It is said that one should pursue their passion and what they love and turn it into a form of a business. Many people do not enjoy the luxury of being able to become entrepreneurs with the associated risk and overcoming barriers to entry. There are those that have a job that they are passionate about and love going to work everyday. However, the majority of those in the workplace have to perform their duties in an often hostile work environment and tolerating it for the benefit of their family and its needs. Such hostility may comprise of a boss with incredible demands and a lack of respect or civility to his or her employees. This hostility and bullying may not necessarily become actionable unless it involves some form of discriminatory conduct on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, veteran status, disability, age, gender, workers compensation, sexual harassment, and/or blowing the proverbial whistle on unlawful conduct. There are a number of other protected classes that are protected as well. In essence, the law does not protect fragile sensibilities of employees. As federal courts have affirmed on many occasions, Title VII is not “a general civility code” that prohibits “all verbal or physical harassment in the workplace.” Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., 523 U.S. 75, 80 (1998).
The bullying employer can be an equal opportunity offender if their offenses are neutral and subjected to all employees for example. For example, in Acosta v. Hilton Grand Vacations Company, LLC, Civil Action No. 4:15-cv-00495, 2017 (D.S.C. Mar. 30, 2017), a female employee’s supervisor “had a reputation of being rude to everyone, regardless of the individual’s gender[.]” Id. at *6. Although the supervisor’s offending behavior with the employees were “rude and inappropriate,” they were no different than those directed at male employees and did not in themselves reflect “bias or . . . animus based on . . . gender.” Id.
A supervisor or manager can be harsh in their manner and interaction with a single employee whether by informal admonishment or progressive discipline as long as it is not the basis of a protected class such as those identified above. The offending conduct can be based on attendance issues, timely production, intimidation, quota, aggression, verbal abuse, false performance reviews, gossip, or any other manner the work is performed. There are a number of states considering anti-bullying legislation prohibiting conduct that may cause a particular degree of emotional distress upon an employee, particularly those acts not protected under Title VII or other protected classes. This obviously involves a person putting their own needs above that of the business which requires a high moral of all its employees. There is an economic incentive to have a positive work environment that promotes the interests of the employee and employer. The supervisor is aware of its relationship with the employee in his or ability to exercise authority and the employee’s subordination and likely tolerance to avoid an adverse employment action such as demotion, change in pay or hours, or ultimate termination. Many professionals often compare it to spousal abuse. Often, the supervisor perpetrates such conduct because they feel threatened by an employee for a number of reasons. Perhaps, the employee is performing above expectations, has knowledge of illegal or improper conduct, or has a greater relationship with clients and is a perceived threat.
Work Place Bullying has been defined as:
Workplace Bullying is repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators. It is abusive conduct that is :
- Threatening, humiliating, or intimidating, or
- Work interference — sabotage — which prevents work from getting done, or
- Verbal abuse
http://www.workplacebullying.org/individuals/problem/definition/
“Based on a study conducted by SHRM, about half (51%) of organizations reported that there had been incidents of bullying in their workplace. Among those organizations that experienced incidents of bullying, nearly (73%) reported verbal abuse. Additionally, 3 out of 5 organizations (62%) reported malicious gossiping and spreading lies/rumors about workers, and one-half (50%) reported threats or intimidation. Furthermore, according to a survey sponsored by the Workplace Bullying Institute in 2010, 35% of U.S. workers have experienced or witnessed bullying, 62% of bullies are men, and 38% are women. The survey also concluded that men bully men more frequently than they bully women, and women usually bully other women. Workers ages 30-49 are the most frequent targets for workplace bullying.”
http://hrprofessionalsmagazine.com/jerks-in-the-workplace-the-legal-risks-created-by-bullying/
If you are the subject of such abuse in the workplace, it is important to journal and memorialize each incident for possible litigation in the future. Perhaps, without litigation, there may be an intake performed by higher management seeking statements from employees subordinate to the supervisor or manager being investigated and your notes and preservation of evidence will corroborate your statements and possibly that of others.
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