What is Workplace Bullying?

Workplace Bullying:

The Bully, The Victim, The Organization

SA Blacks in Government Professional Series

Terrell Stanley Seaton, Ph.D., M.Div. SeatonWorks Management Forensics, LLC. D. Anthony Miles, Ph.D., MCP, RBA, CMA, MBC Miles Development Industries Corporation ®

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Professional Development Series TOPIC: Workplace Bullying: The Bully, The Victim, The Organization

2015 SA Blacks in Government

AGENDA  What is Workplace Bullying?  Bullies: Profiles and Behavioral Characteristics.  Victims: Profiles and Behavioral Characteristics.  Organization: The Effect of Bullying on Organizations Presentation: Workplace Bullying: The Bully, The Victim, The Organization

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Professional Development Series TOPIC: Workplace Bullying: The BULLY

D. Anthony Miles, Ph.D., MCP, RBA, CMA, MBC Miles Development Industries Corporation ®


What is Workplace Bullying? DEFINITION: Workplace bullying, (like childhood bullying), is the tendency of individuals or groups to use persistent aggressive or unreasonable behavior against a co-worker. 

Acts. Bullying includes repeated negative acts that recur over time, and where there is a power difference between the perpetrator and target (Einarsen et al., 2003).

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A Variety of Forms of Behavior: rude or belligerent, talking in a dismissive tone ("talking down") to subordinates and/or peers, screaming or cursing, having an arrogant attitude in general.

Tactics. Are verbal, nonverbal, psychological, physical abuse and humiliation.

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Policies and Rules. Workplace bullies often operate within the established rules and policies of their organization and their society.

Targets. Workplace bullies do not necessarily target those less competent or less skilled than themselve (Kaplan, 2013).

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Not Race Specific. Bullies come in every race, age, religion, and gender. (Lieber, 2010).

Source: Gumbus & Lyons, (2011).Workplace Harassment: The Social Costs of Bullying.

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What is Workplace Bullying? 

Target People Considered A Threat. The targets, on the other hand, are reported to be better liked, had more social skills, possessed higher emotional intelligence, and were appreciated by colleagues, customers, and management (bullies excluded) for the warmth and care they brought to the workplace (Wiedmer, 2010).

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Behavior. Workplace bullying includes an array of intentionally malicious verbal (e.g., crude remarks and threats) and non-verbal (e.g., sabotaging or stealing work output) behaviors that increase in cruelty over a sixmonth or longer duration (Einarsen et al., 2003).


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Notable Prior Research on Workplace Bullying Prior research:  Carroll Brodsky (1976), a U.S. psychiatrist named conducted one of the first studies of workplace harassment and subsequently published The Harassed Worker. Despite the groundbreaking nature of his work, the book stirred little interest at the time.  Helen Cox (1991), nursing professor, in the early 1980s, began studying verbal abuse in medical settings when it appeared to be driving away gifted nursing students. Around the same time rare but highly visible occurrences of workplace murder sparked a flood of research that extended into the next two decades

 Heinz Leymann (1990), a German physician working in Sweden, began studying adult bullying in the early 1980s and is considered a pioneer in the field. His work with children bullied at school engendered an awareness of similar experiences of his adult patients.  Andrea Adams (1992) a freelance journalist brought the issue to public attention in Britain through a series of BBC radio broadcasts; she labeled the phenomenon “bullying.”  Gary and Ruth Namie (2000) published a self-help book on the subject and established the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) to help targets. Interest in U.S. workplace bullying began to flourish in the early 2000s and continues to grow at an exponential rate.

Source: Lutgen-Sandvik, & Sypher, (2009) Destructive Organizational Communication

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Workplace Bullying: Four Key Features That Define Bullying Four Key Features of Workplace Bullying

Examples of Behavior

Intensity

Specify the number of different negative acts targets report. Researchers often estimate bullying by counting these acts, which include isolation, humiliation, and intimidation, among others.

2)

Repetition

Usually weekly or more often. Since bullying is conceptualized as a repetitive ‘hammering away’ at targets. Third, not only must two or more negative acts occur weekly, they must occur over a duration or period of time. most researchers explicitly disregard one-time incidents as instances of bullying

3)

Duration

Researchers usually apply a six-month duration criterion to differentiate bullying from lower-level negativity.

1)

4)

Power Disparity

The majority of definitions for workplace bullying suggest that the target must, for one reason or another, feel unable to stop or prevent abuse.

Source: Lutgen-Sandvik, & Sypher, (2009) Destructive Organizational Communication

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Workplace Bullying Taxonomies Four Basic Workplace Bullying Types

Examples of Behavior

(1) Work-related

harassment (e.g. persistently criticizing the victim’s work);

(2) Personal Harassment

(e.g. spreading rumors about the victim);

(3) Organizational Harassment

(e.g. removing key areas of responsibility from the victim); and

(4) Intimidation

(e.g. threatening the victim with violence).

Source: Djurkovic, McCormack & Casimir (2008) Human Resource Management Journal

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Common Bullying Personality Types: Four Basic Personality Types Bullying Personality Types

Types?

THE CONSTANT CRITIC •Is

the hypercritical nitpicker.

THE TWO-HEADED SNAKE •Ingratiates up the organization chart, reserving brutality for those below.

•Her

attention to minutaie and obsession over others’ performance is the way she hides her own deficiencies and insecurities.

•Defames the reputation of targets to boost their own self-image.

•Resorts

•Spreads rumors and engineers “divide and conquer” schemes within work teams to turn co-workers against the target.

to name calling. Loves to complain about everyone else’s incompetence. •She

invents errors by her targets simply to belittle and confuse them in public berating sessions.

Source: Namie & Namie ( 2002) Workplace Bullying: The Silent Epidemic

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Common Bullying Personality Types: Four Basic Personality Types Bullying Personality Types THE GATEKEEPER BULLY

THE SCREAMING MIMI

•Is

the most transparently obsessed with control.

•Controls

•Allocates

•Make

time, money, staffing, and information in ways that ensure his target’s failure. Then he has an excuse to complain about “performance problems.”

the emotional tone for everyone else. the workplace toxic with mood swings, and unpredictable displays of anger. •Publicly

•For

example: One Gatekeeper bully actually set the office clocks so that everyone seemed to come to work late and leave early.

Source: Namie & Namie ( 2002) Workplace Bullying: The Silent Epidemic

berates targets to humiliate them and to convince witnesses that the bully is to be feared, though stops short of physical violence.

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Personality Profiles of Workplace Bullies Three Personality Profiles Disorders of Workplace Bullies Histrionic Personality Disorder

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive Personality Disorder

Source: Belinda Board and Katarina Fritzon at the University of Surrey,

Personality Traits Superficial charm, insincerity, egocentricity and manipulation Grandiosity, self-focused, lack of empathy for others, exploitativeness and independence. Perfectionism, excessive devotion to work, rigidity, stubbornness and dictatorial tendencies.

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Profile of the Bully: Who Are The Bullies? Profile of Bullies and Their Behavioral Tendencies •Insecure

Workplace bullies tend to be insecure people with poor or non-existent social skills, and little empathy.

•Limited Talent and Skills.

Bullies most likely have limited talent or abilities.

•Neutralize Targets

If the bully considers their victim a threat, and determines to cut them down.

•Socially Ostracized Targets

Bullies socially exclude targets (victims), or negatively affecting their work.AKA “Icing Out.”

•Psychopath Behavior

The bully lacks empathy and gets enjoyment from watching the target suffer.

•Opportunists

Source: Lieber (2010). Employment Relations Today (Wiley)

Bullies are usually opportunists and controlling competitors; They consider work a zero-sum game and will do anything to advance their careers (Namie & Namie, 2004). 13

Important Factors Related To Being A Perpetrator of Bullying: Common Reasons

• Role conflict

• Gender

• Status

•Hierarchical position

• Age

•Stressful work environments.

Source: Hauge, Skogstad & Einarsen (2009) Work & Stress

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Who Are Bullies and Their Targets? Bullies and Their Targets: Statistics

•60% of bullies are men; 40% are women.

When the bully is a woman, 71% of targets are women; 29% are men.

• 57% of targets are women; 43% are men.

• When the bully is a man, 53% of the targets are men and 47% are women.

• 74.7% of women targets were bullied more by bosses than men.

Source: Lieber (2010). Employment Relations Today (Wiley)

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Professional Development Series TOPIC: Workplace Bullying - “The Dark Triad”

Terrell Stanley Seaton, Ph.D., M.Div. SeatonWorks Management Forensics, LLC.


THE DARK TRIAD: Categorical Constructs in Workplace Predators (including Bullies) The Dark Triad: Theoretical Model NARCISSIM

PSYCHOPATHY

Source: Babiak, P. & Hare, R. (2006). Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work.

MACHIAVELLIANISM

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THE DARK TRIAD: Categorical Constructs in Workplace Predators (including Bullies)

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NARCISSIM  Displays behavior of grandiosity, entitlement, sense of superiority.  Behavior reflects arrogance, self-centered behavior, self-enhancement.

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MACHIAVELLIANISM  Behavior characterized by cynicism and manipulation of others.

 Behavior exploits a wide range of deceitful tactics to achieve selfish goals.

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PSYCHOPATHY (including Subclinical)  The mean side of the Dark Triad.  Behavior is cold emotion, interpersonal manipulation, impulsive thrill-

seeking, anti-social behavior (often illegal, high-risk behaviors with no concern for consequence). Source: Babiak, P. & Hare, R. (2006). Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work.

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Professional Development Series TOPIC: Workplace Bullying: The VICTIM

Terrell Stanley Seaton, Ph.D., M.Div. SeatonWorks Management Forensics, LLC.


Workplace Bullying: The VICTIMS Limited Resources. Victims of workplace bullying have limited resources to deal with the behavior from the bully. Passivity. Victims usually have three variations of passivity in how they deal with the bully: (a) Hoping it will go away; (b) Ignoring the bully; (c) Waiting for it to stop (Djurkovic, McCormack, & Casimir, 2005). Rarely Assertive. Many times it is because the bully is a superior and they fear losing their employment and will tolerate the behavior (Hutchinson, Vickers, Wilkes & Jackson, 2009). Hard to Prove Legally. Another reason is that workplace bully is very difficult legally to prove in court and difficult to prosecute. Victims are aware of this fact (source). Avoidance. Avoidance has been the primary behavioral reaction to the bully from the victims (Einarsen and Skogstad, 1996; Keashly, 1998). Presentation: Workplace Bullying: The Bully, The Victim, The Organization

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Profiles of Workplace Bullying VICTIMS PROFILE OF THE VICTIMS: Physical. Victims can be attractive, confident, successful and more popular than the bully. High achievers. They may also have high standards and be recognized as high achievers that are competent and stand up for themselves and others. Jealousy. Bullies often operate quietly and can be jealous and lack confidence (Vickers, 2006). Stereotypes. Most victims are stereotyped as weak and passive. This is inaccurate. Presentation: Workplace Bullying: The Bully, The Victim, The Organization

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Workplace Bullying: The VICTIMS Olafsson and Johannsdottir (2004) provided a taxonomy for the reactions of bullying victims. There are four behavioral reaction types: Victims’ Common Reactions To Workplace Bullying By A Perpetrator

Seek help

(e.g., ask colleagues for help)

Avoidance

(e.g., ask for a transfer)

Assertiveness

(e.g., answer back)

Do nothing

(e.g., wait and hope it stops).

Source: Olafsson and Johannsdottir (2004). 22

Workplace Bullying: The VICTIMS Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) shows that bullying at work remains a serious problem in the U.S., that employers are doing little to stop it:

Source: Yamada (2014) Link: https://newworkplace.wordpress.com/2014/03/

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Workplace Bullying: The VICTIMS Common bullying tactics are to conduct unfavorable work practices on the victim. These practices also affect productivity and cause a loss in productivity: Unfavorable Work Practices.

Unfavorable Work Practices

In some instances the bully has uses their power to implement changes in work practices to the detriment of the victim.

Negative Work Assignments

The bully uses his/her authority to create negative work assignments, schedules and other workplace benefits that burden the victim and treat them unfairly in the distribution of benefits and harms. This affects productivity.

“Five O’ Clock Load”

Bully will wait until it is time for the victim to get off of work and give me them to make them stay late. This is deliberate to make them stay late. This affects productivity.

“Friday Night Massacre”

Bully will knowingly waits until late Friday to give the victim an enormous amount of work and threatens them if they do not stay and finish. This is deliberate to make them stay late at work while everyone else gets to enjoy the weekend. This effects productivity. 26

Effect of Bullying On Victims Effect of Bullying On Victims’ Behavior Loss of Worth

Victims have a loss of self worth, they are nervous, stressed, anxious and don’t want to go to work.

Lack of Confidence.

Victims often feel bad about themselves. Victim may be asked to do repetitive tasks and they may not get answers to questions as a subtle way of sending a signal.

Depression

Victims show signs of depression such as sleeping a lot, eating and/or other behavior because of the bully.

Withdrawn from Work

Victims feel powerless and trapped. They feel humiliated and judged.

Humiliation

Victims feel they may become a joke at work or get a nickname. They withdraw and feel timid and weak.

Source: Gumbus & Lyons, (2011).Workplace Harassment: The Social Costs of Bullying. 27

Effect of Bullying On Victims Effect of Bullying On Victims’ Behavior Psychological Effects

Victims experienced the effects of bullying which includes low self-esteem, depression, and suicidal thoughts (Matthiesen & Einarsen, 1999). .

Physiological Ailments

Victim of workplace bullying also suffered with some physiological ailments such as musculoskeletal pains, stomach disorders (Vartia 2001; O’Moore et al., 1998) as well as cardiovascular diseases (Kivimaki et al., 2003).

Job Satisfaction

Another major consequence of workplace bullying is that it negatively affects the level of job satisfaction and commitment of the employees with their organization (Cooper & Hoel, 2000), which leads towards a greater ratio of absenteeism (Vartia, 2001)


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Statistics and Information on Victims Findings from their study, Gumbus & Lyons (2011) revealed that: Bullies are more likely to be male than female.  Almost 60% of victims in our sample were female.  Bullies were about 60% male.  Complaints to human resources are relatively more frequently lodged by females. 

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While our sample included almost 60% female victims, over 80 of those who complained to human resources were female.

Victims are most likely to be subordinates but nay be coworkers or even bosses.  When the boss is a victim of bullying, he/she is about 50% likely to leave.  Bullying by co-workers is relatively less likely to lead to complaining to HR or leaving than other  Gender and ethnicity do not seem to have an impact. 

Source: Gumbus & Lyons, (2011).Workplace Harassment: The Social Costs of Bullying. 29

Professional Development Series TOPIC: Workplace Bullying The ORGANIZATION


How Do Organizations Deal With Workplace Bullies? – The Need for Definitions Definitions 

“Mobbing and Psychological Terrors at Work” (Leymann, 1990)

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Repeated hostile behavior designed to empower the bully at the expense of the victim. (Namie & Namie,2003)

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Yamada’s Definition 

Abusive conduct that a reasonable person would find hostile, offensive, & unrelated to employer’s legitimate business interests.

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Severity. In considering whether abusive conduct is present, a trier of fact should weigh the severity, nature, & frequency of the defendant’s conduct.

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Abusive conduct may include, but is not limited to: repeated infliction of verbal abuse such as the use of derogatory remarks, insults, and epithets; verbal or physical conduct that a reasonable person would find threatening, or humiliating; or the gratuitous sabotage or undermining of a person’s work performance (Yamada, 2004).

Workplace psychological & harassment; workplace abuse & aggression (Yamada,2004).

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“Repeated mistreatment severe to harm a person’s health or economic status” (Namie,2004)

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“Hostile, offensive, and unrelated to an employer’s legitimate business interests (Yamada, 2004)

Source: Leymann, Heinz 1990. Mobbing and Psychological Terrors at Work.

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Management Styles That Closely Are Associated with Bullying Management Styles Associated With Bullying Coercive/authoritarian (aka “General Patton Style”)

Laizzefaire (aka “General Admission Style”)

•Coercive/authoritarian

management style may use bullying to motivate workers.

•Laizzefaire management style typically fails to intervene when victims report being abused.

•May

render any aspirations of involvement impossible, this style may be considered negative and even a source of bullying in itself.

•Passive leadership may become destructive and failure to lead may be construed as bullying in its own right.

•An

•Laissez-faire style of leadership could also contribute to bullying by turning a blind eye to conflicts or by failure to intervene appropriately when approached, thus indirectly condoning the behavior.

autocratic style could bring about frustration and aggression among subordinates, possibly giving rise to or increasing the likelihood of peer aggression and in this way act as an antecedent of bullying. •Accordingly,

with respect to the administration of acts or behavior which could be construed as punishment by subordinates for non-compliance

Source: Hoel, et al. (2010) British Journal of Management

•Could provoke group conflicts and peer-bullying, hence acting as an antecedent to bullying, when decisions inappropriately are left to the group.

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What Are Management’s Mistakes in Handling Bullies? Excuses for The Behavior Common Management Excuses In Handling Bullying “Oh, that’s just how he is.”

“I’ll deal with it when the behavior really gets out of line.”

“If we ignore it, maybe it’ll go away.”

“But he is such a good performer!”

“We’ve lived with it this long; we can tolerate it a bit longer.”

“I tried to get him to stop, but he won’t.”

“He is critical to the success of our business—how can we lose our best producer?”

Source: Lieber (2010). Employment Relations Today (Wiley) 33

Why Does Bullying Continue to Exist in Organizations? Organizational Corruption Five Key Aspects Of Bullying As Organizational Corruption Silence and Censorship

The institutional backdrop, which examines the institutional backdrop of secrecy and cover up in which corrupt conduct was able to flourish;

Networks of Predatory Alliances

Details the long lasting nature of established informal networks between those who engaged in bullying as corrupt conduct.

Corrupting Legitimate Routines and Processes

Details how legitimate routines were corrupted within the alliances for personal gain

Reward and Promotion

Describes the manner in which networks operated to advance the career prospects of individuals within the alliances.

Protection from Detection

Outlines the mechanisms through which alliances provided protection to actors.

Source: Hutchinson, Vickers, Wilkes, & Jackson (2009) Employee Responsibilities & Rights Journal 34

Bullying Within Organizations: Relationship Bullying Types Relationship Bullying Types Managerial Bullying

Managerial bullying can be described as bullying of employees by managers that is seen to have a negative impact on the victims. The types of behaviors most often associated with managerial bullying include having one’s views and opinions ignored, excessive monitoring of work, and withholding information.

Peer-to-Peer Behaviors

Behaviors such as gossip and rumors, isolation, practical jokes, teasing, and sarcasm are commonly associated with, but not limited to, peer-to-peer relationships. This sense of “us and them” comes through in other responses about cliques. These explanations of peer behaviors show how the organizational climate results in tensions, anxieties, and frustrations resulting in factions. Organizational bullying involves systems or processes that are established in organizations to support people in the fulfilment of their job, roles, and responsibilities but result in feelings of oppression and controlling dominance.

Organizational Bullying

Includes the failure to provide the human and financial resources that are necessary to complete operational tasks and fulfill organizational and strategic goals. This could include, for example, a failure to ensure that adequate staffing is provided, as well as sufficient space and technology

Source: Lewis, Sheehan & Davies (2008) Journal of Workplace Rights 35

Professional Development Series TOPIC: Workplace Bullying$Cost to the ORGANIZATION


$Cost of Bullying On Organization Cost of Bullying On Organization: $Cost

$Absenteeism

Workplace bullying has a number of stress-related consequences including higher body-mass (weight gain), chronic and cardiovascular diseases, certified and uncertified absence (Kivima¨ki et al., 2000).

$Employee Mental and Physical Well-being

Reduced job satisfaction (Quine, 1999), self-reported psychological, and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression (Einarsen et al., 2003; Hoel and Cooper, 2000), and even suicide (Leymann, 1989).

$Serious Harm to the Organization

Workplace bullying constitutes a serious and dangerous phenomenon that has the potential to inflict harm and damage on individual workers and the organization itself (Adams and Crawford, 1992; Yamada, 2000).

$Unhealthy Environment

Workplace bullying can also create a work environment and organizational culture in which other negative work stressors and undesirable environmental factors can further exacerbate the negative health problems that employees are likely to encounter.

Source: Devonish, D. (2013). Workplace Bullying, Employee Performance and Behaviors.

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$Cost of Bullying On Organization Cost of Bullying On Organization: $Cost $Productivity

Organizational bullies can be responsible for targets’ lost productivity, sick time, and other work related activity;

$Financial Losses

Bullies represents a significant financial risk to the organization. Bullying has a poor ROI. Bullying causes financial losses.

$Serious Long-term Financial Losses

In some cases, such loses could exceed those due to other avoidable risks, as a consequence of the effects of bullying behavior within the organization over time. Organizations cannot afford to allow bullies to affect profits, deadlines and innovation, and productivity.

$Legal Liabilities

Even though the legal liability that may eventually stem from proposed laws is still hypothetical, as the women in these interviews shared, the cost of bullying behavior to an organization and to its employees is simply too great to be ignored.

Source: Parker, K. A. (2014). The Workplace Bully: The Ultimate Silencer.

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$Cost of Bullying On Organization Cost of Bullying On Organization: $Cost Damage to the organization’s reputation and brand.

$Bad Publicity $Turnover/Attrition

Turnover/attrition. Cost of hiring and rehiring; training and retraining. The necessity of workplace investigations—including their associated time/expense.

$Investigations

$Threat to Business Partnerships

Damage to the organization’s partnerships; this is a problem if there is consistent bullying against women. This can cause partners to divest in their partnerships with the organization. Also, protests from consumers.

Source: Parker, K. A. (2014). The Workplace Bully: The Ultimate Silencer.

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$Cost of Bullying On Organization • $Attrition. The numbers are real: approximately 25% of targets and 20% of witnesses resign because of a workplace bully. • $Turnover. Assuming an organization has 1,000 employees, if 25% are bullied and 15% of those quit as a result, their average “desk/replacement cost” is $20,000, which comes to an annual cost of $750,000. • $Not Cost Prohibitive. Add to those figures two witnesses per bullied employee, with 20% of affected employees quitting, and that analysis quickly subtracts $1.2 million from the bottom line. • $Costs. Thus, a single workplace bully can easily cost an organization approximately $2 million per year. Source: Lutgen-Sandvik, & Sypher, (2009) Destructive Organizational Communication

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SUMMARY  What is Workplace Bullying?  Bullies: Profiles and Behavioral Characteristics.  Victims: Profiles and Behavioral Characteristics.  Organization: The Effect of Bullying on Organizations Presentation: Workplace Bullying: The Bully, The Victim, The Organization

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Workplace Bullying:


Questions? Terrell Stanley Seaton, Ph.D., M.Div. SeatonWorks Management Forensics, LLC. D. Anthony Miles, Ph.D., MCP, RBA, CMA, MBC Miles Development Industries Corporation ®

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CONTACT INFORMATION Terrell Seaton, Ph.D. SeatonWorks Management Forensics, LLC. Email: [email protected]

D. Anthony Miles, Ph.D., MCP, RBA, CMA, MBC Miles Development Industries Corporation ® Email: [email protected] Website: www.MDIcorpventures.com

Presentation: Workplace Bullying: The Bully, The Victim, The Organization

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Workplace Bullying:


SA Blacks in Government Professional Series

Terrell Stanley Seaton, Ph.D., M.Div. SeatonWorks Management Forensics, LLC. D. Anthony Miles, Ph.D., MCP, RBA, CMA, MBC Miles Development Industries Corporation ®

44