Join The Fight - End Workplace
Bullying
By : Cheryl E . Johnson , PCC Galveston Co . Tax Assessor Collector Cheryl . E . Johnson @ co . galveston . tx . us
Although some would claim they are bullied into paying property taxes , the annual ‘ love ’ letters ( often too much love ) are delivered and collected with a gentle hand . Neither the statement nor the collector is threatening , abusing , humiliating or intimidating … unlike the schoolyard or workplace bully .
October is National Bullying Prevention month1 with October 19th National Unity Day when schools and communities are encouraged to wear orange to show support for those who have been or are victims of bullying , to raise awareness and end it . During October , Bully Free Zone signs will adorn all County Tax Offices and information will be available to the public . October 19th we will wear orange , the Unity Day color . We invite you to join us in doing so . As business and community leaders , we should talk openly about the problem that , unchecked , can destroy the cultural health of our organizations and businesses .
Everyone understands schoolyard bullying ( the torment or physical abuse of one child by another ) but what is workplace bullying ? It is a desperate grab for control by insecure , inadequate persons , often through humiliation . It is being done by the schoolyard bully who was not stopped , has grown up and is now systematically tormenting others by being disrespectful , humiliating or intimidating them , being verbally abusive , sabotaging work efforts and withholding resources . Their actions are unpredictable thus may occur consistently then stop for long periods of time before beginning anew . Potentially as bad as the bully , are those who witness the behavior and fail to report it . They will eventually catch the attention of the bully and become the newest target if they , and then you , fail to take action .
One in every four children is bullied on a regular basis and one in every ten US workers confirm being bullied at work with 45 % reporting being bullied at some point during their career . Another 25 % have witnessed the behavior . Unchecked , bullying in the workplace will result in employee turnover and absenteeism ( due to depression , eating and sleeping disorders , PTSD and stress related ailments ). Not to be confused with incivility ( which resulted in 12 % of those surveyed leaving a job ), 66 % of those bullied lost or gave up their jobs to stop the bullying .
It is often said that the first step to correcting a problem is to recognize there is one . Obviously bullying is a problem as a Google search returned 14.3M results . There is a plethora of information available , including questionnaires that can be completed by your staff anonymously . Yes – anonymously . If you seriously want to determine whether you have a problem in your organization , you must provide a safe opportunity for the behavior to be revealed . Of course , you will want to first define what constitutes bullying .
If you do not already have a policy that promotes your expectations of conduct at work , write one – a Code of Ethical Conduct of sorts . Clearly define behaviors that are both expected and those that are unacceptable and will not be tolerated . Define a process for employees to report unacceptable behaviors and protect them from retaliation by keeping the information confidential . Be ready , willing and able to confront the unacceptable , bullying behavior . Insure your managers understand you will not tolerate anything but promotion of a safe , healthy workplace .
Author , editor , blogger and publisher Tom Engelhardt wisely stated , “ Words denied mean analyses not offered , things not grasped , surprise not registered , strangeness not taken in , all of which means that terrible mistakes are repeated …” Bullying must be reported , investigated and acted upon . It simply cannot be tolerated or ignored .
Join me in taking a public stand against the schoolyard and workplace bully ! Healthy classroom and work environments spawn positive , productive results and increase the chance of everyone ’ s success .