Discussion 2: Organizational Injustice and Deviant Behavior

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Employee Relations

Where the Bullies Why bad behavior is more prevalent in certain

fields and what you can do about it.

By Dana Wilkie

D uring more than two decades as a nurse, researcher, and occupational safety and health manager, Peggy Berry, SHRM- SCP, has w itnessed— and listened to stories a b o u t— countless incidents of w orkplace bullying.

A couple of years ago, a nurse in Ohio told Berry th at his supervisor badgered him in a hospital emer­ gency room because he asked to take vacation on days when she would have to fill in for him due to her own poor planning. N o t only did she try to force him to work during th at time, she repeatedly hectored him

before his vacation. (He took the time off nonetheless and was relieved when he didn’t suffer retaliation.)

Unfortunately, this m an’s experience is all too com­ mon in many fields where stressful conditions and rigid hierarchical structures create environments that are par­ ticularly prone to bullying. More than one-quarter of U. S. workers say they have been bullied at work, and another 21 percent say they have witnessed such abusive conduct, including threats, intimidation, humiliation, work sabo­ tage or verbal abuse, according to the 2014 U.S. Work­ place Bullying Survey conducted by Zogby Analytics for the Workplace Bullying Institute. >

M a rc h 2 0 1 6 H R Magazine 51

Employee Relations

W hether a specific workplace is particularly vulnerable to bully­ ing depends on a variety of factors, including the culture, the person­ alities draw n to th at line of work and the organization’s structure.

W hile other countries— England, Sweden, A ustralia am ong them — have laws prohibiting workplace bullying, there are no fed­ eral or state bans in the U. S. However, H R professionals need to be sensitive to complaints about this behavior because it can increase stress, drive turnover and lead to legal headaches. They should be alert for patterns of grievances surrounding particular employees.

“Typically, these behaviors aren’t going to be a singular event, b u t repetitive events o r behaviors th a t have a negative im pact on an employee,” says E dw ard Yost, SHRM -SCP, an H R business p artn er and employee relations expert at the Society for H u m an Resource M anagem ent (SHRM ). “If an employee quits due to such an environm ent, he o r she could potentially raise a claim of w ro n g fu l discharge. A n employer could be especially at risk if it w as inform ed of the behaviors an d chose not to take action.”

B u lly in g a ls o m ay le a d to th e m ore serious problem of w orkplace violence.

“W orkplace aggression is on a con­ tinuum th a t starts w ith general unac­ co u n tab ility , moves in to in stab ility [and then] to conflict, to mild bullying, to daily bullying,” says Berry, w ho is currently w orking as a hu m an systems in teg ratio n an aly st in D ay to n , O hio. W h a t happens n e x t is th a t the bully w ill bring in co-conspirators— a phe­ nom enon Berry and others refer to as “m obbing,” w here a group of people

bully or exclude an individual. T h e goal is to create a pow er im balance th a t will force a person to leave or create even more conflict. “T h a t can lead to w orkplace violence as the bully becomes more aggressive,” she says.

U n d ersta n d in g w h a t ch a ra c te ristic s bully- prone in d u stries sh a re is a g o o d w ay to iden­ tify com m on triggers for bullying behaviors so th a t any such behavior can be addressed before it blows up into som ething catastrophic.

Where Bullies Congregate Bullying often occurs in workplace cultures where highly powerful people— or those w ith high-profile jobs—■’ alongside those w ith lower status. The health care, ed u catio n an d public service industries lend themselves to bullying behavior, according to a 2013 online su r­ vey of 401 respondents by the Workplace Bullyinglnstitute, based in Bellingham, Wash. K

52 HR Magazine March 2016

Bullying Behavior A policy prohibiting bullying should list specific examples of unacceptable behavior, such as:

■ Constant and unfair criticism .

■ Excessive teasing.

■ Yelling, shouting and screaming.

■ Insults and behind-the-back put-downs.

■ Hostile glares and other intim idating gestures.

■ M alicious gossip.

■ M onopolizing supplies and other resources.

■ Aggressive e-mails or notes.

■ Overt threats, aggression or violence.

S o u rc e : S o c ie ty f o r H u m a n R e s o u rc e M a n a g e m e n t.

■ M M * !

P e g g y B e r r y , S H R M - S C P

One thing employees who work in health care and education may have in com mon is an altruistic streak. In the survey rep o rt’s con­ clusion, Gary Nam ie, the institute’s director, points out th at those who are motivated to help others often become easy targets. “People entering those fields w ant to heal, help, teach, develop impression­ able minds, and see the good in others,” he wrote. “While focused on the work, with their backs figuratively turned to the politics and

abusers in the workplace, they bring a vulnerability to attack.” Meanwhile, in the public service arena, the problem may be a lack of well-trained supervisors. As Namie

wrote, “M anagers lacking the interpersonal skills of listening, coaching, effective training and car­ ing for workers tend to supervise aggressively to mask their incompetence.” Culture and w ork environm ents undoubtedly

play strong roles in shaping employees’ behavior. “Bui ly-prone industries can be a result of the work­

ing conditions, the nature of people draw n to them b o th ,” says C arole L ieberm an, a Beverly H ills,

Calif., forensic psychiatrist w ho has testified in high-profile bullying cases. “For example,

people w ho have a desire to bully are draw n to w ork in prisons, and the

w orking conditions exacerbate their tendency to bully prison­

ers, w ho are easy prey.”

\

In the medical arena, certain subspecialties, such as orthope­ dic surgery, may attract individuals who feel the need to show dominance or bravado, Lieberman explains. “The long hours, little sleep and intense surgeries sometimes bring out the bullying of interns and residents by surgeons of higher standing.”

Indeed, stress is a key trigger. People aren’t at their best when they are under too much pressure: They can become easily agi­ tated or upset, overly sensitive to criticism or directives, impatient for results, and unforgiving of mistakes.

And you don’t have to be a surgeon to feel that strain. Those in the hospitality and service industries are often pushed to their limit as well, says N orbert “Bert” Alicea, vice president of employee assistance programs and work/life services at Health Advocate Inc., based in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., which provides companies with benefits solutions.

“Servers often wait on three or four tables at a time, so if one table is demanding more time over others, this can create anxi­ ety and stress,” he says. A supervisor might perceive that a server can’t handle the demands of the job like he or she would and might vent frustration on the server in insensitive and demand­ ing ways, which could develop into bullying.

The Peter Principle Bully-prone industries also tend to include many high-achievers and perfectionists—people who can’t or won’t tolerate others’ mistakes.

“These industries are prone to prom oting their best and brightest into managerial jobs for which they’re not well-suited,” says Michael B. Spring, an associate professor of information sci­ ence at the University of Pittsburgh and a former management training consultant.

of survey respondents have been b ullie d at w ork.

Source: Workplace Bullying Institute, 2014.

“If they’re very good at what they do, they often get promoted to head nurses, assistant principals, sergeants on the police force,” he says. “And because they’re better than average, there’s a lack of tolerance for less-than-perfect behavior by subordinates.” At the same time, these individuals may be feeling ill at ease as they struggle to adapt to unfam iliar new roles. “First, they haven’t been trained to deal with someone who’s not as competent as they were,” Spring explains. “And second, they’re no longer doing what they were best at, and they’re not as happy.”

Alicea saw this dynamic in the sales industry, when a particu­ lar manager was often disrespectful to his administrative support team members, demanding constant excellence.

'B u lly -p ro n e in d u strie s c a n b e a result o f th e w o rk in g c o n d itio n s , th e n atu re o f p e o p le d ra w n to th e m o r both,'

- Carole Lieberman, forensic psychiatrist

“If the team did not perform at his definition of 100 percent, he went ballistic,” Alicea says. “People are typically promoted due to technical expertise or longevity, but they may lack the emotional or interpersonal skills to be an effective leader.”

O rg a n iz a tio n s w ith rig id peck in g orders—such as those in law enforce­ ment, higher education and nurs­ ing—tend to be the most prob­ lem atic. “ T h e re ’s a huge am ount of pow er stru g ­ gle and competition and politicking,” says Joan Kingsley, a clinical and organizational psycho­ th e ra p ist in L ondon and co-author of The Fear-Free O rganiza­ tion: V ita l In sig h ts from Neuroscience to Transform Your Busi­ n ess C u ltu re (K ogan Page,2015). “jThese

Employee Relations

industries] are full of red tape, they’re bureaucratic, and they’re hierarchical. Finally, it’s very hard in [these] systems to fire anyone because jobs tend to be protected by unions.”

Research indicates th a t bullying also tends to arise when w ork­ ers in any industry become frustrated by inequity— in scheduling, assignments and opportunities for advancement. “Some people get more difficult assignments th an others,” says Joy Longo, a regis­ tered nurse and professor at Florida Atlantic University, w ho wrote the American N urses Association booklet Bullying in the W ork­ place: Reversing a Culture. “Some people are getting promotions, and others aren’t. T h at will contribute to bullying.”

Bullying is partly to blame for the high attrition rates at hospi­ tals. A bout a th ird of those who d ep art their facility do so because of bullying or a toxic w orkplace, according to research by Berry, the O hio analyst. “Twenty-five to 45 percent will leave w ithin the first 18 m onths,” she says. “T h in k of the cost-savings th a t could be realized if you improved the environm ent in w hich they w ork,” she says— which is change th a t could be effected through better onboarding, improved training for supervisors and other appro­ priate intervention by H R.

Bullying by Industry

State of Denial There are at least three ways H R professionals can address bully­ ing: by adjusting w orkplace dynam ics th a t incite it, by counseling the bully or by protecting the victim.

But protecting the victim can be hard er th a n it seems. In m ost of the bullying scenarios Berry has encountered— including th a t of the young nurse w ho felt pressured to cancel his vacation— victims chose n o t to involve H R .

In a survey of 2 ,0 0 0 U.K. w orkers in August 2 0 1 5 ,5 8 percent said they had been victim s of bullying or had w itnessed others being bullied. Yet only ab o u t h alf of those victims o r witnesses to o k action to try to stop the behavior. One in 10 feared they’d lose their job if they com plained, an d nearly 1 in 4 said it w asn’t their responsibility to rep o rt bullying.

Experts suggest th a t m any w orkers also believe H R w on’t do anything about bullying, especially if the culprit is a supervisor or someone w ho is highly valued by the company.

N am ie of the W orkplace Bullying Institute has seen this play out w ith university research scientists w ho bring large grants to their departm ents.

“These can be extrem ely self-centered individuals willing to exploit others because of their inflated sense ofself,” he says. “They have a vast pool of easily exploited, nonpo­ litical employees. A nd adm inistrators have no power over this superstar, so they cower.”

Says Berry: “A lo t of tim es [victims] believe H R is not their friend.” She counsels individuals to reconsider th a t perception, explaining th a t “if it’s not a toxic organiza­ tion, H R is your friend. The problems need to be illuminated so the behavior can stop.”

Confront the Bully M any bullies aren’t even aware th a t they’re b u llies. “T h ey ju st th in k t h a t ’s th e way th in g s are d o n e ,” says Tess C a cc iato re , founder of the Global W om en’s Em pow er­ ment N etw ork, which advocates for abused women. “M ost of the time, they really suffer from a huge lack of confidence and security.”

Longo, w ho teaches nursing students, recalls a m anager w ho was astounded when H R confronted her about her behavior. She had no idea th a t people had perceived her th a t way.

After H R talked to her, “the tu rn aro u n d was unbelievable,” Longo says. “Just bring-J ing it to a person’s atten tio n can m ake the bully aware th at w hat she considered normal behavior isn’t acceptable.” >

Those w ho report having been bullied or having witnessed others being bullied w ork in the follow ing fields or industries:

Health care

Education

Public service

Service

M anufacturing

IT

Other

Source: Workplace Bullying Institute, 2013.

5 4 H R Magazine M a rc h 2016

Employee Relations

In cases w here people are prom oted to positions th a t make them unhappy, bullies are often miserable because they simply lack the skills to do the job well, Spring says. M oreover, if bul­ lies perceive subordinates as slackers, they may not know how to empathize w ith those they view as less competent. But w ith proper training, bullies can learn new ways of communicating.

As a first step, acknowledge the pressure employees face in a new position. “U nderstand th a t it’s a stressful situation for them to ... w atch someone w ho’s not as good a t providing a service as they w ere,” Spring says. “T he question to ask is, ‘H ow can we m ake your job m ore enjoyable by m aking you com petent at help­ ing others succeed?’ ”

Scrutinize Your Culture In cases where bullying arises from a sense of unfairness, the rem­ edy may be to take a hard look at how schedules, assignments and promotions are managed. “You need to pay attention to the dissat­ isfaction,” Longo says. “For instance, how is the schedule made? W ho’s getting prom oted, and how are they getting prom otions?”

To convince leaders to address unfairness, it may be neces­ sary to invoke the bottom line, says Yost of SHRM . “I have been around company leadership th a t has practiced a ‘motivate by fear or intim idation’ style of managem ent,” he says. “I dem onstrated th a t employees w ho were successful would only accept intim ida­ tion or fear as a motivation for a certain period. However, if they are good employees, they will likely have the confidence to seek opportunities elsewhere.”

It also makes sense to prevent someone w ith a bully-prone per­ sonality from moving into a managerial position in the first place.

“T here needs to be a g reat investm ent in selection m ethods th a t assess p eople’s h an d lin g of difficult situ atio n s,” says Alex Alonso, Ph.D ., SHRM -SCP, S H R M ’s senior vice president of know ledge developm ent an d a form er o rg an izatio n al develop­ m ent specialist. Initiatives m ight include leadership develop­ m ent p ro g ram s, b ehavioral interview s an d role-playing exer­ cises. W hile these p ractices can be expensive, “they are less costly th a n h av in g to resolve a b ad decision w here bullying ta in ts th e cu ltu re of the o rg an iz atio n ,” A lonso says.

Document the Bullying W hen coaching and confronting the bully fail to change th a t per­ son’s ways, it’s up to H R to counsel victims and discipline the bully.

S tart by ensuring th a t your o rg an izatio n has a detailed an ti­ bullying policy. It should define w hich behaviors qualify as b u l­ lying, clearly state th a t those behaviors w on’t be to lerated and address repercussions for violations.

H ow specific should the policy be? Yost suggests prohibiting co n stan t an d u n fair criticism; aggressive e-m ails o r notes; and actions th a t intim idate or underm ine employees by dem eaning their w ork standards, not giving them credit, setting them up for failure or continually rem inding them of old mistakes.

Uust bringing it to a person's attention can make the bully aware that what she considered normal behavior isn’t acceptable.’

- Joy Longo, Florida Atlantic University

If a com plaint of bullying is m ade, begin gathering evidence, including witness statements. But know th a t if a witness reports the behavior, it m ight n o t be easy to get the victim to come forw ard.

“People w ho are bullied lose their confidence very, very quickly,” Kingsley says. “T here’s a lot of paranoia th a t sets in, especially if a departm ent m anager doesn’t believe this is going on. As an H R manager, you have to encourage victims to keep a diary and gather evidence. You have to docum ent each instance and be as factual as possible about w hat was said, when it was said, w ho was there.”

O nce th e bullying is d o cu m en ted , “ the H R m an ag er has to have som e very to u g h co n v ersatio n s w ith th e m a n ag e r o f the d ep a rtm en t an d pro d u ce the evidence,” she says. If th e d e p a rt­ m ent m anager refuses to believe th a t bullying is h appening, ask w hy the m anager feels the need to defend the bully.

Finally, it’s up to those in H R to build solid relationships w ith leaders in all departm ents so th a t if a bullying situation arises, m an­ agers w ill tru s t w h at the H R professional brings to their attention.

“T here’s a lot of m istrust of H R ,” Kingsley says. “If you d on’t have relatio n sh ip s, you d o n ’t have tr u s t, an d th en ev ery th in g breaks dow n.” BE

Dana Wilkie is an online editor/manager for SHRM.

This article relates to one of the nine competencies on which SHRM has based its certification. To learn more, visit www.shrmcertification.org.

56 HR Magazine M a rc h 2016

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