Adults Behaving Badly (ABB): Bullying & harassment in the federal workplace

1. Adults Behaving Badly (ABB): Bullying & harassment in the federal workplace Janice F. Caramanica Associate Director Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of State FAPAC in Atlanta, GA May 2, 2012

2. Common Characteristics of a Bully • Yelling, verbal abuse, intimidation • Personal attacks, humiliation, insults, mocking, demeaning behavior • Backstabbing, spreading rumors/gossip, lying • Invasion of personal space, asking inappropriate personal information , eavesdropping on conversations • False accusations, blaming, taking undeserved credit, deflecting deserved criticism UNCLASSIFIED

3. Are there any public figures who are Bullies? • In entertainment (Hollywood, film, TV, music?) • In the international arena (Middle East, Europe, Africa)? • In the domestic news (on-line, on Facebook)? • In education (Rutgers, high schools, middle schools)? UNCLASSIFIED

4. Fictional Bullies from American TV/Movies • Judge Doom, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Touchstone) • Vincent (Bear), “Over the Hedge” (Dreamworks) • The grasshoppers, “A Bug’s Life (Disney Pixar) • Sid, “Toy Story” (Disney {Pixar) • Angelica, “Rugrats” (Nickelodeon) • Biff Tannen, “Back to the Future” (Universal Pictures) • The Alpha Betas, “Revenge of the Nerds” (20th Century Fox) • Nurse Ratchet, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (United Artists, based on the book by Ken Kesey) UNCLASSIFIED

5. A Definition “Bullying is the operation of the American normative code so that insiders can maintain their control (often through surrogates), outliers can be ostracized, and the majority can be kept in line.” -- Stanton Peele Psychology Today, March 14, 2011 http://www.psychologytoday.com/note/57044 UNCLASSIFIED

6. Another Definition “Bullying is persistent unwelcome behaviour, mostly using unwarranted or invalid criticism, nit-picking, fault-finding, also exclusion, isolation, being singled out and treated differently, being shouted at, humiliated, excessive monitoring, having verbal and written warnings imposed, and much more.” -- Author Unidentified http://www.bullyonline.org/workbully/bully.htm UNCLASSIFIED

7. Recognizing “Bullying” “…[P]ersistent, offensive abusive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behavior, including abuse of power, which causes the recipient to suffer stress…. [T]he adult bully most often picks on his victim as a result of some perceived weakness that he/she thinks can be exploited.” --Pauline Rennie Peyton “Impact, Not Intention: On Bullying in the Workplace” http://www.imdiversity.com/villages/careers/articles/peyton_workplace_bullying.asp UNCLASSIFIED

8. Let’s Talk about Bullying at Work – • Have you ever worked with a Bully? • How do you know the person was a Bully? • What actions/behaviors distinguished this person as a Bully? • Did management know? • How long did the behavior go on? • What happened ultimately to the Bully? To the “victim”? UNCLASSIFIED

9. Conclusions about Bullying as a Management Style • In fiction, bullying is not tolerated; Message: • Bullies always get theirs. • What goes around comes around. • Karma happens. • In reality, it is tolerated, and occasionally, rewarded by those who focus on results, not on methods (or who don’t know about the methods). (“Ends justify the means.”) • Inconsistent messages. UNCLASSIFIED

10. Now Let’s Talk about Harassment Harassment is – • Unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. • Harassment becomes unlawful where 1) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment, or 2) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive. • Anti-discrimination laws also prohibit harassment against individuals in retaliation for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit under these laws; or opposing employment practices that they reasonably believe discriminate against individuals, in violation of these laws. UNCLASSIFIED

11. Harassment, cont. • Offensive conduct may include, but is not limited to, offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name calling, physical assaults or threats, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs, offensive objects or pictures, and interference with work performance. Harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including, but not limited to, the following: • The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, an agent of the employer, a co-worker, or a non-employee. • The victim does not have to be the person harassed, but can be anyone affected by the offensive conduct. • Unlawful harassment may occur without economic injury to, or discharge of, the victim. UNCLASSIFIED

12. Behaviors that Characterize Harassment • Yelling, verbal abuse, intimidation of an individual/individuals due to discriminatory animus • Personal attacks, humiliation, insults, name calling, taunting, using loaded language implicating hostility to a protected class • Invading personal space, asking inappropriate personal information, using private e-mail address or personal phone to communicate with no underlying work-related purposes due to discriminatory animus UNCLASSIFIED

13. Bottom Line What’s the difference between BULLYING and HARASSMENT in the workplace? UNCLASSIFIED

14. What is the ultimate impact of this distinction for federal EEO practitioners? • Bullying creeps into the EEO arena masquerading as “harassment.” • Increase in workload, implications for EEO office resources. • We need a proactive strategy. UNCLASSIFIED

15. Proposed Proactive Strategy • Identify the problem and the ABB or ABB behavior at issue. • A workplace that is experiencing absenteeism, high turnover, and/or decreased productivity may be attributable to one or more ABBs in the workplace. • Conduct a management inquiry or “workplace survey.” • ABBs only continue their behavior until they attract negative attention from higher management. • If appropriate, refer to HR/IG/Security/other. • Establish an effective working relationship with these professionals. They can be some of your biggest allies. UNCLASSIFIED

16. Proactive Strategy, cont. • Get commitment from Leadership to eliminate workplace ABB behavior. • Workplace atmospherics start at The Top. • Upcoming Administration change provides an opportunity to get Leadership on board with this concept from Day 1 (January 21, 2013). • The Washington Post test: How would public opinion judge the workplace if all relevant facts were known? [What impact have the recent Secret Service and GSA conference scandals had on public opinion of those entities?] UNCLASSIFIED

17. Proactive Strategy, cont. • Issue a workplace announcement that specifies unacceptable behaviors. • Similar to the Diversity Statement and Anti-Harassment Statement mandated by EEOC to be issued annually by the head of agency. • Specify what behaviors are not acceptable: for example, “The following behaviors, taken in anger or frustration, are not acceptable: shouting, invading personal space, poking or jabbing, use of vulgar, mean-spirited, or insulting language.” UNCLASSIFIED

18. Proactive Strategy, cont. • Ensure follow-up with consequences! • Work collaboratively with other elements of the agency to achieve the following goals: • Document inappropriate behaviors in performance evaluations as inappropriate inter-personal interactions. • Require that successive levels of management affirm compliance at lower levels. • Go through progressive discipline, beginning at the lowest possible level. • Ensure consistent treatment – no “special” exceptions! UNCLASSIFIED

19. Proactive Strategy, cont. • Offer help/instruction for offenders and protection for witnesses/victims. • Enlist Employee Consultation Services to establish or increase frequency of anger/stress management sessions. • Get managers and employees training to address the root of the problem, whatever it is. (Poor communication skills? Managing unrealistic leadership expectations? Discriminatory animus?) The root of the problem will suggest the office with proper jurisdiction. • Monitor progress & acknowledge improvement. UNCLASSIFIED

20. Treat Everyone with Respect • Permit individuals to express opinions without attributing “fault”; emphasize that one can disagree without being disagreeable. • Encourage transparency in matters that affect perks and bennies. • Respect confidentiality, especially in matters of health, medical, and family matters: in certain circumstances, disclosure may violate legal privacy protections. Seek express permission before sharing information with the group. • Practice patience, courage, and humility. UNCLASSIFIED

21. Questions/Comments? UNCLASSIFIED