This week, my work led me to encounter firsthand experiences of those 9% of bullying cases that, according to new research, occur bottom-up.
In one organization, a female manager relayed that she left her previous job after being the subject of malicious rumours and gossip that were spread by several of the people who reported to her. They also abused the union grievance process to essentially paralyze her leadership. When she realized that those above her would take no decisive action, she quit.
At a conference where I presented one of my “Hey, This Ain’t the Wild West!” sessions, the owner of a 60-person plant reported that staff had been continuously harassing him and his fellow managers, who for a variety of reasons felt helpless to take action. Of the five leaders, two suffered a heart attack, one had a stroke and one developed diabetes.
In the third situation, a manager of a deeply poisoned work environment was consistently harassed by his employees. He got no support from HR or from his own managers. Finally, he snapped in public, which led to serious disciplinary action against him.
These stories clearly relay that managers who are harassed experience the exact same effects as do others: they quit, or they get seriously sick. Or snap.
Not a pretty picture – for the organization or the individual.
