Bullying in the Workplace

1. Bullying in the Workplace Identifying and Addressing the issue PSAC North – OHS 2011 Conference

2. The Phenomenon The Perpetrators Who gets Bullied Why Bullying Happens Impact on People Impact on Organizations Solutions Session Outline

3. The Phenomenon

4. Abusive Conduct Identity Threat Onset of Stress Health Impact Physical Violence Injury, Death Incivility Disrespect Moderate to Severe Bullying Inappropriateness Mild Bullying Battery Homicide Negative Conduct & Impact Continuum Despair, Suicide

5. Physical Battery (4%) Illegal Discrimination & Harassment (8-10%) Law-Compliant Policies Exist Workplace Bullying & Abuse(37%) Steps to Correct? to Prevent? Zero Tolerance Policies Extensive Security Measures Homicide (1 in 130,000, 0.0007%) Current Focus Distracts

6. A – What is the definition of Bullying? B – What is the Definition of Harassment? Workshop ADEFINITIONS

7. Bullying is an act of repeated aggressive behaviour in order to intentionally hurt another person, physically or mentally. Bullying is characterized by an individualor group of individuals behaving in a certain way to gain power over another person. It usually involves a pattern of behaviour that is intended to: Intimidate Offend Degrade Humiliate Exploit a known vulnerability. What is workplace bullying?

8. Synonyms • Psychological, Non-Physical Violence • Psychological, Personal, Harassment • Abusive Conduct/Work Environment • Emotional Abuse at Work • Mobbing • Workplace Aggression • Euphemisms: Incivility, Disrespect

9. You are Probably Bullied When... Experiences Outside Work • you throw up the night before work • everyone is fed up with you obsessing about work at home • your doctor tells you to change jobs because of blood pressure and health problems

10. Experiences Outside Work • days off are spent exhausted and lifeless, all desire is lost. • you begin to believe that you provoked the workplace cruelty

11. You are Probably Bullied When... Experiences at Work • your work is never good enough for the boss • your tormentor is arbitrary & capricious, works a personal agenda all the time • co-workers are forbidden to work, talk, or socialize with you. • you constantly feel anxious, “sensing doom”

12. Experiences at Work • you are always kept from doing your job right • HR agrees that it’s harassment, but not illegal, “work it out between yourselves” • you are accused of incompetence despite the history of objective excellence. • everyone says your tormentor is a “jerk” but they do nothing

13. 2010 U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey THE SECOND REPRESENTATIVE STUDY OF ADULT AMERICANS based on a sample of 4,210 Commissioned Zogby International in August 2010 to conduct the study Gary Namie, PhD - Research Director

14. U.S. Prevalence Witnessed Only 15% Been Bullied No Experience 26% 50% 9% Current WBI U.S. Natl 2010

15. PSAC North Survey

16. The Perpetrators

17. ALL Bullying Involves CONTROL of OTHERS by one or more people who either take actions against others or withhold social or material resources

18. The Namies’ Bully Types

19. The Screaming Mimi

20. The Screaming Mimi • Prefers public setting to effect shame • Intimidates to instill fear in target & witnesses • Yells, curses, screams to mask incompetence • Makes physical threats • Invades personal space

21. The Constant Critic

22. The Constant Critic • Prefers 1-on-1, private settings for deniability • Destroys confidence in demonstrated competence • Lies about performance appraisal • Thoroughly de-humanizing, contemptuous

23. The Two-Headed Snake

24. The Two-Headed Snake • Jekyll-Hyde, Passive-Aggressive backstabber • Manages image as seen from above; terrorizes individuals below • Difficult to detect • Controls target’s reputation

25. The Gatekeeper

26. The Gatekeeper • Denies/Blocks resources needed for success • Unrealistic deadlines • No training, budget or help from others • No accommodations for physician orders • Disruption of family/health obligations

27. It’s True -- Most Bullies Are Bosses Bottom Up 10% CWs 18% Bosses 72% WBI U.S. Natl 2007

28. A Bully’s Support System WBI U.S. Natl 2007

29. Who Gets Bullied

30. Reasons Adults Become Targets • They dare to be Independent • They are More Competent • They are Well Liked • They are Ethical & Honest • They are Apolitical WBI 2003

31. Other Reasons for Targethood • Overinvestment of identity in job • Perfectionism • Non-confrontive • High self-disclosure • Obedient to Authority/Self-subordinating • Belief in benevolent world • Prior history of abuse

32. Biases Against Targets • THEY ARE NOT BELIEVED • They are blamed for provoking the bully • Branded as “troublemakers” themselves

33. Why Bullying Happens

34. Why Bullies Bully The Simplest Explanation BECAUSE THEY CAN

35. Why Bullies Bully Unactionable Explanations • Brain Structure & Biology • Family-of-Origin Experiences • Schoolyard Bully Grown Up/Socialized • Personality: Antisocial to Psychopath

36. Bullying-Prone Workplaces • Obsession with ‘Making the Numbers’ • Undoable Work Pace • Reverence for Zero-Sum Competition. • Connections Count More Than Accountability

37. In order to help assess and help with the triage required to differenciate between personal conflicts and bullying, please identify the following specific:  behaviours; actions; and tactics bullies use to outrank their targets. Workshop BCONFLICT vs BULLYING

38. •Deliberately sabotaging or impeding an employees work performance with distorted performance reviews (discarding/underrating exemplary work); •Refusing to delegate to employees who are capable of doing the work. (i.e., out of spite, revenge, unresolved disagreement); •Constantly changing work guidelines for ulterior purposes; Behaviours; actions; and tactics bullies use to outrank their targets

39. •Withholding necessary information; •Repeatedly setting unreasonable standards; •Purposively underworking an employee (i.e., starve the employees’ selfconfidence); •Over-monitoring, especially with malicious intent; •Knowingly setting up individuals to fail (i.e. impossible deadlines); Behaviours; actions; and tactics bullies use to outrank their targets

40. •Excluding/isolating an employee socially within a team (not inviting to staff gatherings, removing and employees’ name from email distribution lists); •Blocking applications for leave or promotion, refusal to write a reference letter despite employee being a good performer; •Enforcing strict adherence to policy for a select few while other employee’s are subject to a more reasonable adherence to policy; •Using confidential information about an employee to humiliate privately or publicly; Behaviours; actions; and tactics bullies use to outrank their targets

41. • Instigating complaints froman employee’s co-workers to make an individual appear incompetent; • Favoritism as evidenced in granting vacation or leave requests for some employees but not others; • Unfairly denying professional development opportunities for advancement; • Relocation of an employee’s work site due to personal reasons/grudges/retaliation and disguise this under operational necessity; Behaviours; actions; and tactics bullies use to outrank their targets

42. • Removal of areas of responsibility and duties without just cause; • Icing an employee out of conversations and separating them from others (i.e., silent treatment) or forbidding colleagues to interact/socialize with an employee; • Falsely accusing of errors not actually made. Behaviours; actions; and tactics bullies use to outrank their targets

43. IMPACT on People

44. Understanding the costs of bullying can be worthfull for Unions and Employers. The costs of bullying are multidimensional. Please identify potential costs for: A – Toll on bystanders B – Value’s toll on Target C – Tangible Cost D – Intangible cost Workshop CCOST OF BULLYING

45. •suffer deterioration of their work place environment and fear being the bully’s next target; •internal confusion and anger at being forced to ostracize and/or dehumanize others and choose between self and others; •altered mentality (justifying situations that create hostility and abuse by copying the behaviour of the bully); •decreased job satisfaction and commitment; and •possible loss of life if target resorts to violence. Toll on bystanders:

46. •will catastrophize (where targets freeze themselves getting caught up in worst-case thinking); •fear of living life itself leading to suicide or complete restructuring of core personality; •loss of faith in self, higher power or community at large; •loss of trust making interactions with family and friends difficult; •desire to cocoon self to protect energy and feelings; •loss of work, outside friends and family members due to withdrawal and others getting compassion fatigue; •everyone is fed up with the target obsessing about work; •days off spent exhausted and lifeless. All desire lost; •target suffers permanent damage to reputation; •loss of security and safety; •co-worker isolation from fear; •families and co-workers encourage compromise with bully and resent if no compromise found; •wavering support from family;, and •children/friends outside work show strain. Value’s toll on target:

47. •increased sickness and 26% higher absenteeism and presenteeism; •reduced performance/productivity including damage to equipment, increased mistakes and accidents; •more premature retirements and higher turnover requiring more recruitment, training and advertising; •increased payments for WCB, disability and health care benefits; •increased health and social welfare costs; and •more expensive grievance, litigation, compensation and liability insurance. Tangible costs:

48. •loss of morale, negative PR; •talent flight where the best and brightest leave or are driven out; •loss of reputation and service capacity due to employee theft; and •higher staff resistance to management initiatives. Intangible costs:

49. Individuals Pay the Price For Unsolicited Targethood Health Impairment Loss of Social Support Economic Harm