Mind Your Manners: Bullying in Corporate America

What is a BULLY? ... When you hear the word, most likely an image pops into your mind of some troubled teen gleefully posting ugly names and encouraging others to further humiliate their target. Or perhaps a giant elementary school kid terrorizing a skinny, nerdy boy/girl by stealing their lunch money. However, in corporate America, a bully could very well be dressed in a tailored suit.

In all my years of recruiting, I can attest that many of the people calling me to find other employment are doing so because the balance of power has forced them to “deal” with a variety of bad behavior on the part of employers. While there are processes in place that are supposed to alleviate and give a voice to the abuse; these are for the most part ineffectual. Especially if the abuse can’t be linked to discrimination.

Types of workplace bullying:

I have found bullying the most prevalent when an employer is using it as an old-school tactic of making someone quit rather than firing them. Recently, I spoke to someone who has been at their company for almost 10 years and has been promoted twice. ”Bob” is not the choice of his new supervisor, and prior to long holiday weekends or Fridays, will be threatened with action plans. Bob has no idea what he did wrong and must stress all weekend about what Monday will hold, and if he will even have a job. His supervisor taunts him with the action plans, telling him that it’s just a matter of time before he files it with HR.

I spoke with another individual who recently had a baby and as a result gained a lot of weight, which has made her self-conscious. Her company uses social media often and posts pictures of their company events. Her supervisor will wait until she is taking a bite of food and will snap a picture. He posts the unflattering pictures, which embarrasses her.  As a result, she no longer eats at company events, trade shows or industry events because of the images that are blasted out on social media.

I would like to say that these are isolated cases, but unfortunately, they are not…

The events that have taken place in the entertainment and political arena have focused on sexual misconduct and have put a spotlight on the abuse by people in positions of power and influence. The reaction has been a call to action and intolerance of these acts. However, when addressing bullying in the workplace, the victims aren’t unlike their Hollywood/D.C. counterparts who don’t want the spotlight on the actions, as it generally antagonizes the abusers and makes the situation worse. The result is allowing it to be to be “just the way things are”, similar to the way sexual harassment in the entertainment industry was “part of the culture” and necessary to work in your chosen job or industry…. Corporate America has been attempting to address overtime, salary inequity and issues relating to gender, religion and sexuality. It is my hope that this topic becomes the source of conversation in the workplace as well.