319 WOMEN’S CENTER SPOTLIGHTS BULLYING IN THE WORKPLACE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mar. 23, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Terri Johnson, 615-898-2193, or Dr. Gloria Hamilton, 615-898-5745.

Intimidation, Disrespect, Envy, Marginalization Demoralize Workers, Cut Productivity

(MURFREESBORO) – “Bullying in the Workplace: How to Recognize It and Tips on How to STOP IT!” will be the topic of a presentation in the June Anderson Women’s Center’s continuing Career/Professional Development Brown Bag Series at 12 noon Tuesday, April 3, in the SunTrust Room of the Business Aerospace Building.
Dr. Gloria Hamilton, professor of psychology, and Terri Johnson, director of the June Anderson Women’s Center, will speak on a subject about which concern is growing among employees and employers alike.
A poll released March 21 by the Employment Law Institute reveals that nearly 45 percent of American workers claim to have experienced workplace abuse. A lobbying effort to bring about legal changes, http://www.bullybusters.org, claims that 12 states have introduced 26 versions of its proposed healthy workplace bill since 2003.
The Workplace Bullying Institute (http://www.bullyinginstitute.org), a non-profit think tank, defines workplace bullying as “repeated, health-impairing mistreatment comprised of one or more of the following: 1) verbal abuse; 2) threatening, intimidating conduct; 3) work interference, undermines legitimate business interests.”
A Web site created by the institute’s founders, Dr. Gary Namie and Ruth Namie, http://www.workdoctor.com, says, “Bullying is 3 times more prevalent than illegal, discriminatory harassment. Bullying ignores race, gender, age, religion. Current harassment laws and policies do NOT cover 75% of bullying incidents.”
Hamilton notes that the American Psychological Association (APA) has created a Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program to give employers guidelines on how to create better working environments. The program offers numerous resources, including a quarterly newsletter, a listing of upcoming events, and articles and research abstracts at http://www.phwa.org.
“They (the APA) have identified workplaces in the United States that stand apart in creating a psychologically healthy environment for workers,” Hamilton says.
Bullying can occur among employees or between employer and employee. The Workplace Bullying Institute states that it “(a) is driven by perpetrators’ need to control the targeted individual (s); (b) is initiated by bullies who choose targets, timing, place,
and methods; (c) escalates to involve others who side with the bully, either voluntarily (or) through coercion; and (d) undermines legitimate business interests when bullies’ personal agendas take precedence over work itself.”
“It affects the bottom line in several ways,” Hamilton says. “When workers are unhappy or marginalized, it carries over to consumers or the people who deal with the organization.”
According to http://www.workdoctor.com, the estimated potential annual cost to an average Fortune 500 company in lost productivity (more than $8,000,000), turnover (more than $16,000,000), litigation (minimum legal expenses $104,000 per case with settlements ranging from $225,000 to $1.4 million), and disability (more than $114,000 with an estimated 18 percent of cases involving bullying) means bullies are too expensive to keep on the payroll.
“Sometimes those enabling the status quo are so reluctant to change that things do get pushed to the legal stage,” Hamilton says. “It’s always better if change occurs in a collaborative fashion, but it doesn’t always happen that way.”
The bring-your-own brown bag luncheon is free and open to MTSU staff, administration, faculty and students, as well as the public at large. Sign-ups are highly encouraged. For more information, contact the June Anderson Women’s Center at 615-898-2193.

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