August 24th, 2010
From boss to bully: When has it gone too far?
Huffington Post columnist Wendy Powell explores workplace bullying, weaving in the Kevin Morrissey story, the WBI national prevalence study, and the Healthy Workplace Bill campaign. As an HR veteran, she warns us: “Don’t assume that administrators or human resource professionals have the skills to handle these serious types of allegations and investigations. Contract a skilled professional to provide training and practice so they will be well prepared when the needs arise.” Exactly what we have been saying.
Read the Aug. 24, 2010 post, From boss to bully: When has it gone too far?
This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 at 1:47 pm and is filed under Bullying in the News, Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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The story ends with “Don’t forget this if your career they are messing with. What do you have to lose?”
Let’s see. So far, my beloved job, my income, some friends, my professional reputation and credibility, my anticipated future, my financial security, my childen’s educational opportunities, and my trust in employers.
If I continue to fight I could also lose more friends, jeopardize my health further, my retirement savings, damage family relationships.
Clearly people lose their lives, and some take other lives. Lots of people lose their self respect, confidence, faith, sense of purpose.
I think there’s everything to lose. I also think the scales need to be tipped so we can start calculating what there is to gain by tackling workplace bullying. Employers would be well advised to undertake a similar analysis of potential losses and gains to be made by addressing the issue.
I noticed too that all the interventions outlined focus on the target. That only goes so far. It treats the symptom, not the underlying problem. The article implies that the target’s complaint is the problem. The real problem is the bullies’ behaviour. Target responses…all of them( including slinking away to other employers)…are collateral damage.
Having been a target, I find it dehumanizing have the effects of bullying described this way, but it’s true. I was never the problem. I ended up carrying the weight of the problem, as do others who were exposed to the same environment. None of the approaches outlined provided any relief or safety in my situation. Yet. I am still advocating for my ex-employers stated values, because I agree with them. So far I see no evidence that to the employer, they are anything more than an empty promise.
I haven’t slept in months and can’t stop crying and feeling sick when going into work. I looked workplace bullying up on the web – this horror – and wonder if anyone has dealt with it and felt positive results? I don’t mean going to court – I mean internal and external justice.
Marcia. There is hope. It does end but only when you get to safety. You have to be out of the crosshairs. The greatest injustice of it all (and there are many injustices associated with bullying — its uninvited nature, the damage to your health and identity, the disruption of a career, and on and on) is that the place where it happened, that particular employer, rarely agrees to stop it. Leaving is too often the only way to make it end. But you have only one life. You can/must find another job, another paycheck, another way to survive economically. The State Coordinators who work with me to pass the Healthy Workplace Bill are a group of survivors who have seen life move on. Your question reminds me of the obligation to post stories of hope, an after-bullying life. I will ask them to submit stories of the after-life. Thank you.
Dear Dr. Namie,
Please allow me to thank you for your sage words. I was fired on 10/4 after months of bullying and trying to make my boss happy. Now I am in the process of getting my ducks in a row. You can be guaranteed I have become a strong advocate to stop bullying in the workplace. I’ll be in contact.
Marcia
Karma is not always manifest int his lifetime. Targets deserve a more timely response, and since employers will not always provide one, I think legislation is a moral imperative. Professional accountability would help too.
Thank you Kachina, Amy and Dr. Namie. Just to know I’m not alone does more than words can say. How do I promote legislation? It makes me sad to think it is law and not morality that needs to push this issue. The article on women-bullying-women is an absolute eye opener. Thank you and I’m staying in touch with you.
Is there a way to stay current with potential legislation on accountability for bullying in the workforce?
The Bully Boss created bogus accusations and fired me yesterday. Legislation is imperative – if this type of individual is allowed to behave this way without being stopped at the internal level, laws must be implemented to stop this immoral and unjust behavior.