Diversity. It’s a term that emerged around the mid-sixties and gained prominence through affirmative action from the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but did not become as widely recognized as a workforce movement until the nineties. Race, ethnic background, gender identity, disability, and religion are all included in diversity with most people falling within at least one group. Even though there are more diversity objectives in the workplace, we still see an increase in discrimination in the form of bullying with a lack of effective resolution.
Bullying can be done to any employee at any given time. The perpetrators are normally in some level of authority in which they believe they can exercise certain treatment with immunity. Being treated poorly can be frowned upon, but not illegal. At what point is it considered bullying? When that treatment turns into harassment. Although most companies do not consider bullying as harassment, by sheer definition and result of the behavior, it is. When it relates to an employee’s diverse background, it is considered discrimination, which is illegal.
If an employee is discriminated at work, then he/she/they are degraded (which is also a form of disrespect) from the biased behavior. That employee may be left feeling inadequate about the ability to effectively and successfully perform their job, which was the reason for being hired as the best talent to serve in that capacity to begin with.
The result of bullying can have extremely harmful psychological, emotional, and even physical effects, which can lead to anything from hair loss, decrease in brain cognitive function, and anxiety, to heart conditions, depression, and suicide. When the bullying is due to discrimination, then this can socially separate the employee from entire groups of people that they feel safe and identify with because the bias is not only toward the employee, but everyone within that group. Sadly, the U.S. does not yet recognize bullying activities themselves as illegal, and some companies do not understand subtle forms of discrimination based on someone being a member of a legally protected class of people, thereby resulting in a potential hostile work environment claim. So for many employees, there is not a trusting resource available within the company to help them resolve these conflicts, so they suffer in silence.
Statistics have reported since 2008 that companies lose almost $360 billion on unresolved conflict each year. It is the responsibility of executive leadership of an organization to create dispute resolution strategies to protect their valued employees, at any level. In financial terms, bullies are liabilities that can have a higher impact than assets, which are valuable. Why do some companies ignore the problem and instead throw money at it? Well, because they can, along with non-disclosure agreements. However, employees are fighting back.
We’ve all heard of whistle blowers. In today’s post-pandemic world, social media is a virtual bullhorn for employees calling out poor treatment, including bullying and discrimination, in their places of employment – from venting and naming names to secretly recording discussions and posting them. Some even go to the media with their complaints. If a discrimination attorney is involved, then he or she may advise the employee (or former employee) not to speak out on the circumstances. But, in some cases the damage has already been done. People don’t just listen to the posts, but share the them. Thus, they are circulating like wildfires from sea to shining sea. So, what proactive measures can an organization take for their employees to feel safe and valued while being productive?
If there is uncertainty about the meaning of diversity within a work environment, then it stands to reason there would be a disconnect in offering solutions for these types of conflict. For starters, everyone, at every level, needs to understand exactly what defines diversity and who is part of this group, then develop policies that protect them. The key is to enforce these policies. Leaders within the organization are influential and carry a strong weight of authority, however they too should be held accountable.
Next, hiring someone as a diversity, equity, and inclusion leader holds no weight if that person is only in that position to save face. Allow that leader to develop a team that will review old policies centered around DEI and create new ones; develop DEI programs (i.e. affinity groups); provide diversity training; oversee the progression and protection of diverse employees within all spaces of the organization.
Although Human Resources is a valuable department, the hard truth is employees often do not trust them, especially with informal complaints. Ombuds are a great conflict resolution resource in that they are trained to help empower the employee, including a victim of bullying and discrimination, with solutions to a specific concern or dispute. If the circumstance is conducive, an Ombuds will even facilitate a discussion between the employee (visitor) and person(s) involved in the dispute (only with the visitor’s consent) with resolving as the basis. Ombuds collaborate with other departments for dispute resolution, if necessary, but are independent employees of the organization who are also informal, neutral, and confidential. Every mid-sized to large organization should consider having an Ombuds Office established.
It is important to note that Ombuds facilitate discussions, but many do not necessarily mediate to uphold the principle of informality. This is where an external Mediator who has expertise in employment disputes play a huge role in conflict resolution. A Mediator will facilitate the discussion with the signed consent of both parties and report the terms they agreed to. Obviously, it is important to work on methods to resolve the dispute between employees while it is active instead of the costs associated with litigation after both parties split ways. For the employee who is already feeling unsafe or a lack of trust, finding an external Mediator could ward off most or all of any hesitation to move forward with this option.
There is definitely an intersection of bullying and discrimination in the workplace. The pandemic has exposed companies to these practices and employees are holding them accountable. Diverse employees have a wide depth of talent, skills, and credentials and their diversity should not be a factor in their ability to perform the job they were hired to do. A dynamic organization is one that recognizes this and holds bad players (liabilities) accountable in order to thrive.
