DEALING WITH THE BULLY NEXT (OFFICE) DOOR

#WFwebinar
The presentation will begin at the top of the hour.
A dial in number will not be provided.
Listen to today’s webinar using your computer’s
speakers or headphones.
Welcome to the webinar!

#WFwebinar

Tools You Can Use
Audio Control
–  A dial in number will not
be provided.
–  Adjust the volume on
your computer or
headphones

#WFwebinar
Questions and Handouts
You can submit questions by
clicking on this icon here.
You can download a PDF of the
slide deck by clicking here.

#WFwebinar

1. May I receive a copy of the slides?
YES! Click on the handouts list located on the right portion of
your screen.
2. May I review the webinar recording at a later date?
YES! You may log in again using today’s link to review the
presentation on-demand.
3. Is this webinar HRCI or SHRM certified?
YES! The HRCI and SHRM certification codes will be sent in
the same follow up email as the recording
Frequently
Asked
Ques0ons

WORKFORCE Webinar on
Dealing with the Bully
Next (Office) Door
By Edward Stern (OSHA, ret.)
Researcher/Writer/Advisor
Workplace Bullying Programs
edwardxa12@Hotmail.com

Who am I?
•  Analyst and developer of labor-law, regulatory policy.
•  27 years at OSHA, and 13 years on other labor-law issues.
•  15 years in studying workplace psychological violence.
•  14 years writing, speaking, and advising on it.
•  Charter Member of the Alliance Against Workplace Violence.
•  Member of USDOL Workplace Violence Committee 2014-15

This webinar covers:
1.  How to identify bullying in the workplace.
2.  How to set policies on workplace bullying.
3.  How to collect incident information.
4.  How to empower HR staff to enforce policies on workplace bullying.

Identifying
Workplace
Bullying
Part One

How to identify bullying in the
workplace – 1. Meaning of a word
•  The word “harass” comes from the French word to “set a dog on.”
•  Bullying is harassment. It is psychological violence.
•  Bullying/harassment related to protected classes, e.g. race, religion,
etc., is covered by EEO law.
•  Most bullying/harassment is NOT related to protected classes.
Part One: Identifying Workplace Bullying

workplace – 1 – Vis-a-vis EEO rules
The people who are abusive to subordinates and co-workers without
regard to race, religion, gender, age, etc., are bullies.
They may not violate EEO rules, because they treat people equally
badly.
So, you need anti-bullying policies

workplace – 2 -- Dimensions
•  Bullying appears in several dimensions.
•  Bullying can be verbal or non-verbal.
•  Bullying can be out-in-the-open (e.g., visible or heard) or it
can be hidden.
•  What is hidden at first may be discovered later.

workplace – 3 –Bullying anyone can do
•  Generally, BOTH co-workers and supervisors can bully in the
Verbal/Non-verbal and in the Open/Hidden dimensions.
•  The combination of these makes four (4) categories
•  Verbal and Open
•  Verbal and Hidden
•  Non-verbal and Open
•  Non-verbal and Hidden

Categories Verbal Non-Verbal
Open
(visible or heard)
Insulting, demeaning,
disparaging words.
Shouting, cursing.
Public ridicule and
humiliation
Contemptuous, hostile, or
humiliating glares, stares,
sneers, gestures, and
refusals to respond or act.
(Passive/aggressive)
Physical threats or acts -
includes intimidation by
being too close to a
person.
Hidden
(behind your back)
Malicious gossip and
rumors—whether true or
false.
Providing false information.
Freezing out.
Withholding information
needed for work.
Special one (coming up)

Verbal and Open
•  Insulting, disparaging,
humiliating comments
to your face
Verbal and Hidden
•  Insulting, disparaging,
humiliating gossip and
rumors about you,
behind your back
•  Providing false
information to you

Question:
What about gossip and rumors, behind
your back, that are true?
Answer:
Spreading embarrassing or humiliating true gossip with intent to
hurt a person’s reputation is bullying.
Exception:
It seems fair to warn your co-worker about going to work for a
very nasty person or about dealing with a dishonest person—
based on your own personal experience.

Non-verbal and Open -1. Sneers
Animals snarl to threaten or
intimidate.
•  Think of a sneer as a quiet
snarl. ( See: “The Expression of Emotion in
Man and Animals” by Charles Darwin, 1874)
•  “It is just as hard to do your
duty when men are sneering
at you as when they are
shouting at you.” President
Woodrow Wilson

Non-verbal and Open – demeaning
expressions and acts
•  Cold stares and insulting gestures also intimidate.
•  On-going refusal to respond to a co-worker’s
legitimate request to talk or meet.
•  Blocking someone’s way out of an office is bullying
and may be a crime, or invite a lawsuit.

Non-verbal and Hidden
•  Excluding someone socially and professionally
•  Withholding information
•  Snooping in someone’s work space
•  Tampering with another’s personal belongings

Intro to “boss freezes me out”…
•  This chart examines responses to the question of whether bosses “freeze me
out.” (1 of 15 questions before asking about bullying.)
•  Of those who said the behavior they described was Definitely NOT bullying
or abusive, 15% said their boss “Occasionally or Frequently” froze them out.
•  Of those who said the behavior they described Definitely YES was bullying
or abusive, 75% said their boss “Occasionally or Frequently” froze them out.
•  (From my presentation at LERA Annual Conference 2007)

Definitely No No Yes YES Def
Frequently 2 4 6 35
Occasionally 10 7 3 19
Never or Once 68 15 6 19
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Distributionofresponsesofbeingignored/frozen
outbysupervisor
Q21. Do you think the behavior you described is bullying or abusive?
Cross tab of boss freezes me out
vs. boss is a bully

Categories Verbal Non-Verbal
Open
(visible or heard)
Insulting, demeaning,
disparaging words.
Shouting, cursing.
Public ridicule and
humiliation
Contemptuous, hostile, or
humiliating glares, stares,
sneers, gestures, and refusals
to respond or act.
Physical threats or acts -
includes intimidation by being
too close to you.
Hidden
(behind your back)
Malicious gossip and rumors
—whether true or false.
Providing false information.
Freezing out.
Withholding information
needed for work.
Bullying only
Supervisors can do
Making assignments without
legitimate business
purposes,
AND much more
Denying assignments or
cancelling leave, training,
etc., without legitimate
business purposes

workplace – 4 Abuse of authority
Supervisors can use their authority to hurt others without legitimate business
purposes.
Examples:
•  Making assignments without legitimate business purposes—to overwhelm or
torment…
•  Assigning menial tasks to a professional who asks too many questions (she
quit and got a better job)
•  Assigning a remedial writing course to a highly skilled person to demean her
(settled out of court)

workplace – 5 More Supervisory abuse
Supervisors can use their organizational authority to hurt others without
legitimate business purposes—continued.
Examples:
•  Denying or cancelling leave, training, or other benefits without legitimate
business purposes
•  Underworking someone to make them feel useless and unwanted, etc.
•  Overworking someone to torment them

What supervisory bullying is NOT
“Bullying is not a management style;
it is abuse.
It is about anger and aggressiveness.”
“Psychological Abuse At Home and Work”
By Randi C. Wood, LCSW, DCSW
Director
Colorado State Employee Assistance Program
2004

Setting
Workplace
Bullying
Policies
Part Two

Part Two: Setting Workplace Bullying Policies
How to set policies on workplace
bullying –1 Overview
•  Get Top Management Commitment to the policy
•  Set out what is covered AND what is NOT
•  Where to report bullying (psychological violence)
•  Where to report physical violence
•  Spell out consequences for violations
•  Write procedures for gathering and analyzing information on complaints

bullying – 2 – Got Mgmt. commitment?
•  IF top management told you to implement an anti-bullying policy,
•  THEN they saved you an important step.
•  IF they didn’t, then you, HR, need to explain to top management
why they should.

bullying – 3 Persuading Management
An anti-bullying policy is good for managers and the company.
•  Workplace bullying chases away talent.
•  A stained reputation will discourage talented people from
even applying at your company.
How will applicants know about your workplace?
•  Social media, e.g., Glassdoor, Facebook, etc.
•  Word of mouth
•  Publicity from lawsuits

bullying – 3B Point to health effects
´  Bullying affects the overall "health" of an organization.
´  Effects of “unhealthy" workplaces include:
•  Increased stress.
•  Increased absenteeism (Why do you think?)
•  Increased turnover.
•  Increased risk for accidents & related incidents.
•  Decreased motivation and productivity.
•  Reduced corporate image and customer confidence.
•  Reduced customer service

bullying – 3C Physiological effects
Targets of Bullying and witnesses to it may have:
•  Feelings of anger, frustration, helplessness, increased vulnerability,
and/or loss of confidence.
•  Physical symptoms such as:
o  Inability to sleep and loss of appetite
o  Stomach pains, headaches, and rashes
•  Panic or anxiety, e.g., about going to work.
•  Family tension and stress—that will affect work.
•  Inability to concentrate.

How to set policies on workplace bullying –
3D – Re: serious mental health problems
Bullying can cause DEPRESSION.
Some victims of bullying (and some witnesses to it)
•  Will become depressed, and
•  Will need help from mental health professionals, and
•  Will likely require more sick leave.

bullying – 3E – OSHA Recordkeeping
•  IF your company is required to perform Federal or State OSHA
“recordkeeping”,
•  THEN the “days away” for sickness or treatment of mental illness due
to bullying may be recordable on your OSHA Log (privacy
protected)
•  (It would be a “work-related” illness.)
Do you really want more “days away” from work adding up on your OSHA
Log?

bullying – 3F – Effects of stress
“Working conditions can damage health not only through
obvious physical hazards but also through stress. ...
repeated stresses over time, can damage immune
defenses and vital organs. …
Daily hassles can include constant challenges posed
by work environments in which a person may feel
disrespected, intimidated or under constant strain…”
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Work Matters for Health, Issue Brief 4, 2008

Get employees or their representatives involved in
developing your anti-bullying policy.
They will have some ideas.
They will appreciate being asked to participate.
bullying – 4 – Employee participation

•  Bullying/harassing/abusive behavior
•  Verbal and Non-verbal abuse
•  Overt and Hidden abuse
•  Supervisory conduct that is NOT for legitimate business
purposes
*Harassment and humiliation are not for legitimate business
purposes.
bullying – 4 – What is covered?

•  Take care to recognize civil management conduct and
legitimate management roles. (Minnesota is good on this.)
•  Factual, civil, professional criticism is not bullying.
•  Respectful disagreement is not bullying.
Even the best people can have a “bad day,” and be
obnoxious.
A decent person who has a rare bad day may be entitled
to some slack. (But you might make a note of it.)
bullying – 5 – What is not covered

•  Say where to report psychological violence.
•  Say where to report physical violence.
•  HR or the EAP or your ombudsman should get the calls about
workplace bullying that is psychological violence.
The NIH Workplace Violence trifold is good on this.
Also see “Violence in the Federal Workplace: A Guide for
Prevention and Response” by the Interagency Security
Committee, DHS 2013
bullying – 6 Where to report what

•  Acts or threats of physical violence should be report to the
police.
•  HR is not the police. Let them do their job.
•  HOWEVER, you might ask the victim whether he or she wishes
you to call the police.
•  IF the matter is unclear, call your attorney or the police.
bullying – 6 Reporting physical violence

4.3.1.2 Reporting
Accurate and early reporting that provides for a well-timed intervention
can be instrumental in resolving issues of workplace incivility and bullying
before incidents escalate into physical violence. Developing and
implementing reporting procedures for workplace bullying and incivility
are just as important as establishing procedures for reporting physical
violence.
Employees who feel they are victims of bullying, verbal or electronic
harassment/cyber bullying (e.g. e-mails, text messages, web-pages),
psychological violence, or emotional abuse need to report the problem as
these behaviors can negatively impact the victim, work environment, and
employee productivity. …
Violence in the Federal Workplace
Planning, Prevention, and Response page 13
On Why to Report Bullying:

q  The red box contains the central 50% of responses.
q  The frequency of abusive conduct was scored: Never=0,
Once=1, Occasionally=3, Frequently=9
q  People who said the behavior they described (in the first 15
Q’s) was bullying saw much more abuse than those who said
their bosses’ behavior was NOT bullying.
q  It shows that people will overlook a little rudeness.
(From my presentation to LERA Annual Conference)
Intro to a Box and Whisker Chart with
Frequency Weighted Scores –

76162886N =
Sum of Frequency-Weighted Scores
by Employee Views in Q. 21
Q21. Was the behavior bullying/abusive?
4Def Yes3 Yes2 No1 Def No
SUMofScores-Q2thruQ16
300
200
100
0
( Weights: Never = 0, Once a year = 1,
Occasionally = 3, and Frequently = 9 )

•  Managers and staff need to know that workplace bullying will
have consequences.
•  Consequences should range from counseling to removal.
•  It is worth a try to counsel offenders on your policy and to
keep a record of it.
bullying – 7 Spell out the consequences

•  Often highly knowledgeable staff are made supervisors. Some
of them are not right for supervisory jobs.
•  They may be converted into non-supervisory high-level
technical advisors. (I’ve seen it work.)
•  Leaving bullies in place results in the loss of talent and
productivity.
bullying – 7 Should X be a supervisor?

Collecting
Incident
Information
Part Three

•  A trained person can gather what happened.
•  Use Utah’s Abusive Conduct Intake Form (
http://dhrmemployee.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Abusive-Conduct-
Intake-Form.docx)
•  Making sense of witness testimony requires an inquiring mind.
•  Good to have an HR person who is trained on conflict
management, confidentiality, and ethics.
Part Three: Collecting Incident Information
How to collect incident information

•  What happened;
•  Who was involved;
•  Where did it happen;
•  When did it happen;
•  Why did it happen; and
•  How did it happen
Utah’s form is good for this. But you still have to think about what
you collected.
On collecting incident information

•  Once you have the testimony of the complainant and any
witnesses,
•  ASK YOURSELF: “Is there other information that might support
OR cast doubt on the testimony of either side?”
•  Then look for that additional information, to help you figure out
what is really going on.
On collecting incident information

An assignment to a remedial writing class could be for
business purposes, BUT:
•  Is the employee a clerk or a highly trained
professional?
•  Did she graduate from: high school or law school?
•  Did she go to schools much more prestigious than
her boss?
•  Did she do something that angered her boss?
On collecting and analyzing
information

Some behavior crosses the line into criminal conduct.
Don’t let your questions mess up a criminal investigation.
Some good advice on this is in:
“5.2.1.2 Ensure criminal prosecutions are not compromised” of
the “Violence in the Federal Workplace” guide.
One last thing to consider in interviewing
people involved in alleged bullying

First, you need a policy.
Second, it should have the top manager’s signature on it.
Third, it should be distributed to ALL employees.
v That begins to empower HR.
Part Four: Empowering HR Staff
To empower HR staff

HR leadership needs to say:
v  HR does not just support the managers.
v  HR supports the company overall.
v  This is bigger than any one manager.
v  Remember this when you deal with supervisory bullies.
To empower HR staff.

Minnesota’s “Respectful Workplace” policy identifies unacceptable
conduct (bullying).

Edwin Hudson, the Deputy Commissioner for Enterprise Human Capital
of Minnesota Management & Budget, told me:
•  The state had a 4 to 5 percent unemployment rate, so there is
real competition for talent.
•  He hoped the “Respectful Workplace” policy would give the
state a competitive edge in attracting and keeping the best
employees.
To empower HR staff, think of the
advantages.

Studies report a range of 25% to 35% of employees feel bullied.
Roughly 75% of bullying is by managers and supervisors, But don’t
freak out.
All that bullying is done by a small number of supervisors. (They
do it repeatedly and serially.) So, it is NOT 75% of managers!
The small number makes this manageable.
YOU CAN DO IT & YOU SHOULD DO IT –for the company and the
employees.
To empower your HR staff, remember
this do-able.

1.  How to identify bullying in the workplace.
2.  How to set policies on workplace bullying, and how to persuade
management to adopt it.
3.  How to collect and analyze incident information.
4.  How to impress upon HR staff the value of having and enforcing
your policy on workplace bullying. That is empowering.
Ø  Remember to train supervisors and staff on this.
Thanks for participating in this Workforce webinar.
Now, you know:

“Each human being has the right to make the
gifts he has received from God fruitful. As a
result, every act which belittles man's dignity and
frustrates his potential for fulfilling himself is an act
contrary to God's plan for man and for all
creation.”
Pope John Paul II,
Speech to the Congress on Human Rights, July 4, 1998

RESOURCES: (page 1 of 4)
Definitions in USDOL Workplace Violence Program:
https://www.dol.gov/oasam/hrc/policies/dol-workplace-violence-program-
appendices.htm
“The Dimensions of Workplace Bullying Behavior” at
http://ehstoday.com/safety-leadership/dimensions-workplace-
bullying-behavior by Edward Stern, March 29, 2017
“Workplace Bullying: How Two Red and Two Blue States Tackled the
Issue” at
http://www.workforce.com/2016/05/23/workplace-bullying-how-
two-red-and-two-blue-states-tackled-the-issue/ by Edward Stern,
May 23, 2016
“The Expressions of Emotions in Man and Animals” by Charles Darwin,
1874 – discussed in
http://www.ishn.com/articles/103852-unlocking-a-key-to-prevent-
psychological-violence by Edward Stern, May 3, 2016

“Violence in the Federal Workplace: A Guide for Prevention and
Response” by the Interagency Security Committee, DHS 2013, at
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/ISC
%20Violence%20in%20%20the%20Federal%20Workplace
%20Guide%20April%202013.pdf
Workplace Bullying: Challenges Raised by Hostile Environment,
Workplace Harassment & Poor Managers in the Federal Sector”
at https://www.adr.gov/events/2010/jan14-2010-materials-bullying.ppt
“Workplace bullying: Escalated incivility” by Gary Namie, IVEY
Business Journal, Nov 2003 at
http://www.rit.edu/~w-aaup/documents_not_rit/
ivey_workplace_bulling.pdf
“A look at Abusive Supervision at USDOL” by Edward Stern
(2004)
https://sites.google.com/site/l12bullying2/
alookatabusivesupervisionatdol

WORKPLACE VIOLENCE - ISSUES IN RESPONSE
Edited by Eugene A. Rugala, Supervisory Special Agent
Critical Incident Response Group, National Center for
the Analysis of Violent Crime, FBI Academy, Quantico,
Virginia
h#p://www.)i.gov/stats-‐services/publica8ons/workplace-‐
violence

The NIH CIVIL PROGRAM (2014)
h#ps://hr.od.nih.gov/hrguidance/civil/documents/trifold.pdf

“Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace:
International Perspectives in Research and
Practice” (Taylor and Francis, London, 2003)

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Work Matters for
Health, Issue Brief 4
http://www.commissiononhealth.org/PDF/
0e8ca13d-6fb8-451d-bac8-7d15343aacff/Issue
%20Brief%204%20Dec%2008%20-%20Work%20and
%20Health.pdf (2008)

Minnesota HR/LR Policy #1432 Respectful Workplace
(2015)

https://mn.gov/mmb/assets/1432-respectful-
workplace-policy_tcm1059-233717.pdf

Utah’s Abusive Conduct Intake Form
http://dhrmemployee.utah.gov/wp-content/
uploads/Abusive-Conduct-Intake-Form.docx

#WFwebinar

Register
for
the
next
webinar!

Digital Recruiting: Disruption by Design, Not Default
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Webinars start at 2 p.m. Eastern / 11 a.m. Pacific
Register for all upcoming Workforce Webinars at workforce.com/webinars

DEALING WITH THE BULLY NEXT (OFFICE) DOOR

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to DEALING WITH THE BULLY NEXT (OFFICE) DOOR

Similar to DEALING WITH THE BULLY NEXT (OFFICE) DOOR (20)

More from Human Capital Media

More from Human Capital Media (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (16)

DEALING WITH THE BULLY NEXT (OFFICE) DOOR