Are There Bullies at Your Credit Union?

by Paul Hendryks and Gene Mandarino

Turn on the news, read your phone, listen to the radio, watch any of the most popular sitcoms or reality shows and you will see a common thread running through all of them, or most of them: people being mean. The news is filled with horrific stories of violence and abuse. The sitcoms cannot do without pranks and practical jokes at someone’s expense and the reality shows are a continuous stream of people arguing, with more bleeped out expletives than actual dialogue. 

With this continuous stream of “mean” in the media it is no wonder workplace bullying is on the rise. And, according to the Associated Press, 10 states are now considering legislation that would allow workers to sue for on-the-job bullying that causes physical or emotional harm. They also cite that 56% of companies surveyed have some type of anti-bullying policy.

As an HR professional we would suggest that every credit union get out in front of this and look at including an anti-bullying policy in their employee handbook. As a person I would suggest that we look at ways to encourage each other to be nicer: to say thank you; to say please; to help out a coworker who is struggling with a problem at home; to buy a coworker a candy bar just because; to give someone a thank you card; to ask “How can I help?”; to recognize someone for a job well done at a staff meeting; to bring in coffee from Starbucks for the office; to help out with mundane tasks i.e., stuffing envelopes, filing, etc.; or to just ask yourself, “What can I do to be a little nicer?” 

Workplace Bullying - The Next Employment Law Nightmare? 

Maybe you thought it was just an oversight that you weren’t included in the lunch outing by others in your department. Then you later learn that one of your coworkers used the lunch outing as an opportunity to criticize you about everything – from the clothes you wear to your work habits. And later in the week, this same coworker takes credit at a staff meeting for a project you recently completed (knowing you don’t have the courage to speak up to dispute his statement).

All of this may remind you of similar antics pulled by bullies in grade school. One would think that the playground bullies would “grow out of it” and not continue this type of behavior in the workplace. Apparently not, as workplace bullying has affected about 35% of workers according to a CareerBuilder survey.

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