacase.html.
To read the entire decision: http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/04080801bd.pdf.
The verdict has, of course, received media attention. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080409/BUSINESS/804090417.
The comment section is quite revealing. There are the healthy workplace advocates and bullied people who have spoken up, but there are also the comments that call targets whiners, wimps, etc., as if being yelled at and having fists put in one’s face were “normal” workplace behavior. We all know it should not be, and in some ways, this is a cry for civilization to win out over barbarism.
For some people, anyone who sues is a crybaby; any jury is a pathetic bunch of morons; any appellate court or group of lawyers are out to get doctors. But the truth is so clear. Targets of bullying experience the health-harming effects of abuse; juries are people like us who know a bully when they see one and are tired of this behavior; lawyers and jurists are people who can choose to do the right thing and invoke the law to do what it is supposed to do: right wrongs!
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April 9, 2008 at 12:48 pm
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged abuse, bosses, bullying, culture, employment, family, jobs, work, workplace bullying
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=705971548&play=1
Workplace bullying is a rising epidemic. 54 million people have been bullied, abused, intimidated, and harmed at work. This is not what our workplaces should be like. We just want to do our jobs well. Watch Dr. Gary Namie of the Workplace Bullying Institute and other speakers address the issues on CNBC.
If you want to know more, link to the WBI at http://www.bullyinginstitute.org. I didn’t really have a name to put to what was happening to me. The site has great information. Also, consider purchasing one of the book on my About Me page. I am not trying to make money, just to pass on good info. Namie’s book and Sutton’s book are the best, in my opinion, but we all have different needs.
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