According
to a 2017 Workplace Bullying Institute survey, 19 percent of workers had
experienced bullying in the workplace and another 19 percent had witnessed it.
Applied to the total workforce, these percentages translate to about 60 million
workers.[1] The #MeToo movement has
brought renewed attention to the alarming prevalence of sexual harassment and
assault, causing many employers to revisit their anti-sexual harassment
policies and procedures. Employers should also take this opportunity to examine
their workplace anti-bullying policies – or create them in the first place – as
workplace bullying is unfortunately also not an uncommon problem.
Workplace
bullying can be defined as persistent, malicious, unwelcome, severe and
pervasive mistreatment that harms, intimidates, offends, degrades or humiliates
an employee, whether verbal, physical or otherwise, at the place of work or in
the course of employment. Unlike workplace anti-sexual harassment policies,
companies are usually not required by law to have anti-bulling policies – but
they would be wise to, so when issues inevitably arise, there are clear
guidelines that leave little room for confusion, interpretation, and
disagreement.
A complete
anti-bullying policy contains five elements: (1) definition; (2) examples; (3)
reporting procedure; (4) investigation procedure; and (5) disciplinary action.
Definition
In
addition to the description above, workplace bullying can also be defined more
generally as any words or actions that make an employee feel uncomfortable,
threatened, or intimidated, or that interfere with others’ work or prevent work
from getting done.
Examples
It is important
for employers to provide concrete examples of workplace bullying to eliminate
confusion and be as clear as possible in an effort to maintain the integrity of
the policy. The list of examples should address issues such as: name-calling;
persistent phone calls, emails, or other communications; unreasonable public
criticism; exclusion from meetings or social situations; destructive
gossip/rumors; intentional interference or sabotage of one’s work; stalking;
etc. There are endless potential forms of bullying, and any list of examples
should include a disclaimer that the list is merely illustrative and not
exhaustive.
Reporting Procedure
Reporting
procedures should generally follow that of the company’s anti-sexual harassment
policy, with a clear indication that employees may report directly to HR rather
than their immediate supervisor. This is
important because workplace bullying can be perpetrated by supervisors as well.[2] It is also important that employees
understand that they are encouraged to report bullying and abusive behavior as
soon as it occurs.
Investigation Procedure
The
investigation of any reports must be carried out confidentially and in a timely
manner. The investigating supervisor should request written statements from the
victim/target, the accused “bully” and any witnesses. All statements, meetings
and events should be documented. The policy must clearly state that any form of
retaliation against the reporting employee during or after the investigation is
strictly prohibited.
Disciplinary Action
If
behavior in violation of the policy has been found to have occurred, then
depending on its severity, the employee may be given an opportunity to change
course. Employers should consider an “action plan” with specific goals and
check-ins, or requiring an apology, counseling, and training (or both).
Further, the policy should make it clear that egregious behavior may result in
immediate termination, without a chance for reversal.
All employees should be made to understand that management wants to see all employees succeed, and that bullying co-workers is bad for the workplace as a whole, and the offender’s career as well.
Training and Awareness
While
having a policy is critical, if employees don’t understand it, it will be
ineffective. It is imperative that every employee is aware of and understands
the company’s anti-bullying policy. This can be done through periodic training
and by making the policy constantly visible (e.g., with a poster) and easily
accessible. Bullying diminishes employee morale, and preventing and addressing
it results in a safer, happier, and more productive workplace.
Please
contact us with any questions about your particular policy or for assistance
drafting policies for your workplace.
[1] https://www.workplacebullying.org/2017-prevalence/
[2] https://www.workplacebullying.org/wbiresearch/wbi-2017-survey/
