Hostile Intentions

Risk & Insurance,  Nov, 1999  by ANDREW R. McILVAINE

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"I went to nearly everyone I could think of--colleagues, department heads--and told them, 'Look, I'm having trouble with Sheila. You've worked with her before, tell me what I can do,'" says Ruth Namie. "Every last one of them told me she'd gotten rid of people before, they didn't want to get involved because they were afraid she'd turn on them, and basically, 'Sorry, we can't help.' I was stunned."

Most damning of all, experts say, managers have generally not proven very helpful in these types of situations because, in seeking a place at the decision-makers' table, many managers often overlook their core constituency.

"What I find particularly disturbing is that in its quest to become a strategic partner, managers have abandoned their role as employee advocate in many organizations," says Joel Neuman, an associate professor of management and organizational behavior at the State University of New York at New Paltz and author of several studies on workplace aggression. "When you're trying to be seen as a business partner, it's hard to balance that with standing up for employees against an aggressor whose support you're seeking to cultivate."

Taking a Stand

Companies can put a stop to workplace bullying, but it requires a commitment from management to work with employees in drawing the line against such behavior.

"Managers need to stay engaged and look at what's going on around them. This is where they can really make a difference," says Neuman.

One of the chief ways is by establishing a zero-tolerance policy for workplace aggression, similar to what's been done with regard to sexual harassment and racial discrimination. Once that's been established, managers should develop an incident log that can be used to keep track of bullying behavior and its perpetrators, says Neuman.

Keeping a record of such incidents will help management do what's often necessary for obtaining the organizational resources it needs for fighting a problem: link it to the bottom line.

"If you keep a proper record of these occurrences and match them with stress claims, sick leave, and job turnover, within a few years you will inevitably see patterns emerge linking these factors with certain managers and supervisors," says Keashly, who has also written several articles about workplace aggression. "They'll be the ones whose departments have the most staff turmoil."

Keashly is currently working on a project that will track sick leave and absenteeism at the Veterans Administration and combine it with surveys that ask employees whether they've experienced certain types of treatment within the prior six months. The goal is to help the VA get a better understanding of what workplace aggression looks like within the organization so it can take steps to address it.

"This project got started because their managers grew concerned about increases in sick leave and absenteeism and wanted to know if workplace stressors were responsible," she says. "We hope to find out whether certain hospitals and regional offices have this problem to a greater extent than others and, if so, discover what the ones who don't have a problem are doing right."