Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard

Jordan Dudley

How do we define bullying? It is a concept most often associated with schoolyard teasing, but the sad reality is, many people experience bullying far beyond school walls. Bullying is a gradual progression of negativity that surrounds a person and can manifest itself in many forms. Being different in a society of perceived perfection is one of the main causes for judgement, which holds true in the workplace as well; and coworkers are not immune to the judgements of their peers. These judgements can create a great deal of damage to both the person being judged and to the workplace itself. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of human resource professionals (HRPs) to correct and prevent bullying behaviors. They must do this in order to maintain a safe and

healthy work environment by creating detailed policies and implementing training programs for bullying awareness.

It is not uncommon for the word

“harassment” to be brought into the bullying conversation. In many ways, harassment can be compared to bullying; both situations occur over a period of time and are meant to harm someone who feels powerless. The line is drawn between the two by federal law. Lisa Negela-Piazza states that “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits harassment on the basis of color, national origin, race, religion and sex” (2018). Acts of bullying that include one of these topics are considered harassment by law and thus have a separate correction process, but they can be prevented in a similar

way.

According to Nagele-Piazza, a senior legal editor, “bullying is generally defined as unwelcome behavior that occurs over a

period of time and is meant to harm someone who feels powerless to respond” (2018). Bullying can be verbal, social, psychological, or physical in nature. In a 2017 survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute, sixty-one percent of U.S. employees are aware of abusive conduct (Nagele-Piazza, 2018). Several studies, like this one, have been conducted to uncover the extent of bullying in the workplace and have shown that thirty-five percent of the workforce feels bullied at some point at the workplace (Human Resources: Bullying in the Workplace, 2016). Furthermore, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health found that twenty-five percent of workplaces experience bullying (Human Resources, 2016).

Workplace bullying leads to a negative outlook on the workplace environment and can

ultimately result in lackluster performance and a steadily declining culture. HRPs play a crucial role in managing the culture of a workplace and, in doing so, they must also manage elements like bullying. The first thing HRPs must understand, before tackling prevention and correction methods, is the power of transparency. Victims of bullying are often embarrassed to report their situation or even feel as though it would not be handled promptly and with care. By openly discussing workplace bullying and allowing employees to feel comfortable discussing it, HRPs open the door to dealing with these situations properly, hopefully bringing an end to them altogether.

The beginning stages of dealing with any bullying incidence in the workplace is the preemptive placement of an antibullying or harassment policy and procedure. Constructing policies and procedures is well within an HRP’s skill-range and should, in a perfect world, be quite simple and commonsensical. To begin, an anti-bullying policy must clearly define the chain of command as it relates to who a disgruntled employee should report their complaint to (Kelleher, 2017). In most cases, a complaint should be filed with the direct manager or supervisor of an employee. If this option is not possible, the complaint then goes to the next most senior manager or human resources (Kelleher, 2017). Furthermore, if a complaint involves a manager or supervisor, it should be brought to senior management or human resources immediately (Koelmeyer, 2017).

In addition to defining the chain of command, HRPs must outline their course of action for complaints that involve bullying in the workplace. For example, complaints may be subject to investigation in order to hear both sides of the complaints and take necessary actions thereafter. It is also a good idea to include mediation in the policy to avoid all bullying complaints being disregarded (Koelmeyer, 2017). It may be wise to include tolerance within the anti

bullying policy. Ideally, there would be zero tolerance for bullying in every organization, but because this is somewhat unrealistic, HRPs may choose to have a one warning system in which the first complaint will be dealt with using training and mediation, but the next complaint will result in termination.

Anti-bullying policies are extremely serious and must be used one hundred percent of the time with any claim. Legally, it would be negligent of any company to handle a complaint against their company policy (Koelmeyer, 2017). Employees have the right to sue if their complaints are not handled to the specifications in their employment contract and they could also suffer further psychological damage due to the ongoing situation (Koelmeyer, 2017). HRP’s can even

add a zero tolerance for false complaints to their anti-bullying policy to ensure that they are spending their time and effort on complaints that are of true concern.

When dealing with complaints, there are two things an HRP must remember in addition to following their company policy. The first thing is to ensure confidentiality between the HRPs and those involved (Koelmeyer, 2017). Confidentiality is very important in order for employees to trust their human resource department and be willing to bring complaints forward without fear of backlash. The second

thing is to take all complaints seriously and treat them the same way. There will be cases where employees wish to makes a complaint “off the record” without filing a formal complaint. In this situation, an HRP must remind their employees that every complaint is a formal complaint and must be dealt with accordingly, using confidentiality to ensure the employees’ comfort and peace of mind (Koelmeyer, 2017).

Training and mediation are wonderful tools for preventing and correcting bullying behaviors that allow for a safe and open discussion about bullying in the workplace. Training should occur at least once a year in order to explain bullying and harassment, and the policies and procedures in place for managing it (CUPA-HR, 2017). Furthermore, training is given to all employees. It is important for HRPs to perform the same training with managers and supervisors, with the addition of explaining how they must handle complaints according to the antibullying policy that is in place. Consequences must be explained in these training sessions in order for all employees to understand the seriousness of bullying in the workplace.

While consequences vary based on company policies, most companies implement a mediation program. Mediation is a conflict resolution technique in which HRPs are an unbiased third party (“Mediation,” 2018). Within these mediation sessions, HRPs can give both parties a chance to explain themselves while providing communication techniques to neutralize the situation (“Mediation,” 2018). When done correctly, mediation promotes reconciliation and compromise, which would ideally eliminate the possibility of future bullying instances (“Mediation,” 2018). In the case that mediation does not resolve the issue

completely, any future bullying accusations should result in termination.

Human resource professionals must correct and prevent bullying behaviors in order to maintain a safe and healthy work environment by creating detailed policies and implementing training programs for bullying awareness. The unfortunate truth is that bullying occurs far beyond school walls and remains a factor in

the workplace. While harassment and bullying differ as they relate to federal law, companies must implement detailed policies and procedures to manage these situations as well as perform training and mediation. It is easy for human resource professionals to get caught up in their day-to-day responsibilities and forget the importance of bullying awareness. Without the proper tools and enforcements, there can be serious consequences including lawsuits and tremendous psychological damage for victims. n

Works Cited

Jordan Dudley is a Business Management major from Wake Forest, North Carolina. She is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honors society, as well as the Society for Human Recourse Management, with a passion for promoting healthy workplace relationships and cultures. In addition to her academic and professional interests, Jordan is a classically trained vocalist and experienced equestrian. She hopes to enter and excel in the human resources field following graduation in May 2020.

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