Psychological Violence Threatens Workplace Performance (12/22)

Psychological Violence Threatens Workplace Performance

A new breed of violence is causing problems in the U.S. workforce and observers say it can be harmful to a company's bottom line. Psychological violence - which includes bullying, threats and unrelenting criticism - may be just as detrimental to a company as the physical attacks commonly recognized as workplace violence, says Beth Lindamood, senior analyst with Ohio Casualty Group, who heads up the company's Violence Prevention Program. "Even though no blows are struck or shots fired, the company and the employee are still victimized," says Lindamood. "With one in four Americans currently being threatened in such a way that they could qualify for treatment, companies need to take notice."

A University of North Carolina survey of victims of non-fatal violence at work determined 53 percent of the victims of psychological violence lost work time worrying about future encounters with the perpetrator, 28 percent lost work time in an effort to avoid the instigator, 46 percent considered changing jobs to avoid this person, 12 percent actually changed jobs, and 37 percent believed their commitment to the organization changed because of what they had encountered.

"The UNC study shows how devastating psychological violence can be to an employee," says Lindamood. "Companies are being hurt, too, in the form of absenteeism, lower productivity and morale and employee turnover." Lindamood warns the problem may be worse than statistics show, pointing to a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey that estimated 58 percent of harassment offenses and 43 percent of threats go unreported to management. "Non-physical violence is often under-reported for two reasons," Lindamood explains. "Sometimes, victims are simply afraid to report them. Other times, companies may not take threats seriously because it doesn't involve physical harm."

"Managers need to ask if the actions of one employee (bullying, intimidation, implied or implicit threats) affect the performance and productivity of any other employee, including themselves," says Steve Albrecht, author of "Fear and Violence on the Job." "If so, they have a duty to intervene, to protect the rights of the employees, and defend the organization and its assets. The driving factor in workplace violence prevention is fear prevention."

Dr. Gary Namie, National Coordinator for the California-based Campaign Against Workplace Bullying, America's first comprehensive resource for employees and employers seeking solutions to bullying, says the employer should instill a prevention policy and enforce it. Further, Namie says when psychological violence does occur, the employees should be separated immediately. "The rule here should be to move the bully when multiple complaints have been registered providing evidence that the bully has a chronic, destructive tendency to harm others, and to move the target for her safety if the complaint is the first or only complaint," he suggests.

Namie says employers should provide a safe forum for complaining without fear of retaliation, deal swiftly with the perpetrator in a just and fair way, seek external resources to provide help without compromising confidentiality or privacy, and allow accommodations to be made during the target's recovery period. "Send the message to other employees that psychological violence will not be tolerated and a price will be paid for doing it," insists Namie. "Treat the injury as seriously as you would physical disabilities. It's the law - the ADA (American's With Disabilities Act) includes psychological injury."