Workplace Bullying: Hidden in Plain Sight - Part 3 of 3

Scott (2008) states Quebec became the first place in North America - in 2004 - to outlaw bullying at work. From 2004 to 2007, more than 6800 workplace bullying complaints were filed in Quebec and one-third of these were serious enough to go to a mediator.

Quebec law says "psychological harassment" is "any vexatious behavior in the form of repeated and hostile or unwanted conduct, verbal comments, actions or gestures, that affects an employees dignity or psychological or physical integrity and that results in a harmful work environment for the employee" (Scott, 2008).

As of May 2007, there were proposals in "about a dozen" U.S. states for some form of workplace bullying legislation. However, because workplace bullies are also often "high performers" - and therefore considered valuable employees - a conflict of values will continue until clear U.S. workplace bullying laws are enacted.

INFLUENCE OF MANAGEMENT AND POLICY

Outside the U.S., business literature speaks to professional managers in clear, no-nonsense terms. For example, Connolly (2006) writes in Accountancy Ireland: "With increasing awareness of the social and economic consequences flowing from bullying and harassment, the introduction of measures to safeguard workers has become more critical for employers both as a matter of good management, and to limit liability under health and safety, industrial relations and equality legislation."

Amble's article, U.S. organizations encourage bullying (2007), confronts American work culture. Amble reports Pamela Lutgen-Sandvik of the University of New Mexico "compared data for the U.S. and Scandinavia and found... 'persistent workplace negativity' is between 20 percent to 50 percent higher for U.S. workers than for their Scandinavian counterparts."

Also, "47% of U.S. workers reported experiencing one negative act at least weekly compared with 25% of workers in Finland and just 16% of those in Denmark. Yet only one in ten Americans... were aware that the behaviour they experienced constituted bullying, leading the researchers to conclude that bullying behaviour is ingrained in the culture of the U.S. workplace."

"Workers suffering on the job and thinking they're 'going crazy' learn that the phenomenon has a name, what it looks like, that it happens to many workers, and potentially, what they might do about it." For now, however, Lutgen-Sandvik's research finds "bullying, as an underreported and relatively under-analyzed phenomenon... alive and well in the U.S. workplace" (Amble, 2007).

CONCLUSION

Workplace bullying, and the range of abusive behaviors associated with it, are woven deeply and in many directions throughout the workplaces of the United States. While these behaviors are actually punishable offenses in other countries, in the U.S. they are unrecognized, largely ignored, or even glorified as desirable traits of the "go-getter" American work identity.

Academic research indicates bullying behavior has become so ingrained within U.S. culture, only one in ten Americans who are bullied on the job can recognize it as such. This is likely because, as Amblin reports, "U.S. organizational and cultural structures frequently enable, trigger and reward bullying."

Vickers emphasizes the educational void in public management literature, which, if filled, may begin providing leadership with useful tactics to address bullying. Research findings of the "Ban Bullying at Work" campaign and the Chartered Management Institute survey findings also support more comprehensive management training. Until workplace incivility is recognized as a legitimate and serious management issue, new professionals will continually lack the skills to identify and effectively address bullying on the job site.

After examining the existing literature on the phenomenon known as workplace bullying, it is reasonable to conclude this and related subjects are ripe for research. It seems many Americans have learned to tolerate and perpetuate unhealthy societal cycles of violence, because bullying others / being bullied has become widely accepted as not just a workplace norm, but a societal norm.

Ultimately, the burden rests on each individual to understand when he / she feels victimized and take action based on his / her own subjective interpretation.

Guiding questions for future research may be: Why are Americans more inclined than others to accept bullying as part of the national culture? Why do some victims of bullying have such difficulty recognizing it as abuse, or defending themselves against it? Why are common psychopaths glamorized and allowed to infiltrate American workplaces to the extent they do? Are the abilities to either "dish it out" or "take it" the unspoken job qualifications U.S. job seekers must be prepared to demonstrate in their next interviews?

PERSONAL PROTECTION MEASURES

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety website (C.C.O.H.S., 2005), provides workplace bullying information and guidance for victims. While the website outlines actions which may be taken in the Canadian workplace, the information is potentially useful to any employee in need of a confrontation plan. Instructions on how to approach a bully, inform supervisors, and create / collect outcome documentation are clear and accessible.

END of Part 3

To read more, go to

Workplace Bullying: Hidden in Plain Sight - Part 1 of 3 or

Workplace Bullying: Hidden in Plain Sight - Part 2 of 3

BIBLIOGRAPHY for Part 3

Amble, B. (2007). U.S. organizations encourage bullying. Management Issues website. Retrieved April 24, 2008 from http://www.management-issues.com/2007/8/31/research/us-organizations-encourage-bullying.asp

Barker, M. (2007). Managers in the firing line: contributing factors to workplace bullying by staff - an interview study. Journal of Management & Organization. 13: 264-281. Retrieved February 2, 2008 from Grand Valley State University database.

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety (2005). Bullying in the Workplace. Retrieved April 24, 2008 from http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/bullying.html

Connolly, M. Harassment, Bullying and Stress: The Legal Issues. Accountancy Ireland; DEC 2006; 38; 6. Retrieved April 19, 2008 from Grand Valley State University database, ABI / INFORM Global pg. 38

Gage, C.A. (2008). [Original college research paper.]

Gage, C.A. (2008). Workplace Bullying: Hidden in Plain Sight - Research and Citations [original AC article published in one part].

Leonard, B. Study: Bully Bosses Prevalent in U.S. HR Magazine. Alexandria: May 2007. Vol. 52, Iss. 5; pg. 22, 2 pgs.

Scott, S. (2007). You *#%&! Maclean's; 9/3/2007, Vol. 120, Issue 34, p.40-43, 4p, 4c. Retrieved April 20, 2008 from EBSCOhost, Grand Valley State University database.