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Human Resources (HR)
Fails Targets, Supports Bullies
Fails Targets, Supports Bullies
Is this broad, sweeping generalization fair? We think so. In all of the years of listening to the thousands of true accounts, only ONE HR executive ever took action against a bully. [If you have evidence to the contrary, send that person's name to us at WBI and we'll laud him or her and that HR department.]
Look at the research finding below from the WBI 2000 research. Targets reported in the survey that HR, when informed about the bullying, either DID NOTHING (which is not a neutral act when someone asks for help) or took NEGATIVE ACTIONS (like instructing the bully how to misuse the performance evaluation system to drive the target away or smearing the target's reputation with senior management) in a total of 83% of cases. That means they supported the bullied target positively in only 17% of cases. HR hurts; it rarely helps.
Some of the Reasons Why ...
- HR's role is management support. It is simply their job. They are clear about it. Why not you? Only naive employees think they are advocates. Without a union, there are no employee advocates. (Be certain that Ombuds are not employee allies either.)
- HR seems to never have the authority to generate new policies to address emerging problems. They typically wait for new laws to be passed so that policies are mandated to ensure compliance and dodge potential litigation. No laws, no policies.
- Though HR is the clearinghouse for employee complaints and they know full well who the chief troublemakers are, either they claim to be powerless to act (even in the employer's best interests which they serve) or they feel compelled to back bullies when they are bosses (as in 7 in 10 cases) as part of their unconditional support for managers.
- Too many people feel comfortable defending the company as an institution, despite evidence that individuals are being hurt trying to get work done. HR is the most conservative, timid defender of the company. It's either the people attracted to work there or they become cowed after years of learned helplessness in their subordinate role. It is little wonder that executives ignore HR and eagerly outsource the functions whenever possible. HR has always wanted to sit at the right hand of the CEO, but HR is perceived from the top as a costly necessity to keep the company out of court. Too bad for HR, but really sad for bullied targets who erroneously expect HR to help them.
When you are prepared to expose the bullying, to document that person's financial impact on the organization, and to demand relief from the mistreatment, skip HR. Find the highest-ranking person who does not have an attachment (do your research because the ties are not always readily apparent) -- as you can see above, the bully's boss is too close to, and protective of, the bully. Read our suggested 3-step action strategy.
By Dr. Gary Namie, veteran consultant to HR departments and former HR insider himself.