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To create a positive workplace culture, top leadership must model civility and the expected behaviors.

In this episode, I talk about Governor Andrew Cuomo’s behavior toward his staff, as it has come to light. How did he, and how do others get away with abusive behavior for a long time? Enablers are required.

Also discussed, workplace surveys from a variety of sources:

•EVERFI/HR.com Research Institute survey which says 40 percent of employees agree their organization is toxic, and 55 percent agree their leaders aren’t good at preventing problems before they start.
•84 percent of employees that think they have a positive workplace culture, have leadership that live out the company’s values, that is, leadership walks the talk.
•Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and the Ethics and Compliance Initiative (ECI) found in their report, The High Cost of a Toxic Workplace Culture, from a 2019 survey that 60 percent of workplace misconduct came from managers; and in the previous 5 years 1 in 5 employees left their job due to a toxic workplace culture. (For more information, visit the SHRM blog https://www.talkworkculture.com/)

Takeaways:
•Abusive workplace behavior is costly to employee health, to business success and profitability.
•The topmost leadership needs to model the behaviors that promote healthy workplace behaviors.
•Create a code of conduct that’s required of everyone. In the workplace people bring their experiences and backgrounds into a new environment, let people know what’s expected of them, and measure them and the organization on these expectations.

Music: New Orleans Country Clarinet Shuffle, John Covert; Landscape, Adrian Berenguer; Oz Funk Full Solo, William Newman; Latin Spanish Salsa Music, Bobby Cole; Smoky Jazz, Bobby Cole; Such a Swingin’ Good Time Neil Cross.

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This episode of Workplace Fairness and Dignity is about bullying behavior: Who are the bully’s targets, how to recognize the behavior, and navigating how to address it with future employers after leaving your job due to bullying. Information can be found at the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) at https://workplacebullying.org.

Additional topics include:

WBI’s outline of the profile of typical targets of workplace bullies, and why the person that Human Resources considers the ideal worker is often a bully’s target;

Steps to take and what not to do when dealing with a workplace bully, according to WBI;

How to approach the issue of why you left a place where you dealt with an abusive work environment, and the question of references when addressing questions about your former employer;

How I found some inspiration in a TV character, Mr. Bevis.

Music: Martini Magic, Jazz Trio Jam by Matthew Shaker; Cuban Party Theme by Bobby Cole; Thursday by Jason Donnelly; Fun, Retro, Upbeat by Vladyslav Krotov; Landscape by Adrian Berenguer; Bizet’s Habanera by Keith Anthony Holden; Geminiani Concerto (Public Domain); Get Outen Mine Face Der Funk by Patrick Smith.

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This episode of Workplace Fairness and Dignity is about bullying behavior: How it’s viewed by organizations; the role of Human Resources (HR) and the limited role HR may play in addressing the behavior; the reasons people bully at work and why they get away with the behavior. The information is from the Workplace Bullying Institute at https://workplacebullying.org.

Additional topics covered:

From the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI):

· How to recognize bullying, including the various tactics used by perpetrators

· WBI on what workplace bullying is, and what it is not

· The story of how the Institute came to be from the bullying experienced on the job by one of the founders, a clinical psychologist, by her boss who was also a clinical psychologist

· Profile of bullying targets

The story of the Chief Executive who kept his word and fired an employee who directed inappropriate, abusive behavior at another professional;

A reminder of Professor David Yamada’s writing about how bullies can escape management notice by their learned skill at kissing up and kicking down;

Abusive people in the workplace could quite possibly be garden-variety psychopaths – there’s mention of “The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson;

How to talk about your former employer after you have left the bullying organization.

MUSIC: Happy, Groovy Power Pop, by Bobby Cole; Slap It All Around, by Neil Cross; Orchestral Final, by Tencher Music; Swing Days, by Bobby Cole; Adventures in Fine Dining, by Julian Mogavero; Midnight Instrumental, by Paul Mitchell Beebe; Swing Days, by Bobby Cole.