News Archives: some past articles on workplace bullying
Not beautifully indexed or sorted, here are some past news items on workplace bullying.
These items have been featured on other pages of our website, or included in our newsletters.
Some may contain references to links which are now outdated, but looking at how the way this subject is being dealt with and how it is changing may give useful insight into society's response.
January 15th 2006. In memoriam: Tim Field
It is with great regret that we announce the passing away of Tim Field, founder of Bully On Line.
Tim's son Michael sent a message via the Bully On Line yahoo group this morning saying that his father '...passed away this morning at about 11.20. He died in the hospice room after spending much time with his family. Funeral plans will be announced this week. May he rest in peace. Michael'
We at No Bully For Me owe so much to the work of Tim Field, both personally (Karen and Stephen both first discovered they were not alone by discovering Tim's UK based site.) and professionally in terms of encouraging the creation of No Bully For Me. His clear use of good plain English to put forward his ideas, experiences and thoughts is a wonderful model for any support site. As the pioneer of online workplace bullying support Tim's work will always be remembered as an inspiration.
In other settings this would be too soon, but we feel that the best testament to Tim's life and work is to ensure the continuation of his site, and we will be sending an open letter to some of the other leading workplace bullying groups asking for ideas as to how we ensure Tim's work does indeed continue to be available.
sincerely,
Stephen and Karen.
Obituary: Tim Field
by Will Messenger, Saturday January 21, 2006, The Guardian
A victim of bullying, he became a world authority on the subject
Tim Field, who has died aged 53 from cancer, was a world authority on bullying and psychiatric injury, and author of the best-selling Bully in Sight (1997). His vision was for a bully-free world, and he campaigned in schools, further and higher education, and the workplace to achieve this.
In 1994, after nearly 20 years working in computing, he had himself been a victim of workplace bullying and suffered a breakdown. After recovering, he became passionate about understanding and dealing with the problem.
He set up the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line in 1996, and then an information website, Success Unlimited (later Bully Online), which was widely used. He formed a publishing house from which he released Bully in Sight. One review said: "Thank you for writing Bully in Sight. It's like a torch in the darkness." Tens of thousands of copies were sold in 30 countries. In 1998 Field published David Kinchin's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: the Invisible Injury. Then, in 2001 he co-authored and published (with Neil Marr), Bullycide: Death at Playtime, an exposé of child suicide caused by bullying.
He lectured all over the world. His clients included individuals as well as institutions such as the BBC, trade unions, police forces and local authorities. He worked personally on more than 5,000 bullying cases, highlighting the lack of understanding for victims. He revealed patterns showing how trade unions often failed to deal effectively with the problem among their members.
Field believed that bullying was the single most important social issue of today, and that its study provided an opportunity to understand the behaviours which underlie almost all conflict and violence. His work inspired and influenced international anti-bullying organisations, while his personal energy, commitment and knowledge restored sanity and saved lives.
Born in Eastbourne, he graduated from Staffordshire University (then North Staffordshire Polytechnic) in 1975 with a first class honours degree in computer science. He specialised in designing and delivering training programmes before his own encounter with bullying. He received honorary doctorates for his initiatives to stamp out bullying.
Field's interests were wide ranging. He was an accomplished pianist, karaoke singer and science fiction enthusiast. He was also always keen to develop his knowledge of the spiritual aspects of life.
He married Susan, whom he had met at university. She survives him, with their two children, Michael, 16, and Fiona, 12.
Tim Field, anti-bullying campaigner, born April 24 1952; died January 15 2006
Original here:
Obituary for Tim Field - The Guardian
July 2005: Australian Work Cover: how new rules should be researched
Inspiringly excellent research
Don't miss the original here:
Victoria Workcover (Australian 'WCB')
June 2005: Bullying bosses face new penalties; UK report
by Stephen O'Brien, Political Correspondent
From The Sunday Times
Original here:
UK workplace bullying taskforce reports; recommendations to follow
WORKPLACE bullies may face the sack and their companies hefty fines if ministers implement recommendations made by an expert group.
The government's taskforce on bullying will recommend that powerful new laws be introduced to tackle victimisation and stress at work. It has concluded that bullying is on the increase, adversely affecting workers' health and company productivity.
Set up nine months ago, the expert group calls on the government to give the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) power to hear intimidation complaints and impose sanctions where necessary. At the moment, bullying claims are handled mostly by companies, and workers who are not satisfied with in-house investigations must take their case to court or sue for constructive dismissal in the employment appeals tribunal. Under the new system, they could file a complaint with the LRC which would investigate it and make a ruling. That could be appealed in the Labour court and the verdicts of both bodies would be enforced by the courts.
While the report does not outline specific sanctions, the fact that it calls for new laws means the government would be likely to set guidelines for punishments, a senior political source indicated.
Professor Mona O'Moore, of the anti-bullying centre at Trinity College Dublin, is a member of the expert group. "Legislation is all important" she said. "Any recommendation that comes from an authority should be legally enforceable . . . that has been the problem to date. We all tend to respond when there are consequences, and, if there are not, there is a risk that people may not take the appropriate action."
Research published by O'Moore in 2000 found that nearly one in four workers (23%) had been bullied at least once in the previous year. Seven per cent of those surveyed had been victimised on an ongoing basis during the previous 12 months.
The group's report, seen by The Sunday Times, concluded that no clear mechanism existed for dealing with bullying. "This is at the heart of the problem of treating workplace bullying primarily as the responsibility of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA)." the report states.
At the moment, workers who have been bullied have to sue their bosses for stress and injury to their health in court. That process can prove traumatic and costly, a deterrent to many of those who have suffered at the hands of employers.There is no state agency that will hear cases while an individual is still working for their employer.
The report will recommend: Workplace health and safety statements must address the risk of bullying and include policy for dealing with it. HSA will police this. The victim and the alleged bully can reject mediation in the workplace, and can reject the outcome of any subsequent internal investigation. Complaints not fully resolved by internal mediation or investigation will go to the LRC. Labour Court or the Employment Appeals Tribunal will be the court of appeal.
Tony Killeen, labour affairs minister, said he was expecting the expert group's report on bullying within the next few weeks. "I will publish it when I receive it and I will make proposals to government based on its recommendations..." he said.
The 16-strong expert advisory group on workplace bullying, chaired by Paul J Farrell of IBM Ireland, included trade unionists, employers, human resources managers, academics and lawyers.
It is understood differences emerged among some groups represented on the committee; trade unions favoured the Employment Appeals Tribunal over the Labour Court as the avenue for appeal from the LRC. And the employers' group Ibec was not in favour of third-party rulings on complaints being legally enforceable. Brendan McGinty, a director of Ibec, said the body was concerned that efforts to manage poor performance by individuals could be misinterpreted as bullying.
"Any proposal must ensure that internal resolution procedures are exhausted before referral to a third party" he said.
May 2005: Bully at Work - An Interview with Tim Field
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.5/28/2005
From The Global Politician
In 1994 Tim Field was bullied out of his job as a Customer Services Manager which resulted in a stress breakdown. Turning his experience to good use he set up the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line in 1996 and his web site Bully Online in 1997 since which time he has worked on over 5000 cases worldwide. He now lectures widely as well as writing and publishing books on bullying and psychiatric injury. He holds two honorary doctorates for his work on identifying and dealing with bullying. He is the Webmaster of Bully Online.
Question: What is workplace bullying?
Answer: Workplace bullying is persistent, unwelcome, intrusive behaviour of one or more individuals whose actions prevent others from fulfilling their duties.
Question: How is it different to adopting disciplinarian measures, maintaining strict supervision, or oversight?
Answer: The purpose of bullying is to hide the inadequacy of the bully and has nothing to do with "management" or the achievement of tasks. Bullies project their inadequacies onto others to distract and divert attention away from the inadequacies. In most cases of workplace bullying reported to the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line, the bully is a serial bully who has a history of conflict with staff. The bullying that one sees is often also the tip of an iceberg of wrongdoing which may include misappropriation of budgets, harassment, discrimination, as well as breaches of rules, regulations, professional codes of conduct and health and safety practices.
Question: Should it be distinguished from harassment (including sexual harassment), or stalking?
Answer: Bullying is, I believe, the underlying behavior and thus the common denominator of harassment, discrimination, stalking and abuse. What varies is the focus for _expression of the behavior. For instance, a harasser or discriminator focuses on race or gender or disability.
Bullies focus on competence and popularity which at present are not covered by employment legislation.
Bullies seethe with resentment and anger and the conduits for release of this inner anger are jealousy and envy which explains why bullies pick on employees who are good at their job and popular with people. Being emotionally immature, bullies crave attention and become resentful when others get more attention for their competence and achievements than themselves.
Question: What is the profile of the typical bully?
Answer: Over 90% of the cases reported to the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line involve a serial bully who can be recognised by their behaviour profile which includes compulsive lying, a Jekyll and Hyde nature, an unusually high verbal facility, charm and a considerable capacity to deceive, an arrested level of emotional development, and a compulsive need to control. The serial bully rarely commits a physical assault or an arrestable offence, preferring instead to remain within the realms of psychological violence and non-arrestable offences.
Question: What are bullying's typical outcomes?
Answer: In the majority of cases, the target of bullying is eliminated through forced resignation, unfair dismissal, or early or ill- health retirement whilst the bully is promoted. After a short interval of between 2-14 days, the bully selects another target and the cycle restarts. Sometimes another target is selected before the current target is eliminated.
Question: Can you provide us with some statistics? How often does bullying occur? How many people are affected?
Answer: Surveys of bullying in the UK indicate that between 12-50% of the workforce experience bullying. Statistics from the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line reveal that around 20% of cases are from the education sector, 12% are from healthcare, 10% are from social services, and around 6% from the voluntary / charity / not-for-profit sector.
After that, calls come from all sectors both public and private, with finance, media, police, postal workers and other government employees featuring prominently. Enquiries from outside the UK (notably USA, Canada, Australia and Ireland) show similar patterns with the caring professions topping the list of bullied workers.
Question: Could you estimate the economic effects of workplace bullying - costs to employers (firms), employees, law enforcement agencies, the courts, the government, etc.?
Answer: Bullying is one of the major causes of stress, and the cost of stress to UK plc is thought to be between £5-12 billion (US$7-17 billion). When all the direct, indirect and consequential costs of bullying are taken into account, the cost to UK plc (taxpayers and shareholders) could be in excess of £30 billion (US$44 billion), equivalent to around £1,000 hidden tax per working adult per year. Employers do not account for the cost of bullying and its consequences, therefore the figures never appear on balance sheets.
Employees have to work twice as hard to overcome the serial bully's inefficiency and dysfunction which can spread through an organisation like a cancer.
Because of its subtle nature, bullying can be difficult to recognise, but the consequences are easy to spot: excessive workloads, lack of support, a climate of fear, and high levels of insecurity.
The effects on health include, amongst other things, chronic fatigue, damage to the immune system, reactive depression, and suicide.
The indirect costs of bullying include higher-than average staff turnover and sickness absence. Each of these incur consequential costs of staff cover, administration, loss of production and reduced productivity which are rarely recognised and even more rarely attributed to their cause. Absenteeism alone costs UK plc over £10 billion a year and stress is now officially the number one cause of sickness absence having taken over from the common cold. However, surveys suggest that at least 20% of employers still do not regard stress as a health and safety issue, instead preferring to see it as skiving and malingering.
The Bristol Stress and Health at Work Study published by the HSE in June 2000 revealed that 1 in 5 UK workers (around 5.5m) reported feeling extremely stressed at work. The main stress factors were having too much work and not being supported by managers. In November 2001 a study by Proudfoot Consulting revealed the cost of bad management, low employee morale and poorly-trained staff to British business at 117 lost working days a year. At 65%, bad management (often a euphemism for bullying) accounted for the biggest slice of unproductive days with low morale accounting for 17%. The study also suggested that in the UK 52% of all working time is spent unproductively compared to the European average of 43%.
The results of a three-year survey of British workers by the Gallup Organization published in October 2001 revealed that many employers are not getting the best from their employees. The most common response to questions such as "how engaged are your employees?" and "how effective is your leadership and management style?" and "how well are you capitalising on the talents, skills and knowledge of your people?" was an overwhelming "not very much". The survey also found that the longer an employee stayed, the less engaged they became. The cost to UK plc of lost work days due to lack of engagement was estimated to be between £39-48 billion a year.
Question: What can be done to reduce workplace bullying? Are firms, the government, law enforcement agencies, the courts - aware of the problem and its magnitude? Are educational campaign effective? Did anti-bullying laws prove effective?
Answer: Most bullying is hierarchical and can be traced to the top or near the top. As bullying is often the visible tip of an iceberg of wrongdoing, denial is the most common strategy employed by toxic managements. Only Sweden has a law which specifically addresses bullying. Where no law exists, bullies feel free to bully. Whilst the law is not a solution, the presence of a law is an indication that society has made a judgement that the behaviour is no longer acceptable.
Awareness of bullying, and especially its seriousness, is still low throughout society. Bullying is not just "something children do in the playground", it's a lifetime behaviour on the same level as domestic violence, sexual harassment, and rape.
Bullying is a form of psychological and emotional rape because of its intrusive and violational nature.
Well done piece worth quoting in full, this one from Australia; read on:
Bully for you
Up to 70 per cent of us have been bullied at work and it's costing employers a fortune. If you need to know how to fight back, read on. By Christina Larmer.
Employers, governments and unions are increasingly taking the issue more seriously, as studies show bullying is rife, affecting workers from the shop floor to the boardroom. While conservative estimates put the figure at one in four, Mellington's research is more sobering. She studied employees of a major hospital and found that about 70 per cent were experiencing bullying or had been bullied in the past, and it was hurting their health. The key symptoms: anxiety, social dysfunction and depression.
Even more alarmingly, the anxiety often lingered long after the bullying had ceased. "They may be having difficulty sleeping, feel nervous and uptight all of the time, or scared and panicky for no particular reason," says Mellington. When health is affected, it's a logical progression to see less productivity, lower levels of customer service and the like, she says.
And that may be why big business is finally sitting up and taking notice - it's costing them a fortune! According to a study at Queensland's Griffith University, they're losing about $13 billion a year in terms of absenteeism, stress leave, loss of productivity and legal fees (as bullying is an occupational health and safety issue, it's the employer's responsibility to maintain a safe working environment that does not impact upon the physical or psychological health of its employees).
are you being bullied?
Haven't noticed any punch-ups in the tea room lately? That doesn't mean your office is bully-free - it's usually more subtle and insidious. For Sheila Freeman, now 56, it started with a few incidental things: the key to her filing cabinet would go missing, as would her office chair. Soon the financial counsellor noticed she wasn't being invited to team meetings and post-it notes became the usual mode of communication with her manager. But it took a colleague to point out that she was actually a victim of workplace bullying.
"Two of us were made redundant but they tried to bully us out so they wouldn't have to pay us out," she says. After almost three years of intimidation, they finally succeeded, and while Freeman eventually took them to court for unfair dismissal, the cost to her health was incalculable. She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and required regular consultations with psychologists, doctors and even a neurosurgeon.
"It takes away your self-esteem," she says. "You don't want to get out of bed in the morning, you have nightmares, migraines, aches and pains. The doctor referred me to a physiotherapist and he said he'd never seen shoulders like mine. They were like road humps." Partly as therapy, Freeman co-wrote a book on the subject, titled Bullying In The Workplace: An Occupational Hazard (HarperCollins), but says she still feels the effects. "Before I had a stable working life and now it's very haphazard," she says.
why we bully
We all have the capacity to bully, insists Mellington. The most prone workplaces are those with poor systems or those undergoing change such as downsizing or merging, when power is shifting and people feel uncertain. Which brings us back to our new employee. The reason she's a target, says Mellington, is because she poses a threat, particularly to workers already feeling vulnerable.
ignorance isn't bliss
Even just witnessing bullying can affect your health and may explain why, according to psychologist Evelyn Field, 20 per cent of onlookers will leave an organisation rather than put up with it.
"You may fear you'll be the next person who gets bullied, or feel disempowered not knowing what to do and where to seek help," says Mellington. Guilt is also a factor, especially if you don't intervene.
just say no
The key to a bully-free workplace, say the experts, is to nip it in the bud, and fast. "Even if it's an informal, low level of intervention, which you can all have a giggle about later on a Friday down at the pub, that's brilliant compared to allowing it to escalate. Ten years later when you're in the Industrial Relations Commission, there's no turning back then," says Mellington. "Never allow yourself to feel disempowered or unable to act. There are always options and it is very helpful if you can seek out a psychologist or a counsellor and talk the options over that are specific to your situation."
But there's no point playing the martyr: if it's damaging your health and it's not getting resolved, don't hesitate to leave.
As for onlookers, Freeman understands your hesitation but says you shouldn't be afraid to speak up. "Speak to the person who is getting bullied, or find a trusted member of staff higher up to do something about it. But it needs to be done as it's a huge cost to industry and it's making such a wreck of people's lives."
so what is it
Not being invited to lunch with your colleagues? If it's causing you distress, you may be a victim. According to the Victorian WorkCover Authority, workplace bullying is repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed towards an employee, or group of employees, that creates a risk to health and safety. Mellington says a one-off incident is not bullying, nor are things like changing someone's shifts or putting them on a performance plan when it is in line with normal policy and procedure. For more information, contact WorkCover in your state.
being hassled at work?
Mellington advises you to:
- Report the behaviour to the appropriate manager in your workplace.
- Keep a record of the bullying. Take notes down on time, date, location and any witnesses.
- Address your concerns with the bully, if suitable, and ask them to stop.
- Seek help and advice at work. In the workplace, you may have a workplace bullying policy and procedure, a contact officer, human resources manager, or manager who can assist to resolve the matter either informally or formally.
- Seek external advice. You can contact WorkSafe, your union, and the Equal Opportunity Commission in your state for advice. Also, in Victoria, Jobwatch can help, and its website, www.job-watch. org.au has links for other states.
If someone else at your workplace is being bullied:
- Report the behaviour to the appropriate manager in your workplace.
- Advise the bully to cease the behaviour (if you feel safe doing so).
- Never participate in or endorse the bullying behaviour.
- Show constructive support to colleagues affected.
- Seek help and advice at work if you feel upset or angry about the bullying.
July 2006: New Zealand: Workplace Bullying - what's 'normal'
Article by Richard Roil
Allegations of workplace bullying seem to be all the rage. There has been a marked increase in personal grievances relating to bullying. These have taken the form of grievances based on constructive dismissal or unjustified disadvantage claims by the bullied and unjustified dismissal claims by the bully.
How an employer should respond and react to allegations of bullying is, like many other instances in the employment relationship, a question of fact and degree. Bullying itself can take a number of forms, from overt threats of physical violence of which an employer is aware of, to subtle and insidious use of words and gestures unknown to an employer. Over the past few years there have been a number of cases which cover the spectrum of bullying behaviour.
Common law and statutory duties
Set out below are some of the examples of bullying and non-bullying conduct as well as ways of dealing with them. However, before any examples can be given it is important to understand the duties owed by an employer in this context.
The Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 places a duty on employers to protect their employees from harm and hazards likely to cause harm. 'Harm' includes physical injury as well as mental harm caused by work-related stress. The definition of 'hazard' includes 'an activity (or) situation' that is an actual or potential cause or source of harm'. Certainly physical abuse by a bully will meet this definition but, conceivably, persistent verbal abuse that results in or contributes to an employee's workplace stress will also be caught.
There is a similar duty at common law for employers to provide a safe workplace. This is an implied duty in all employment agreements. If breached, it is this duty that will result in an employer being liable to awards for lost wages and compensation. Equally an employer who dismisses a bullying employee must, as with all cases of dismissal, observe the minimum requirements of procedural and substantive fairness. It can be a 'Catch 22' situation for employers.
Examples of bullying behaviour resulting in constructive dismissal claims
It is important to understand that for behaviour to amount to bullying it must be unwanted and unwarranted behaviour that a person finds offensive, humiliating or intimidating which is repeated over a period of time.
For an employee to succeed with a constructive dismissal claim they will invariably have to raise the issue of bullying with their manager or some other person in a position of authority to ensure action is taken. If no action is taken or it is not taken quickly enough the employee may choose to resign and then bring a constructive dismissal claim. The question then becomes one of awareness by the employer of the bullying situation, either what they were directly made aware of or should have been aware of due to the circumstances.
Numerous examples of bullying behaviour which have resulted in successful constructive dismissal claims include: ;Death threats and threats of violence (in this case the employer was aware of the threats but delayed in acting because they had not received a complaint). *Verbal abuse, including swearing at an employee for a period of three months *Repeated comments about an employee's psychological problems, numerous implied comments about the employee not being wanted at work and statements that the employee's commission sales would not be approved.*Pushing and shoving an employee out of the way on a regular basis*Intimidation by a person in a position of power of the employee.
Managing the situation
To successfully manage a situation of bullying the obligation on an employer is to assess the situation and reply appropriately. Not all situations will require a disciplinary investigation by an employer and many situations may not require a formal sanction. It is always a question of fact and degree and it is important that employer's policies reflect this.
Not all conduct complained of will amount to bullying and there are numerous examples of this. These include: *Brusque or blunt management style. *Swearing in the presence of an employee, unwarranted criticism of an employee and communicating in a tone that communicated a disdainful attitude to the employee concerned. *Being made to wear a beanie hat with a propeller on it.
Many of these cases have been decided on the personal characteristics of the employee concerned. The Employment Relations Authority has found on numerous occasions that the resigning employee has been a sensitive or extraordinarily sensitive person who had taken offence at normally accepted behaviour in a workplace.
A good example of normal behaviour in the workplace is the use of swear words. Courts have recognised for some time that the language at some workplaces is more robust than at others and swearing, while not ideal, will not be as offensive in one workplace as another. With swearing allegations it is perhaps a question of intent and whether the words are directed at anyone in particular. A similar approach can be taken for many instances of allegations of verbal bullying, where motive and context will play a large part in assessing the nature and affect of the communications.
Conclusion
Bullying in the workplace can lead to numerous practical problems for employers in terms of productivity and employment relationships generally. However the appropriate legal response should always be considered carefully, as duties are generally owed to all employees concerned, even the alleged bully.
Allegations of bullying should never be dismissed out of hand but the appropriate response from an employer should always be considered in light of the nature and seriousness of the allegations. It is important for employers to be aware of their workplace relations between staff, as some situations will not require a bullied employee to raise a complaint where an employer is or should have already been aware of the bullying behaviour.
This publication is intended as a first point of reference and should not be relied on as a substitute for professional advice. Specialist legal advice should always be sought in relation to any particular circumstances and no liability will be accepted for any losses incurred by those relying solely on this publication.
June 2006 - Hospitals again.....
Original here:
Hospitals again....this from the UK
Survey reveals abuse and bullying at hospital
JACK HUNTER 06 July 2006
WORKERS are more likely to face injury, bullying and abuse in Weston General Hospital than in most other trusts around the country, a survey has revealed.
Key findings from the latest survey by independent watchdog the Healthcare Commission of 444 staff show some depressing facts.
In 2005, Weston was among the worst 20 per cent of trusts in England for:
* Violence - nearly one in five staff were attacked by patients or their relatives.
* Pressure - Weston is one of the worst trusts for staff feeling they have more work than they can cope with.
* Bullying - Over a quarter of staff were harassed, bullied or abused by patients or relatives and one in five were abused by other staff members.
Other findings include:
* Errors - One in two staff members spotted a potentially harmful mistake or near miss every month, with 88 per cent going on to report such mistakes.
* Falling morale - there was a significant decrease in 'positive feeling within the hospital' and 'job satisfaction'.
* Training - The hospital was bad at appraising staff and providing structured appraisal reviews.
But it made significant improvements in providing training, putting it into the best 20 per cent of English trusts in this category.
There were also excellent scores in the team working, supervision, communication and staff involvement category, health and safety training and availability of hand washing materials categories.
North Somerset Keep our NHS Public campaign spokesman, Kelvin Fraser, said: "This survey shows the reality of the situation for hard pressed local NHS staff.
"Clearly their working conditions are deteriorating and the ever-increasing demands being made upon them are bound to take a heavy toll, not only on staff themselves but on the patients they care for.
Hospital chief executive, Mark Gritten, said: "We are obviously fully aware of staff concerns about violence and we responded to this during 2005 by reaffirming our action plan for minimising violence.
"We also worked with workplace bullying experts to train our own team of bullying and harassment advisors to help staff who report being bullied.
May 2006: Culture of the workplace we need to create. Wow! Revolutionary....
Original here:School culture key to teachers' wellbeing
May 18 2006, Western Mail, Wales
Stress levels in schools are as high as ever, but now help is readily at hand for under-pressure teachers, writes Patrick Nash, chief executive of the charity Teacher Support Cymru
A SUPPLY teacher in North Wales has summed up the feelings of many in the profession at present.
Cerys Mair, who works across schools in Flintshire, Denbighshire and Conwy, says, "Teachers today are under increased pressure due to the demands placed on them in their role and the number of responsibilities they have to undertake in a working day both inside and outside the classroom."
Ms Mair's experience of her role is borne out by other teachers in Wales - as 38% of calls to Teacher Support Line Cymru in 2005 were about work-related stress and workload.
Despite the high number of calls on workplace issues, many teachers still do not seek support, because the stigma of admitting they are "failing" remains a deep-rooted problem for teachers.
At the same time as dealing with feelings of personal adequacy, teachers have had to face constantly changing attitudes to them as professionals, especially in terms of the level of esteem in which they are held by both pupils and the public.
The role of the teacher remains high on the media and political and social agendas, yet Teacher Support Cymru believes that the day-to-day issues and uniquely challenging nature of the profession remain misunderstood.
Teaching has been shown to be uniquely stressful because of factors that are intrinsic to the profession such as pupil behaviour, school leadership and organisational culture.
Teachers can be vulnerable because they care passionately about what they do and suffer when they cannot meet the high expectations imposed by society and on themselves.
Stress, therefore, is a symptom of the wider problems facing education. Attempting to reduce the levels and effects of stress on teachers highlights the need to focus on their wellbeing.
Helplines and professional counselling services, such as those provided by Teacher Support Cymru, play a valuable role in helping teachers to manage and even avoid stress.
At the same time, there is a need for a real change in the way teachers are supported, managed and perceived.
A start would be for schools to adopt a proactive approach, recognising that improving wellbeing is far more positive than managing stress once it has set in.
We must create a culture of well-being in schools and in teaching by engaging with all those who have an interest in the wellbeing of teachers, including teachers themselves.
The culture of a school is perhaps the single most important contributory factor to wellbeing among teachers.
Not surprisingly, motivated, committed and enthusiastic teachers will have a positive effect on school culture, whereas a culture of blame, poor communication and lack of leadership will inevitably damage morale and effectiveness.
Teacher Support Cymru is in a unique position to support teachers and help effect change by adopting a non-partisan, solutions-based approach.
Through Teacher Support Line Cymru, Cerys benefited from free, confidential solution-based counselling. She says, "Teacher Support Cymru helped me focus on how I could manage my time better.
"I am now more motivated, more willing to engage in my own professional effectiveness, because I can now set boundaries between my day-to-day work and my home life."
Teacher Support Cymru is a leading charity that helps Welsh teachers and lecturers by providing free services that range from practical and emotional support through one-to-one email coaching to confidential counselling, information and advice.
The charity also offers news, up-to-date guides and fact sheets on a diverse range of issues, including stress management, workplace bullying and dealing with pupil indiscipline.
Hundreds of teachers in Wales have already contacted Teacher Support Cymru for information, support and counselling services on the free helpline - tel 08000 855 088 - on issues relating to health and wellbeing, money management, child care or career advice.
February 2006: UK survey shows managers they need to get some education......
Original here: Survey used by managers to ready for changes
Employers get tough on workplace bullying;20 Feb 2006; Bullying. Legal & Legislation.
Employers in Britain are increasingly aware of the problem of workplace bullying and are getting tough in an effort to stamp it out, new research has found.
The study of 92 UK employers published by specialist journal IRS Employment Review found that virtually all now had formal anti-bullying or dignity at work policies in place, and that the great majority of policies had been introduced in the past five years.
More than one-third said the issue had moved up the management agenda in recent months.
The researchers uncovered a total of 535 complaints about bullying reported over the past 12 months across the 92 organisations surveyed.
Three-quarters reported at least one complaint in the past two years.
The negative effects of bullying reported by respondents included problems with staff absence (26 per cent of respondents) and turnover (24 per cent), but the most widespread impact had been on working relationships (39 per cent) and morale (28 per cent).
The report warned that those that fail to get to grips with the problem may find themselves on the receiving end of employment tribunal claims under legislation outlawing discrimination and harassment on grounds of sex, race, disability, religion and sexual orientation.
From 1 October 2006, it will also be unlawful to discriminate against, harass or victimise someone at work because of their age.
HR professionals who responded to the survey report positive results from recent initiatives to promote respect at work, and particularly from anti-bullying training programmes. But in some cases efforts are hampered by lack of support from senior management and confusion among staff about the line between strong management and bullying.
HR professionals say the most common problem is that victims are reluctant to come forward and report a bullying incident, making the issue even harder to tackle.
Charlotte Wolff, the author of the report, said: "If anti-bullying tactics are to succeed in the workplace, the message must come from the top of the organisation. Employees need to understand what type of behaviour is unacceptable and know that they will be supported with sensitivity if they report a wrongdoing. Managers need to create a culture that is free of bullying."
She added: "If employers fail to tackle the problem, they will be faced at best with poor morale, higher absence and increased staff turnover, and at worst with a costly and reputation-damaging employment tribunal claim for harassment or discrimination."
January 2006: When Bullying Becomes Harassment
Reports of a case in Anchorage, which found bullying a women could be deemed sexual harrassment. Is this a move forward or backward?
When Bullying Becomes Harassment
January 2006: 'Charitable Intent' a one act play about workplace bullying
Again from Australia, this time reviews of a one act play about workplace bullying. Any Canadian producers or actors out there to put on a local version?
Making drama out of a beef with the office bully
December 2005: Australian hospitals rife with workplace bullying
Once again nursing, this time in Australia, proves a 'popular' venue for bullying in the workplace.
Don't miss the original here:
Bullying rife in Australian hospitals
July 2005: Australian Work Cover: how new rules should be researched
Original here:
Far too much great information to reproduce here but this a summary of what you can find:
The evaluation involved a range of research activities:
A survey of employees which measured incidence and changes in perception on bullying in Victorian workplaces - download survey (.pdf, 163kb)
A survey of employers which examined employers? level of awareness on bullying and how to prevent it - download survey (.pdf, 173kb)
In-depth interviews with various stakeholders which examined perceptions of how WorkSafe Victoria deals with bullying - download survey (.pdf, 54kb)
A survey of WorkSafe Victoria Inspectors which examined issues relating to enforcement and the Guidance Note - download survey (.pdf, 30kb)
Case studies which looked at how workplace issues relating to bullying are actioned once they are referred to WorkSafe Victoria - download case study (.pdf, 81kb)
Even more important than implementing new rules, guidelines and training is the way they are evaluating the changes, effects and perceptions since the new guidelines were introduced.
June 2005:Bully Bosses (Bolton!) Equal Bad Business
By Kyle Elyse Niederpruem, V.P., Hirons & Company Communications Inc.
Original here:
Bolton and other (in)famous bullies...
John Bolton's nomination as ambassador to the United Nations brought a focus on a dirty little workplace secret: Bully bosses. Lighting up the matter during Congressional scrutiny, a tale of terror unfolded about his temper and he was quickly cited as a serial abuser.
Unfortunately, Bolton's boorish behavior is not uncommon in any office. Bolton also was appointed during Congress August recess, an end run that the president took to avoid the Democrats who had been raising questions about Bolton's bullying track record.
This kind of abuse, according to statistics tracked by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, occurs in one out of every four U.S. offices. In the workplace, nearly 71 percent of people claiming to be bullied said it occurred at the hands of a supervisor.
As high as the number sounds, the methods of a bully boss are fairly common especially when it comes to creating a divisive workforce and reducing productivity. Preying on the fears of those dependent on a paycheck, employees are often intimidated into silence if they believe their own jobs are on the line.
Spotty productivity, low morale, high employee turnover (especially of top performers), and potential litigation are the consequences.
'Good to be Great', a popular business book, points out that companies show a leap in performance under a talented, yet eccentric leader, only to decline in later years. Bullies are increasingly seen as short-term motivators. Once gone, a company's climate can change dramatically, often led by better decision making.
Bullies tend to be driven by their own fears and insecurities and much like other abusers were mistreated somewhere along the way. It's a learned behavior.
Workplace bullying is an extreme form of incivility that targets describe as being like water torture, says the investigator of a comprehensive American workplace study in 33 states. It is a constant drumbeat, a relentless picking away at what they do, what they say, how they look, how they sound and how they work.
According to the Graziadio Business Report, a hostile work environment means the workplace is permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult so pervasive that it alters the conditions of the victim's employment and creates an abusive working environment
Infamous bullying behaviors and tempers have been attached to Gen. George S. Patton Jr., Bobby Knight, Donald Trump, John Bolton, Martha Stewart, and George Steinbrenner. Admire them or despise them, they all have similar traits, according to published reports.
Disagreeing with a bully boss also has its consequences. The boss will often appear supportive one moment, then vindictive the next. The person will steal credit for another's work and ensure the targeted person doesn't have the resources to do the work. The bully will isolate the target, and expect others to follow suit. Worse, the typical bully uses aggression with intent: to cause hurt, humiliation, belittlement, isolation and discrimination.
Many states are considering bullying laws, but the issue is mostly left to the courts to decide. In Indiana, a jury found a surgeon liable for assault in the amount of $325,000 when he yelled and threatened an employee who sued him for bullying.
Best workplace practices to stem the tide of bullies provide for promptly responding to such behavior, including training, employee assistances programs and confidential means to report such abusive behavior.
As Gary and Ruth Namie wrote in a book about bullying behavior: Good emploers purge bullies. Bad ones promote them.
Additional Sources:
'Leading the Revoloution' Gary Hamel
'Nasty Bosses: How to Stop Being Hurt by Them Without Stooping to Their Level' Jay Carter
'Was Your Boss Raised by Wolves?' Gerald M. Groe
'The Ultimate Guide to Transforming Anger' Jane Middleton-Moz
'You can't talk to me that way' Arthur Bell
May 2005
Bully at Work - An Interview with Tim Field, founder of BullyonLine
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.5/28/2005
From The Global Politician
In 1994 Tim Field was bullied out of his job as a Customer Services Manager which resulted in a stress breakdown. Turning his experience to good use he set up the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line in 1996 and his web site Bully Online in 1997 since which time he has worked on over 5000 cases worldwide. He now lectures widely as well as writing and publishing books on bullying and psychiatric injury. He holds two honorary doctorates for his work on identifying and dealing with bullying. He is the Webmaster of Bully Online.
Question: What is workplace bullying?
Answer: Workplace bullying is persistent, unwelcome, intrusive behaviour of one or more individuals whose actions prevent others from fulfilling their duties.
Question: How is it different to adopting disciplinarian measures, maintaining strict supervision, or oversight?
Answer: The purpose of bullying is to hide the inadequacy of the bully and has nothing to do with "management" or the achievement of tasks. Bullies project their inadequacies onto others to distract and divert attention away from the inadequacies. In most cases of workplace bullying reported to the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line, the bully is a serial bully who has a history of conflict with staff. The bullying that one sees is often also the tip of an iceberg of wrongdoing which may include misappropriation of budgets, harassment, discrimination, as well as breaches of rules, regulations, professional codes of conduct and health and safety practices.
Question: Should it be distinguished from harassment (including sexual harassment), or stalking?
Answer: Bullying is, I believe, the underlying behavior and thus the common denominator of harassment, discrimination, stalking and abuse. What varies is the focus for _expression of the behavior. For instance, a harasser or discriminator focuses on race or gender or disability.
Bullies focus on competence and popularity which at present are not covered by employment legislation.
Bullies seethe with resentment and anger and the conduits for release of this inner anger are jealousy and envy which explains why bullies pick on employees who are good at their job and popular with people. Being emotionally immature, bullies crave attention and become resentful when others get more attention for their competence and achievements than themselves.
Question: What is the profile of the typical bully?
Answer: Over 90% of the cases reported to the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line involve a serial bully who can be recognised by their behaviour profile which includes compulsive lying, a Jekyll and Hyde nature, an unusually high verbal facility, charm and a considerable capacity to deceive, an arrested level of emotional development, and a compulsive need to control. The serial bully rarely commits a physical assault or an arrestable offence, preferring instead to remain within the realms of psychological violence and non-arrestable offences.
Question: What are bullying's typical outcomes?
Answer: In the majority of cases, the target of bullying is eliminated through forced resignation, unfair dismissal, or early or ill- health retirement whilst the bully is promoted. After a short interval of between 2-14 days, the bully selects another target and the cycle restarts. Sometimes another target is selected before the current target is eliminated.
Question: Can you provide us with some statistics? How often does bullying occur? How many people are affected?
Answer: Surveys of bullying in the UK indicate that between 12-50% of the workforce experience bullying. Statistics from the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line reveal that around 20% of cases are from the education sector, 12% are from healthcare, 10% are from social services, and around 6% from the voluntary / charity / not-for-profit sector.
After that, calls come from all sectors both public and private, with finance, media, police, postal workers and other government employees featuring prominently. Enquiries from outside the UK (notably USA, Canada, Australia and Ireland) show similar patterns with the caring professions topping the list of bullied workers.
Question: Could you estimate the economic effects of workplace bullying - costs to employers (firms), employees, law enforcement agencies, the courts, the government, etc.?
Answer: Bullying is one of the major causes of stress, and the cost of stress to UK plc is thought to be between GBP5-12 billion (US$7-17 billion). When all the direct, indirect and consequential costs of bullying are taken into account, the cost to UK plc (taxpayers and shareholders) could be in excess of GBP30 billion (US$44 billion), equivalent to around GBP1,000 hidden tax per working adult per year. Employers do not account for the cost of bullying and its consequences, therefore the figures never appear on balance sheets.
Employees have to work twice as hard to overcome the serial bully's inefficiency and dysfunction which can spread through an organisation like a cancer.
Because of its subtle nature, bullying can be difficult to recognise, but the consequences are easy to spot: excessive workloads, lack of support, a climate of fear, and high levels of insecurity.
The effects on health include, amongst other things, chronic fatigue, damage to the immune system, reactive depression, and suicide.
The indirect costs of bullying include higher-than average staff turnover and sickness absence. Each of these incur consequential costs of staff cover, administration, loss of production and reduced productivity which are rarely recognised and even more rarely attributed to their cause. Absenteeism alone costs UK plc over £10 billion a year and stress is now officially the number one cause of sickness absence having taken over from the common cold. However, surveys suggest that at least 20% of employers still do not regard stress as a health and safety issue, instead preferring to see it as skiving and malingering.
The Bristol Stress and Health at Work Study published by the HSE in June 2000 revealed that 1 in 5 UK workers (around 5.5m) reported feeling extremely stressed at work. The main stress factors were having too much work and not being supported by managers. In November 2001 a study by Proudfoot Consulting revealed the cost of bad management, low employee morale and poorly-trained staff to British business at 117 lost working days a year. At 65%, bad management (often a euphemism for bullying) accounted for the biggest slice of unproductive days with low morale accounting for 17%. The study also suggested that in the UK 52% of all working time is spent unproductively compared to the European average of 43%.
The results of a three-year survey of British workers by the Gallup Organization published in October 2001 revealed that many employers are not getting the best from their employees. The most common response to questions such as "how engaged are your employees?" and "how effective is your leadership and management style?" and "how well are you capitalising on the talents, skills and knowledge of your people?" was an overwhelming "not very much". The survey also found that the longer an employee stayed, the less engaged they became. The cost to UK plc of lost work days due to lack of engagement was estimated to be between £39-48 billion a year.
Question: What can be done to reduce workplace bullying? Are firms, the government, law enforcement agencies, the courts - aware of the problem and its magnitude? Are educational campaign effective? Did anti-bullying laws prove effective?
Answer: Most bullying is hierarchical and can be traced to the top or near the top. As bullying is often the visible tip of an iceberg of wrongdoing, denial is the most common strategy employed by toxic managements. Only Sweden has a law which specifically addresses bullying. Where no law exists, bullies feel free to bully. Whilst the law is not a solution, the presence of a law is an indication that society has made a judgement that the behaviour is no longer acceptable.
Awareness of bullying, and especially its seriousness, is still low throughout society. Bullying is not just "something children do in the playground", it's a lifetime behaviour on the same level as domestic violence, sexual harassment, and rape.
Bullying is a form of psychological and emotional rape because of its intrusive and violational nature.
April 2005
Promoting an excellent sounding workshop:
'Dimensions of Dignity in and at Work: A Participative Workshop: Friday 24 June 2005. As part of the ESRC's Social Science Week 2005, Lancaster University Management School's Department of Organisation, Work and Technology will host a one day participative workshop in order to explore Dimensions of Dignity in and at Work. A group of people from diverse backgrounds will present various views on dignity at work, encouraging audience participation and discussion.' More on the website:
Lancaster conference on dignity at work
April 2005
Managers are being victimised by their staff in a new twist on workplace bullying, psychologists revealed today. The problem is largely hidden and often involves a subordinate withholding information or 'setting up' his or her boss, said researchers. But it can cause genuine misery and even force people to quit their jobs, they said. One woman manager whose case was cited lived through 'hell' after a whole department ganged up against her.' More at this link:
April 2005
This little gem of an article is written for HR professionals - but don't let that put you off. It's a piece by Dr. Joni Johnston entitled 'The Equal Opportunity Harasser'; great title, excellently written, highlighting the way that bullies target 'equals' whenever possible rather than those pesky people who are given extra protection but (so called) equal opportunity rules and regulations.
'For every harassment complaint and discriminatory situation I've helped resolve, I've dealt with ten incidences involving the equal opportunity harasser. Some of us have been unfortunate enough to meet the boss who constantly criticises, demeans, and undermines his employees, or the supervisor who takes delight in overworking and exploiting subordinates. In short, the workplace bully.' Parts 1 and 2 available here:
The Equal Opportunity Harasser
March 2005
...and here's the verdict in the case below:
.....verdict from Indianapolis
March 2005
From the Indy Star Yet another item we assume of especial interest to nurses: doctors on the rampage, seems to sum it up. The old line has it: the difference between a doctor and God? God doesn't think he's a doctor......
February 2005
From the UK journal of recruiters is this quite good basic introduction from an 'HR" perspective.
December 2004
'Nice' workers more likely to be targets reports this piece entitled 'The Bully Principle'. Familiar tales of working harder and better only to encounter an increase in the targeting.
December 2004:
'Mobbing: workplace bullying's ugly cousin'
Karen features in this Globe and Mail article; it's in full here:
from September 2004:
Stephen's story is featured in this piece from Canadian Business magazine; it's in full here:
Article from Canadian Business magazine
November 2004:
Winnipegger cycles to Cochrane to investigate local anti bullying initiative
Winnipeg target cycles to Cochrane
November 2004:
Here's one for all you nurses
3 year Australian research study on bullying in hospitals
November 2004:
Dr Namie on his rounds....
Sacramento Dr Gary Namie inspired story'Mobbing: bullying's ugly cousin'
by Ann Kerr from the Globe and Mail, 8th December 2004
For Karen Learmonth, a manager at a company in Western Canada, it started slowly.
"Some people stopped saying 'Hello.' They whispered behind my back. It was hard to get my orders filled in the warehouse," she recalls.
Then the sense of being shunned by her colleagues got worse.
"I wasn't invited to . . . meetings. Internal changes were made to my department without my knowledge," Ms. Learmonth maintains.
She hurt her back on the job and went on disability leave. But when her back improved and it came time to return to work, she found she couldn't.
"I wasn't sleeping or eating and I had the shakes. Whenever I went near the place, I threw up. My doctor said that I'd been traumatized and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder," says Ms. Learmonth, who remains on long-term disability leave.
What Ms. Learmonth experienced fits the description of what the experts call mobbing.
It occurs when people in a workplace gang up to unfairly ridicule, ostracize and eventually force out a fellow employee. The target can be a colleague, subordinate or even a boss.
It's a lesser-known form of workplace harassment than bullying but it is just as destructive, says Noa Davenport, a cultural anthropologist and co-author of Mobbing: Emotional Abuse in the American Workplace.
In fact, some argue that mobbing can be even worse. Unlike bullying, which is carried out by one person and stops if that person is moved, fired or otherwise removed, mobbing can start with one or two perpetrators, then spread like a virus through an entire organization.
Like many Canadians, Ms. Learmonth hadn't even heard of mobbing until her experience.
Though barely recognized in North America, mobbing is considered a serious workplace threat by several European countries, which have instituted legal protections against it, Ms. Davenport says.
"This is a serious health and safety issue that's costing billions of dollars in lost productivity and stress-related illness," she adds. "But most organizations don't see the problem. They think it's something people can just work out themselves."
Estimates of how often mobbing occurs vary widely. At the very least, 2 to 5 per cent of people will be mobbed some time during their work life, according to German psychologist Heinz Leymann, the first to study and name the phenomenon 20 years ago.
But mobbing and other forms of workplace harassment seem to be on the rise, says Gerry Smith, vice-president of organizational health at WarrenShepell in Toronto, judging from recent cases dealt with by his firm, which provides employee assistance programs and other health services to business.
"I know from the work at WarrenShepell that there's been a fairly substantial increase in cases in the past five years," says Mr. Smith, who is conducting free seminars to help businesses identify and address mobbing and other forms of workplace harassment.
Being treated in an uncivil manner by colleagues a couple of times doesn't count as mobbing. To fit the definition devised by Mr. Leymann, you have to be mistreated several times a week by two or more people, for at least six months.
In many cases, Ms. Davenport says, the mobbing can go on for years.
Eventually, mobbing sends targeted employees into a downward spiral, she says. They quit, get fired, or get sick and go on extended leave.
In some cases, senior management even tacitly encourages the behaviour, says Linda Shallcross, a public sector management researcher at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia.
"It's a way of getting rid of a person who's been doing their job but, for some reason, they don't like. If it was a constructive dismissal, they'd have to pay. They're hoping the person will just quit," says Ms. Shallcross, who is conducting a study of Australian women in different occupations who have been mobbed.
People working in large bureaucracies where there's little accountability and few ways to measure achievement can turn to mobbing to vent their frustrations, says Kenneth Westhues, a sociology professor at the University of Waterloo and an author of two books about mobbing in academia.
Like many who research and write about mobbing, Prof. Westhues says he was a victim himself at one point in his career.
"Generally, it's a group ganging up on someone because they don't fit in -- they may look or act different, or have a stronger work ethic. The person can become a scapegoat for whatever's wrong in the office," adds Frema Engel, an organizational consultant who is head of Engel and Associates in Montreal, and the author of Taming the Beast: Getting Violence Out of the Workplace.
Sometimes it starts as a conflict with one person, who then convinces or coerces others to ostracize the victim, Ms. Engel says.
Downsizing and the stress that goes with it can be an incubator for irrational mob behaviour, Mr. Smith says.
Job insecurity leads to fear and frustration, while managers have less time to actually manage their staff and notice inappropriate behaviour, he adds.
What makes mobbing so dangerous, Ms. Davenport says, is that "it's so subtle, so hard to prove. But the effects are devastating."
Victims may suffer stress-induced ailments, including headaches, stomach aches, high blood pressure and psychological problems, Ms. Davenport says.
In extreme cases, mobbing can even be life-threatening. Ms. Learmonth, who helps to run a Vancouver Web-based support group called No Bully For Me, says some mobbing victims she hears from contemplate suicide.
Group harassment can have tragic consequences for all involved as in the 1999 case of former OC Transpo employee Pierre Lebrun, who shot and killed four people at the company in Ottawa and then himself. The coroner's inquest indicated that Mr. Lebrun had been ridiculed and ostracized, and recommended new laws and company policies to prevent hostile behaviour from getting out of control.
So far, Quebec is the only jurisdiction in North America to deal directly with mobbing, bullying and other kinds of workplace harassment, with an amendment this June to its labour code, but it's still too early to tell how effective it will actually be, says Pierre Jauvin, an employment lawyer with Langlois Kronstrom Desjardins in Montreal.
Elsewhere, it's still difficult to fight a legal battle against mobbing, says Norman Grosman, a senior partner at Toronto employment law firm Grosman Grosman and Gale.
"You can launch a human rights complaint . . . but people are usually picked on in subtle ways -- not being included in the conversation, not being invited to parties -- that aren't covered in the legislation." Mr. Grosman says.
If the mobbing is too unbearable to stay at your job, you could try to sue for constructive dismissal, he says. Everyone is legally entitled to a workplace that is civil, decent and fair, he adds, but the onus is on you to prove it wasn't.
To do that, typically you need corroborating evidence, provided by witnesses, and that can be very hard to get, Mr. Grosman says.
Some public and private employers do recognize that mobbing is a definite workplace hazard.
New Brunswick Power Corp. in Fredericton, for instance, has a 'respectful workplace' policy, says Rita Hurley, the full-time diversity manager who holds workshops to teach managers and other employees how to prevent mobbing and diffuse it when it occurs.
Ms. Engel and Mr. Smith have worked with a number of firms, and Prof. Westhues has been consulted by unions and professional associations in Canada.
While people might have legitimate complaints against others in their workplaces, it's "never justifiable to torment another person," Ms. Davenport says.
Instead, concerns about a colleague's performance or personal conduct should be dealt with officially through proper channels, she says.
More public education and better company policies are what's needed most to prevent negative group think from taking hold, mobbing experts and victims say. No Bully for Me is seeking funding to start a national telephone hotline.
Beyond its harrowing impact on personal lives and workplace productivity, there's another sobering reason for organizations to take mobbing more seriously, Ms. Engel says.
"It's usually just one symptom of a lot of other conflicts in an unhealthy work environment," she says. "The only way to cure it is to bring it out into the open and deal with it."
Prevent mobbing
You don't have to like the people you work with but you do have to treat them with respect.
That, simply, is the credo that Rita Hurley, diversity manager at New Brunswick Power Corp. in Fredericton, preaches to prevent mobbing at work.
Easier said than done.
While it can be tough slogging in any organization to get people to make nice, here is what experts suggest to attack mobbing and prevent it from taking hold in the first place:
Get senior management onside to recognize mobbing as a legitimate workplace hazard, and include it in an anti-harassment policy. "You have to be very clear in the wording about the kind of behaviour that isn't acceptable," Ms. Hurley says.
Instruct line managers on how to recognize mobbing and nip it in the bud. "Even if a manager can see a problem, he could be overwhelmed in his own job or not able to deal with conflict," says Frema Engel, an organizational consultant in Montreal and author of Taming The Beast: Getting Violence Out Of The Workplace.
Establish ground rules for civil behaviour. In meetings, for instance, "no one is allowed to cut someone else off or criticize their comments, everybody gets to talk." Ms. Engel suggests.
Hold workshops for employees that include suggestions on how to build a respectful and friendly workplace. "You need to get specific, to encourage people to exchange greetings in the hallways and use eye contact when talking to each other," Ms. Hurley says.
Show people through role-playing how to respond if they're being shunned. If, for instance, everyone stops talking when you enter the room, "turn to one of the people and tell them you don't know why that is happening, you want it to stop and ask them if they will," Ms. Engel says. "Usually people will recognize it's wrong and stop." The key is to stay calm and respectful, she adds.
When mobbing persists, have a manager bring the parties together and get them to suggest solutions and draft an agreement. "The manager's role is to mediate, to get all those involved to take ownership," Ms. Engel says.
Follow an established procedure. At N.B. Power, perpetrators are first verbally warned to cease such behaviour. If the mobbing continues, there will be a written reminder, kept on file. If it still continues, offenders will be sent home on leave. When they return to work, they have to write and sign a statement that they will act appropriately, Ms. Hurley says.
As a last resort, the experts say, fire the perpetrators.
'Workplace Bullying' from Canadian Business Magazine
It dismantles teamwork, hobbles productivity--and costs money
It's a phrase that many people haven't yet heard. It certainly was new to Teresa Grant (not her real name) of Cambridge, Ont., when she ran across it in a newspaper article. But as soon as she saw the words "workplace bullying," she knew she had a name for the situation that had just driven her from a job she had loved for seven years.
In Vancouver, when Stephen Hill stumbled across a list of health symptoms related to bullying, he suddenly made the connection, too. "I only realized I was being bullied after six years," he says. When he showed the list to his wife, "she burst into tears," he now recalls.
As schoolyardish as it may sound, workplace bullying is a range of behaviour that breaks down the mental and physical health of its target. Apart from compassion--and there's nothing wrong with that--the reason executives should care is that workplace bullying dismantles teamwork, hamstrings efficiency, hobbles productivity and, ultimately, costs money.
Grant was proud of her position as an operations manager in the construction industry. "It was a job that I put my life into," she says. "I went away to trade shows--and I had two little babies at home. Any time they needed me, I was there. I don't think in five years I ever woke up and thought, 'Oh my god, I have to go to work.'"
But when two new employees were hired to work under her, Grant descended into two years of torture. "It was not one big thing," she explains. Instead, she describes a stream of constant criticism, verbal abuse and insubordination that was hidden from her superiors. When Grant approached her boss, no reprimand was given--and Grant was relieved of her supervisory capacity over the two women. "After that, it just got worse because they knew they could walk over me," she recalls.
Grant wanted to apply for counselling, but knew her claim would pass through the hands of one of her tormentors. "I was demoralized, I was ridiculed, I was not supported by the board of directors," she says. "The last day that I worked there it was pure hell, and the person who made it pure hell was sitting at my desk and doing my job."
Hill's story is similar in many ways. A co-ordinator for a non-profit organization within a university, he found himself targeted by a group. Like Grant, Hill points not to one dramatic incident but to a continuous barrage. "I was kept out of the loop," he says. "I was asked for my input on decisions that had already been made. I was called into meetings that I assumed would be a chat and found they were full disciplinary hearings. I would sit in a meeting, and people would file in and sit as far away from me as possible."
Hill compares the abuse to repetitive strain injury: tapping a keyboard once or twice won't hurt you; it's the repetition that's crippling. His psychologist diagnosed him as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. "Previously I had taken about three sick days in six years," he says, but in no time he was embroiled in rounds of Workers' Compensation Board submissions and leave time. After a miserable two-month attempt to resume his job, Hill was officially laid off, and his position was redesignated.
Researchers like Gary Namie of the Bellingham, Washington based Workplace Bullying and Trauma Institute find that women are somewhat more likely to bully than men, and far more likely to be bullied. Often, he says, "the co-workers are somehow allowed to construe events as the target's fault." Something of a bullying guru, Namie got into the field after his wife, Ruth Namie, a clinical psychologist, suffered at the hands of a workplace bully. The couple's work is documented both on their website and in their 2003 book, The Bully at Work.
Marje Burdine, a Vancouver-based organizational consultant, finds that bullying often affects people at high levels of responsibility and, as in Grant's case, that a junior employee can bully a supervisor. "I've dealt with several cases where a middle manager in a large organization is being targeted by the people who work for him or her, and the shame of being humiliated in this manner is so great that they don't tell anyone," she says. And the costs are high. In North America, most targets eventually leave their position. Based on Australian research, Burdine estimates bullying costs about $20,000 per case, or about $24 billion each year in Canada.
One step toward addressing the issue is through legislation. Australia has included measures that specifically or indirectly address bullying in several pieces of legislation, as have Norway, Britain and France. Quebec is the first jurisdiction in North America to do so. Brought into force in June, section 81.18 of that province's Labour Standards Act defines "psychological harassment at work" as "vexatious behaviour that manifests itself in the form of conduct, verbal comments, actions or gestures" that are repetitive, hostile and unwanted. "We've got to have a movement sweep across Canada to complete what they've started in Quebec," says Gary Namie. "The thing that gives me hope is that Canadians are not afraid to use the term 'workplace bullying.'"
Still, legislation is only a beginning. "The only purpose of legislation is to cajole employers and the workplace as a whole into addressing the situation," argues Hill. "Organizations need to be accountable and responsible for the environments they create."
Some are. Beginning about 10 years ago, management of British Columbia Rapid Transit Co. Ltd. (SkyTrain) and CUPE Local 7000 worked together for more than a year of policy drafting and focus groups to create a "respectful" workplace program and policy, with broad input from employees. Now Marje Burdine is available as an outside resource to SkyTrain employees under the title of respectful workplace adviser. "There needs to be a safe place in an organization for an individual to go and seek help. It has to be someone who reports to no one else," she says, pointing out that BC Hydro had a similar arrangement with her.
At SkyTrain, if a bad situation cannot be resolved, management may be called in with a ruling ranging from training or mentoring to staffing changes. "It's been very, very effective," Burdine reports. "There's a renewed respect for management and the union because some tough decisions have been made."
Similarly, at Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, management and two unions came to the conclusion that Ontario's Human Rights Code did not apply to fully 60% of the cases that were coming forward within the institution, so they collaborated on a new addition to the internal harassment and discrimination policy. Now, when a case is reported, peer investigators attempt a resolution. The final recommendation falls to Rhoda Beecher, the centre's vice-president of human resources and organizational development. "I have to tell you I'm very proud of this policy," she says. "People are incredibly empowered."
Since his own experience with workplace bullying, Stephen Hill has dedicated himself to fighting it. Shortly after leaving his job, he co-founded an organization called No Bully For Me and began training to become an employment counsellor. "Part of my motivation for moving into this field is to put workplace bullying at the forefront of employment counselling," he says. "Statistics vary, but some 15% of shiny new jobs are going to be abusive workplaces."
Teresa Grant found another job two weeks after leaving her position, but she still feels hurt that no one in her former company supported her. "I know that everybody can be replaced, but I felt I had so much dedication to this company-- and we started from the ground up--that in my heart I felt that I was irreplaceable on a moral level," she says. "I find myself asking why more than anything else. It was my job and there's nothing else out there quite like it."
Canadian Business Magazine September 2004; written by Sarah B Hood (thanks Sarah!)