tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/office-bullying-2383/articlesoffice bullying – The Conversation2023-07-17T19:23:55Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2096252023-07-17T19:23:55Z2023-07-17T19:23:55ZCould you be a victim of micromanagement? Seven tips to take back control<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537023/original/file-20230712-25-88810b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C1920%2C1319&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Micro-management may be motivated by good intentions, but it's often counter-productive.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.wallpaperflare.com/illustration-of-woman-in-business-situation-with-ongoing-conflict-wallpaper-aayyc/download/1920x1080">Wallpaperflare.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Have you ever wondered if you’re being micromanaged by your supervisor? You wouldn’t be alone: in 2021, a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/heidilynnekurter/2021/06/29/is-micromanaging-a-form-of-bullying-here-are-3-things-you-should-know/?sh=7e7c60444467">US survey by Trinity Solutions</a> revealed 79% of employees have experienced micromanagement, with 71% reporting this interfered with their job performance and 85% complaining of its negative impacts on morale.</p>
<p>So, what does micromanagement look like? Let’s take the example of Marc and his manager Kelly. Marc wants to share some updates about a project the team had been working on. When he knocks on her office door, he hears a curt “Come in” and enters. Kelly appears to be busy, typing away at her keyboard. “I’ll be with you in a minute”, she says while simultaneously checking her phone and ticking off items on a notepad. Marc can sense that there isn’t a lot of time, so he makes it brief.</p>
<p>Marc: “Hi Kelly, how are you?”</p>
<p>Kelly: “Fine, hope you’re doing well too. I have five minutes, as I have to finish a report. What do you want to talk about?</p>
<p><em>Kelly’s eyes glance over a towering pile of papers</em></p>
<p>Marc: "Well, I’m concerned about how the team operates on the new project. To be honest with you, I’m under the impression we’re not sure where we’re going and are now headed in the wrong direction. People seem to be all over the place and…</p>
<p><em>Kelly cuts off Marc after the computer makes a notification sound. She then checks her phone.</em></p>
<p>Kelly: "Marc, I suggest that you create a to-do list and prioritise urgent, important tasks, and tackle the items per client… ”</p>
<p><em>Kelly’s suggestions continue for the remaining four minutes of Marc’s time with her</em></p>
<p>The above vignette presents us with three of the features of micromanagement that we have identified as part of our research on leadership. These are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>A lack of dialogue in meetings. Through her prescriptive remarks, Kelly’s communication style did not give Marc the opportunity to share his thoughts.</p></li>
<li><p>A lack of empathy and consideration of emotions. Marc wanted Kelly to hear him out, to acknowledge his perspective, and to show sympathy for the team’s situation, in vain.</p></li>
<li><p>Detailed, step-by-step instructions. Kelly missed out on an opportunity to support her team members’ problem-solving skills, even though Marc has a more intimate understanding of the project and would probably be able to contribute important insights into how to move it forward.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Why is micromanaging problematic?</h2>
<p>Kelly and Marc’s interactions illustrate the underlying error of micromanaging. Although Kelly had good intentions – quickly solving an issue presented to her – the outcome was likely to be counterproductive. This is because it is more effective and motivating for most people to come up with their own solutions rather than being micromanaged.</p>
<p>That said, empowering others is not to be confused with not providing answers in situations when they’re truly required – for example, in the case of interactions with recent recruits or emergencies. Nor does it mean that leaders shouldn’t take action or not show support. Rather, they must strive to create a safe environment where diverse ideas can be aired, and to help their employees without seeking to control them.</p>
<p>While the benefits of empowering others are clear, our research shows that leaders rarely do it automatically. We analysed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5hwEDhKn20">thousands of video interactions</a> and found that leaders are often not aware of what we labelled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW_PN3BDa0A">“motivational micromanaging”</a> – showing enthusiasm in voice and body language as instructions are being given. They often have the best intentions, but they’re short on time and feel that their role as leaders is to solve everything.</p>
<h2>What can you do about it?</h2>
<p>Merely telling your manager that you don’t want to be micromanaged won’t help much. Here are some tips derived from our research that can support you to help shift your supervisor into more of an empowering attitude.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Be specific and clear about what you want. If you want to run something by your leader, say that you would like to have a sounding board for an idea you have: “Hi, can I have five minutes of your time to run something by you?” Help them focus on listening: “Would it be possible that you listen to me for two minutes? It would really help me to talk through topic XY.”</p></li>
<li><p>Have them ask you questions: “What is the top question that comes to your mind after having heard my summary on XY?”</p></li>
<li><p>Focus on solutions instead of just presenting the problem. Rather than stating that there is an issue, come with several ideas and suggestions on how it could be solved. “I thought about the following three solutions for our current dilemma.”</p></li>
<li><p>Ask for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg2Ckq79XRM">feedback</a>. Not only during your performance review, but continuously – it will allow you to able to change things. Also offer feedback to your supervisor. </p></li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>“I would love to get your viewpoint on XY”</p>
<p>“Let me know if you would like to hear my feedback on XY.”</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Be transparent about your values, it will help you gain knowledge about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg1WccmVKGA">your strengths</a> and communicate both to your supervisor. </li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>“What motivates me being able to use XY, do XY, work with XY”</p>
<p>“It would really motivate me if I could use more of my strengths for the current project. What ideas do you have about how I could incorporate and leverage these skills?”</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li><p>Show <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qPkW1SWMg0">gratitude</a> and appreciation for your team and its work. Don’t speak up only to complain about things going wrong; instead, also acknowledge the things your leader and team members do right. Be the change you want to see.</p></li>
<li><p>Emotions are contagious, so role-model those you want to create more of in your team and work environment.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks to these tips, you can put an end to micro-management situations. You can also help your manager to change their management methods to boost their team’s independence, and ultimately, motivation and performance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209625/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Milner ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>A leadership expert offers her advice on how to tackle a surprisingly widespread problem.Julia Milner, Professeure de leadership, EDHEC Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/753182017-03-30T14:09:26Z2017-03-30T14:09:26ZThe science of gossip: four ways to make it less toxic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163284/original/image-20170330-15612-u1sg05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">"She said what??"</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/little-boy-girl-whispers-304947320?src=dy4lFVxoAzKT4-LGebmYzw-1-45"> Yuliya Evstratenko/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Gossip gets a bad rap. There’s no doubt that the act of gossiping about someone can sometimes be damaging and negative. But there is such a thing as “good gossip” and the very act of gossiping can actually help the way we interact with each other. If we follow some simple steps we can take part in gossip without it ending in tears.</p>
<p>Gossip is defined as talking about and evaluating someone when they aren’t there. But we can use gossip to learn about the rules of behaviour in social groups and get closer to each other. It helps us do this by letting us learn important information without the need to actually talk to every group member. So <a href="http://www.rotarybalilovina.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dunbar%20gossip.pdf">gossiping is efficient</a> and those who gossip can use this social currency to gain <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1994-98161-013">positions of power</a>. </p>
<p>But being a gossip also has a dark side. Gossips are generally viewed as <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sally_Farley/publication/230486595_Is_gossip_power_The_inverse_relationships_between_gossip_power_and_likability/links/00b495310c2dc52ecf000000.pdf">unlikeable, untrustworthy and weak</a>. Even <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/23570/summary">children as young as nine</a> regard those who spread information about other people as less likeable and less deserving of rewards. There is also evidence that gossiping may <a href="https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/559453/1/ACCEPTED%20VERSION_Short%20term%20effects%20of%20gossip%20behavior%20on%20self-esteem.pdf">make us feel bad about ourselves</a>, regardless of whether what we have said is nasty or nice. And, of course, there are the consequences for the person you have gossiped about, who may suffer psychologically if they find out they were the target of gossip. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163286/original/image-20170330-15619-qcbucg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163286/original/image-20170330-15619-qcbucg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163286/original/image-20170330-15619-qcbucg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163286/original/image-20170330-15619-qcbucg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163286/original/image-20170330-15619-qcbucg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163286/original/image-20170330-15619-qcbucg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163286/original/image-20170330-15619-qcbucg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Office gossip.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/businesspeople-gossiping-behind-stressed-female-colleague-420085351?src=zjG0TGBJ0loUSSA1hVNlCw-1-2">Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although the research on the group benefits of gossip suggests we need to keep gossiping, we need to do so with the potential negative effects in mind. So how do we keep gossiping without creating a toxic social atmosphere? </p>
<h2>Keep it secret</h2>
<p>There are clear negative consequences if you learn that you have been the target of gossip. Those who know they have been gossiped about at work, for example, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13594329608414854">experience less physical and psychological well-being</a>. When we learn about social rules through gossip, we are learning about what rules we should follow, but also about what actions we should avoid if we want to be a valued member of our group. The advantage of learning about group transgressions in this way is that we do not have to have an awkward confrontation with the person who has transgressed. If we want gossip to oil the wheels of social interaction, but not cause conflict and upset, we need to be discrete.</p>
<h2>Make it useful</h2>
<p>Although there is plenty of evidence that we dislike those who gossip frequently, this depends on the perceived motive of the gossiper. If the listener feels that you are attempting to help the group when you share the gossip, they can be much more forgiving. For example, <a href="http://evolution.binghamton.edu/dswilson/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/DSW18.pdf">in a study where a gossiper shared information about a cheating student</a>, they were only disliked where they were sharing this information for selfish reasons. Where they expressed the gossip in a way which focused on fairness for the whole student group, it was the cheater who was disliked, not the gossiper. </p>
<p>Ensuring that gossip is useful can also help to alleviate the negative feelings gossipers have when they share gossip. In a study where <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f2bc/7a1779ea7bdaf3fc9b0544e79771b1dd7fc9.pdf">a participant saw another person cheating</a>, it made the participant uncomfortable knowing about the cheat. But they felt better when they were able to warn the other participants about the cheat’s bad behaviour. </p>
<h2>Do not tell lies</h2>
<p>Gossip which is not true does not offer the same social learning benefits as that which is true. False gossip risks conflict and upset to the target of gossip but this action is not justified by benefits to the group, so the gossiper may feel worse about spreading information they know to be false that they usually would when communicating gossip. The gossiper also risks being “found out” by their listeners. People <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.948.434&rep=rep1&type=pdf">can employ sophisticated strategies</a> – including comparing the information they gain to existing knowledge – to protect themselves from being influenced by malicious gossip. </p>
<h2>Connect with your listener</h2>
<p>Effective gossip is not just about what you say, or about whom. It is also about how you say it. Of course, you can make the benefits of the gossip clear to your listener by clearly explaining why you have shared the information. But sharing particularly emotional reactions to the information may help you to connect with your listener and avoid negative reactions. When we share emotional reactions to others with someone, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kim_Peters/publication/5863992_From_Social_Talk_to_Social_Action_Shaping_the_Social_Triad_With_Emotion_Sharing/links/58404f1208ae2d21755f3079.pdf">they feel closer to us</a>, especially when they agree with the reaction we share. Sharing how you feel may encourage the listener to react more favourably to your gossiping behaviour.</p>
<p>So the next time you need to share some gossip stop and ask yourself whether the information will stay secret from the person you’re talking about and whether it is useful. And do not be afraid to share your emotions with your listener. This way you can hopefully engage in “good gossip” and reap the social rewards which come with it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75318/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenny Cole does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Gossiping may well be toxic and harmful in certain situations but there are ways to engage in “good gossip” that can reap rewards in social groups.Jenny Cole, Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/686392016-12-20T01:33:09Z2016-12-20T01:33:09ZHow ancient wisdom can help managers give their employees better feedback<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150767/original/image-20161219-24310-gj8y4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Old books know best.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Old books via www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Giving feedback is unquestionably one of the most challenging tasks for any leader, as it can be painful to both the giver and receiver. It is nonetheless invaluable: <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/01/your-employees-want-the-negative-feedback-you-hate-to-give">Research has shown</a> that employees recognize the importance of feedback – whether positive or negative – to their career development. </p>
<p>Many even welcome it, provided it’s given well. One <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/01/your-employees-want-the-negative-feedback-you-hate-to-give/">study</a> of nearly a thousand employees both in the U.S. and abroad found that 92 percent believed that negative feedback is effective at improving performance – “if delivered appropriately.”</p>
<p>Unfortunately, most leaders are reluctant and uncomfortable providing negative feedback – and when they give it, they don’t follow the “appropriate” advice above. In a <a href="http://zengerfolkman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ZF-Feedback-The-Powerful-Paradox.pdf">study of 2,700 leaders</a>, researchers found that a majority tend to avoid giving negative feedback and 43 percent described doing so as a “stressful and difficult experience.” </p>
<p>There are a host of reasons why this may be the case, most of which can be boiled down to the notion that humans are wired to avoid pain. So how can managers become better at providing their employees with negative feedback that successfully highlights problems and how to resolve them?</p>
<p>My experience in coaching executives on giving meaningful and effective feedback reminds me of an ancient Sufi saying dating back to the 13th century.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Before you speak, let your words pass through these three gates: At the first gate, ask yourself, ‘Is it true?’ At the second gate, ask yourself, ‘Is it necessary?’ At the third gate, ask yourself, ‘Is it kind?’” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In other words, as long as managers always ensure their feedback is unbiased, essential and civil, it’s almost certain to be effective and help an employee grow. And it’s a philosophy supported by existing research.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150768/original/image-20161219-24263-q9cxci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150768/original/image-20161219-24263-q9cxci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150768/original/image-20161219-24263-q9cxci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150768/original/image-20161219-24263-q9cxci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150768/original/image-20161219-24263-q9cxci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150768/original/image-20161219-24263-q9cxci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150768/original/image-20161219-24263-q9cxci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Giving negative feedback can be an uncomfortable experience.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Office interaction via www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Overcoming biases</h2>
<p>Researchers have consistently found that bias - conscious and unconscious - influences our views of others. Personal bias clouds our perceptions so profoundly that employee performance ratings often reveal more about the person conducting them than the person being rated. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.rc.usf.edu/%7Ejdorio/Performance%20App/Scullen,%20S.%20E.,%20Mount,%20M.%20K.,%20&%20Goff,%20M.%20(2000).pdf">One of the most comprehensive studies</a> on the topic examined the performance ratings of 4,492 employees. It found that idiosyncratic bias – such as the tendency to rate based on an overall impression (halo error) or assign higher/lower ratings than warranted (leniency error) – accounted for 62 percent of the variance in the ratings, whereas actual performance accounted for only 21 percent. Simply stated: It’s more about the person giving the rating than the actual performance of the person being evaluated. </p>
<p>In another example, a <a href="http://www.uccs.edu/Documents/dcarpent/altruism.pdf">study</a> conducted at New York University found that men and women received different evaluations after demonstrating the same altruistic behavior, such as volunteering to help a co-worker who was in a bind even though the employee would end up being late for another co-worker’s party. </p>
<p>The employees were then given performance evaluations and reward recommendations – that is whether they should get salary increases, promotions, high-profile projects or bonus pay. Women were consistently evaluated more harshly than their male counterparts and were penalized to a greater degree if they were unwilling to help. </p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="http://gender.stanford.edu/people/caroline-simard">research has shown</a> managers are more likely to perceive women’s accomplishments as part of the team effort, while men’s were seen as individual efforts. </p>
<p>In these cases, actual performance is contaminated by the biases, emotions and idiosyncrasies of the person making the evaluation. By carefully considering personal biases that could affect their evaluation of an individual’s performance, managers can greatly enhance the feedback experience for an employee.</p>
<p><a href="http://kirwaninstitute.osu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/implicit-bias-2016.pdf">According to experts</a>, a key to curbing biases is to develop awareness and insight into them. The <a href="https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/">Implicit Association Test</a>, for example, is one such tool to help uncover unconscious beliefs. Many organizations such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook have in fact developed training programs to help employees develop this insight. </p>
<h2>Too much information?</h2>
<p>As we all know, <a href="https://workplacetrends.com/the-global-workforce-leadership-survey/">feedback is built</a> directly into the corporate infrastructure – and that doesn’t include the unsolicited kind. </p>
<p>Is this abundance of feedback necessary? Not always, researchers say. <a href="http://public.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/Faculty/swaminaj/research/paper/NS.pdf">Studies conducted</a> at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of North Carolina concluded that the more feedback a participant received in a management simulation, the lower his or her subsequent level of performance.</p>
<p>Similarly, University of Michigan <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597811000513">researchers</a> challenged the more-is-better notion when it comes to feedback, finding that performance improves when feedback is given, but only up to a certain tipping point, after which, performance significantly decreases.</p>
<p>As a leader, it is important to pay attention to how often you are providing feedback, particularly negative feedback. Although you may be reluctant in delivering this type of feedback, when you do, it should be measured and rationed.</p>
<p>Additionally, the tainting factor of bias must be put in check as to its impact on feedback. Does your feedback reflect the requirements of the actual job or your personal preferences for how to do the job? Feedback in the latter category may be unnecessary and not helpful, as it is attached to a personal preference rather than what’s required for successful performance.</p>
<h2>It’s all in the delivery</h2>
<p>There is substantial evidence demonstrating the damaging impact of negative feedback on employee attitude, performance, goal commitment and satisfaction. If this is the case, then why would employees want negative feedback, as the research suggests? The answer lies in how feedback is delivered. </p>
<p>Employees are motivated to improve job performance when feedback is delivered in a constructive and considerate manner. A <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lisa_Steelman/publication/242347571_Moderators_of_employee_reactions_to_negative_feedback/links/552673ed0cf21e126f9db274.pdf">study of 400 manufacturing employees</a> examined negative feedback on employee motivation to improve performance. They identified feedback delivery as a critical factor. Feedback delivery (aka interpersonal consideration), significantly affected whether an employee was motivated to improve his or her job performance. Employees were most motivated to improve when they received negative feedback that was constructive and respectful.</p>
<p>Along the same lines, a <a href="http://www.academia.edu/2871025/When_is_Criticism_Not_Constructive_The_Roles_of_Fairness_Perceptions_and_Attributions_in_Employee_Rejection_of_Critical_Supervisory_Feedback">study on workplace justice</a> examined how fairness affects the acceptance of negative feedback. Fairness in the study was defined as the “extent to which the manager showed respect and consideration for their subordinate.” The researchers found that criticism delivered with greater interpersonal fairness resulted in higher rates of feedback acceptance and invoked trust and satisfaction towards the supervisor.</p>
<p>As the old adage goes: it’s not what you say but how you say it. </p>
<h2>Sage advice</h2>
<p>Taken as a whole, the ancient wisdom still resonates.</p>
<p>Given that the point of feedback is to improve performance, research supports the components of this framework as providing a distinct advantage. Even if corporate America doesn’t uniformly value advice from the sages, it certainly recognizes their potential byproducts: productivity and increased revenue. </p>
<p>Honest, balanced and compassionate feedback has been shown to improve both.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68639/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Khatera Sahibzada does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many managers say they’re uncomfortable giving negative feedback, yet employees tend to consider it helpful to improving importance. Research – and a 13th-century saying – offers some tips.Khatera Sahibzada, Adjunct Lecturer in Applied Psychology, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/665412016-11-08T13:59:25Z2016-11-08T13:59:25ZEverything you need to know about workplace bullying<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144096/original/image-20161101-6277-fg3egf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Whether it happens in the playground or in the workplace, bullying can be enormously distressing and disturbing for anyone on the receiving end. Stories crop up in many places including allegations made during employment tribunals, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/27/elliott-johnson-young-tory-destroyed-by-party-he-loved-mark-clarke">political parties</a> of <a href="http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/718323/Steven-Woolfe-serious-condition-punched-UKIP-Nigel-Farage-Christine-Neil-Hamilton">all sizes</a> and by company whistleblowers. </p>
<p>Workplace bullying occurs when a worker is subject to mistreatment by another worker that is persistent, regular and causes harm – and it can take many forms. And through <a href="http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/26445/">my research</a> on the subject I have discovered there are generally five different types. </p>
<p>These can include “overt acts” – such as threats or actual violence, demands for resignation, verbal assault or “subtle acts” like teasing, gossip or banter. Then there are “work related acts” such as micro managing, limiting options for annual leave, giving too much or too little work, and “person related acts”, which include insults or jokes of a personal nature or withholding information needed to do your job. Then there are also “organisational factors” which can include cultures that are extremely competitive, target driven or chauvinistic – where there are often no clear policies, codes of conduct or grievance resolution procedures.</p>
<p>But one of the problems with bullying is that while “overt acts” – particularly where aggression is a feature – can be clearly identified and investigated, bullying behaviours of a more subtle nature are harder to prove. And these subtle acts of bullying can be just as distressing for a worker to experience. They can include being “sent to Coventry” – or frozen out by coworkers – along with teasing and so-called “banter”. </p>
<h2>Type of workplace</h2>
<p>It stands to reason then that when it comes to workplace bullying, the type of organisation a person works in can play a large part in whether bullying is accepted or frowned upon. </p>
<p>Research shows that bullying is often seen in a workplace where the culture allows or encourages “<a href="http://hum.sagepub.com/content/56/10/1213.short">positional game playing</a>”. Or in an organisation where there is a real or perceived lack of fairness and conflict within teams, along with competitive environments where workloads are continually high and unevenly spread.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144097/original/image-20161101-18435-tkblii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144097/original/image-20161101-18435-tkblii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144097/original/image-20161101-18435-tkblii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144097/original/image-20161101-18435-tkblii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144097/original/image-20161101-18435-tkblii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144097/original/image-20161101-18435-tkblii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144097/original/image-20161101-18435-tkblii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many organisations are not prepared for the interpersonal and softer skills required to manage people effectively.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>And it is these workplace cultures that can foster an environment where bullying is allowed to happen – and a lack of awareness, acknowledgement and involvement by senior managers can be a big part of the problem.</p>
<p>My <a href="http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/25057/">research</a> also shows that organisational changes and restructuring can often lead to bullying. Here it seems the uncertainty around job security, hours, status, pay, position and work overload can often lead to workers lashing out at each other and a rise in bullying incidents can occur.</p>
<h2>Bully or victim?</h2>
<p>Targets of workplace bullying were traditionally thought to be introverts – submissive, shy, and quite reserved. The type of person you might describe as “delicate” and who would find stressful situations difficult to cope with. But more <a href="https://www.homeworkmarket.com/sites/default/files/q5/22/10/article1_0.pdf">recent research</a> has shown that targets are often not shy, sensitive or silent. Rather, they are often someone who is outgoing, popular, successful and a high achiever, which can then cause envy among colleagues and makes them a target.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02678370903257578">Research</a> also shows that workplace bullies are more likely to be men. Although that said, the behaviours of women can often play out more subtly. So while men might shout and criticise in public, women are more likely to withhold information needed to successfully complete work tasks or spread rumours – which can make identification and investigation of an incident more difficult. </p>
<p>Bullies also often hold posts where there is an element of formal power which comes from <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/07/former-france-telecom-should-stand-trial-for-harassment-of-worke/">their managerial or supervisory post</a>. But managers themselves are not immune to being bullied either. And there is an increase in <a href="http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=385547162297705;res=IELBus">research showing</a> that bullying can happen to managers when they are simply carrying out the will of the company. <a href="http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/m/a/workplace_bullying_and_harassment.pdf">A recent paper on the topic</a> even suggested that legitimate actions undertaken by managers act as “fertile ground for false claims of bullying”.</p>
<p>That said, care does need to be taken in <a href="http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/trouble-at-work-9781849664653/">applying labels</a> to the type of person a “victim” or a “bully” is. And <a href="http://www.gowerpublishing.com/isbn/9781472455178">in my experience</a> both parties may well have engaged in negative acts towards each other.</p>
<h2>Tackling the bullies</h2>
<p>When it comes to dealing with bullies in workplaces, it seems there is still quite some way to go – given that a recent survey of 1,500 UK workers showed that <a href="http://www.cipd.co.uk/pm/peoplemanagement/b/weblog/archive/2015/01/13/employers-fail-to-deal-with-bullying-at-work-adequately-finds-survey.aspx">91% of respondents did not believe their organisations</a> dealt well with bullying at work.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144098/original/image-20161101-14771-11ptdt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144098/original/image-20161101-14771-11ptdt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144098/original/image-20161101-14771-11ptdt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144098/original/image-20161101-14771-11ptdt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144098/original/image-20161101-14771-11ptdt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144098/original/image-20161101-14771-11ptdt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144098/original/image-20161101-14771-11ptdt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bullying characteristics include uncivil behaviour, unfriendliness, unkindness, spitefulness and a lack of sympathy, empathy and regard.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These figures are concerning, as workplace bullying affects everyone involved. From the targets to the perpetrators, the bystanders, and the witnesses. Even clients, customers and the organisation itself are adversely affected. This is because motivation of workers begins to drop and loyalty is lost. Care over the end product or work can also decline because essentially workers do not want to be at work and remove themselves either mentally or physically. </p>
<p>Given this, it is important that we take the opportunity to have conversations on this topic at every level in our organisations. Time to dust down and review HR policies, time to consider the culture, structure and anti-bullying strategies. These are essential in developing workplaces that offer better work and working lives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66541/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Frances McGregor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How to spot a bully at work. It’s not as easy as you might think.Frances McGregor, Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/484712015-10-02T05:33:29Z2015-10-02T05:33:29ZHere’s how to deal with bullying in the NHS<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96975/original/image-20151001-23063-1chicwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Risk to patients and staff</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is a stomach-churning reality that the NHS <a href="http://www.nhsstaffsurveys.com/Caches/Files/NHS%20staff%20survey_nationalbriefing_Final%2024022015%20UNCLASSIFIED.pdf">rests on bullying</a> the people who work in it. This “<a href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130107105354/http:/www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_113018">endemic culture of bullying</a>” has facilitated a growing crisis of <a href="http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/edc7-0514.pdf">structural discrimination</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/unwitting-racism-and-rise-in-abuse-makes-it-harder-for-nhs-staff-to-do-their-job-23058">and racism</a>, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/views-from-the-nhs-frontline/2014/sep/15/burnout-gp-nhs">staff burnout</a> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jan/17/nurses-nhs-stress-leave-staff-breaking-point">and stress</a>, and with it a <a href="http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/files/kf/employee-engagement-nhs-performance-west-dawson-leadership-review2012-paper.pdf">risk to patient safety</a>.</p>
<p>Getting a perspective on bulling is difficult because it requires facing up to some hard facts of life. Bullying in the NHS is likely to get worse as the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/sep/19/nhs-collapse-former-health-minister-norman-lamb">financial crisis deepens</a> and, whatever our job, we are all involved in any bullying that takes place at work.</p>
<p>Psychoanalytic ideas can help us understand how bullying becomes established, defining it as a psychological and social defence against our own feelings of vulnerability, anxiety and aggression. Under this model, bullying is an attempt to project our own vulnerability and fear into other people, something that under the right (or wrong) circumstances we are all capable of doing.</p>
<p>This is not to suggest that everyone is actually a bully, but rather that bullying at work is painful in part because we are all involved. Whatever our role – for example the patients that stand by, the staff that turn a blind eye, the politicians that cut budgets and the bullies themselves – we all have a part to play in bullying becoming established at work.</p>
<h2>How bullying works</h2>
<p>Despite everything we know about the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-netherlands-can-teach-the-nhs-about-cutting-cost-but-not-quality-45273">necessity of teamwork</a> in health and social care, where bullying exists we generally don’t challenge it. Common survival strategies include withdrawing from colleagues or striking up alliances with people who offer us protection. This can include establishing gang-like ways of working, such as blaming and excluding people <a href="https://theconversation.com/nhs-guardians-wont-help-whistleblowers-unless-theyre-protected-from-bullying-too-37543">with different views</a> or ways of working.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/247513018_Group_and_gang_states_of_mind">Gangs</a>, unlike functioning teams, offer a mafia-like organisation where accepting the rules protects you from attack but demands utter compliance. It is a dangerous culture in healthcare, where our duty of care demands we raise concerns about patient care. </p>
<p>Another important dimension to bullying is what happens in the mind of the victim when the bully launches their attack. One of the reasons why bullies get under our skin is because they enlist our internal bullies: the voices inside our heads that actually agree with the external bullies. In the case of health and social care workers, this internal voice can efficiently disorient us and underminine our self-confidence.</p>
<p>Understanding the dynamic nature of bullying in this way – that it has systemic and individual aspects – can feel like an attack on the victim. But it’s a risk worth taking because by understanding the nature of bullying we can start to tackle it.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96983/original/image-20151001-23101-1sbnwz3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96983/original/image-20151001-23101-1sbnwz3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96983/original/image-20151001-23101-1sbnwz3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96983/original/image-20151001-23101-1sbnwz3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96983/original/image-20151001-23101-1sbnwz3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96983/original/image-20151001-23101-1sbnwz3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96983/original/image-20151001-23101-1sbnwz3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Enlisting our internal bullies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Sweat the small stuff</h2>
<p>Having had the dubious honour of working on <a href="http://tavistockandportman.uk/training/courses/bullying-work-cpd77">bullying at work</a> for some time, I’m going to do something that I don’t normally do and give you a checklist. It is based on one simple principle: that tackling bullying requires sweating the small stuff and taking some small practical steps.</p>
<p><strong>Step 1: find some higher ground</strong></p>
<p>Being bullied feels like drowning so you first need to get to safer ground. This involves getting out of bullying hot spots. This can be anything from avoiding the smoking breaks or those after-work drinks that seem to end up with someone calling you fat and ugly. Or it can be going somewhere every day where you feel safe, from your best friend’s sofa to the nearby allotment.</p>
<p><strong>Stage 2: bullying book</strong></p>
<p>Methodically write down the times, places and what happened every time you were bullied. Not everything is subjective, there are facts about bullying behaviours so write them down. Keep the book at home and only ever open it when you’re in a robust frame of mind and definitely not when you are drunk. </p>
<p><strong>Stage 3: get a witness</strong></p>
<p>It is essential that you tell someone what is going on. They can be someone that has witnessed the bullying or not, someone you like or not, but someone who you trust to keep their eye on you. Telling someone does a number of things but firstly it forces you out of your bunker and makes you admit what is happening. </p>
<p><strong>Stage 4: phone a friend</strong></p>
<p>Whether you are a victim of bullying or trying to help someone who is, there’s a huge temptation to withdraw from other people. But tackling bullying requires doing something totally counterintuitive: making contact with other people and asking for their help. In a bullying workplace, joining a group can give us a profound sense of place and support to make changes. Trade unions are often good at dealing with bullies and reps can be dogged in their devotion to shouting back on our behalf when we can’t summon up the strength to do it ourselves. </p>
<p>If you can regain your humanity by taking some small steps you will then be in a better position to make the bigger decisions about how to tackle bullying at work.</p>
<p>Acknowledging that bullying is an ordinary part of working life is not the end of the world nor does it inevitably mean you have to walk away from your job. Ironically the strength needed to face up to bullying involves accepting both our power and vulnerability. As any clinician will know, the work of helping other people involves helping ourselves. This turns out to be the hardest part because it requires us to put aside our shame and ask another human being for their help.</p>
<p><em>This column looks at the reality of our health and care systems from the perspective of those working to deliver services. Please send us your anonymous <a href="http://survivingwork.org/top-tips/top-tip-1-how-to-restore-your-humanity/">stories from the frontline</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48471/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Bullying isn’t just about the victim and the aggressor – everyone in the workplace plays their part.Elizabeth Cotton, Senior Lecturer, Middlesex UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/438312015-09-03T20:08:59Z2015-09-03T20:08:59ZLike a ‘cancer’ of the workplace, bullying is a symptom of dysfunction<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91400/original/image-20150811-11091-ush3zs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Workplaces should try to eliminate situations where bullying can occur, rather than put responsibility on workers to behave nicely. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-189697250/stock-photo-colleauges-gossiping-with-sad-young-businesswoman-in-foreground-at-a-bright-office.html?src=TFLw55zDSVvilP_B_SU3Ag-1-0">www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over a decade ago now, I read <a href="http://ppm.sagepub.com/content/30/3/269.short">a research article</a> that called bullying the “cancer” of the workplace. I’ve been wondering since then whether bullying is really serious enough to warrant that language - and what can be done about it.</p>
<p>There are some similarities: like cancer, being exposed to relentless bullying can have a <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02678373.2012.734709">devastating impact</a> on workers’ lives, in rare cases contributing to <a href="http://brodieslaw.org/">death through suicide</a>. Like cancer, bullying will affect a majority of employees during their working lives, as a victim, witness, or perhaps as the alleged bully. And like cancer, there is no silver bullet to cure bullying; it’s a very difficult issue to tackle.</p>
<p>But during the ten years I’ve spent researching this topic, I’ve come to understand one fundamental point of difference: unlike cancer, bullying is not the disease. Rather, it’s a <em>symptom</em> of poor organisational functioning.</p>
<h2>Wrong direction</h2>
<p>To prevent bullying, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956522108000365">organisations typically ask</a> employees to complete bullying awareness training and comply with the company policy that emphasises zero tolerance. But this approach treats bullying behaviour as the problem that needs fixing. </p>
<p>The responsibility is put on workers to behave nicely towards each other (if only it were that simple) rather than on getting rid of things in the work situation that allow bullying to occur in the first place.</p>
<p>Treating the symptom (focusing on the bullying behaviour itself) will not stop the underlying malaise. To prevent bullying, managers need to ensure the organisation is functioning at full health in a few key areas; the <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/apl/91/5/998/">balance of evidence</a> clearly shows organisational factors rather than individual personality traits are the main potential causes. </p>
<p>Workplace issues, such as having unclear roles and duties, facing conflicting demands and dealing with “red tape”, are consistently linked with employees’ experiences of bullying. On the flip side, having a greater say over when and how the work is done is related to lower levels of bullying. </p>
<p><a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/str/19/4/292/">My own research</a> suggests bullying can be triggered by competition for resources, such as funding, equipment and staff.</p>
<p>From a practical point-of-view, though, it’s unclear what managers should do with this information. What does it actually look like to have “greater say over the work” or “fewer conflicting demands”? Is it realistic to expect companies to provide workers with more resources?</p>
<h2>The right KPI</h2>
<p>A recent – as yet unpublished – study by me and my colleagues of real-life workplace bullying complaints helps answer these questions. It provides the detailed information needed to design bullying prevention strategies that target the underlying illness, rather than the symptoms.</p>
<p>We found that in around 90% of complaints the bullying episodes involved tension between managers and workers. Problems most commonly reflected aspects of the daily supervision process: when supervisors communicate with employees to clarify tasks and roles; manage performance (especially under-performance); or carry out human resource management functions connected to pay, leave, rostering and other entitlements. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91401/original/image-20150811-14995-1eqvpgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91401/original/image-20150811-14995-1eqvpgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91401/original/image-20150811-14995-1eqvpgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91401/original/image-20150811-14995-1eqvpgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91401/original/image-20150811-14995-1eqvpgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91401/original/image-20150811-14995-1eqvpgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91401/original/image-20150811-14995-1eqvpgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Most bullying complaints involve aspects of management and supervision.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-247390177/stock-photo-strict-boss-talking-with-his-young-secretary.html?src=Ejq8vqv-CDAdav3LHteRvQ-4-91">www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These areas are clearly the functional risk contexts for bullying, and they offer the ideal chance to reduce bullying at work because they can be modified <em>before</em> bad behaviour occurs. The key is to guide managers to change their behaviour towards workers when undertaking tasks related to the supervisory process. If managers can behave more fairly and supportively across these areas, workers should feel less bullied.</p>
<p>In particular, supervisors should be supported to improve their people management and communication skills. This area is overlooked in many organisations, where people may be promoted based on their operational skills and experience rather than on how good they are at managing others.</p>
<p>And supervisors should be helped to develop their ability to manage employee performance, without causing extra stress. Specific strategies here might include ensuring that job descriptions genuinely match the expectations of the role; applying fair and consistent human resource practices; and adopting fair and transparent processes to manage under-performance.</p>
<p>What happens in organisations is mainly influenced by goals such as productivity, profits and public image. Faced with pressure to meet these objectives, what hope is there to maintain healthy organisational functioning and prevent undesirable consequences, such as bullying? </p>
<p>I suggest senior managers should set organisational goals for maintaining low levels of bullying and stress, and high-quality employee relationships. Doing this, along with changing supervisor behaviour in bullying risk contexts, could mean we might just be able to conquer the cancer of the workplace.</p>
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<p><em>Michelle will be one hand for an Author Q&A between 2:30 and 3:30pm AEST on Friday, September 4. Post your questions in the comments section below.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43831/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Tuckey currently receives funding from the Australian Research Council, SafeWork SA, and the Southern Area Local Health Network. Her research has been funded in the past by a number of unions (Shop Distributive and Allied Employee Association, Police Associations of SA, Victoria, NSW) and organisations (SAFECOM, SA Country Fire Service, Unilever). Michelle serves on the management committee of Crisis Intervention and Management Australasia.</span></em></p>Like cancer, bullying will affect a majority of employees during their working lives, as a victim, witness, or perhaps as the alleged bully. And like cancer, there’s no silver bullet to cure bullying.Michelle Tuckey, Senior lecturer, School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/264662014-05-08T15:49:40Z2014-05-08T15:49:40ZTweets and cybersex: workplace web use is a minefield<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/48076/original/svfqq5y8-1399557032.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some are working but some have other business.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/govert1970/3229044583/in/photolist-5VkGst-4v8n8m-5Q9gRr-eW4gd-e1hRn5-5FX9Z-7W1dXu-fWHZv-8HQsi-7a1rwq-5ycMvc-2QPCS-bD8S8J-8HQAu-bphser-rptbS-vcBK-3Vyy9-Cx7PA-5UHK4j-3Vyy8-4fynt2-A2X9j-5UDnHM-5UHKbC-2nZJwq-2nVme8-5UHK3j-5UDnTz-5UDnNe-5UDnUi-5UDnCF-5UHKaf-5UHK2d-5UDnDc-5UHK2N-5UDnT2-5UHK4Y-5UDnJt-5UDnRP-5UHKco-5UHKiu-5UDnH2-5UDnLB-5UHK8J-7d3EjT-A2W2o-5NFQ4D-4qygMV-FWHVb">Michiel2005</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2013/09/07/who-wastes-the-most-time-at-work/">Market research reports</a> have indicated that many office employees in the UK spend at least one hour of their day at work on non-work activities. They are booking holidays, shopping online, posting messages on social networking sites and playing online games. This, we are told, costs businesses millions of pounds a year.</p>
<p>These findings highlight that internet abuse is a serious cause for concern, particularly to employers.</p>
<p>A few years ago I developed a <a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1881531">brief typology</a> of internet abusers. This included criminal internet abuse. While some non-work-related internet activity is relatively harmless, others can cause real problems for employee, employer and colleagues. </p>
<h2>Internet activity abuse</h2>
<p>This involves the use of the internet during work hours in which other non-work related activities are done. This could be online gambling, shopping, holiday booking, taking part in massively multiplayer online games, casual gaming via Facebook or other networks or constantly checking Twitter accounts. Based on research, this appears to be one of the most common forms of internet abuse in the workplace. </p>
<h2>Online information abuse</h2>
<p>This involves the abuse of internet search engines and databases, such as Googling non-work related terms. Typically, this involves individuals who search for work-related information on databases and search engines but who end up wasting hours of time with little relevant information gathered.</p>
<p>This may be deliberate work-avoidance but may also be unintentional. It may also involve people who seek out general educational information or information for self-help.</p>
<h2>Criminal internet abuse</h2>
<p>This involves seeking out individuals and potentially sending written abuse to them. Trolling, flaming, sexual harassment, cyberstalking and grooming can all fall under this category. The fact that these types of abuse involve criminal acts may have severe implications for employers.</p>
<h2>Cybersexual internet abuse</h2>
<p>This involves the abuse of adult websites for cybersex and porn during work hours. That spans the full spectrum, from accessing pornographic images to participating in online sexual discussion groups or even online sexual activity.</p>
<h2>Online relationship abuse</h2>
<p>This involves conducting an online relationship during work hours. That might be emailing friends, posting messages to friends on social networking sites or engaging in discussion groups, as well as maintaining online emotional relationships.</p>
<p>At the extreme end of the scale, this could even include engaging in cybersex.</p>
<h2>Time to act</h2>
<p>Misusing the internet at work is seductive for many reasons. It is clear from <a href="http://benthamscience.com/journal/abstracts.php?journalID=cpd&articleID=114790">research</a> that virtual environments have the potential to provide short-term comfort, excitement, escape or distraction.</p>
<p>Employees might also find it easy and more affordable to use the internet at work than at home or they may just be working longer hours. There could also be the lure of being more anonymous at work than at home since the IP address you use is not directly tied to you.</p>
<p>Some forms of internet abuse are serious and damaging for both the employer and employee though. Beyond a quick look at Facebook, online gambling among people who work in finance departments, for example, could have serious consequences.</p>
<p>Being able to spot someone who is an internet abuser can be very difficult but there are some practical steps that employers can take to help minimise the problem.</p>
<p>Managers and human resource departments should, for a start, take the issue of internet abuse seriously. They should raise awareness through email. Some countries have national or local agencies, such as health and safety organisations that can help.</p>
<p>Raising awareness is not just about finding the abusers. Their colleagues should be helped to learn the signs and symptoms that might indicate abuse. Continual use of the internet for non-work reasons are indicative of an internet abuse problem.</p>
<p>If a manager or an employer thinks a member of staff might have a problem, they should get the IT department to monitor their internet use, such as by tracking back through their browser history or by looking at their bookmarks. If they are spending a lot of employment time engaged in non-work activities, many bookmarks will be completely non-work related.</p>
<p>It might also be worth developing a policy on internet abuse at work. Many organisations have policies for behaviours such as smoking or drinking alcohol and the same might be useful for IT rules.</p>
<p>However, it is also important to offer support to problem users. In some situations, problems associated with internet abuse need to be treated sympathetically, as you would treat alcohol abuse.</p>
<p>Internet abuse can clearly be a hidden activity and the growing availability of internet facilities in the workplace is making it easier for abuse to occur in lots of different forms.</p>
<p>Thankfully, it would appear that for most people internet abuse is not a serious individual problem but for large companies, small levels of abuse multiplied across the workforce could be a problem. Employers need to let employees know exactly which behaviour is reasonable. The occasional email to a friend might be fine but it is pretty clear that online gaming oversteps the mark and cybersex is absolutely unacceptable. Internet abuse has the potential to be a social issue, a health issue and an occupational issue and needs to be taken seriously by employers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/26466/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Mark Griffiths has received research funding from a wide range of organizations including the Economic and Social Research Council, the British Academy and the Responsibility in Gambling Trust. He has also carried out consultancy for numerous gaming companies in the area of social responsibility and responsible gaming.</span></em></p>Market research reports have indicated that many office employees in the UK spend at least one hour of their day at work on non-work activities. They are booking holidays, shopping online, posting messages…Mark Griffiths, Director of the International Gaming Research Unit and Professor of Gambling Studies, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.