Joy Koesten, PhDKU ~ Science Managers Certificate Program

27% of us have current or past direct experience with abusive conduct at work.

72% of us are aware of workplace bullying.

68% of executives reported that workplace bullying was a serious problem.

Majority of employees (72%) reported that employers deny, discount, encourage, rationalize, or defend bullying.

Namie, G. 2014 WBI U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey

Workplace bullying has been recognized as a main source of distress associated with ◦ lowered job satisfaction and performance,

◦ reduced organizational commitment,

◦ higher turnover and expulsion of good employees,

◦ higher levels of absenteeism and presenteeism,

◦ decreased physical and mental well-being,

◦ higher health care costs and litigation, and

◦ workplace violence.

See Glambek, M., Skogstad, A., & Einarsen, S., (2015) for review.

Bullying vs. conflict

Conflict is a natural disagreement between interdependent people who perceive incompatible goals, scarce resources, or interference in achieving one’s goals.

Conflict can be a really healthy (and important) thing in an organization.

Namie & Namie, 2011

Bullying vs. harassmentHarassment is protected by law for certain groups

of people based on race, gender, ethnicity, etc.HR must respond to your complaint and a formal anti-

harassement process begins.

Only 20% of bullying cases involve illegal discriminatory harassment. That means that 80% of workplace bullying is legal ~

even if it’s not welcome!

Namie & Namie, 2011

Bullying is a pattern of repeated hostile behaviors over an extended period of time where:there is an actual or perceived intent to harm on the part of

the actor [bully];

one party is unable to defend him or herself [target];

there is a power imbalance between the parties.

At its core, bullying about power and domination.

Namie & Namie, 2011Keashly & Nowell, 2011, p. 424

Physical Verbal

Social Cyber

BULLYING

Piotrowski, 2012; Privitera & Campbell, 2009

WBI Website 2014 Instant Pollhttp://www.workplacebullying.org/wbi-2014-ip-c/

56%48% 42% 42% 36% 36%

2014 WBI U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey

69%

56%

33%

11%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Men

Bosses

Peers

Subordinates

Bullies typically fall into three categories:◦ The accidental bully

◦ The narcissistic bully

◦ The psychopathic bully

Lutgen-Sandvik, P. & Fletcher, C. V. (2013)

Likely targets fall into three categories:

◦ The provocative target (aggressive and assertive)

◦ the submissive target, and

◦ the rigidly conscientious target.

Other factors include:

◦ Organizational position, communication skills deficits, and social difference.

Aquino & Lamertz, 2004; Fast & Chen, 2009; Lutgen-Sandvik, P. & Fletcher, C. V. 2013; Namie, 2007a

Bullying can only emerge and continue to

thrive when the organizational

communication culture condones,

models, or rewards it.

Lutgen-Sandvik, P. & Tracy, S. J. (2012).Pettit, Vaught, & Pulley, (1990)The Workplace Bullying Institute ~ 2012 Instant Poll

Top reasons bullying happens at work:◦ Bullies were not punished & thrived (21%)

◦ Laws to stop it were either absent or too weak to be useful (15%)

◦ No one in the company/agency had the will to stop it (13%)

◦ Coworkers stood idly by & failed to stop it (13%)

◦ The workplace culture rewarded cutthroat behaviors (10%)

All of these behaviors are within the control of the leaders in the organization.

Lutgen-Sandvik, P. & Tracy, S. J. (2012).Pettit, Vaught, & Pulley, (1990)The Workplace Bullying Institute ~ 2012 Instant Poll

Create a healthy communication culture Find the “right mix” of people Workplace “task” characteristics (workload,

work pace, task variety, etc.) Be consistent in your social interactions

among employees Learn and employ communication skills◦ Empathic listening, constructive confrontation, and

problem solving.

Namie, G. & Namie, R. (2011).

Recognize bullying and call it out. Intervene when possible◦ Protect the target ~ don’t ask the parties to “work it

out”◦ Solicit the bully’s reaction and explanation /

interview others to get the full picture Demand remedies and action◦ Work with HR to create policies and procedures to

deal with bullying at all levels◦ Create an ombudsman position

Namie, G. & Namie, R. (2011).

Communication MATTERS.

It’s up to you and the leaders in your organization to understand the role that

communication plays in shaping the people who work in your organization.

Aquino, K., & Lamertz, K. (2004). A relational model of workplace victimization: Social roles and patterns of victimization in dyadic relationships. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 1023-1034.

Fast, N. J., & Chen, S. (2009). When the boss feels inadequate: Power, incompetence, and aggression. Psychological Science, 20, 11, 1406-1413.

Glambek, M., Skogstad, A., & Einarsen, S. (2015). Take it or leave: a five-year prospective study of workplace bullying and indicators of expulsion in working life. Industrial Health, 53, 160-170.

Keashly, L., & Nowell, B. L. (2011). Conflict, conflict resolution, and bullying. In S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf, & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Bullying and harassment in the workplace: Developments in theory, research and practice (2nd ed., pp. 423-445). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Lutgen-Sandvik, P., & Fletcher, C. (2013). Conflict Motivations and Tactics of Targets, Bystanders, and Bullies: A Thrice-Told Tale of Workplace Bullying. The SAGE Handbook of Conflict Communication, Second Edition. Retrieved from http://knowledge.sagepub.com/view/the-sage-handbook-of-conflictcommunication-2e/SAGE.xml

Lutgen-Sandvik, P., Tracy, S. J., & Alberts, J. K. (2007). Burned by bullying in the American workplace: Prevalence, perception, degree, and impact. Journal of Management Studies, 44, 837–862.

Lutgen-Sandvik, P. & Tracy, S. J. (2012). Answering five key questions about workplace bullying: How communication scholarship provides thought leadership for transforming abuse at work. Management Communication Quarterly, 26,(1) 3-47.

Namie, G. & Namie, R. F. (2011). The bully-free workplace: Stop jerks, weasels, and snakes from killing your organization. John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, NJ.

Namie, G. & Christensen, D. (2014). The WBI Website 2014 Instant Poll-C: The many ways workplace bullying offends its targets. Workplace Bullying Institutehttp://www.workplacebullying.org/multi/pdf/WBI-2012-IP-D.pdf

Namie, G. (2012). Workplace Bullying Institute Study: Why workplace bullying happens. http://www.workplacebullying.org/wbi-2012-a/

Namie, G. (2014). 2014 WBI U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey: Workplace Bullying Institute. http://www.workplacebullying.org/2014-prevalence/

Hoel, H., & Cooper, C. L. (2001). Origins of bullying: Theoretical frameworks for explaining workplace bullying. In N. Tehrani (Ed.), Building a culture of respect: Managing bullying at work (pp. 1-20). London: Taylor & Francis.

Pettit, J. D., Vaught, B., & Pulley, K. J. (1990). The role of communication in organizations: Ethical considerations. The Journal of Business Communication, 27, 3, 233-249.

Piotrowski, C. (2012). From workplace bullying to cyberbullying: The enigma of e-harassment in modern organizations. Organization Development Journal, 30, 4, 44-53.

Privitera, C. & Campbell, M. A. (2009). Cyberbulling: The new face of workplace bullying? CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12, 4, 395-400.

Tracy, S. J., Lutgen-Sandvik, P., & Alberts, J. K. (2006). Nightmares, demons and slaves: Exploring the painful metaphors of workplace bullying. Management Communication Quarterly, 20(2), 148─185.