1. Mean Girls and Bad Boys Dealing with Bullies in the Workplace
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Jodi Schafer, SPHR
Human Resource Management Services
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2. Agenda Defining bullying Identifying bullying
Harassment verses bullying
Managing a bully
Working for a bully
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3. What is a bullying?
Bullying is the intimidation or tormenting of others in the work place.
It is generally emotional and includes behaviors that undermine, intimidate, embarrass, or humiliate.
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4. What is bullying?
Bullying is defined by the Workplace Bullying Institute as:
“Repeated, health harming abusive conduct committed by bosses and co-workers.”
“Repeated mistreatment: sabotage by others that prevented work from getting done. Verbal abuse, threatening conduct, intimidation and humiliation.”
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5. Why bully? It is about power and control!
To get people to do what they want
They want to control the people they bully
They want to control the people they don’t bully
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6. Essentially – bullies bully who ever they want to.
Who do they bully?
Employees who are a threat to their power
Employees who are not a threat to their power
Employees who they don’t like
Employees who they do like
Essentially – bullies bully who ever they want to.
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7. Question: Where do bullies go when they graduate from high school?
Learned Behavior
Question: Where do bullies go when they graduate from high school?
THE WORKPLACE!
Bullying is learned behavior that has been proven successful.
It starts young, is honed in middle school and high school and perfected in the work place.
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8. Often the behaviors are not openly aggressive.
Bullying Behaviors
False accusations
Shunning a person
Non-verbal intimidating behaviors
Staring
Mocking
Rolling of eyes
Hyper-critical
Withholding of information
Often the behaviors are not openly aggressive.
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9. Bullying Statistics
If you want to know the extent of a problem - look at the statistics.
A survey conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute in 2014:
48% of workers are affected by bullying (bullied and witnessed)
69% of bullies are men
60% of the workers bullied are women (average when combining male and female bullies)
68% is female on female bullying
A survey conducted by Harris revealed that only 34% of women reported being bullied
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10. Employers’ Reactions to Bullying
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11. Coworkers’ Reactions to Bullying
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12. Is this bullying?
A long term employee plays practical jokes on new employees that are embarrassing and humiliating to the new employee.
An employee is responsible for training, but they conveniently leave out important aspects of the process, causing the trainee to complete the process incorrectly.
An employee hoards the best equipment and threatens anyone who tries to use it.
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13. Bullying vs. Harassment
Harassment is a legal definition that is based upon PROTECTED CLASSIFICATIONS.
Harassment/Sexual Harassment laws make it illegal to engage in conduct that substantially interferes with an individual’s work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.

14. Protected Classifications
Federal Laws
Michigan Law – Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act
Gender
Race
National Origin
Color
Religion
Age
Disability (mental and physical)
Veteran Status
Pregnancy
Genetic Information
Same as Federal PLUS:
Height
Weight
Marital or Family Status
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15. Harassment Every employer must have a policy that addresses harassment
Must include reporting
Must conduct an investigation
Easier to address
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16. Bullying is ‘Legal Harassment’
Harassment is bullying that attacks a person on the basis of their protected classification.
Gender
Religion
National Origin, etc…
Because typical bullying behavior is not related to an employee’s protected classification, essentially employers do not have a legal liability.
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17. Bullying impacts the workplace
Lost productivity
Turnover
High absenteeism of the victims
Recruiting
Lost communication
Negative outcomes for targets of bullying vs. perpetrators is 4:1.
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18. Why do manager keep bullies?
They tend to give the illusion that they are the best performer
They have created an environment that is toxic which impacts the productivity of the staff being bullied
They control the workers and thus control the message to leadership
Bullies tend to have an “entourage” who protect the bully – lest they be bullied
Managers are also bullied
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19. Corporate policy
A policy requiring cooperation, respectful communication and treatment of others.
A policy addressing threatening or intimidating behavior, whether direct of implied.
A policy addressing use of social media to communicate to co-workers, not allowing disparaging or threatening comments to be made about co-workers, mangers, etc.
A policy that allows employees options to advise leadership of the bullying behavior in a manner that will not result in any retaliation.
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20. Managing a bully
Establish standards of conduct for your staff and require compliance
Cooperative behavior
Respectful communication
Honesty
Hold employees accountable to uphold these standards
Reinforce good behavior
Address violations
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21. Managing a bully Know that the bullying is happening
Determine if there is a policy violation
Is this harassment?
Is this a threat?
Direct
Implied
What is the impact of the bullying on the health of the bullied?
Physical
Mental
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22. Pay Attention Mangers must first be aware Keep yourself accessible
The behavior is going on right under your nose
Watch for signs
The bully controls the work environment
The workforce is divided
Some employees say nothing
Turnover of newly hired staff
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23. Follow through with discipline if retaliation
Pay Attention
Take complaints seriously
Investigate
Ask questions and corroborate the statements
Assure protection from retaliation for the:
Complaining employee
Co-worker
Witnesses
Follow through with discipline if retaliation
of any kind occurs
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24. Address the behavior – of the bully
Two tiered approach:
Tier one
From a coaching perspective to initiate a change in behavior
Ask the employee
What do you gain from the SPECIFIC ACT?
What will you lose from the SPECIFIC ACT?
Where do you go from here?
Avoid using the term “bullying”
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25. Address the behavior – of the bully
Tier two
From a disciplinary perspective that will result in consequences for continuing the behavior
Formal discipline
Potential for termination
Start the paper trail – you will need it.
If anyone is going to sue you it will be the bully.
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26. Address the behavior – of the employee being bullied
Show support for them
Let them know you will not tolerate the behavior of the bully
Maintain open communication
Teach them how to stand up to bully
Remember – they may not be the most assertive of employees
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27. Prevention Methods Address in the hiring process
Communicate the policy
Address violations immediately
Swiftly and decisively
Model the behavior you expect
Be accessible
Take complaints seriously
Educate your staff, manager, supervisors
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28. Potential Legal Options
Michigan‘s anti-stalking law prohibits the
“ willful course of conduct that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, intimidated, threatened, harassed or molested, and in that actually causes the victim to feel terrorized frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed or molested.”
Criminal law vs. Civil law
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29. Future Laws Legal remedies May increase the liability for companies
May result in false claims
I prefer to handle from a management perspective
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30. Bully Boss vs. Demanding Boss
It’s about them
They hold on to information and knowledge
They take all the credit
They don’t want you to be better than them
Demanding:
It’s about the job
You gain information and knowledge
They don’t care about credit
It’s about the job, they don’t care as long as the work is done right
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31. Demanding Bosses Are equally hard on everyone Do not make it personal
Focused on getting the job done right
Focused on profit, growth, customer service, etc.
Generally acts without malice
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32. When your boss/manager is a bully
Document the incident(s)
Discuss the concerns directly with him or her
Understand it will do no good!
Document the response
Continue to document
Then take it to higher powers –
Knowing it may backfire…
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33. When your boss/manager is a bully
Do not allow it to control your life
Know that you are just one in a long list of bullied employees
Remember you did nothing to deserve this
Look for a job elsewhere
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34. What can you do? Why do bullies bully? Because it works
Because management allows it
Because it gives them power
Because it gives them control
DO NOT LET IT WORK!
Treat employees with respect at all times
Do not allow employees to bully
Listen and act on complaints
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35. Sources
Results of the 2014 WBI U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey,
Dealing with Workplace Bullies, SHRM, Publications, Legal Report, July 1, 2011
Workplace Bullying and Disruptive Behavior: What Everyone Needs to Know. Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention. Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. April 2011
Tough Boss or Workplace Bully? Teresa Daniel, H.R. Magazine, Vol 54. No. 6 June 1, 2009
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