As a leader, what are you doing to take effective action against bullying at work?
While psychologists have typically looked at violence from an individual perspective, such as who might be likely to commit violent acts, they need to dispel the myths and identify the organizational factors that may lead someone to bully in the workplace. As a coach, I urge my clients to do the same.
First, Dispel the Myths
- Not at my work
- It’s a fact of life (and we can’t stop it)
The truth is, 80% of people studied in 2016 had experienced cyberbullying in the workplace, according to the University of Sheffield and Nottingham University. But there are things that individuals and organizations can do to correct a bully problem. I believe the system, or the organization, is responsible for a psychologically healthy environment, yes?
Address Organizational Issues
When this topic comes up with my coaching clients, we discuss ways to correct a bully problem by addressing organizational issues:
- Train employees on how to respond to bullying, how to communicate with difficult people, and other interpersonal training programs.
- Examine your corporate culture. Check with the human resources department for complaints of unfair treatment or stress and disability claims. Look for patterns within a department.
- Evaluate your anti-bullying policies, procedures, and processes. Ensure there is an effective and supportive system in place for reporting difficult interpersonal issues.
- Provide adequate coaching or counseling for victims and offenders. One of the most crucial aspects of creating a healthy workplace is what a company does when it finds a problem employee or manager. The instigator should be made aware that the behavior is inappropriate and not given further responsibility over others. To do so would be to institutionalize the inappropriate behavior.
- Set clear examples and limits about appropriate behavior at work. Enforce standards and policies in a positive way, early on.
- Mitigate stress. Certainly, managers do not have control over all the variables that may trigger stress and negativity, but when people perceive a fair workplace, they don’t act out. Provide a sense of employment security, a feeling that it is possible to move within the organization as change occurs. Employees also feel they are trusted, respected, treated with dignity, and given some control over their jobs.
Practicing respect in the workplace and eliminating bullying changes a whole company. Production and efficiency goes up, morale improves, and profits soar. Research indicates that even psychologically unhealthy people are much less likely to engage in violence in a healthy work organization.
What do you think? How do you take action against bullying at work? I’d love to hear from you. You can call me at 561-582-6060, let’s talk. And as always, I can be reached here, or on LinkedIn.
