'So, it looks like you're having trouble getting that COVID weight off, hey Sue?'
One bad apple ruins the bunch – so too can a toxic employee. A bad attitude is one thing, but when it comes to harassment HR has a serious problem on their hands. You may be forgiven for thinking that harassment and abuse has been waylaid in remote work – that toxic cultures are only formed in the office. But you’d be dead wrong. In fact, reports show that abuse has only risen in the work from home setup, with employees admitting that endless Zoom calls and a lack of face-to-face contact has acted as a catalyst for colleague conflict.
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“Verbal abuse and inappropriate, disrespectful, judgmental, and derogatory comments – they’re all prime examples of how toxicity has risen in remote work,” TEDx speaker and workplace expert Bonnie Low-Kramen, told HRD. “Critical comments like, ‘Joe is always late for these meetings because he is on kid patrol’, ‘Jan, can’t we ever get these video calls to go smoothly? I thought you were smarter than that.’ ‘Barb, you are just an assistant, and you should stay in your lane. If we want to hear your opinion, we’ll ask.’”
All wholly inappropriate, though not unheard of. Conversely, according to Low-Kramen, in hybrid workplaces abuse comes in the form of comments around physical appearance.
“So, it looks like you’re having trouble getting the COVID weight off, Sue?” “I think you should wear your hair down like you used to, Lynn.” “I think you should smile more on video calls.”
And while it seems like these comments sound like David Brent soundbites, they’re all too common and all too real. The stress of working from home compounded with increased workloads and pandemic blues have us all snappier, tenser, and ruder than ever before.
“HR needs to find ways to make it safe for staff to come to them to share what is happening because the silent complicity is destroying companies from the inside out,” added Low-Kramen. “Besides staff coming forward to speak truth to power, another way to spot toxicity are the retention rates and the data around which departments have a revolving door of staff. If a bully is bullying one person, the data shows that they are bullying or harassing others too.
“HR needs to make it abundantly clear that bullies and harassers will be held accountable. This should be a well-advertised policy that is endorsed by the CEO and senior leaders. They need to be allies for zero tolerance and no more suffering in silence.”
Eradicating toxicity is about hiring slow and firing fast. It’s about requiring coaching for bullies and harassers to give them a chance to change - enforcing the rules so that staff trusts that their claims will be taken seriously and acted upon.
And the employee’s position in the company shouldn’t bear any weight at all. We’re all too aware of those 1980’s horror stories of seedy CEOs preying on female interns – there’s even movies and TV shows making light of the abuse. It wasn’t acceptable then and it isn’t acceptable now. For HR, it can be daunting investigating harassment claims against the C-suite – but that just makes it all the more important.
“HR has a serious responsibility to address these problems, no matter who it is,” added Low-Kramen. “They don’t get a choice. HR works for the company, not any particular executive. Addressing the issues with hard data is imperative, even with a high performer and C-suite executive. Often the situation can be turned around with fact-driven awareness, coaching to understand why these issues are important, and being made to care about changing by having clarity on the consequences of these toxic behaviours.
“In my work, I have heard dozens of examples of bullies being clueless and oblivious to the ways others are impacted by their behavior. Once they receive the awareness, they respond positively. Those who don’t get fired, that is.
“HR’s power only goes so far though. This is why there must be clear-cut policies in place to implement when these situations arise. One of the many problems with protecting the “rainmakers” and high-level toxic executives is how many people they are chasing away and the cost of replacing those staffers. The price is not only financial but also costs in morale and productivity.”
One way to get ahead of these problems is to have job descriptions and website language which clearly articulates the company’s zero-tolerance for bullying and harassment and the consequences for these behaviors.
“Hopefully, this will prevent certain personalities from applying for positions. During the interview process, the issue needs to be discussed openly with candidates. Videos can be created as part of the education process. During onboarding, the issues can be raised again so that it becomes part of the company culture to commit to the physical and emotional safety of all employees.”
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