Fear creates resistance to workplace bully laws

from Tina VanderWal, The Olympian

For those who have suffered at the hands of a workplace bully, I’m sure you are wondering why is it taking so long to pass a simple law against bullying.

Action specifically against bullying did not really surface until the 1990s. European countries led the fight, with activists like Andrea Adams from Great Britain coining the phrase “workplace bully” to describe the employer (or employees) who harassed employees in the workplace. The first national laws against workplace bullying include:
• Sweden: Victimization at Work, effective March 31, 1994
• Great Britain: Protection from Harassment Act 1997
• France: Law for “Social Modernization” January, 2002.

In the United States, states are passing anti-bullying laws.

The first was California in 2003, second was Oklahoma in 2004 and 2007; third was Hawaii in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 and our state was fourth in 2005 and now in 2007-08.
Thirteen states have tried to pass legislation on workplace bullying and three states are actively seeking passage of bills this year, Washington, New York, and New Jersey.

Why is it so difficult to pass a bill against workplace bullying? One reason is the fear of what it will cost employers. However, the cost of allowing workplace bullying to continue is far more expensive. The illness and absenteeism of bullied employees adds serious costs for an employer.

Add to this the effect that workplace bullying has on morale of both the victim and their co-workers and the resulting loss of productivity in their work unit. And most expensive to the employer is the loss of talent as good employees leave the abusive environment — 77 percent will leave.

Problem employees
Another reason that thwarts the passage of a workplace bullying bill is the fear that problem employees will try to use the bill for their benefit. However, the Workplace Bullying Institute has stated that the employees that are bullied are “ethical, intelligent and independent employees.” Problem employees, on the other hand, will usually have a history of performance problems with more than one supervisor.

A third reason why it is difficult to pass this legislation is that bullying still is a prevalent style of managing employees — management by fear. Some managers believe that this is the only way that they can get productivity. In some divisions of agencies or companies, it has become part of their culture.

The fourth reason why legislation against bullying is so difficult is that lawmakers aren’t sure how to handle it. South Australia might have found a key to passage — tie it to the unhealthy work environment that bullying creates. In 2005, lawmakers there passed the South Australia: Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Amendment Act.

The quote below from Andrea Adams, British pioneer of workplace bullying, probably sums up best why workplace bullying needs to be stopped. “It is amazing to me that any organization is prepared to condone an atmosphere of infectious fear simply through its inaction. Demeaning and devaluing men and women when they go to work is hardly an effective way of managing human beings, especially if they no longer enjoy doing their jobs. We all know that if we enjoy doing our jobs we tend to work well.”