When it comes to workplace dynamics, there's an overlooked yet pervasive issue that transcends the walls of academia: bullying. While conversations on this topic frequently revolve around school-aged children, the stark reality is that it doesn't disappear after graduation. It’s a common issue among many businesses. In fact, nearly 30% of employees have personally experienced bullying at work. Bullying isn't just about interpersonal conflicts; it's also about the overall health of your business.
Victims of workplace bullying often suffer from increased anxiety and depression, sleep disturbances, and other emotional and psychological issues. These problems can spill over into the workplace, affecting team morale, productivity, and quality of work. In addition, businesses that become known for allowing workplace bullying can suffer reputational harm, which can be difficult to recover from and affect hiring and retention efforts for years.
As a business owner, it's crucial to recognize the common signs of workplace bullying and harassment so you can address them quickly. Setting the tone for a respectful and inclusive environment begins with your leadership. By creating a positive work culture and taking its maintenance seriously, you're not only protecting your business but also establishing yourself as a responsible and compassionate employer.
What Is Workplace Bullying?
Workplace bullying encompasses a range of behaviors; they’re targeted and repeated action(s) by an individual or group aimed at intimidating, offending, degrading, or humiliating another person or group.
Examples include:
- Verbal abuse: This involves behaviors such as excessive joking, gossiping, or mockery that can be remaining or hurtful.
- Work performance interference: This can include sabotaging someone's work, unfairly blaming them, or taking credit for their efforts.
- Institutional bullying: Occurs when an organization implicitly or explicitly endorses behaviors such as setting unrealistic goals, enforcing unnecessary overtime, or singling out individuals who are having difficulties.
- Retaliation: This involves obstructing someone's career advancement, such as blocking promotions or denying requests for time off as a form of punishment or control.
Bullying in the workplace can take various forms, from open harassment to more subtle, covert behavior. Regrettably, managers can also be perpetrators of bullying towards employees. Accounting for about 65% of workplace bullying cases, managers are among the most common offenders. However, it's not limited to this dynamic; bullying can also happen between colleagues at the same level or even from employees directed towards their managers.
Laws And Regulations
Although there aren't specific laws targeting workplace bullying as a standalone issue, the Civil Rights Act does protect individuals in certain classes. Suppose a situation of bullying or harassment in the workplace is motivated by factors such as race, gender, religion, disability, or other characteristics of protected classes. In that circumstance, it can be classified as discrimination. Mishandling these situations can lead to significant legal consequences.
Common Mistakes
One of the biggest mistakes you can make as an employer is not addressing complaints when they occur. According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, employers tend to ignore, rationalize, or outright deny instances of bullying. This approach can be detrimental as it empowers perpetrators to continue their behavior.
Moreover, when employers respond to bullying reports, the action taken is often just a mild warning, which typically doesn't effectively deter the negative behavior. In some cases, there's a disparity in how individuals are disciplined – some face severe consequences while others get off with just a warning. It's crucial to take every report seriously and ensure that your entire team is aligned with your policies and the steps for corrective action. By addressing complaints earnestly, you send a clear message to your entire workforce about the acceptable behavior and valued culture in your organization.
Taking Action
To prevent workplace bullying and harassment, taking a proactive approach/stance is essential. Start by setting clear policies. These should cover what counts as workplace bullying, how to report it, and what happens after a report is filed. Make sure everyone on your team is aware of these policies, and they know where to find them. Including them in your employee handbook is an excellent way to ensure they are accessible to everyone. Additionally, you can:
- Offer anti-bullying and anti-harassment training: Training sessions can help educate your team about the nuances of bullying and harassment and how to prevent them.
- Educate your team on acceptable and unacceptable workplace conduct: Clearly communicate the standards of behavior expected in your workplace to help set clear boundaries for everyone.
- Share a statement of commitment: Include a note in your employee handbook that outlines your commitment to a bully-free and respectful work environment. Resharing this statement regularly can reinforce your stance and remind employees of the importance of maintaining a positive workplace culture.
- Leadership training: Leadership plays a critical role in creating and maintaining a positive workplace environment. Regularly training your managers in areas such as conflict resolution and cultural influence can help ensure they are prepared to guide their teams in a way that promotes respect, understanding, and collaboration.
- Create a healthy culture: Ensure your team isn't overburdened or excessively stressed. Stress and pressure can sometimes cause individuals to act negatively towards others. By cultivating a healthy work environment and emphasizing teamwork and work-life balance, you can reduce the likelihood of stress-induced conflicts and foster a more supportive and collaborative atmosphere.
Workplace bullying isn't an issue that will resolve itself; it requires effort and commitment from you as a leader and your entire team. By implementing proper policies and systems and generating buy-ins from your staff, you help build and maintain a culture where respect and professionalism are the norm and everyone feels safe and valued.
Performance Management With GMS
As a business owner, performance management is critical to making training, career development, compensation, transfers, promotions, and termination decisions. It allows you to set clear goals and expectations for each employee and provide feedback about their performance related to those goals.
Partnering with a professional employer organization (PEO) like GMS can significantly ease the administrative burdens of managing employees. GMS offers a comprehensive performance review system that includes various tools, such as documentation and tracking, training and implementation, consistent feedback, and more.
In instances of bullying or harassment reports, having a performance management system with GMS allows you to securely store documentation and create a detailed paper trail. This is crucial if you eventually need to terminate an offender. Maintaining such records not only helps make informed decisions but also protects you and your business in the event of legal actions that a disgruntled employee might pursue in the future. Contact us today, and let us help protect your business.