Workplace Bullying: Understanding, Preventing, and Addressing Toxic Behavior (Even When It’s Not Harassment)

Laws prohibiting discrimination, harassment, and sexual harassment are nothing new to employers. These laws protect employees from being treated differently in the workplace because of protected characteristics such as sex, race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, etc. Employers have harassment and equal employment opportunity policies that prohibit harassment and discrimination, and when complaints are filed alleging this type of behavior has occurred, companies have policies and procedures to investigate and timely resolve these issues.

But what about the behavior that fails to rise to the level of unlawful harassment? Behavior in the workplace that is considered uncivil or intimidating but is unrelated to a protected characteristic?

Employers are often confronted with complaints from employees that allege coworkers are creating a toxic work environment, but the offensive behavior fails to rise to the level of unlawful conduct covered by state and federal harassment and discrimination laws.  Inappropriate behavior in the workplace that does not rise to the level of harassment can fall into the category of workplace bullying.

Should employers be concerned about this type of behavior? If so, how should employers handle these situations?

What is Workplace Bullying?

According to a recent survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute, 32% of adults reported being directly bullied at work, and 14% reported that they had witnessed bullying in the workplace. The majority of that bullying behavior (55%) was top-down vs. peer-to-peer (29%). While men were predominantly the perpetrators of bullying in the workplace, when women were the perpetrators, other women were the target twice as often as men.

Workplace bullying is generally defined as repeated health-harming mistreatment that takes one or more of the following forms: verbal abuse; offensive behaviors that are threatening, humiliating, or intimidating; or work interference or sabotage that prevents work from getting done.

Examples of workplace bully behavior include, but are not limited to:

• Falsely accusing someone of errors that the person didn’t make;
• Unjustly discounting the person’s thoughts or feelings in front of others;
• Starting, or failing to stop, destructive rumors or gossip about the person;
• Harshly and constantly criticizing the person;
• Publicly directing gross and undignified behavior at the victim;
• Behavior meant to undermine, patronize, humiliate, intimidate, or demean;
• Disregarding and discrediting satisfactory work despite evidence to the contrary; and,
• Yelling, screaming, or throwing tantrums in front of others to humiliate someone.

While the legal implications of workplace bullying are not the same as harassment and discrimination, the impact on the workplace is similar.

The Effects of Workplace Bullying: As Bad As Harassment and Discrimination?

While workplace bullying does not rise to the level of unlawful harassment as defined under the law, this type of behavior can still have a significant negative impact on the workplace, and employers should take action to prevent it.

Workplace bullying is the number one indicator that a harassment problem may occur. If employees are allowed to bully in the workplace, there is a high likelihood that they will escalate their behavior, which can result in harassment occurring in the workplace. Additionally, when bullying is prevalent in the workplace, there are other issues that arise, including high turnover, lack of motivation and morale, an increase in interpersonal conflict, and the costs associated with investigations into complaints and defending any potential claims that could be filed.

For all of those reasons and many others, employers can afford to overlook workplace bullying. They should take proactive steps to discourage that type of behavior in the workplace and address it promptly when it does occur.

Preventing Workplace Bullying and Dealing with Workplace Bullies

Employers can take steps to prevent workplace bullying to avoid the negative consequences that occur when this behavior is allowed to take place.

Employers should implement a clear and thorough workplace bullying policy. This policy should be a zero-tolerance anti-bullying policy and should provide examples of workplace bullying behavior to assist employees in understanding what is prohibited under the policy. It should also outline the reporting procedures clearly, indicating who employees can go to (i.e. HR, an anonymous hotline, etc.) and assuring them of non-retaliation for reporting.

Employees should be trained on unacceptable behavior in the workplace, including workplace bullying. All employees, from new hires to senior leadership, should be required to go through this training and should be re-trained on a regular basis to reinforce the message and adapt to new insights or challenges.

Employers should treat any workplace bullying complaint in the same manner and with the same urgency as they would a harassment complaint. Employers should take immediate action to investigate the complaint and should take appropriate disciplinary action if there is substantial proof that workplace bullying occurred.  

In Summary

While workplace bullying may not trigger the legal protections afforded by state and federal laws, it is still considered unacceptable behavior in the workplace and can lead to a multitude of issues that can have a substantial negative impact on the workplace. As such, it is important for employers to be well-versed in what workplace bullying is and have processes and procedures in place that prevent this type of behavior from occurring.

By: Cara Sheehan, Esq.