Bullying in the workplace is a common and misunderstood problem. In a 2007 survey, half of the employees interviewed said they had heard someone scream at a co-worker during work.　
Almost one-third acknowledged that they have, after an upsetting situation at work, told someone that they wanted to do something awful to a boss or co-worker.

Workplace bullying seems to be on the rise, and now occurs 4,300 times more often than workplace homicide, and up to three times more often than unlawful harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, combined.

More often than not, the bully turns out to be female ... and educated. This means that certain work environments are statistically more vulnerable.　
Despite its frequency, workplace bullying is often ignored or not effectively resolved. When complaints are raised, the complaining employee (target) may be told a variety of unsettling things such as - 'you need a thicker skin,' or 'it's just a personality clash.' Not surprisingly, employees who hear these messages often leave the organization, find a way to avoid the bully, or simply remain quiet and internalize their pain and frustration. The bottom line impact of bullying is, therefore, real and significant because it decreases morale, productivity, and retention of talented employees who can go elsewhere.

Bullying presents many challenges for employers, not the least of which is trying to define what it is and what it is not.　 Because there is not yet a statute prohibiting bullying, the initial problem is deciding how much and what type of bad behavior will be prohibited, particularly when the bully is a valued and highly productive employee. The trend for employers taking on this issue is to look at the bigger picture and make it clear that: (1) bullying is not acceptable; (2) concerns should be raised; and (3) the company will try to find a workable and effective solution. Policy language in these companies tends to focus on the core values of the organization, such as respect, and translates this value into an expectation regarding behavior, i.e., respectful engagement, that has consequences when not followed.
Much like the early days of sexual harassment, employee behavior does not change until the organizational culture does. Hopefully businesses have learned from their experiences of trying to drive cultural changes through legislative mandates. The better path is the organic one - identifying the company's core value that is undermined by bullying, then structuring a plan to talk about and address bullying behavior through holding employees accountable to act according to that core value.
Tamsen Leachman
Dunn Carney

(503) 417-5513
tll@dunn-carney.com