Workplace Bullying: What to do about employees behaving badly

Workplace bullying is an emotive issue that has been widely researched and discussed in recent years but according to a dispute resolution expert, some of the research has been lacking in balance, as there are a significant number of complaints of 'bullying' that prove to be unfounded.

It is, however, possible to identify particular categories of troublemakers at work, and also particular types of employees likely to make unfounded complaints, and particular types of employees likely to be complained about.

She said it has 'schoolyard' connotations and implies physical violence, which most workplace 'bullying' does not involve. She suggested the term 'workplace harassment' was more suitable, as well as being less emotive. Its use is less likely to provoke an adversarial reaction from the person accused of it.

Turner claimed that resolution of harassment issues is often thwarted by problems with workplace culture, misuse of intervention strategies, and assumptions about employees and workplaces that are basically myths.
 

Myths at the workplace

It is untrue that every employee wants to belong to a work team and become a team player. Nor is it true that all employees work in good faith and genuinely want to resolve disputes. Some are vindictive and want revenge rather than a resolution of their grievance.

This does not mean that they were not genuinely harassed, merely that they are now seeking retribution for whatever happened. Research suggests that about 20% of employees may be suffering from some form of depression and about 30% of employees may suffer some form of mental disorder at some stage during any given year.

Others are not driven by revenge, they may simply not know any better, they want to cause trouble, or they have realised that there are no really effective sanctions for behaving badly at work.

Another myth is that a standard 'one size fits all' intervention approach to resolving problems will be sufficient. As discussed below, there are different types of behaviour and personalities involved. Both a wide range of interventions, and good judgment of which ones to use and when, is required of HR practitioners.

The reality of the workplace conflict environment

• Generations X and Y tend to blur the boundaries between work and personal life more than earlier generations.
   
• Some managers who are scared of litigation when confronted with a complaint tend to be 'gun-shy', which usually escalates the problem and makes things more adversarial.
   
• Formal grievance systems have encouraged employees to seek solutions from an 'umpire'.
   
• Conflict resolution skills are severely lacking in many managers.
   
• Technology is a contributing factor, especially email abuse. Many disputes revolve around the contents of particular emails.
   
• Mismatched goals, expectations and values. This will become worse, as skills shortages pressure employers to appoint more unsuitable people to management roles out of desperation.
   
• Conflict is sometimes rewarded, eg if employees are able to orchestrate generous redundancy packages.
   
• 'Diversity' often only goes as far as people accepting, but not valuing differences. Different styles of management cause clashes that lead to accusations of bullying.
   
• Some employees are still carrying baggage from upheavals caused by the mass downsizing of organisations that occurred in the 1990s, and tend to revive old issues.
   
• Finally, the fact that workplace 'bullying' has received so much publicity in recent years, not just in HR circles but in the general (and less informed) media, may mean that people are more aware of its existence, even if they are unclear of the distinction between it and general workplace conflict. This makes them more likely to regard any workplace problem as 'bullying' and seek a remedy for it.

No specific legislation

However, there is still no specific legislation that prohibits workplace harassment (as distinct from sexual or racial harassment that are covered by anti-discrimination law), just a range of standards and codes that are seldom legally enforceable.

As a result, it is often hard to substantiate complaints of bullying/harassment, and the often muddled or indecisive outcome of complaints creates ongoing problems for both parties.

Employees may react adversely to workplace harassment in many ways, including stress, sick leave, workers compensation claims, claims of discrimination or constructive dismissal, civil proceedings for negligence or breach of statutory duties, etc. Note that some of these events can exacerbate the conditions of employees already suffering from depression or feelings of isolation, and cause a downward spiral.

Turner quoted widely-published research that has estimated the cost to business of workplace harassment/bullying at between $6 billion and $13 billion per year, once the costs of investigation and dispute resolution are included. It is also estimated that only about 10% of all incidents are reported.

However, Turner also commented that some of the research tends to assume that all complaints made are genuine and sustainable, which in her consulting experience is not the case. She suggested that maybe about 50% of complaints were genuine and sustainable.

Common types of badly-behaved employees

Turner identified six particular categories of employees that tend to be involved in workplace harassment complaints. Their characteristics are summarised below.

• Malcontents - minimalist, disgruntled, love to see failures, usually the last person on board when changes made, often say 'that doesn't work, we tried it before', difficult to manage performance, good at appearing to be busy when not, don't usually become actively involved in conflict but may encourage others to be.
   
• Justice junkies - 'bush lawyers', tend to raise own issues by reporting 'injustices to others', dismissive of others who don't share their passions, hate investigations but mediation often gives them a chance to save face.
   
• Policy Nazis - do everything strictly by the book, rely on ancient and obscure rules and practices for authority, dob in others, don't like mediation but often respond well to investigations provided the process is in accordance with rules/procedures.
   
• Vexatious victims - paranoid, conspiracy theorists, people avoid them and thus increase their paranoia, needy and high-maintenance, lodge complaints frequently and in great detail, mediation rarely works (they won't compromise), investigation sometimes leads to further grievances (about how it was conducted!), most common in tertiary organisations. Turner commented that this category is becoming generally more common.
   
• Gossip gluttons - enjoy being centre of attention, vicious, unaware of the damage they cause, don't care much about the truth, destabilising, but also often fairly harmless.
   
• Corporate psychopaths - display similar indicia to criminal psychopaths. Rare, but extremely destructive, so the only remedy is to sack them whatever the cost. Hard to 'read' or pin down, as they are often charismatic and charming in public, but also aggressive, impatient and always on the move. Relentless liars, no empathy or conscience or remorse, so can't appeal to their values or basic humanity. Change jobs frequently. Sometimes you can find ammunition to use against them by thoroughly checking their CVs to locate lies or omissions.

Which employees are most likely to be accused of bullying?

Turner said that her experience and research had identified the following characteristics of employees most likely to be accused of harassing others. The types of employees in issue are those who show:

• Overly assertive behaviour - especially female managers from Generation X, particularly those who are confident and aggressive. Complaints are most likely to come from older women whom they manage.
   
• Inappropriate disclosure of personal life details to other employees.
   
• Possible favouritism - ie those who establish close friendships with some subordinates, leading to perceptions of favouritism and exclusion of others from the 'inner circle'.
   
• Lack of transparency in decision-making, creating inner and outer circles of people.
   
• Lack of general organisation-savvy and understanding of workplace norms - 'they just don"t get it'.
   
• High achievers.

Which employees are most likely to make unfounded complaints?

• Have strong value sets and an over-need for consultation about everything
   
• Have had past work-related traumas, such as a redundancy or previous investigations
   
• Have had recent personal trauma, such as marriage failure or health problems
   
• Have a simplistic view of what 'bullying' is, perhaps due to populist media coverage - they define it as any behaviour they don't particularly like. Specifically, attempts to manage poor  performance may be perceived as harassment
   
• Are less emotionally robust than typical employees
   
• Resist performance management processes and fear that they will not be able to perform well enough
   
• Have a suspicious mindset, eg fear they are being set up
   
• Find it hard to let go of issues.

Workplace mobbing: on the increase

Turner referred to the phenomenon of workplace mobbing as an increasingly common form of harassment.

She defined it as collective action by a group of employees against a single employee (usually but not always a manager) that amounts to a malicious attempt to force the employee out of the organisation through unjustified accusations, humiliation, general harassment and emotional abuse. Sometimes the action is started by one aggrieved person and a lynch mob develops.

• Competent and high-achiever managers, particularly those who are perceived as being brought in to 'clean up the mess'
   
• Highly enthusiastic, eg take on a lot of extra work
   
• People with high integrity who won't conduct misconduct or poor performance by others and tend to 'wield a big stick' to demonstrate it. They may also be whistleblowers, or perceived by others as such.

Workplace mobbing incidents are very serious and are difficult to resolve, eg if employees are required to keep working with a manager they lack confidence in and/or strongly dislike.

For these reasons, it is recommended that legal experts be consulted and independent (external) investigators should be used. Using an investigation panel is preferred.

To find out more about the NSCA Bullying and Harassement Awareness training, please click here or call 1800 655 510.