This paper examines workplace bullying as a pervasive problem affecting adult employees across organizational settings. It distinguishes between subtle forms of bullying—such as clique formation and passive aggression—and overt misconduct like sexual harassment and physical threats. The author analyzes the shared responsibilities of both employers and employees: employers must establish clear cultural standards, implement fair hiring practices, and respond decisively to reported incidents, while employees must report misconduct and resist contributing to hostile environments. The paper argues against zero-tolerance policies for minor infractions while advocating immediate termination for violence and credible threats. Ultimately, addressing workplace bullying requires balanced accountability, thorough investigation, and a commitment to maintaining a respectful organizational culture.
Many people prefer to think that bullying is something specific and endemic only to the young. However, bullying takes on many forms and absolutely happens with adults, not just children and teenagers. Forms of adult abuse and bullying can include domestic abuse, bullying of friends and acquaintances through threats, and workplace bullying. The cliquish, threatening, and otherwise puerile behavior typically associated with teenagers often occurs with adults in workplace settings as well. While people in a workplace should conduct themselves as adults, many simply refuse to act their age, often in an insidious manner. This paper examines workplace bullying through research and analysis, providing examples and recommendations for how employers and employees can identify and eliminate this behavior from their organizations.
Workplace bullying can be subtle or overt. It can be limited to a glance or passive aggressive behavior, or it can be as overt as sexual harassment or physical threats. Sexual harassment and physical violence are more egregious, easier to spot and address, and there is little debate that such conduct has no place in the workplace. However, the same must be said about people who act in an immature, insidious, or incendiary way. Much of the problem stems from how employees form social groups and circles rather than working with all coworkers as a collective.
There are valid reasons that people may not want to associate with certain others, but there is sometimes a fine line between reasonable preference and unfair or even bigoted behavior. An extreme example involves workers from different parts of a metropolitan city where those areas are divided—either in perception or verifiable fact—along social, racial, or economic lines. If an office is located in Midtown and employees congregate based on what part of town they are from, that is concerning. For instance, if people from Harlem form one group and people from Manhattan form another, that is a red flag. While these groups may feel comfortable with others like them in their personal and professional lives, this logic can be taken too far.
To illustrate this concern more clearly, suppose the Manhattan group is mostly white while the Harlem group is mostly Black. While bigotry and bullying are not technically the same thing, they can certainly intersect and could occur in such a scenario. Conversely, if 20- and 30-somethings congregate separately from 40- and 50-somethings, this is more acceptable. People of different ages tend to have different interests and mindsets, and there is nothing wrong with that. It would be common for younger employees to go to a bar to vent or discuss work, while older employees might prefer to go home and spend time reading or with family workplace culture shapes these dynamics significantly.
Regardless of how social divisions manifest, employees have a right to work in an environment free of intimidation, rampant rumor mills (especially contrived or defamatory ones), unwanted touching (sexual or otherwise), and insults. For example, if two people compete for a promotion and only one receives it, the rejected candidate will naturally be disappointed. However, if that person reacts by insulting or demeaning the selected candidate—to their face or otherwise—that behavior must be stopped immediately. If it is not, the employee should be suspended or fired. Similarly, if the rejected employee suggests the selected candidate is "sleeping their way to the top" or only got the job because they are friends with the manager, that behavior also must be shut down. Employees will be competitive, and this is not inherently problematic. However, employees who respond to setbacks with bullying must either correct their behavior or leave the company.
The key to limiting or eliminating workplace bullying lies in workplace culture and organizational mindset. Many dismiss workplace culture as a buzzword, but this is incorrect. A firm's job and priorities must be clearly defined in ways that are neither malleable nor mistakable. Once established, employees must conform to that culture, or they should not be hired in the first place. One critical metric, regardless of prevailing culture, is to avoid hiring people who are negative, withdrawn, and not engaged in contributing fully to the organization. Negative people are often those who engage in bullying and other destructive behavior. They should not be hired when identified during screening and should be corrected or dismissed if they slip through the hiring process. These employees should be given a chance to change and redeem themselves, but they must not be allowed to poison the organizational environment or inflict mistreatment on others who have done nothing to deserve it.
Employers have significant interests in controlling bullying through the legal doctrine of vicarious liability. While employers are typically liable for the actions of their agents in cases such as car accidents or negligent work, the same is not generally true for sexual harassment and bullying. Employers can only be held responsible for actions they knew or should have known about. In bullying cases, employees must find their voice and speak up when mistreated by coworkers. That said, employers need to create a framework that encourages employees to come forward about all forms of misconduct. Whether whistle-blowing, bullying, unethical practices, or other issues, employers must make clear that they want to be informed, do not care how they are notified (only that they are alerted), and will absolutely investigate and find the truth wherever it lies.
Employees bear the burden of notifying management when misconduct occurs and employers have a duty to react appropriately. Much bullying happens covertly and may not be fully known to the employer. In cases of sexual harassment and violence, suspending individuals with pay is appropriate protocol when there is no video or other unquestionable evidence. This approach protects both the accused's rights and the accuser's safety while investigation proceeds.
There are several clear takeaways from the analysis above. First, employers are often assigned substantial burden for compliance and correction regarding bad-acting employees. However, employees have their own responsibilities: not being bullies themselves, not permitting bullying by calling it out or reporting it (whether it happens to them or others), and contributing to the company's culture. Companies rise and fall based on the actions of individual employees and executives. Second, employers must set the proper tone, weed out potential hires who will damage culture and performance, improve or remove those not meeting necessary standards, and react fully and quickly when bullying surfaces—but only after all witness statements and evidence are reviewed thoroughly and exhaustively.
"Different offenses warrant proportionate consequences based on severity"
Workplace bullying and related violence have no place in the workplace. Employers must set the tone and eliminate it when it begins. If bullying festers and builds, it will only multiply and create a culture full of toxicity. This drains results and harms those who suffer from it or are exposed to it. A clear message must be sent to perpetrators and to employers who allow it to continue through lack of oversight and failure to conduct proper investigations when made aware of misconduct. However, employees must give employers the opportunity to do the right thing before pursuing litigation. A shared commitment to culture, transparency, and fair investigation creates environments where bullying cannot take root.
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