Bullying culture rife, public servants say

While is isn't helpful to look for someONE to blame, it is helpful to look at the underlying causes of bullying which allow, and even inadvertently encourage bullying to flourish in workplaces.

In "The Bullying Culture" which I co-authored with Muriel O'Driscoll (see http://bullyingculture.com), we not only studied the factors that contribute to a bullying culture in the workplace, but examined which approaches were most effective to deal with it.

Because bullying is a symptom of a workplace culture which encourages aggressive competition rather than collaboration, confrontation rather than dialogue, and dictatorial manangement styles rather than cultivating an environment of affirmative inquiry (which fosters creativity, emotional intelligence and higher performance) - the issue has to be addressed at the level of culture.

To be successful initiatives have to come from the top, be seen to be fully and sincerely embraced by CEO's and center around embedding a coaching culture.

Anything less than a major cultural turnaround will simply be a whitewash, a waste of resources and won't address the underlying issue of how people within the organization (at all levels) have learned to relate to one another.

Employers hire bullies- and promote them to positions of power, because they are perceived as being highly competent. Bullies are perceived as possessing towering efficiency, but perpetually surrounded by idiots who never stop stuffing up. Employers don't want to look beneath the surface. If they did they would spot the real truth: that the bully creates a toxic workplace environment, and perpetually blames everyone around him for his own failings. For this reason, employers will continue to lose great employees, and forever be mystified by the fact that everyone but the bully seems so incompetent. In my experience- having broken sales records in every job I've held, then quitting when I've seen my employers absolutely refuse to acknowledge the existence of the culture of bullying- this has cost my employers millions. I've seen hundreds of brilliant salesmen and women quit, when management could have stemmed the flow by removing one single bully. New staff must be trained to replace them, at great expense. Then these staff quit, and are replaced by new staff, who must be trained...and soon quit.
Bullying is real.
Employers continue to deny bullying exists.
It's costing them dearly.

Stuart is so right in saying we need to think about the legacy we to leave. We all have the capacity to make informed choices about how we act, and whether or not we treat others with respect and dignity.

In terms of the comments made by Jane, seven years is a long time. I think that for some people, the memories stay a life time. The pain might ease with good support networks, a strong belief in one self, and undertaking something therapeutic e.g writing a book or creating a journal. Keep believing in yourself Jane.

It concerns me when organisations come out say they are committed to preventing workplace bullying when you see they take away support personnel such as Harassment Referral Officers, have management appointed peer support officers, and generally cut back on training across the board in relation to workplace bullying.

Most people I know who have been bullied at the workplace did not go to work to be bullied, harassed, threatened etc. They are competent, well liked, ethical and professional. Unfortunately, it seems that for them, the focus was not on the alleged bullies behaviours, but more finger pointing and blaming of them for some 'short comings' they were perceived to have.

Whilst the alleged bullies are seen as the ones getting results and outcomes for organisations, they will continue to be rewarded through promotion or financial incentives.

If organisations are serious about workplace bullying, they will ask questions such as "How much does the behaviour of this/these workplace bullies cost us?", "What damage is being caused to our personal or organisational reputation because of their behaviours?"

They don't typically ask "How can we support the target whilst the matter is being investigated?".

We may eventually see potential employees ring organisations and ask "Can you give me an example of how you deal with workplace bullying incidents?" The response provided may determine whether or not that person takes up an employment offer.

There is an old Indian saying "Plan for your children's children". It is about creating a legacy where people are treated with respect and dignity, differences are acknowledged, and people are allowed to work in safety.

We have a way to go.

Great comments here from Blythe and Bernie. Research is often a call to action, books and narrative also raise conversations. The business case to take action on unsafe workplace behaviours is long past. Getting the rubber on the road requires holistic action and string leadership. Custodians of organisations need to ask the hard questions about their culture and be authentic about it. What will my legacy be in this workplace? What kind of workplace would I like to create for others that follow me? What kind of workplace would I like my children to experience? .... We all 'choose' how to behave, when to obey speed signs or when not to use our mobile phones ..... people make change. People need to choose.

I agree with Blythe Rowe, 14 Nov2012, it's a waste of time to look for someone to blame because upper management is a party to it. I was 'mobbed' (that's upward and sideward bullying) when I was in the public service and HR were no help. I think Blythe's Freudian slip in the 4th last line is right: "quit frankly' which was the only thing I could do and did because I was forced to. This happened 7 years ago and I have still not got over it.

I agree with Blythe - Bullying needs to be addressed. The problem though is we can not put a rake through the public sector to be rid of bullies due to a culture of fear. In my observations, managers are not terminating bullies for the following reasons:
1. fear of legal action
2. fear of union action and/or intimadation
3. reluctance to use a performance management process that takes significant time and effort before termination is even an option.
In short, public sector talks the talk when it comes to bullying awareness but does not walk the walk when it comes to following through with consequences for bullying.

Bullies, Blamers and Bludgers can and are often one and the same person. They use covert, aggressive processes to blame others for their own shortcomings, and they do so, because they don't want to be held accountable or be made responsible for their own actions.

Bullying is about an abuse of power and control, and bullies want an acknowledgement that their behaviour or conduct is appropriate. Unless someone pulls them into line, takes some proactive action to address their performance (either improve or be terminated in terms of employment), they continue on doing what they have managed to get away with.

It is apparent that the issue of bullying continues to be a contentious issue and as identified in other discussion groups, can be the elephant in the room. There can be a lot of finger pointing, blame shifting (and dodging), uncertainty about how to actually respond, fear of litigation (at all levels), fear of reporting, and in some cases, a failure of organisational policies to support all involved (including families and co-workers).

Some excellent strategies were identified in the mid 90's, and if some of these had been implemented, the current discussions may not be occurring.

People are becoming frustrated about the lack of real action, survivors are writing their stories, media focus ebbs and flows depending on the nature of the incident and allegations, and for some, it seems that there is a lot of going up and down on the one spot with no forward movement.

To be honest, looking for something or someone to blame for the bullying is a complete waste of time.
Budget cuts etc are the realities of the working world, so we need to face these facts and look for ways to succeed in spite of the challenges. we need to be analysing the root cause and spent our energy focussing on solutions. As an ex HR Leader from some of the biggest businesses in this country, I am that passionate on this issue that I recently wrote a book titled "Bullies, Blamers, Bludgers". It talks bluntly about the three toxic behaviours which are alive and thriving in our workplaces (not just govt departments). Simply doing research, writing new policies and all the rest of the stuff, we are doing in attempt to stop bullying is clearly doing diddly squat. It is time for leaders to face up to the issues and for the employees to say enough is enough. It is time to have the hard chats, empower individuals to stand up to the bullies and quit frankly .... its time to put a rake through the govt departments who think its OK to either Bully or, just as bad, turn a blind eye and ignore what's going on around them.