Supervisor/HR Newsletter Helpful Resources from Your Employee Assistance Program

Supervisor/HR Newsletter Helpful Resources from your Employee Assistance Program

October 2016 Page 1

Workplace Bullying and Disruptive Behavior: What Everyone Needs to Know

What is workplace bullying, and who is affected? Workplace bullying refers to repeated, unreasonable actions of individuals (or a group) directed toward an employee (or a group of employees), which are intended to intimidate, degrade, humiliate, or undermine, or which create a risk to the health or safety of, the employee(s).

Workplace bullying often involves an abuse or misuse of power. Bullying behavior creates feelings of defenselessness and injustice in the target, and undermines an individual’s right to dignity at work.

Bullying is different from aggression. Whereas aggression may involve a single act, bullying involves repeated attacks against the target, creating an ongoing pattern of behavior. Tough or demanding bosses are not necessarily bullies, as long as they are respectful and fair, and their primary motivation is to obtain the best performance by setting high yet reasonable expectations for working safely.

Some bullying situations involve employees bullying their peers, rather than a supervisor bullying an employee. The term mobbing refers to a group of coworkers targeting another worker. Supervisors should intervene immediately to address and stop mobbing behaviors.

Examples of Bullying * Unwarranted or invalid criticism * Blame without factual justification * Being treated differently than the rest of your work group * Being sworn at * Exclusion or social isolation * Being shouted at or being humiliated * Excessive monitoring or micromanaging * Being given work with unrealistic deadlines

www.deeroakseap.com | (855) 492-3633 | [email protected] October 2016 Page 2

What is corporate or institutional bullying? Corporate or institutional bullying can manifest itself in different ways:

• Placing unreasonable expectations on employees, where failure to meet those expectations means making life unpleasant for (or dismissing) anyone who objects • Dismissing employees suffering from stress as weak, while completely ignoring or denying potential work related causes of the stress • Encouraging employees to fabricate complaints about colleagues with promises of promotion or threats of discipline

Signs of corporate and institutional bullying include:

• Failure to meet organizational goals • Increased frequencies of grievances, resignations, and requests for transfers • Increased absence due to sickness • Increased disciplinary actions

If you are aware of bullying in the workplace and do not take action, then you are accepting a share of the responsibility for any future abuses. This means that witnesses of bullying behavior should be encouraged to report any such incidences. Individuals are less likely to engage in antisocial behavior when it is understood that the organization does not tolerate such behavior, and that the perpetrator is likely to be punished.

Factors That Increase the Risk for Bullying Behavior

• Significant organizational changes, such as major internal restructuring or technological change • Worker characteristics, such as age, gender, parental status, or apprentice or trainee status • Workplace relationships, such as inadequate information flow between organizational levels and lack of employee participation in decisions • Work systems, such as lack of policies about behavior, high rate and intensity of work, staff shortages, interpersonal conflict, organizational constraints, role ambiguity, and role conflict

Source: Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. (April 2011). Workplace bullying and disruptive behavior: What everyone needs to know. (Report # 87-2-2011). Retrieved August 17, 2016, from http://www.lni.wa.gov

www.deeroakseap.com | (855) 492-3633 | [email protected] October 2016 Page 3

Ask Your EAP!

The following are answers to common questions supervisors have regarding employee issues and making EAP referrals. As always, if you have specific questions about referring an employee or managing a workgroup issue, feel free to make a confidential call to the EAP for a management consultation.

Q. I sometimes wonder about employees’ personality problems when they exhibit difficult behavior. For example, I think one of my employees is a narcissist. Isn’t it a good idea for the EAP to offer advice on how to communicate with different types of personalities? A. Longstanding EAP guidance on avoiding diagnostic thinking on the part of supervisors has wide-ranging importance in the management of performance. Engaging with difficult personalities with the goal of overcoming their personality traits or “out-psyching” them contributes to a delay in referring and the employee seeking help. Many people have elements of their personality that fall within descriptions of personality disorders. There is no “science” involving the mastery of engaging with personality disorders. A better way to go is to consult with the EAP about individual employees and your concerns about their work, behavior, attitude, or attendance. Then follow an effective approach for helping them become the best workers they can be. That might include help from the EAP. Q. Must everything we do as supervisors fall under the heading of “being a role model?” Personally, I think it is good to loosen up every once in a while so that employees see we are real people who can have a good time. A. It may not seem fair, but your employees are continuously judging you by your behaviors. By virtue of your position, every behavior you exhibit to employees is viewed in the context of you as a role model. This is an inescapable dynamic of workplace authority and supervision. But there is more to it. All behaviors of supervisors make an impression on employees because their behaviors are symbolic. They tell your employees what you value, what you support, and what you stand for. This is a powerful tool in leadership. Not understanding this dynamic can cause you to lose their respect, along with harming your ability to influence and shape a team.

Q. I am unsure how to respond to some problems raised by employees to explain their performance issues. For example, I have an employee with a tardiness problem who blames the traffic. I spend precious time advising on these issues, but to no avail. EAP referral doesn’t make sense.

A. It is easy to get bogged down in helping employees troubleshoot problems like traffic or babysitting quandaries in an effort to have them perform, or in this case, arrive on time. This is all natural and quite expected in close working relationships. However, such discussions can grow wider and deeper. Here’s where it gets interesting: If you have spent a large amount of time troubleshooting a problem like traffic, you may not realize that other problems may contribute to the tardiness. These other problems may actually be the primary cause and this is where EAP can be helpful.

Information contained in this newsletter is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be specific guidance for any particular supervisor or human resource management concern. Some of it might not apply to your particular company policies and available programs. This information is proprietary and intended only for eligible EAP members. For specific guidance on handling individual employee problems, consult with Deer Oaks by calling the Helpline. www.deeroakseap.com | (855) 492-3633 | [email protected]