Bullying and harassment are closely related workplace challenges. Bullying is actually considered a form of harassment. These activities can unfairly affect the ability of a single employee to do his work. In the bigger picture, a workplace culture that allows for constant bullying or harassment leads to low employee morale, lower production and even lawsuits.
Workplace bullying is consistent, repeated mistreatment of one employee by another. The bully targets one or more individual employees that are typically different than him, vulnerable to verbal and emotional abuse and too quiet to confront the bully. This has become a pervasive workplace challenge, according to Ray B. Williams in his May 2011 Psychology Today article "The Silent Epidemic: Workplace Bullying." Williams cited two surveys that show 35 percent of workers say they have been bullied at some point and men, 62 percent of the time, are the bullies.
Bullying often constitutes harassment, but the basic distinction between the two is that the term harassment is used to describe discriminatory behavior. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subsequent laws the Americans with Disabilities Act provide protection from workplace discrimination for certain employee classifications, including age, race, national origin, gender, religion and disabilities. When one employee bullies, or otherwise inhibits the ability of an employee to do his or her job based on one of these protected classifications, the employee and company are at risk. The company is at risk of discrimination lawsuits if it promotes a culture that tolerates such behavior, especially if the harassment is by a supervisor targeting subordinates.
One of the most prominent forms of harassment in the workplace is sexual harassment. Ever since the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination in 1991, which included sexual harassment allegations from law professor and former colleague Anita Hill, regulations and company efforts to prevent sexual harassment have increased. Hostile work environment and quid pro quo are the common types of sexual harassment in the workplace. The former addresses any type of harassment that creates an unpleasant or stressful work environment based on an employee's gender. Quid pro quo refers specifically to attempts by authority figures to use their positions to get sexual favors from employees in exchange for promotions, better pay or other advantages.
While employees that engage in bullying and harassment face potential legal repercussions and lawsuits, your organization can protect itself with a few precautionary measures. Conveying expectations of appropriate behavior is key. Employers commonly provide new hires statements on sexual harassment and have the employees sign their acknowledgement. Addressing the broader issues of bullying and harassment in a handbook is also useful. Dealing with reports of bullying or harassment is perhaps most critical. This may involve corrective action with a first-time offender or termination in an ongoing situation. Failure to correct a known issue poses the biggest threat to an employer with regards to lawsuits and negative public relations.
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