OSHA describes workplace violence as, “any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behavior. It ranges from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and even homicide.” The EEOC describes harassment as, “unwelcome conduct that “becomes unlawful where 1) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment, or 2) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive.” Interesting that both of these definitions seem to describe workplace bullying, yet many employers fail to address that issue.
Workplace bullying is systematic psychological abuse that degrades and humiliates, and causes anxiety, depression, burnout, and lower levels of job satisfaction in targets and bystanders. Behaviors include frequent yelling, manipulation of work, nasty emails, social isolation, and a host of others. This session will take you through the process of developing effective strategies for dealing with workplace bullying and provide a step-by-step guide for building a healthy workplace where employees can thrive.
If allowed to flourish, bullying causes increased turnover, communication breakdown, reduced quality in work and poor customer service. In the end, bullying creates an unsafe and unhealthy work environment that can cost an organization millions if not addressed. In fact, all negative behaviors at work cause anxiety, burnout, low job satisfaction, and increased turnover, but they have differing legal risks for employers. The distinction – and the overlap – between these concepts can certainly cause confusion, but not knowing the difference and acting proactively to stop these behaviors could result in an unwanted lawsuit brought by an employee.
If allowed to flourish, bullying causes increased turnover, communication breakdown, reduced quality in work and poor customer service. In the end, bullying creates an unsafe and unhealthy work environment that can cost an organization millions if not addressed. In fact, all negative behaviors at work cause anxiety, burnout, low job satisfaction, and increased turnover, but they have differing legal risks for employers. The distinction – and the overlap – between these concepts can certainly cause confusion, but not knowing the difference and acting proactively to stop these behaviors could result in an unwanted lawsuit brought by an employee.
Catherine M. Mattice
Catherine M. Mattice, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is President of consulting and training firm, Civility Partners, and has been successfully providing programs in workplace bullying and building positive workplaces since 2007. Her clients include Chevron, the American Red Cross, the military, several universities and hospitals, government agencies, small businesses and nonprofits. She has published in a variety of trade magazines and has appeared as an expert in major news outlets including NPR, FOX, NBC, ABC, USA Today, Inc Magazine, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, Washington Times, Psychology Today and Bloomberg. Catherine is Past-President of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), San Diego …
Controller Challenges in Changing Times: New Roles as Strat…
FDA Technology Modernization Action Plan (TMAP) and Impact …
Stress, Change And Team Resilience Through Humor: An Intera…
Excel Spreadsheets; Develop and Validate for 21 CFR Part 11…
How to Prepare For and Host a FDA Inspection and Respond to…
Sunshine Act Reporting - Clarification for Clinical Research
The Importance of the first 5 seconds when presenting
From Chaos To Calm: How to Eliminate Drama and Boost Workpl…
Complaint Handling and Management: From Receipt to Trending
Do's and Don'ts of Documenting Employee Behaviour, Performa…
Managing Toxic Employees: Strategies For Leaders To Effecti…
ChatGPT Unlocked: A Beginner’s Guide to AI and ChatGPT
Understanding Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Incredib…
6-Hour Virtual Boot Camp on Microsoft Power BI
Onboarding is NOT Orientation - How to Improve the New Empl…
The Monte Carlo Simulations in Excel for Risky Investments
ChatGPT and Project Management: Leveraging AI for Project M…
Project Management for administrative professionals
Workplace Investigations 101: How to Conduct your Investiga…
Transform Data into Insights: A Beginners Guide to Excel Pi…
Harassment, Bullying, Gossip, Confrontational and Disruptiv…
Construction Lending And Real Credit Administration: Evalua…
Dealing With Difficult People: At Work & In Life
Understanding Accounting for non - Accounting professionals
New Form 1099 Reporting Requirements: 2025 Compliance Update
Human Error Reduction Techniques for Floor Supervisors
HR Metrics and Analytics 2025 - Update on Strategic Plannin…
7 Ways To Beat Burnout: Without Quitting Your Job
Treating Employees Like Adults: Discipline versus Empowerme…
Understanding EBITDA – Definition, Formula & Calculation
Ethical Terminations: Navigating Employee Exits with Legal …
Handbook Overhaul 2026: Compliance, OBBB Act & Beyond
How to Write Procedures to Avoid Human Errors
FDA Proposes Framework to Advance Credibility of AI Models
Project Management for Non-Project Managers - Scheduling yo…
Validation Statistics for Non-Statisticians
Data Integrity and Privacy: Compliance with 21 CFR Part 11,…
4-Hour Virtual Seminar on Hidden Secrets of Selling & Marke…
The Alphabet Soup: When the FMLA, ADA, COBRA, and Workers' …
Talent Management: How to Leverage AI and ChatGPT Tools for…
Offboarding with Care: Conducting Legal & Ethical Employee …
2-Hour Virtual Seminar on How to Conduct an Internal Harass…