How to Stop Bullying Behavior in the Office: A Guide for Managers

As a manager you must be able to do many things at once. One of your primary tasks involves being the eyes and ears of your division, being on top of all matters that affect your employees in the workplace — both positively and negatively.

Of course, it’s impossible for you to know about everything that’s going on behind the scenes. But if you begin to notice a marked change in either the behavior or quality of work of a previously exemplary employee (or employees), you may want to pay close attention to the dynamics of your staff.

Do you notice that there is an employee who seems to intimidate his or her coworkers? Perhaps someone who is a master at grandstanding, prone to making loud jokes (at the expense of others), or who seems to simply provoke negative feelings around the office? Unfortunately, you may have a problem on your hands that is not that uncommon — an office bully.

Below are helpful tips for managers who recognize that a specific employee may be behaving in a bullying fashion in the workplace:

• Many bosses are so afraid of being hit with discrimination-based lawsuits for confronting an employee over his or her disruptive, bullying behavior that they simply look the other way. But if you are a manager, do not allow lawsuit fears to interfere with taking action. Be sure to discuss the issue first with your human resources department, and have an HR representative present to act as a mediator when meeting with the employee in question.
• Be sure to have several specific, documented examples of the employee’s negative behavior to present at the meeting. As you listen to his or her responses, be understanding (to a point) but firm, and make sure the employee understands that these actions are upsetting coworkers and disrupting their ability to do their jobs.
• Never allow the employee to direct the conversation back to any employee(s) who may have lodged a complaint — make sure the person is aware that this meeting is about him/her.
• Be crystal clear about the behavior you want halted. Should there be another incident after your meeting, inform the bully that his or her job may be in jeopardy if an improvement in behavior is not seen immediately. (Many managers put this warning in writing to drive home just how important the command is).
• Talk with your superiors in the company about the issue. People who have been on the job longer may be able to offer some helpful insight into combating this kind of detrimental behavior and dealing with “bad apples.” Surely, everyone has had at least one on their staff at one time or another.
• Take the employee out to lunch. Removing a bully from the workplace environment could bring about a reversal in the manner in which he or she normally behaves, paving the way for directly addressing the issue at hand. Often, the person will be unaware of the fact that he or she is even acting like a bully — ambition, humor, and aggressiveness have ways of being greatly misinterpreted.
• Be sure to check in with your other employees after you’ve had your meeting. Oftentimes the bully, out of anger or spite, will take the bullying outside the office, where he or she may feel immune to chastisement. This could present an even more severe problem, since the bully’s threats could become more serious.