Resignation Of Biden Aide Brings New Attention To Bullying In The Workplace

Original article posted on February 8, 2022 on Forbes

Workplace bullying can create an internal crisis for any company. When the internal crisis goes public, the news coverage can damage the image, reputation and credibility of the organization and their leaders.

The national pervasive bullying problem is receiving new attention because of the resignation yesterday of Eric Lander, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. According to?NPR , “The Monday evening decision came hours after?Politico?reported ?that an internal White House investigation concluded that Lander bullied and demeaned his subordinates and violated the White House's workplace policy.”

‘Inexplicable’

In his first day in office, President Joe Biden, during a?virtual swearing-in ceremony? for presidential appointees, warned that disrespect would not be tolerated and that he would fire them ‘on the spot’”.

Jennifer Rubin, writing in the?Washington Post ?today, observed that, “It was therefore striking and frankly inexplicable that Lander, who was responsible for supervising numerous employees, was not fired immediately after an investigation confirmed he was responsible for widespread bullying, harassment and degrading conduct.

“His conduct explicitly violated the White House’s Safe and Respectful Workplace Policy, which bars ‘repeated behavior that a reasonable individual would find disrespectful, intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive.’”

Lander Takes Responsibility

In his resignation letter, ?Lander wrote: "I am devastated that I caused hurt to past and present colleagues by the way in which I have spoken to them. I have sought to push myself and my colleagues to reach our shared goals—including at times challenging and criticizing.

"But it is clear that things I said, and the way I said them, crossed the line at times into being disrespectful and demeaning, to both men and women.

"That was never my intention. Nonetheless, it is my fault and my responsibility."

‘A National Prevalence Of Workplace Bullying’

According to Purdue University ?last month, “There’s a national prevalence of workplace bullying.” An article in?Purdue Today?cited the a?2021 Workplace Bullying Institute U.S. Survey ?conducted in January 2021 that found:

• 30% of Americans have suffered abusive conduct at work.
• An estimated 48.6 million Americans are bullied at work.
• Bullying during remote work happens most in virtual meetings, not email.?
• For those doing remote work, 43.2% is the bullying rate; virtual work poses greater danger.
• Those who are bullied include 52% non-management employees and 40 percent managers.
• Women bullies bully women at twice the rate they bully men.

Advice For Business Leaders

Complaints Must Be Addressed Immediately

Michael Timms , a leadership development consultant and author of?How Leaders Can Inspire Accountability ?said, “Complaints of workplace bullying or harassment must be addressed immediately.?The worst thing an organization can do when they discover a bullying complaint is to do nothing or sweep it under the rug by accusing (or implying) that complainant is being overly sensitive.

“The less people feel they have a voice, the more sensitive they tend to become, so employers hoping to avoid bullying and harassment complaints had better make sure their employees have an unobstructed path to making a complaint.??

‘Employers Have A Moral And Legal Responsibility’

He said, “Employers have a moral and legal responsibility to ensure their employees are working in a safe environment, which includes psychological safety.?Furthermore, you get more of the behavior you tolerate.?When unacceptable behavior is not met with immediate correction, silence or inaction will be interpreted as tacit approval.

“Unaddressed complaints of workplace bullying create a hostile work environment for more than just the complainant and the accused bully as passive aggressive behavior will inevitably fill the void of direct intervention.?A hostile work environment kills teamwork and productivity, increases turnover, and has been linked to?increased risk ?of many diseases such as?type 2 diabetes, heart attack , stroke, cancer and mental illness.?

Can Infect Entire Workplace Culture

Dave Rietsema , an HR expert and CEO of?Matchr? HR payroll systems, said that, “Workplace bullying can negatively impact an entire organization. It goes far beyond just normal differences of opinion and cannot only cause good employees to leave but also infect the company’s entire workplace culture. It’s therefore essential for companies to deal with bullying before it undermines the company’s mission and culture and affects employee well-being and health.

Deal With It As Quickly As Possible

“Workplace bullying should be dealt with as quickly as possible. If a manager tells employees that they need to work a problem out amongst themselves, that can send a message that the bad behavior is tolerated. The problem won’t get worked out and may instead get worse,” Rietsema advised.

He noted that, "Others may see that behavior as acceptable and begin bullying themselves. Stepping in earlier can help to prevent problematic behavior from continuing or spreading.

‘Have Clear Expectations’

“It’s important to have clear expectations for proper workplace behavior that are communicated well to employees,” Rietsema counseled.

“Any violations of the policy should be investigated immediately and impartially. It can be tempting to side with the bully if it's someone you know and are close to, but it’s important to thoroughly investigate and demonstrate that bad behavior is not acceptable from anyone, even those who are friendly with management.

“It can be more difficult for an individual to deal with workplace bullying if it comes from an executive. That’s why having an official policy on workplace behavior and what constitutes bullying is so important. Documenting violations of an official company policy can help a company to handle bullying from one of the executives,” he recommended.