Over two million Americans are harmed each year through workplace violence. Nearly 500 of these cases end in at least one death. As a business owner or manager, you have the legal and moral obligation to protect your staff. By understanding how to prevent violence and detect the signs of potential incidents, you can ensure the safety and security of everyone in your business family, including yourself.
Myth: Workplace violence occurs only in well-known corporations in big cities.
Reality: The Washington Post reports that small businesses take on a greater risk of violence due to their limited security officers and disaster response training. Violence occurs in many forms including assaults, stalking, threats, shootings, robberies, rapes and murders. [click to continue…]
Have you retaliated against an employee? Most would likely answer “Of course not!” After all, you know it’s illegal and, what’s more, you’re probably a pretty nice person, too. But the fact is that, in the eyes of federal law, supervisors may be engaged in workplace retaliation without even realizing it.
Defining workplace retaliation.
This happens when an employer takes action against an employee because the worker engaged in “protected conduct.” Protected conduct covers a range of activities, from complaining internally about sexual harassment to participating in a hearing or investigation regarding the employer.
Here’s what workplace retaliation looks like:
- The employee engages in a protected conduct, and the employer knows the worker engaged in it.
- As a result, the employer takes negative action against the worker.
Retaliation claims have risen in recent years for a number of reasons including the U.S. Supreme Court’s expansion of workers’ rights regarding retaliation, increased employee awareness, and more robust enforcement from regulatory agencies.
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Bullying or bantering. Can you tell the difference between the two? As a supervisor, you know it can be tricky sometimes to determine what is genuine workplace bullying and what is typical 
colleague bantering. This guide will give you a workplace bullying definition you can use to create a happier, more productive workplace.
What does bullying look like?
The workplace bullying definition can apply to a single bully or a group of people who:
- Play practical jokes repeatedly on the same victim.
- Single out one employee persistently for blame or criticism.
- Exclude a worker regularly from company activities.
- Deliberately and persistently ignore a particular employee’s work or contributions.
- Verbally abuse an employee through regular swearing, shouting, or intimidation.
- Threaten or sabotage an employee’s professional status.
What is not bullying?
- A co-worker who is critical of all colleagues or customers.
- A manager who regularly shouts at or criticizes all employees.
- Harassment based on a person’s gender, religion, ethnicity, or other protected status.
So what’s the difference?
A shouting manager and a cranky co-worker are more likely to be guilty of poor social skills than bullying. The workplace bullying definition is typically related to negative behavior directed at one particular person or group. The behaviors are designed to embarrass or intimidate the victims and are often persistent.
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As a manager, you may already have experience supervising team members who bully others with behavior that is intimidating, humiliating, or just downright mean. But what can you do if the bully who’s dragging down the workplace is a fellow manager? The bully might belittle or embarrass her own charges. Or perhaps the workplace bully berates his own colleagues.
No matter what the situation, one thing is clear: companies can’t afford to ignore the workplace bully, regardless of what his or her title might be. More than one-third of U.S. workers (35%) reported they had been bullied and another 15% had witnessed bullying, according to a 2010 Workplace Bullying Institute/Zogby survey. The consequences of these negative behaviors are steep, and range from creating worker anxiety to increasing employee turnover.
So how can a manager protect the employees and the company from a fellow manager who is a workplace bully?
- Talk to company HR professionals or another relevant third party. No one wants to be a tattletale,
especially if the person you’re complaining about is a supervisory peer. But speaking with a relevant third party, whether it’s the HR manager or the company VP, is the first step in dealing with this type of workplace bully. Remember, it’s not enough to say simply “Bob is being a jerk.” Give the problem the best chance for attention and resolution by providing details about what you observed and why you have concerns about the behavior.
- Discuss your observations with the person in question. Not every company has on-site HR staff or an objective third party. If that’s the case, you might consider approaching the workplace bully in private. Tell the colleague what behaviors you observed and that you’re concerned about the effect it has on morale, productivity, and a healthy work environment. Remind the manager that employees who feel bullied at work could potentially bring costly and time-consuming legal action against an employer.
- Become an anti-bullying advocate. Perhaps bullying awareness hasn’t become a priority in your company yet. One way to create a healthier
workplace is to spearhead an anti-bullying program. From developing anti-bullying polices to implementing bully awareness education, you can be the catalyst for preventing future negative behavior and building a healthy and productive work environment.
A workplace bully is bad enough. When that bully is a manager, however, the toxic effects can and will be multiplied. If you recognize bullying behavior in a fellow supervisor or manager, it’s time to take action to protect the employees and the company.
Dianne Shaddock is the President of Easy Small Business HR, Employee Hiring and Managing Tips and the author of the ebook “How To Supervise: What Your Boss Never Told You Before You Took the Job“, A Step-By-Step Guide For New and Seasoned Managers.
