According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, approximately 19% of Americans are bullied, 61% of Americans are aware of abusive conduct in the workplace, and 60.4 million Americans are affected by it. Other studies have shown that the percentage of employees who have faced bullying in the workplace can be as high as 50% or more. Often bullying occurs where there is a power disparity and the perpetrator targets an employee who is considered a threat. This can be a more skilled, more productive, or even a well-liked employee.
You have a supervisor who yells, screams, and berates others, sometimes for no apparent reason at all. He treats all employees with the same lack of respect and meanness. You don’t like how he acts, but he gets the work done. Are his actions illegal and should you even care as the owner of the company?
Being mean or a jerk isn’t against the law. Bullying may not be illegal or even against a company’s policy. Many believe that bullying automatically equates to a “hostile work environment”. A hostile workplace is where workers find the circumstances so unpleasant that they are prevented from doing their jobs. To be actionable in federal court, however, the workplace wrongdoings must be against one of the protected classes.
Even though bullying may not give rise to a legal action, the costs to a company can be tremendous. A recent study of bullying among federal employees reported $180 million in lost productivity caused by bullying in a two year period. No employee wants to work in an environment where they, or other employees, are mistreated. Employees want to work where they and their colleagues are respected and appreciated. If you have a bully at your company, many good and competent employees may leave for other opportunities, resulting in a drain of the best talent from your firm. You may even have an increased rate of absenteeism or workers’ compensation claims from employees being distracted or simply looking for a reason to be out of work.
Risk Manager’s Takeaway:
You have a very real incentive to make your company workplace productive by having a zero tolerance policy for bullying, harassment and discrimination. Treating employees fairly and with respect will result in happier employees, increased productivity, and will reduce the risk for employment related claims. Not only will you and your employees benefit from a happier workplace, you will be doing the right thing!
