Posts Tagged ‘harassment’


Lessons for people bullied at work from the Cain harassment fiasco

Saturday, November 5th, 2011

Sexual harassment violates state and federal laws. Harassers pose a legal liability to employers. Therefore, employers will pay cash to bury the secrets.

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Posted in Bullying Tutorials, Employer Action/Inaction | 3 Comments »



Manager fired for doing the right thing

Friday, September 10th, 2010

We at WBI often complain that management is lax regarding mistreatment of workers. Our 2007 national study showed that bosses are perpetrators in 72% of cases. Bosses too rarely try to prevent or rectify bullying and harassment. But this story is among the more preposterous ones we have heard.

The hero is Luis Collazo a former supervisor at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Puerto Rico. A woman scientist in his unit, Diana Hiraldo, complained to him on Feb. 10, 2003 that a co-worker was sexually harassing her on the job. Instead of ignoring the complaint or tipping off the alleged harasser thus triggering an escalation, he arranged and attended a Feb. 20 meeting between Hiraldo and an HR specialist Edgardo Garcia. Garcia explained to her the grievance process. Collazo did the right thing. Agree?
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Posted in Employer Action/Inaction | 6 Comments »



Naming Things – Barbarism, Harassment

Monday, June 1st, 2009

Did you know the origin of the word harassment?

to ha•rass

Etymology: French harasser, from Middle French, from harer to set a dog on, from Old French hare, interjection used to incite dogs, of Germanic origin

No wonder bullying and harassment are so dehumanizing, it is as if someone called on the attack dogs. Our South African friend Susan Steinman always invoked in her books the metaphor of bullies as hyenas, flesh-eating, pack-traveling attackers.

Illinois State professor Curtis White ponders in a new essay how humans can destroy the natural world. According to him, the source precedes contemporary culprits, and goes much deeper. Unfettered capitalism and the emphasis on “winning” are certainly to blame. But the human “barbaric heart” underlies our warlike approach to others. Violence and plunder are virtuous in a winner-take-all society. Citing the experience of the Romans, for whom prosperity depended on violence, White makes the point that the strategy is ultimately suicidal. But barbarians lack insight, never pausing to reflect on actions taken.

I know many of you are convinced most bullies are evil, barely human! Others believe all bullies are psychopaths. I thought you’d appreciate yet another way to characterize their quest for interpersonal violence at work — they are barbarians. In reality, we believe most bullies are banal soccer moms and fathers of the month. At work, they are transformed into barbarians.

Love to have your thoughts on the matter.

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Posted in Bullying Tutorials | 5 Comments »



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