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Boss Behavior
Discuss employment-law issues such as family leave, overtime, disabilities law, harassment, immigration and termination.
I had a former employee call me about the boss that took my place. She said that he is harassing her terribly & she is now out on mental stress leave because of it. She told me that he pulled her
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Forums » Topic Forums » Legal Forum » Boss Behavior
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Boss Behavior
posted at 11/25/2010 2:00 AM EST
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Posts: 1771
First: 10/24/2002 Last: 9/14/2011 |
Calculable hard costs of my bullying experience:
* six months' severance pay for me; * extensive legal costs to the company directly related to my bullying experience; * turnover costs for four employees (two HR Generalists, a Benefits Administrator and a Marketing Director) who left the company (all within the same month!) specifically and directly as a result of witnessing that guy repeatedly browbeating and humiliating me in public and on company voicemail and email systems; and * the loss of an EEOC claim that the company PTBs somehow forgot about after I was let go and which I am very certain I would have won had I been there to fight it. I don't know how to calculate morale costs (increased turnover? decreased productivity?) but I'm sure there are some costs there as well, simply because I still to this day get current and former employees of that company approaching me on LinkedIn, Facebook and elsewhere and asking me if I'm OK now after all that horrible stuff that guy did to me. And this "horrible stuff" all happened 14 years ago! Their memories of it are better than mine! Finally, anyone here who knows me at all knows that as an HR professional, my primary focus is on the business. I am not in any way a social worker or bleeding heart HR mama, and anyone who thinks I am just because I happened to have been bullied at work is making a completely incorrect assumption. Bad things can happen to hard*** types like us too. |
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Boss Behavior
posted at 11/25/2010 2:35 AM EST
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Posts: 1103
First: 3/16/2007 Last: 8/19/2011 |
" Crusty old pragmatists like HRPro and myself will immediately tune out, if not walk out."
That could be described as ageism, although very accurate. Especially the crusty part. Most business leaders have eyes that glaze over when the words "academic study" are used in the real world. These are the same people who object to HR types (I won't use the term professional in this instance) who claim "that's illegal." |
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Boss Behavior
posted at 11/27/2010 6:34 AM EST
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Posts: 32
First: 11/16/2010 Last: 1/3/2011 |
Hi, Everyone -
With the risk of analyzing this topic ad nauseum...although for many of you, it may be well past that point...(smile)... I haven't addressed one particular reason why the scenario described by the original poster got my attention and prompted me to be careful about making any assumptions. Some of you have described the likelihood that the issue here involves an employee not being able (or willing?) to handle change in a productive manner. With more information, you may discover this is an accurate assessment. However, what caught my attention is that based on my personal experience (which has been also supported by research...and I appreciate that some of you may think research has little, if any, value), change within an organization is often a precipitating event that can lead to and support bullying. A few things that factor into the equation include: - perceived power imbalance + perceived low risk/cost(in other words, the new manager is pretty confident that his/her version of what's happening will be accepted and supported by management); - perceived opportunity for reward (if an organization encourages high internal competition, a manager can increase his/her status and gain opportunities for advancement - especially if management supports a "tough" management style); - personnel work by other means: if the manager simply doesn't like an employee or views an employee as obstacle or threat, the boss may badger/bully the employee as a way of getting rid of him/her. Now, certainly these points don't mean that it can be assumed that bullying is actually happening. However, knowing that change is an element that can set the dynamics for bullying in motion, I would be sure to get as much information as possible before taking any action. I appreciate the view that bullying may not be as prevalent as it is seemingly being portrayed. However, I think the issue is that, even if bullying occurs only occasionally, we are learning that its negative impact on the employee(s) and the organization as a whole can be tremendous. Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Debra |
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Boss Behavior
posted at 12/1/2010 7:43 AM EST
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Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
And I can easily turn those around to support the other point of view:
A few things that factor into the equation include: - perceived power imbalance + perceived low risk/cost(it sounds like this individual was going to the old boss to support his/her point of view and to use that power play to jump over the head of the new manager; perhaps the old boss has contacts that the new boss does not); - perceived opportunity for reward (if an organization has allowed low performance expectations in the past, an employee can increase his/her status and gain opportunities for protection via claims of discrimination/bullying - especially if management supports a management style of never touching a complainer and has allowed bad management in the past); - personnel work by other means: if the employee simply doesn't like the new manager or views the mangager as obstacle or threat, the employee may claim they are being badgered/bullied as a way of getting rid of him/her. I agree there are always two sides and yes, we are prone to pick the side that we know most about. I think we could fight to the death on this one. But you still haven't convinced me that the issue is large enough for a law or government agencies to get involved. Many times it is just a bad personality fit between two well intentioned people. That doesn't always make one of them wrong. |
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Boss Behavior
posted at 12/1/2010 10:10 AM EST
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Posts: 32
First: 11/16/2010 Last: 1/3/2011 |
Hi, rrupert -
Absolutely - there are numerous ways to perceive any situation. And, your right on that sometimes a given situation may be mainly about different personality types. The two basic elements of "bullying" are: 1) the frequency and duration of the perceived abusive behavior, and 2) the ability of both parties to defend themselves under the circumstances. When someone perceives he/she may have little or no power in a situation, that person may seek support...although others may be too embarrassed to seek such support. I don't believe this discussion is about proving that one perspective or another is "right" or the Truth. And, I agree that legislation is not an elegant answer to address this societal/organizational issue. I think what we're seeing is similar to an illness that can be very difficult to diagnose - especially if it's prone to being dismissed because the symptoms aren't fully understood. Abusive workplace behavior may be more prevalent than we realize, or it may be very rare. Regardless, the symptoms are extremely real and devastating on those directly and indirectly involved. Thanks for being willing to continue this discussion. Debra |
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Boss Behavior
posted at 12/1/2010 10:54 AM EST
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Posts: 544
First: 9/27/2004 Last: 9/13/2011 |
Every time I read a new post, I go back to the original.
I know there are two sides to every story, but I think the OP is describing a case of bullying. There are some clear markers, the two that pop out to me are that the employee asked for another person to be in the room with her, which is a perfectly reasonable request - union or no union, and the other is that the supervisor's problem was with an attitude and not performance. Other factors that lead me to believe this is bullying are that the former supervisor had knowledge of the employee's past behavior and that the employee was distraught enough to seek medical treatment. Is it possible that the employee is over-reacting? Absolutely and most likely is the case here, but some people are more sensitive than others and those are the people targeted by bullies. If someone is upset, you don't keep picking at them until you destroy their health, you adjust your own behavior and examine your own motives otherwise it's just plain cruelty that serves no purpose. |
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Boss Behavior
posted at 12/28/2010 4:22 PM EST
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Posts: 7
First: 11/5/2010 Last: 12/31/2010 |
Thank you to everyone that posted on my topic. I just wanted to update you all on what has happened since my original post.
The supervisor gave his 2 week notice 2 days before the employee that was out on medical leave because of his bullying returns to work. I don't think he left because of this problem but for the person he was bullying she feels it is justice for her. I've posted a new topic about the same company maybe some of you can give me some of your great advice on that topic also. Thank you to all and Happy New Year! |
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