Bullying and the Workplace: Management of Unprofessional Behaviours - Financial and Human Asset Costs

“Harmony is a constant stream of evolution, a constantly changing vocabulary and syntax.”

Rogers Sessions

©2007 Parris, Wolfe & [email protected]: 416-548-4237

Effects of Discord in the Organizational StructureInternal Environment

Effects of Discord in the Organizational Structure

Financial and Human Asset Costs


Harmony

Business Strategy

Internal EnvironmentProcess

With the business spheres in “harmony” corporate assets and resources are enabled to perform at optimum levels.

Harmonizing: Strategy, People, and Process


3


"Harmony" in an Organization

• When an organization has “harmony” there is:

Open and honest communication Strong work ethic combined with strong team spirit Respect for each other Healthy / productive conflict productive debates People work towards the same strategic goals



Strategies are properly implemented because of strengthened interpersonal infrastructures; increasing overall productivity.


• Cultural tone of an organization

• Human Resource Structure - an entity's people.


5

Harmony

Business Strategy


When analyzing the HR structure we look at;

• the social work environment in which people operate

• their integrity and ethical values, and

• if talent and capacities are correctly being used.


Impact of Human Resource Discord on:

• Organizational Work Culture

• Human Resource Succession Planning

• Operation Costs

• Effects on your Employee’s Health

• Effects on your Workforce


6

Harmony

Business Strategy


7 ©2007 Parris, Wolfe & [email protected]: 416-548-4237


Effects of Human Resource Discord on the Organization’s Work Culture

Macro Level

Inhibits the owners/CEO’s positive work values and principals from being replicated throughout the company

Creates a distance between the main decision maker and the Organization’s workforce

Creates illusion of betrayal by senior management



Effects of Human Resource Discord on the Organization’s Work Culture – cont’d

Mezzo-Level

Erodes employees trust and loyalty towards senior level management

Dissolves level of confidence in senior management’s leadership capabilities

Creates an environment of undermining and espionage between workforce and management



Effects of Human Resource Discord on the Organization’s Work Culture – cont’d

Micro-Level

Creates silos within business units and teams

Weakens and dissolves inter-company support networks

• Lessens knowledge-sharing and team-learning behaviors

Diminishes the workforce’s contributions of creativity, decision making, and risk taking behaviors



Disgruntled Employees

• Mistreatment from co-worker/management

Employee Trust/Loyalty Diminished

• Employee reveals proprietary information

Impacts Corporate Intelligence

• Undermines risk management

Organization’s Work Culture: illustration where undermining and espionage is occurring

Leaves

• Employees speak negatively about poor leadership and management

Impacts Corporate Integrity

• New desirable talent avoids employment with company

• Workforce speaks negatively about experiences to others in industry

Impacts Company Branding

• Company develops negative reputation

Stays

• Strategy not implemented through employees actions

Impact Strategic Planning

• Impedes “process”



Effects of Human Resource Discord on Succession Planning

As a result:1. Decision makers may be shielded from identifying proactive and

valuable resources/assets.2. Improper promotions / demotions hinder succession planning

strategies3. Improper performance reviews hinder corporate & employee development

If a discordant individual is conducting employee performance reviews, decision makers may receive biased information that impedes succession planning.



Senior Management / Manager (Discordant Individual)

Impacts Succession Planning• Improper promotions /

demotions hinder succession planning strategies

• Loss of talent access; innovative and creative thinkers leave from lack of opportunity

Impacts Human Resources• Improper performance

reviews hinder:• Corporate growth• Team’s confidence and

esteem development• Employee development• Workforce motivation

Impacts Strategic Planning• “DM” shielded from

identifying valuable employees.

• “DM” not able to assess organizations actual capacities

Inaccurate Team Evaluations Poor Performance Reviews

Discordant individual is conducting evaluations and reviews - impedes Succession Planning & impacts strategic planning

Decision Maker (DM)

Access to direct communication with

Operation Costs:

Discord in the HR Structure



When HR assets are inappropriately managed, the business incurs hidden operation cost.

- a recent survey of 9,000 federal employees indicated that 42 percent of female and 15 percent of male employees reported being harassed within a two-year period, resulting in a cost of

more than $180 million in lost time and productivity.

Michael H. Harrison, Ph.D

Harrison Psychological Associates (Orlando Business Journal March 2002)



HR Discord between four employees in a six month period

1. Distracted Team/Employee Time $28,000

2. Opportunity cost of Distracted / Unproductive time $14,000

3. Impact of Diminished Decision Making $120,000

4. Terminated/Resigned employees $50,4001

5. Employee Restructuring $8,000

6. Intellectual and Property theft/damage $0.002

7. Diminished Motivation $11,200

8. Unproductive Work Time $1,792

9. Employee Health Costs $1,120

Total cost of only one conflict $234,5121 Assumes one of the $40k employees resigned; conflict played typical role.2 Illustration makes conservative assumption that this factor did not incur cost.

The below Illustration of hidden operation cost are taken from an independent case study by Dr. Dan Dana: “Cost of Conflict”

Effects on Employee Health

Mental and Physical



Effects on Individual and Team Health: Mental and Physical

The effects of mistreatment extend beyond direct targets to include witnesses; impacting the financial resources allocated for health benefits, insurance and sick leave.

General Health Questionnaire (GHQ ) and Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) instruments enable us to assess the mental and physical results of stress.

• GHQ results; scores of 4 and above are level which may imply need for screening for psychiatric treatment.

• Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) scores measure physical symptoms of neurological stressors



The findings show “Currently” bullied are well above the need for psychiatric treatment.

• n=553• UMIST - Destructive Conflict and Bullying at Work, Sponsored by the British Occupational Health Research Foundation (BOHRF); April 2000; By Helge Hoel &

Cary L Cooper; Manchester School of Management.

5.6

44

3.7

39

2.8

34

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

CurrentlyBullied

Previously WitnessBullying

Mental (GHQ score) Physical (OSI score)

Bullying and Health Outcomes

Occasionally Bullied

(Rarely/monthly)

Regularly Bullied(Weekly/Daily)

Mental GHQ Score 5.45 6.68

Physical OSI score 43.26 46.34

Effects on Individual and Team Health: Mental and Physical – cont’d

Atonal Team Environment:

Effects on your Workforce, Operation Cost, Productivity and Customer Service



31.2%

11.2%

54.9%

14.8%

31.2%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Individual Individual andseveral other work-

colleagues

Everyone in workgroup

UMIST UNISON

Research shows: One individual most often is NOT

the only target. Entire workgroups report being

mistreated and bullied.

UMIST n= 5,288 UNISON n=761UMIST - Destructive Conflict and Bullying at Work, Sponsored by the British Occupational Health Research Foundation (BOHRF); April 2000; By Helge Hoel & Cary L Cooper; Manchester School of Management. (2nd numbers based on UNISON, 1997 study via UMIST study)

When inappropriate work behavior is allowed to continue; The disruptive individual targets more employees

resulting in decreased employee self-esteem, health, and productivity

Effects on your Workforce



Effects on your Operation Cost

Macro• Loss of competitive edge

• Loss current and future profitability

Mezzo• High turnover of employees

• Replacement costs

• New/post-employee training cost

Micro• Distracted time cost

• Higher rate of sick time & benefits usage

• Insurance premiums increase



Diminished Production and Productivity Levels• Lost production time results in lower productivity;

• Employees report they loose work time “due to rude workplace behaviour directed toward them.”1

• Organizations who manage people well, outperform those who don't by 30 to 40%.2

A Weakening of Customer Service Quality:• Customer service suffers when employees are harassed at work:

• Their loyalty diminishes • They view the company as not protecting them from the disruptive

employee, as a result, the other employees take frustrations out on clients.3

Effects on your Productivity and Customer Service

1. American Psychological Association; survey of 1,500 workers, 750 said they lost time from work: “due to rude workplace behaviour directed toward them.”2. Canada’s Safety Council3. Orlando Business Journal

Resolving Discord

in the

Organizational Structure



Discord in the Organizational Structure

Discord and negative dissonance in the work environment impacts not only the target but also:

• Organizational Work Culture

• Human Resource Succession Planning

• Operation Costs

• Employee Mental & Physical Health

• Team Environment



When an organization identifies and successfully addresses these issues inside of their workforce they:

• Increase communication, productivity, and production• Preserve a positive work culture

• Instill a sense of trust and accountability of senior management

• Create a work culture that incubates innovative and creative teams who share knowledge and are solution oriented

• Retain desirable talent and limit turn-over cost

Resolving Discord in the Organizational Structure – cont’d



Resolving Discord in the Organizational Structure – cont’d

When the three business spheres are “retuned” into harmony, resources are stimulated into performing at optimum levels.

Harmony

Business Strategy


“Our mission is to encourage organizations to strengthen their interpersonal infrastructures”

Parris, Wolfe & Associates’ consultants each have specific areas of expertise, and years of experience to back up their knowledge.

We work directly with senior management and production staff to facilitate team building, and resolve intra-office discord and dissonant

Human Resource issues prevalent in a company

To learn about our services please visit www.businessaccountability.com

or call us directly.

Parris, Wolfe & Associates416-548-4237

Thank you for your timeTamara Parris & John Wolfe



Sources1. 2003 Report on Abusive Workplaces; by Gary Namie, Ph.D.; October, 2003. The Workplace Bullying &

Trauma Institute (WBTI)

2. UMIST - Destructive Conflict and Bullying at Work, Sponsored by the British Occupational Health Research Foundation (BOHRF); By Helge Hoel & Cary L Cooper; Manchester School of Management; April 2000.

3. Harrison Psychological Associates; Workplace bullying's high cost: $180M in lost time, productivity; Orlando Business Journal - March 15, 2002 by Liz Urbanski Farrell; March 2002 http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2002/03/18/focus1.html?t=printable

4. UNISON (1997) Bullying at work: Bullying survey report. London; by UNISON.; 1997

5. Bullying at work: Epidemiological findings in private and public organisations. European Joumal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 5, 185–201.; by Einarsen, S. Skogstad, A.; 1996

6. The incidence of workplace bullying. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 7, 249–255.; by Rayner, C.; 1997

7. Bullying in the Workplace. by Canada’s Safety Council; September 2000; http://www.safety-council.org/info/OSH/bullies.html

8. Proudfoot Productivity Report, An international study of company-level productivity. by Proudfoot Consulting; 2006

9. Dana Measure of Financial Cost of Conflict; by Dr. Dan Dana 1999, 2006

10. FASTOH project, Queensland University of Technology, Australian Maritime Safety Authority; 1996


Appendix



Appendix 1

GHQ-12 Items• Able to concentrate • Lost much sleep• Playing useful part• Capable of making decisions• Under stress• Could not overcome difficulties• Enjoy normal activities• Face up to problems• Feeling unhappy and depressed• Losing confidence• Thinking of self as worthless• Feeling reasonably happy

The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) screens for non-psychotic disorders and is available in the following versions: GHQ-60: the fully detailed 60-item questionnaire, GHQ-30: a short form without items relating to physical illness, GHQ-28: a 28 item scaled version – assesses somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction and severe depression, GHQ-12: a quick, reliable and sensitive short form – ideal for research studies•created by Dr. David Goldberg & used world wide



Key elements of OSI scores(Occupational Stress Indicators)

Sources of Pressureat Work

Sources of JobSatisfaction

Mental and Physical Health

• Factors intrinsic to the job • Managerial role• Relationships with others• Career and achievement• Organisational structure• Home/work interface

• Achievement, value & growth

• Job itself • Organisational design• Organisational processes• Personal relationships

• Mental ill health• Physical ill health

Australian Maritime Safety Authority, 1996