What goes around will come around eventually...

Anonymous said:

I believe that these psychopaths do not so much create clones as end up with only those who admire them or can stomach working for them.

I was a manager in a department where somehow, though a lot of movement in the organisation, we ended up with a number of senior managers who all knew each other from way back when and who all had the same nasty temperament.

I kept a low profile and they must have thought I was going along fine because I was called into my managers' office one day and told that he had two jobs for me. The first was to increase the workload on part time working women to get them to either quit or accept a permanent full-time position, the second was to regularly change the schedule of a specific worker with mental illness and then to document "evidence of his incompetence" so that he could be dismissed by these managers who felt uncomfortable working with him. They knew that this man did not deal well with changes to his routine and that this could possibly lead to him having another breakdown, but they did not care. He was a good, quiet worker, who did his job well and I had no problems with him.

When I made it clear to them that I would resist any attempts by them to unlawfully dismiss this person I became an outcast myself and was mercilessly bullied. I simply refused to quit or move on (sheer bloody stubbornness at their cheek to try and ruin my career) until I came back from annual leave one day to find I'd been moved to a new department during my absence under the guise of it being a "development opportunity". I'd mentioned once, somewhere in an appraisal, that I would like to spend some time in that department and this was used as a reason for moving me from my role into a secondment in a junior role. My salary was the same and although I resented it I decided to take advantage of the opportunity offered and excelled in my new role, was offered a permanent position in the new department and now, 4 years later, I am doing very well thank you, while that lot have all left for one reason or another.

If your organisation is not totally rotten what goes around will come around eventually.

Columbia University awarded Divestors of People Standard

Columbia University awarded Divestors of People Standard.
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Academic bullying, or “mobbing,” is common at Columbia University — especially in the “pink collar” departments (e.g. social work, education). It’s impossible to fight because it’s completely a part of the culture here. The sad thing is that we lose the best doctoral students as a result because they see this nonsense for what it is. If they fight it, we get rid of them. Or, if they’re tired, they just leave.

It’s a crime of epic proportions and very few people are talking about it.

— Columbia Prof Jun 26, 11:55 AM
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Academic bullying, or “mobbing,” is common at Columbia University — especially in the “pink collar” departments (e.g. social work, education). It’s impossible to fight because it’s completely a part of the culture here.

This is a very perceptive observation (about the “pink collar” departments as places prone to a bullying culture). At Columbia the Madonna Constantine case is surely a classic example. This can spread to other parts of a campus via divisions of Student Affairs, which have their cultural origin in programs like social work and education. One only has to look at the controlling culture of Student Affairs programs (speech codes, behavior codes, thought control, emotional manipulation) to see that this has less to do with politics per se and everything to do with psychological bullying.

— Student Affairs Observer Jun 28, 10:58 PM
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At Columbia, a colleague reported the social work school to the Fed for grant fraud. She had four boxes of evidence.

Meanwhile, the wife of one of the adjuncts (who had some lowly clerical/clinical position) befriended this colleague. This “wife” reported everything she was told to the deans.

Long story short, this wife now has a faculty position and our colleague was raked over the coals (e.g. she had a sick family member and the school threatened her with eviction from Columbia housing).

Higher ed is one nasty business.

— Another Columbia Prof Jul 2, 11:25 AM

Bullying at Cambridge University

The University of Cambridge does have a written policy against bullying, but this policy is not implemented in practice. There is a widespread problem of bullying at Cambridge University that is hidden from public view. Any attempt to bring this issue into public awareness is met with stone-walling/silence.

A Cambridge PhD student

Hallelujah, hallelujah... hallelujah!!!

Lecturers at North East Wales Institute to ballot on strike action after management fails to act on bullying

26 June 2008

Lecturers at North East Wales Institute of Higher Education (NEWI) yesterday (25 June) agreed to ballot on possible strike action after the Institute's failure to tackle the bullying of staff. Members of the UCU branch in NEWI voted unanimously to ballot branch members on strike action and action short of a strike in connection with the Institute's failure to agree a resolution to a collective grievance over complaints about bullying.

The branch also unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in the professionalism of the Institute's Human Resource managers.

Eight complaints have been made in the past few months about bullying within a particular School at the Institute, but the Institute's authorities have failed to take action.

UCU lodged a collective grievance in January that was rejected by NEWI managers. UCU presented the findings of a health and safety survey in March that showed urgent action was needed in one School, where 5 out of 13 academics had been bullied.

Over the past five months, the union has repeatedly asked for an independent investigation into the allegations and has written to the Head of Human Resources, the chair of the Academic Common Interest Group, the Principal and the Chair of the Board of Governors.

UCU's head of employment rights, Roger Kline, is writing to the Institute to remind employers of their duty of care to staff including a duty to prevent bullying and harassment.

If UCU members vote for industrial action, it is likely to take place in September.

Wales UCU regional official Margaret Phelan said:

'Bullying is a major concern amongst staff in colleges and universities, and a cause of stress and illness. It is all too common and UCU is taking bullying very seriously, wherever it happens.'

Trevor Phillips
press@ucu.org.uk|
Tel:020 7520 1032
Mobile: 07773 796 882
Fax:020 7278 9383
----------------
Well, you are a bit late UCU, but you are more than welcome. Now move on and deal with workplace bullying not just in the above HEI, but in all the others too. You will find that the above is not an isolated case.

Comments contributed to blog: The Chronicle of Higher Education

Faculty and staff who are bullied need to confront the bully and file the appropriate charges and grievances. I know of such bullies. Their tenure is seldom broken but they are often compelled to report directly to the dean’s office and their departmental relationships (as necessary) are suspended. Relocation to other buildings is a useful strategy. Stand up. Bullies are generally cowards who have not been confronted successfully. There is no reason to tolerate their behavior.

— BeenThereDoneThat Jun 25, 02:58 PM #

Yeah, sure. I confronted the male bullies at my employment (Kentucky small community college), and my contract wasn’t renewed, and the dean broke into my office, and I was put on Administrative Leave, and blacklisted (I’m still unemployed after three years) – no, people need to just leave the bullies alone. They’ll destroy your life. The school administration and courts don’t give a crap about defending the rights of women in the workplace. It’s all about the insurance lawyers destroying your career to protect the institution.

— Muap Conners Jun 25, 07:22 PM

The dean broke into your office? (Must have been a slow day when s/he had a lot of time to kill.) You’re blacklisted (where—throughout the cosmos?) The school administration and courts don’t give a crap about defending the rights of women in the workplace? Not where I live.

— BeenThereDoneThat Jun 25, 08:19 PM

C’mon don’t attack someone’s experience just because you are lucky to have never experienced bullying. Conners isn’t blacklisted everywhere, but not everyone can pack their bags and leave town.

— jenny Jun 26, 07:37 AM #

I confronted a bully who was made Chair after our beloved Chair passed away. This was a faculty member with scores to settle. And she used the position to do just that. Teachers were given early morning or late evening classes (her adjunct friends secured the day classes), we were spied on and reported to the Dean (her partner in crime) for letting classes out 5 minutes early, our reviews were mean spirited & ultimately, because I had enough, I filed a grievance, only to lose my position. It was such a great department until the bully arrived!

— Barb Jun 26, 08:49 AM

Workplace bullying takes many forms and exists at all levels in every type of organization. At my university, one senior administrator consistently diminishes the contributions of her targets, whispering into the ears of administrators and regents about the incompetence of this or that person, excluding her targets from key meetings or withholding important information, etc. This is tolerated, and we are advised by HR that grievances will only make matters worse. When there is truly no recourse except to leave, there’s something very wrong with the organization that will ultimately bring grief to the university. I agree about confronting bullies, though, if for no other reason than the satisfaction brought by letting someone know that you’re onto them.

— UnderHerThumb Jun 26, 09:30 AM

Confronted by a senior female colleague known for her rash, often verbally abusive treatment of junior faculty, I went first to my chair. He laughed at my concerns, even though the woman was taking every opportunity, including faculty meetings, to humiliate me. Examples? She complained that my record of faculty meetings were too detailed and that I was always talking about African history (my field—well, duh). I received no help from the chair, nor did he ever take steps to at least check her mean spiritedness. As chair of the Department PRC, she saw to it that any request I made to be on a committee was denied and criticized to my face and behind my back any outreach efforts I headed up. I received more support from other departments and programs across the University than I did in my own department. I finally committeed myself to two years of talk therapy with a psychologist experienced in the academic workplace in order to try to turn around a situation that was increasingly threatening my career and always undermining my work. The upshot? She became chair inspite of serious objections on the part of other department members, put her best friend in place as chair of the PRC the year I came up for tenure and saw to it that my tenure bid was denied. My teaching evaluations were stellar, my service—inspite of her constant undermining—strong and my book was in press with a major publisher in my field. What was the problem? PRC Chair/thug called my editor and reported that the book was in press, but not yet actually published—and that was not enough for my department. My union would do nothing to help me. The university did not allow faculty to go up for tenure a second time, even when the book was out. The result of bullying? She ruined my career.

— Mary Bivins Jun 26, 10:37 AM

There is no universal rule — sometimes fighting back is the right choice, sometimes avoiding it or even fleeing is better. You have to decide in each case individually. But one thing is for sure — always fleeing is bad for the society, always fighting back is bad for yourself.

— Mark de Goz Jun 26, 11:42 AM

There’s a bully in our department that constantly pitches temper tantrums and is rude and obnoxious to everyone who works in our group — except the boss. We all walk on eggshells around this person, and it does affect morale and productivity because we dread having to deal with this person on a daily basis. In this case, fighting back is out of the question. You either learn to deal with it or move on.

— Callie Jun 26, 11:53 AM

Academic bullying, or “mobbing,” is common at Columbia University — especially in the “pink collar” departments (e.g. social work, education). It’s impossible to fight because it’s completely a part of the culture here. The sad thing is that we lose the best doctoral students as a result because they see this nonsense for what it is. If they fight it, we get rid of them. Or, if they’re tired, they just leave.

It’s a crime of epic proportions and very few people are talking about it.

— Columbia Prof Jun 26, 11:55 AM

As someone who was a subject of a previous Chronicle of Higher Ed article that was related to bullying in the workplace, I know something about it. But the article understates the true costs. Bullies only try to hire, and they only tolerate, their own kind. When the unfit are hired and retained, there are direct costs with the damages they do and the costs of removing them, but there are also lost opportunity costs in terms of all the good that could have been done not being done because the non-bullies and competent were not hired.

As Plato put it: “Those who seek power are invariably the least fit to hold and wield it.” Indeed it seems that personality disorders such as narcisism, megalomania, bullying and others are requisite for management positions in academia, business, government and even non-profits.

— James Craven Jun 26, 11:58 AM

I experienced bullying from a collegue in the form of him screaming profanities at me in the hallway, with several other collegues and the chair there. The most unforunate part, is that this bully has “the ear of the chair,” so much so, that my evaluation was negatively impacted, and full of language almost identical to the bully’s. I agree that there may not be much a person can do to change the culture of a department, but a person can take steps to protect him/herself both personally and professionally. For me, I confronted the bully calmly and professionally, and was able to walk away feeling like the bigger person. I dealt with the chair by documenting everything and addressing what I felt was unjustified or unfair in writing. Knowing that the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better, keeps me focused on producing what I need to produce to get the next job, so that I’m not powerless to leave an unpleasant situation.

— ForwardFocus Jun 26, 12:06 PM

Okay, I never blog but had to. I was a postdoc at a R1 research institute and saw and was the victim of bullying first hand. And you feel completely helpless. Since it was a post-doc at the bully’s own research institute my only choice seemed to be to leave (no other faculty members to work with there) which was not an option. I was humiliated, yelled at (publicly and privately), things picked up off my desk and thrown back, told i was a disaster repeatedly, almost prevented from using the bathroom on one occasion (i am not kidding or exaggerating), and was questioned about my eating habits (seriously.). Yes, the person was off her rocker. At first, friends and colleagues would encourage me to speak up or suggest that maybe she was being tough on me in order to help me improve my work. But everyone soon realized that this wasn’t a mentor who is light on the praise, but a crazy person with a little bit of power. Since she was out of her mind and as the head of a research center where there was no one witnessing what was going on except postdocs and graduate students in similar situations. I almost had to be medicated by the end of it. I have had a person or two say – well, aren’t you proud of your self for sticking it out? The fact that I had to stay because I would have been homeless otherwise and allowed someone to treat in a way that I would not have allowed in any other area of my life was not an accomplishment. And like any good serial abuser, after a bad episode – I was was told how smart and pretty I was and promised trips to conferences literally all over the world. Sick. I actually get chills thinking about it. Worst year and a half of my life. Have even taken it off my c.v.

— post-abilify Jun 26, 12:27 PM

A recent publication in the Academy of Management Journal (2007) addresses this topic directly. The researchers find that in the long-term, directly confronting abusive supervisors buffers the effect of exposure on depression and anxiety. The use of avoidance strategies has the opposite effect. The authors acknowledge that confrontation may produce unfavorable outcomes such as termination and escalation of hostility (on the part of the perpetrator), but that for the long-term sake of the victim’s mental health, confrontation may be appropriate.

— William Jun 26, 01:29 PM

Remarkable how the on-line bullies emerge to ridicule individual’s experiences. Sad we have to share air with them, so ignore them. Bullies can literally destroy a Department, I have seen it happen.

— Jon Jun 26, 01:47 PM

Academic bullying is yet another example of what happens when you combine massive egos with puny salaries. I’d be bitter and want to take it out on subordinates too.

— gollum Jun 26, 03:07 PM

Eventually the bully or bully club does something totally outrageous and enough people are incensed. That is the precise time to rally the troops who have been abused and others who are horrified at the abuse, ban together and stick it to the bully at every corner – faculty meetings, elections, dean’s reports, private meetings, etc. Propose some good-hearted committee, or one that wants to collaborate or cooperate and you will see that the bullies do not want to play anymore. Creating enough situations where they are on display for their lack of cooperation and their outrageous behavior is public to others with good nature and balance and eventually their power dissipates. They will retreat to their caves, licking their wounds.

Do not be deceived, however, they are only plotting their return. They are quietly trying to get to new faculty members and others who express a negative POV at a meeting. They wil try to become their best friends. They will prey on those with low self-esteem or those who are prone to flattery. Therefore, the “new majority” of cooperative people must be steadfast in welcoming the new faculty member, mentoring the junior professor and quickly coming to the side of one who expresses something negative so that they can express their reservations to those who will hear them, but not suck them into an even larger whirlwind of negativity.

— DrFunZ Jun 26, 03:26 PM

Academic bullying must never be tolerated in higher education.

William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
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From: http://chronicle.com/jobs/blogs/onhiring/603/academic-bullies

From the Playground to the Boardroom: Workplace Bullies

Apprehensive about going to work? Filled with anxiety once you're there? You may simply be stressed out from your workload. Or these signs could be indicative of something far more insidious. Bullying in the workplace is a lot more common than many people realize.

In what's considered the largest scientific study conducted in the United States on the topic, 37 percent of American workers said they have experienced workplace bullying. That's nearly 54 million people who have been bullied on the job. Yet bullying in the workplace is a global epidemic, albeit a "silent" one. Unlike the playground bully who often resorts to physical threats, the work bully's tactics are often subtle.

Workplace bullying is generally defined as "repeated, malicious, health-endangering mistreatment" of one or more employees or employers directed towards another employee or employees, which is intended to intimidate and create a risk to the health and safety of the employee. It can take the form of verbal abuse; offensive conduct/behavior that is threatening, humiliating or intimidating; and/or work interference — sabotage — which prevents work from getting done.

In March, University of Manitoba researchers reported that the emotional toll of workplace bullying is more severe than that of sexual harassment.

Many such situations involve employees bullying their peers, rather than a supervisor bullying an employee. However, very often this type of harassment stems from an abuse or misuse of power. According to the massive survey mentioned above, from the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) and research firm Zogby Interactive, the stereotype is real: most bullies are bosses. While 55 percent of those bullied are rank-and-file workers, 72 percent of bullies are bosses.

In today's corporate culture, supervisors may condone bullying as part of a tough management style. To help determine if you are a target of workplace bullying, Dr. Gary Namie, cofounder of the WBI and author of the book Bully at Work, offers the following telltale signs:

• Agenda-less meetings where you're humiliated;

• Unwarranted or invalid criticism;

• False accusations of incompetence (blame without factual justification);

• Never being left alone to do your job;

• Exclusion or social isolation;

• Excessive monitoring;

• People feeling justified screaming or yelling at you in front of others, but you're punished if you scream back; and

• Everything done to you is arbitrary and capricious, based on a personal agenda that undermines the employer's legitimate business interests.

Forty-five percent of bully targets suffer stress-related health problems, psychological-emotional injuries and other financial effects, according to last fall's WBI-Zogby survey and other research.

Problems can include cardiovascular problems (hypertension to strokes and heart attacks), immunological impairment (more frequent infections of greater severity), fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, panic attacks, clinical depression and even post-traumatic stress disorder. Victims of bullying can also experience reduced self-esteem and increased self-blame, musculoskeletal problems, sleep disturbances, digestive problems and, due to absence, financial problems. (Source: Washington State, Department of Labor and Industries)

At the same time, companies should be concerned about bullying, "if for no other reason than its potential to damage the bottom line," notes Monster.com.

Bullying can lead to such heavy tangible costs as those brought by downtime and workers' comp awards, as well as turnover (Who wants to work in a toxic and hostile workplace?) and resultant new-recruitment time and fees.

Yet there are also those intangible costs: tainted reputation, staff resistance and even sabotage by fearful employees who know no alternatives when management fails to punish or purge the bully.

What can companies do to prevent this kind of abuse in the workplace? "As with any form of harassment, management's vigilance is key," with the employer close enough to day-to-day operations that such harassment is recognizable, says Monster.com. Yet even this will not necessarily end abuse.

Several states in the U.S. have introduced anti-bullying bills and similar measures — so far without any real success. In fact, America lags far behind the rest of the Western industrialized countries both in acknowledging bullying at work and in legislative measures that address it on a societal level. Currently, there is no anti-bullying law in any U.S. state.

Business groups often argue that existing laws are adequate to protect workers. But bullying generally transcends sex, age or race, which have protected status in the courts. Instead, many hostilities in the workplace occur simply because one person doesn't like another.

Fortunately, increasingly more employees and employers are acknowledging this epidemic and trying to understand and fight it. As recent as May 2008, a paper titled "Nightmares, Demons and Slaves: Exploring the Painful Metaphors of Workplace Bullying" was the most downloaded article for the journal Management Communication Quarterly.

From: ThomasNet Industrial News Room
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Nightmares, Demons, and Slaves - Exploring the Painful Metaphors of Workplace Bullying

By Sarah J. Tracy, Arizona State University, Tempe, Sarah.Tracy@asu.edu,
Pamela Lutgen-Sandvik, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque,
Jess K. Alberts, Arizona State University, Tempe

Although considerable research has linked workplace bullying with psychosocial and physical costs, the stories and conceptualizations of mistreatment by those targeted are largely untold. This study uses metaphor analysis to articulate and explore the emotional pain of workplace bullying and, in doing so, helps to translate its devastation and encourage change. Based on qualitative data gathered from focus groups, narrative interviews, and target drawings, the analysis describes how bullying can feel like a battle, water torture, nightmare, or noxious substance. Abused workers frame bullies as narcissistic dictators, two-faced actors, and devil figures. Employees targeted with workplace bullying liken themselves to vulnerable children, slaves, prisoners, animals, and heartbroken lovers. These metaphors highlight and delimit possibilities for agency and action. Furthermore, they may serve as diagnostic cues, providing shorthand necessary for early intervention.

Evaluate department chairs

How about if we legislate the systemic evaluation of bosses by employees? In other words, for a department chair to get a raise or even to stay in that post, annual evaluations done by each employee will have to demonstrate that the boss has:

--been fair to all employees
--made reasonable demands, clearly and consistently articulated
--acted respectfully towards faculty and staff
--accomplished workplace goals in ways that does not compromise employee health and safety
--acted with integrity and honesty
---etc.

If every employee had to evaluate (anonymously of course) each chair and dean in order for them to stay in the post or get a raise, we might get a very different kind of behavior from the bosses!

Anonymous
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What a great idea. One of the problems is that most academic staff are likely to conclude that their department heads are incompetent, ignorant and got there through nepotism... Do managers really want this to become obvious and public?

Bullies from Kingston University tried to bully an External Examiner

An external examiner who judged that a university course had not reached the necessary standard was later contacted and persuaded to change her mind.

An internal e-mail, forwarded by readers of the BBC News website, shows efforts at Kingston University to avoid "bad publicity". "We must avoid externals with these attitudes in future," says an e-mail. The university says there was no pressure applied to the external examiner.

The external examiner told the BBC that "the kind of pressure that was applied was that it would have dire consequences for the music school if I didn't change the report".

'Devalue'

The e-mails surrounding a report into Kingston University's music degree were forwarded in the wake of academic whistleblowers claiming that degree standards were being lowered.

The external examiner system, which brings in academics from other universities to provide an independent perspective, is under scrutiny from the higher education watchdog. A report from the Quality Assurance Agency warns that there can be "gaps between institutional ambitions... and the practices of staff in departments".

E-mails submitted to the BBC raise questions about the selection of external examiners and what happens to unflattering reports. An external examiner's report on a music degree course at Kingston University in 2004 identified weaknesses.

The report observed that students "producing not just barely acceptable but sometimes unacceptable work are attaining passes at Honours level". The examiner warned that some work had been "overmarked" and that "it is surely important not to over-reward this work and thereby devalue the Degree".

'Damning'

On a crucial "yes" or "no" question about whether the standards were comparable with similar programmes in other UK institutions, the examiner answered "no".

An e-mail to department staff highlights the response: "Can we ask her to amend that so it is less damning... We must avoid externals with these attitudes in future - we cannot afford this type of bad publicity."

A member of the university staff then contacted the external examiner - and following this conversation, the examiner changed their view.

At issue was whether standards should be judged against other similar types of university - such as new universities trying to recruit a wider range of students? Or should there be an absolute level of standards, taking a benchmark from older universities with a more academic student intake?

On the basis of comparing the course to similar types of universities, it was decided that standards were also similar, which allowed a positive answer. Subsequent e-mails, accepted as authentic by the university, then set out a process of finding a replacement external examiner.

'Constructive feedback'

These indicate the type of examiner that was needed. "I think that it is important that the Examiner is sympathetic to and familiar with the challenges we face... and would be constructive in their feedback."

The rules on external examiners have not been broken in any way in this process - and Kingston University says that it is entirely appropriate to look for external examiners who will have "a good understanding of the teaching environment and associated issues such as widening participation".

But it raises some substantial questions about how such self-regulating systems operate in a competitive, globalised higher education system. When universities are selling courses and depend on a good reputation, should they still be allowed to choose their own external examiners?

If universities want to be judged against similar peers rather than the upper reaches of higher education, does that mean there should be a public recognition that degrees represent such different ability levels?

When students are paying fees for courses, should the reports of external examiners be published and made available to the public?

Peter Williams, chief executive of the QAA, says that the role of external examiners should not be mistaken for an "inspectorate". Their reports can help universities to improve - and he says that it was decided against making full reports public because that would make it less likely that examiners would be "candid".

But the QAA repeats the central role of external examiners as a "key feature of the UK's approach to maintaining the academic standards of higher education awards".

e-petition: legislate against workplace bullying

Workplace bullying is common. However anyone bullied in their workplace has no remit in law, therefore they are powerless to complain and have no legal rights. We have legislation to cover discrimination for religious, sexual or cultural reasons but not for bullying. The effects of bullying are far reaching and debilitating, bullying costs this country hundreds of working hours in sickness each year, not to mention the effect on individuals and families. The government needs to make workplace bullying an illegal activity which can be punished in law in much the same way as racism or sexism is.

Sign the petition.
-----------------------------
And something to think about: Dangers of Taking Legal Action Against Assholes

The New York Post ran a story earlier in the week called Despot Measures: Should Workplace Bullying Be Outlawed?. I found it to be an interesting and balanced story, as it described how a number of states -– including New York and New Jersey -- are currently considering anti-bullying legislation. Essentially, the idea of these bills is to punish employers that allow “equal opportunity assholes” to get away with doing their dirty work, thus going beyond current laws against race and gender-based workplace abuse. To quote the Post article by Brian Moore:

Professor David Yamada of Suffolk University Law School has studied workplace bullying for years. In response to the problem, he’s written legislation that’s serving as a model for most antibullying bills across the country, including New York and New Jersey.

Essentially the laws would lower the bar for those who want to bring suit against a tormentor. While one can sue now, such bids hardly ever win - these laws would improve plaintiffs’ odds by creating a set of criteria for what’s actionable. Under Yamada’s template, that would include “repeated infliction of verbal abuse such as the use of derogatory remarks, insults and epithets; verbal or physical conduct that a reasonable person would find threatening, intimidating, or humiliating; or the gratuitous sabotage or undermining of a person’s work performance.”

Yamada says the law has sufficient hurdles to prevent silly, vengeful lawsuits. The target must demonstrate “malice” on the part of the bully, for example, and “there has to be a tangible showing of physical or psychological damages.”

I confess that I've been ambivalent about such legislation. On the one hand, I do think that equal opportunity assholes and the employers that lack the courage to stop them do deserve to be punished. I also recognize that the threat of litigation may encourage companies to take a more aggressive stand against asshole behavior. On the other hand, I worry about the legalization of everything and that those with biggest incentive for such legislation to pass are employment lawyers. After all, anti-bullying legislation means more work for lawyers who defend both assholes and their victims. I am still trying to develop a firmer opinion on this matter, and invite advice and arguments, but for the moment, I think that the threat of the legislation is a good thing because it raises awareness about the problem and might help some of the worst assholes and their firms to reform –- but I am not sure I actually want any of this legislation to pass.

There is, however, another angle to legal action that I have more well-developed opinions about. In the article, I am quoted as saying, if you are in an abusive workplace, the best thing you can do is “Get out as quickly as possible.” I realize that this isn’t always possible, and indeed, that is why I assembled a list of tips for victims of assholes – which include the suggestion to people who can’t or won’t escape that they ought to carefully document abuse, as that will help make case to HR, or if that fails, for legal action. BUT I think it is important to explain why I am so vehement in my opinion that, if you are in an asshole filled workplace, getting out is the best solution. These opinions were clarified for me after having an enlightened dinner with two world-class attorneys after my speech last Monday at the Commonwealth Club. My three main arguments against staying around, taking sustained abuse, documenting the case, and fighting back – especially through legal action are as follows:

1. First and foremost, as the two attorneys emphasized, to win a case against an employer, an employee needs to demonstrate that he or she has suffered damages. This means that THE MORE DAMAGE THAT YOU SUFFER, THE MORE MONEY YOU ARE LIKELY TO BE AWARDED. This means that the worse the abuse you take, and the longer you take it and the more harm you suffer, the more money you have a shot at winning. Indeed, recall Professor Yamada’s point:

The target must demonstrate “malice” on the part of the bully, for example, and “there has to be a tangible showing of physical or psychological damages.”

So, the more you lose – - the deeper your depression, your anxiety, and your financial losses, and the more physical ailments you suffer –- the better your case. The implication for me is WHY NOT GET OUT BEFORE YOU SUFFER TANGIBLE DAMAGES IN THE FIRST PLACE? Or at least why not get out with as little damage as possible, and get one with your life?

2. Remember, psychological abuse isn’t just something that “good people” heap on “bad people.” As I show in The No Asshole Rule, research on emotional contagion, and on abusive supervision in particular, finds that if you work with or around a bunch of nasty and demeaning people, odds are you will become one of them. This not only has ethical implications, it means – ironically – that you might just find yourself in the odd position of suing others – and being sued yourself – to recover the costs of workplace abuse.

3. Finally, as those lawyers reminded me, the litigation process means re-living the damage that you have suffered over and over again. You will have to tell your story over and over again, and rather than getting past the incident, your “financial incentive” is not only to emphasize all the damage you have suffered in the past, but to continually uncover evidence of the damage that you continue to suffer. In addition, if you have never been through deposition or trial with opposing legal counsel, remember, it is their job to discredit your testimony – so you not only have to relive past distress, painful new ones will be heaped on you during the litigation process. Again, even if you win your case against the assholes, you are likely to suffer a lot of damage in the process. This drain on your time and energy as well as the stigmatizing impact of being a plaintiff against a former employer may also have an adverse impact on your prospects for future employment and promotion.

In closing, I want to emphasize that I encourage and applaud people who fight back against workplace assholes in any way that they can, including through legal means. I encourage people who have already suffered damages to fight back. And I am also painfully aware that many people are trapped with assholes with no immediate prospect of escape, and that taking legal action of some kind may be the only option left in some cases. At the same time, I believe that people who choose to take legal actions against their employers should understand the risks they face… and that is why I continue to believe that, if you work with a bunch of assholes, the best thing to do FOR YOURSELF is to get out as fast as you can.

P.S. One of the lawyers did point out an interesting benefit of bullying legislation for victims. She noted that legislation that makes it easier to state a claim against an employer for an abusive work place may encourage employers to settle such cases much earlier. This means that a benefit of the legislation may be that abused employees will have greater leverage to pursue a settlement before filing litigation, and that settlement, in turn, might give victims the financial cushion they need to recover and find another job. But I still have mixed feelings about whether I want such legislation to become law.

By Robert I. Sutton
Professor - Management Science and Engineering - Stanford

About Individuals Targeted by Bullies

Respondents' Gender: Women: 80% Men: 20%

Age: average (the mean): 43

Education: 84% college educated

Work experience: mean = 21.4 years in the workplace, mean = 6.7 years for employer where bullying occurred.

Type of employer: 36% corporate; 31% government; 12% nonprofit orgs; 11% small business

What it could mean: Targets are predominantly 40-ish, educated and veteran employees, specifically people who have experience with the employer before the bullying interfered with their careers.

Duration of the bullying: mean = 23 months (men targets endured an average of 25.6 months and men bullies sustained 25.3 months of aggression)

What it could mean: Targets cannot be called thin-skinned. They stay for a long time working under conditions rational people would consider intolerable.

Gender of targets and who does the bullying. Most of the bullying is same-sex harassment (thus eligibility for claims of discrimination is elusive in most cases). Women targets are bullied 63% of the time by women bullies; men targets are bullied by men in 62% of cases.

How does the bullying end? The majority of WBI survey respondents (61%) reported that bullying was current and ongoing.

The survey respondents for whom the bullying has ended reported what made it stop:

• 37% of the Targets were fired or involuntarily terminated
• 33% of Targets quit (typically taking some form of constructive discharge)
• 17% of Targets transfer to another position with the same employer

What it could mean: Once targeted, bullied individuals face a 70% chance of losing their jobs.

• 4% of Bullies stopped bullying after punishment or sanctions
• 9% of Bullies were transferred or terminated

What it could mean: Bullying is done with impunity. Perpetrators face a low risk of being held accountable. Targeted individuals pay by losing their once-cherished positions.

From: Workplace Bullying Institute