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发布: 2010-7-23 05:37 作者: 网络文摘来源: 网络文摘查看: 3次

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There are some very important things they don't tell you on career day. Chief among them is that there is a good chance that at some point during your working adult life you will have an abusive boss - the kind who uses his or her authority to torment subordinates. Bullying bosses scream, often with the goal of humiliating. They write up false evaluations to put good workers' jobs at risk. Some are serial bullies, targeting one worker and, when he or she is gone, moving on to their next victim.

Bosses may abuse because they have impossibly high standards, are insecure or have not been properly socialized. But some simply enjoy it. Recent brain-scan research has shown that bullies are wired differently. When they see a victim in pain, it triggers parts of their brain associated with pleasure. (See 10 ways your job will change.)

Worker abuse is a widespread problem - in a 2007 Zogby poll, 37% of American adults said they had been bullied at work - and most of it is perfectly legal. Workers who are abused based on their membership in a protected class - race, nationality or religion, among others - can sue under civil rights laws. But the law generally does not protect against plain old viciousness.

Not surprisingly, many employers oppose the bill. They argue that it would lead to frivolous lawsuits and put them at risk for nothing more than running a tight ship and expecting a lot from their workers. But supporters of the law point out that it is crafted to cover only the most offensive and deliberate abuse. The bill requires that wrongful conduct be done with 'malice,' and in most cases that it has to be repeated. It also provides affirmative defenses for companies that investigate promptly and address the problem in good faith. (See 'When Bullying Goes Criminal.')

The New York state assembly is expected to take up the bill next year. At least 16 other states are considering similar bills, and some employment-law experts think antibullying legislation may have real momentum now.

Legislatures are not the only ones standing up to bullies. In 2008, the Indiana supreme court struck a blow against workplace bullying when it upheld a $325,000 verdict against a cardiovascular surgeon. A medical technician who operated a heart and lung machine during surgery accused the surgeon of charging at him with clenched fists, screaming and swearing. The formal legal claims were intentional infliction of emotional distress and assault, but the plaintiff argued it as a bullying case, and had an expert on workplace bullying testify at trial. (Comment on this story.)

There are reasons workplace bullying may be getting worse now, including the bad economy. In good times, abused workers can simply walk out on a job if they are being mistreated. But with unemployment at around 9.5%, and five job seekers for every available job, many employees feel they have no choice but to stay put.

Another factor is the decline of organized labor. Unions were once a worker's front-line defense against an abusive boss. If a supervisor was out of line, the shop steward would talk to him - on behalf of all of the workers. But union membership has fallen from 35% of the workforce in the 1950s to under 13% today, and some unions are less aggressive than they once were. (See what to do if you have a bad boss.)

If states enact laws of this kind and lawsuits begin to be filed, juries are far more likely to sympathize with the bullied worker than the bullying boss - and damages awards could be large. There is one easy way for employers to head all of this off: get more serious about rooting out abusive bosses before serious damage is done.

Cohen, a lawyer, is a former TIME writer and a former member of the New York Times editorial board

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1,595 Comments

Joseph Fri Jul 23, 2010 06:50 pm PDT Report Abuse What next, the anti-mean people law??

without due cause, the union would look into it and help to rectify the

problem. oh, that's right, unions are almost a thing of the distant past.

If we start making the 'bully bosses' and their 'lazy' / 'weak' / 'cowardly' managers start footing the legal and punitive fees involved, the bullies will go away.

kevin Fri Jul 23, 2010 10:50 am PDT Report Abuse a good punch in the mouth to a bullie a good defense sure yo get fired but it feels good and 90 perceent of the time the cops don't even question you.

DPH Fri Jul 23, 2010 08:01 am PDT Report Abuse Reminds me of a news story from about 35-40 years ago when in either the Philippines or Indonesia when a sweatshop manufacturing company finally gave their employees a raise, the amount was much less than what was promised. The employees response? ..........They hanged all the managers and burnt down the facility.

jewels Fri Jul 23, 2010 05:35 am PDT Report Abuse Should apply to 'bullying' Companies as well. Sprint is a great one for bullying its employees like putting false and inaccurate reprimhands in their personnel files. Bad employer and the real bully that's behind managers that bully.

livetoseeanotherday Fri Jul 23, 2010 04:02 am PDT Report Abuse The fact is bullying actually hurts the bottom line with increased turnover, employee time off due to illness and diminished productivity due to anxiety, etc. Re-hiring and training new employees is one the biggest costs that businesses incur.