Office bullies beware
| • | Don't just sit and simmer |
By Kie Relyea
Bellingham (Wash.) Herald
We've all worked for the boss from hell. The guy who's oily-nice to you one day, then tells you the next that you're an idiot, that trained monkeys could do your job better — screams it actually, in front of all your co-workers.
Artwork by Gannett News Service
You probably thought there was little you could do except put up and shut up. You're not alone.
The authors of a new field guide to workplace meanies are advocating new anti-harassment laws.
Research shows that those being bullied endure the abuse for an average of 23 months. In 70 percent of cases, the target is fired or quits.
Since one in six American workers is targeted each year, according to a Michigan study, businesses must do more to confront the problem, say Ruth and Gary Namie, who founded The Workplace Bullying & Trauma Institute in 1998 after Ruth Namie's encounter with a bullying supervisor.
The Bellingham, Wash., couple hope to push through legislation in California and Washington state to battle what they define as "mistreatment, harassment, psychological violence (that) poses an occupational health hazard."
From conversations with more than 4,000 workers, they've come up with four types of bullying bosses, outlined in the new edition of their book, "The Bully at Work":
• Screaming Mimi is "the fist-pounding, vein-bulging maniac who chooses a public setting."
She yells. She cusses. She points her finger in your face. Think of her as the sales manager who shrieks at you in a meeting.
• Two-Headed Snake is the "smarmy Jekyll and Hyde back-stabber."
He steals the credit for your work. He smiles into your face, then shares private information about you with your co-workers or other bosses. "It's really about rumor, innuendo and damage of reputation. Their goal is to control others' impressions of you," Gary Namie says.
• Constant Critic "gets you behind closed doors and tries to erode your confidence in your own competence."
He's the negative nitpicker who accuses you of getting it wrong. He's not above doctoring documents to pin "mistakes" on you.
• A Gatekeeper "withholds the resources you need to succeed."
This could be an administrative assistant who stops sending you mail, e-mail or anything else you need to do the job.
She's also the supervisor who makes up new rules as she goes along. "They're the ones responsible for some of the most prevalent abuse of setting undoable, unrealistic deadlines," Gary Namie says.
In any form, a bullying boss is bad for business. Job stress costs American industry $200 billion to $300 billion annually because of related problems such as absenteeism, lowered productivity and employee turnover.
But there's little legal recourse, the couple says, because existing laws require harassment to be based on race, sex, age or physical and mental disability, for example.
"Isn't that ironic? Their defense is if they torment enough people of varied races and ages and gender, they're actually off the hook. If the bully's a woman, she can pick on women all she wants," Gary Namie says.
To change that, the Namies are turning to California, the state with the nation's largest workforce.
They hope to persuade legislators there to pass their anti-bullying "Healthy Workplace Bill." They're also gearing up to introduce a similar measure in Washington state.
The law would entitle any worker, whether or not a member of a "protected" group, to legal protection against bullying. Businesses argue that it's unnecessary because victims already can turn to workers' compensation or the courts.
If the Namies succeed, the California bill would become the first such state law in the nation.
| Don't just sit and simmer
Getting pushed around by the boss? Here's how to push back: • Call the experience what it is — bullying. "Naming it allows you to externalize the source of your misery," says Gary Namie. • Take time off so you can recover emotionally and plan rationally; consider contacting a lawyer. Taking care of yourself is key, says Ruth Namie. • Talk to an independent physician or therapist. • Document all incidents. • Solicit statements from witnesses so it doesn't come down to your word against the bully's. Make the case professionally, not emotionally. • Confront the bully. • Go public. File an internal complaint. "You're going to have to expose the person," Gary Namie says. Don't just go to the bully's boss. Go higher, to senior management or the owner. You're already at risk. Once targeted, there's a 70 percent chance you're going to leave the job." — Bellingham (Wash.) Herald |
