Actual Comments on Why Employees Leave:
“I felt bullied all the time. My manager told me how she thought it was funny that she made a girl cry and quit. She started yelling at me on my second day because she said I was not moving fast enough in the line. She would cuss all the time. Another co-worker cussed me out in front of the patients on my first day. I felt like nice people finish last in this department. They don’t like you to ask questions. They seem to have a lot of turn over. I would cover for people as often as possible. But when I needed someone to cover for me it was not an option.”
The Solution
It’s clear this employee’s discomfort with how he/she was treated drove him/her to leave. So, we’re taking a closer look. How should employees handle verbal abuse at work? The answer? They shouldn’t have to.
Workplace bullying (also referred to as office bullying) is defined as repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators that takes one or more of the following forms: offensive conduct/behaviors (including non-verbal) which is threatening, humiliating and intimidating; work interference-sabotage-which prevents work from getting done or verbal abuse at work.
Office bullying has increasingly become a highlighted HR issue in the United States and beyond. This issue continues to attract increased attention, due to extensive media coverage of children bullying each other in schools over the past ten years. Men and women in the workforce have begun to realize that bullying isn’t just happening among teenagers at school, it’s also impacting morale within the workplace.
It appears in this situation the Manager may be creating a hostile work environment as evidenced by the Manager’s comments and the co-workers’ behavior. The Workplace Bullying institute reports that more than a third of U.S. workers have experienced threats, intimidation, harassment, social exclusion or verbal abuse at work by either a boss or co-worker. Unfortunately, most victims never even report these incidents.
Quite often supervisors, managers and senior managers don’t realize the impact that shouting, swearing, and name calling have on employees. Managers need to be aware that some employees are more sensitive to harsh tones and cuss words. It is important for managers to be patient with and considerate of employees. They are expected to act in a professional manner setting the example for others. Belittling, swearing, and intimidating does not lend itself toward professional behavior and often is interpreted as office bullying. Exhibiting poor behavior in front of patients or clients makes managers, employees and the organization look bad.
Employees who are receiving verbal abuse at work, should keep in mind that the abuser’s effect on employees is the problem. The problem does not lie with the employee. Employees who feel they are being subjected to verbal abuse at work, should be encouraged to follow these steps to try and remedy the situation before reaching the point of quitting.
• Address the situation. Whether the “bully” is a fellow coworker or a manager, they should be confronted. Sometimes they do not realize their words or actions have been hurtful. Talking it over in a professional way may resolve the problem. However, employees should not get caught in a war of words or make threats that could escalate the confrontation. Employees should make sure the other person knows what they are doing is having a negative effect on them and if it continues, they will notify a supervisor.
Believe it or not, sometimes people are just very crass in nature and are simply unaware or insensitive to the effects their actions have on other people.
• Reference the employee handbook. Often times company handbooks have an internal grievance system, harassment policy, anti-violence policy, code of conduct or ethics hotline. Employees should follow the procedures outlined in these policies.
• Document the situation. When people are distressed, it can be easy to inflate a situation or just forget what exactly was said. It is important to document who has witnessed the bullying. Employees who feel they have been a victim of bullying or verbal abuse at work, should document what has occurred. This journal should be kept at home and not on a computer at work.
• Talk with Human Resources. If talking the situation over with the bully doesn’t help, it is time to talk with HR.
• Stay focused on doing the job. Employees’ performance will show managers they are a valuable resource to the company.
What many people don’t consider is that bullying in the workplace is now being seen along the same lines as sexual harassment. In 2001, The Healthy Workplace Bill (HWB) was introduced by David Yamada, a Professor of Law at Suffolk University. It is a model legislation that provides severely bullied employees with a legal claim for their damages. The bill also creates legal incentives for employers to act responsively with regard to bullying behaviors and prevent them from happening.
There is good news on the horizon. The Healthy Workplace Bill has been introduced in 23 states, with the Senates in both New York and Illinois legislatures passing the bill, but has not become law yet. It is suspected that when one state makes this a law, it will begin sweeping our nation just like the school bullying laws.
(Turnover Tuesday is a blog post brought to you by Human Systems Development, an exit interview company that helps other companies reduce employee turnover by providing automated reference checking, exit interviews and by measuring employee retention. The comments this blog is based off of are collected from exit interviews we have conducted in the workplace with ExitRight, HSD’s exit interviewing service. We put the privacy of our clients at the top of our priority list; therefore we keep the names of all involved completely confidential. Return weekly for Turnover Tuesday, to reduce employee turnover within your organization).