Workplace Bullying Is Bad For Business

Workplace bullying is the deliberate, health-endangering mistreatment of an employee by a supervisor or co-workers. It may come in the form of the yelling and screaming boss who regularly inflicts high-decibel tirades upon a subordinate. It may come in the form of workers who deliberately sabotage the reputation of a co-worker by spreading lies and rumors about his or her performance and character.

Workplace bullying exacts a heavy price in employee productivity, morale and dignity. Research indicates that at least 60 percent of America’s workers will face such behavior during their working lives and that supervisors are the likely aggressors. Some will experience health impairments such as clinical depression, high blood pressure and even symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Organizations where workplace bullying is common are likely to experience lower productivity and morale, higher absenteeism and turnover rates and greater risk of employee retaliation and violence. These may translate into higher costs for health care, employee benefits and workers’ compensation insurance.

Although workplace bullying falls into a gray area in terms of liability, I have drafted legislation that allows civil claims for those who can prove they were subjected to malicious, health-impairing bullying at work. In 2011, the New York Law Journal opined that it’s only a matter of time before such protections exist; some insurance companies are including workplace bullying in liability insurance policies.

In addition, labor unions are starting to raise concerns about it. In 2009, Massachusetts public sector unions representing some 21,000 state workers negotiated a “mutual respect” contract provision that covers bullying behaviors. The provision allows a worker to file a grievance over an alleged violation.

Too many employers dismiss concerns about workplace bullying. According to a 2007 national survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute and Zogby pollsters, 62 percent of employers either ignored complaints of bullying or worsened the situations.

Nevertheless, employers that want to minimize the likelihood of bullying can take these three concrete steps:

1. Send a message that bullying is unacceptable. The message must come from the top. Specific measures include drafting and implementing policies related to workplace bullying, offering in-house educational programs and presentations, and using effective “360-degree feedback” systems to evaluate supervisors.

2. Empower HR to handle bullying situations fairly and forthrightly. One of the most common remarks from targets of bullying is how the human resources department is “useless” in handling complaints about bullying and, in some cases, turned out to be complicit with the bullies. Effective preventive and responsive measures by HR are key components of any anti-bullying initiative.

3. Remove destructive bullies. Even if an incorrigibly abusive individual happens to be key in attracting business, increased productivity through better morale and less time lost to the gossip mill may make this a sound decision from a purely cost-benefit standpoint.

David Yamada is a professor of law and director of the New Workplace Institute at Suffolk University Law School.