I’m delighted to share with you links to a podcast episode that featured Dr. Gary Namie (Director, Workplace Bullying Institute) and I talking about workplace bullying, especially as it relates to the employment relations roles of human resources professionals. I’d also like to share my own optimism that more and more HR folks are open to, if not downright supportive of, enactment of the anti-bullying Healthy Workplace Bill, as part of a bigger conversation about a more pro-active role for HR in responding to workplace bullying.

HRMorning’s “Voices of HR” podcast, hosted by Berta Aldrich

The podcast episode, “Wiping Out Workplace Bullying,” is the latest in HRMorning‘s “Voices of HR” series. The series is hosted by Berta Aldrich, a high-ranking senior executive turned author, executive trainer, and coach who is devoting her considerable talents to creating better organizations. Her podcast has attracted a lot of attention, with over 100,000 subscribers (mostly the audio version) drawn primarily from the HR community.

A few months ago, Berta and producer Sharon Mchugh invited Gary and me to be guests for an episode focussing on HR and workplace bullying. To my pleasant surprise (for reasons explained below), the invitation shared a supportive interest in the Healthy Workplace Bill. That alone signaled to me the rich possibility of a different kind of conversation than the one that has often framed the topic of HR and workplace bullying (again, see below).

A few weeks ago we recorded what I thought was a very in-depth conversation, and the folks at HRMorning have been rolling out the edited final version this week on various platforms. It runs for almost an hour, but for those interested in a more pro-active role for HR in addressing workplace bullying, I think it’s a worthy investment of time. Here are the links:

• Apple podcasts (audio), click here.
• Spotify (audio), click here.
• YouTube (video), click here. 

Why is this different?

For many years, workers experiencing workplace bullying have shared a common experience: HR was useless. In other words, bullied workers approached the Human Resources office, asked for help, and HR’s response was either to discount their claim or even side with the aggressor(s). This recurring narrative has made me and others involved in this work rather dubious toward HR’s role in preventing and responding to bullying and mobbing behaviors.

But hold on a minute. Here in the U.S., at least, I am sensing a shift within the HR community concerning workplace bullying, which is manifesting in two encouraging ways.

First, more HR professionals want to be more proactively involved in addressing bullying and related behaviors at work.

Second, more HR professionals support enactment of proposed workplace anti-bullying laws such as the Healthy Workplace Bill.

I bow to another colleague, Dr. Teresa Daniel (Sullivan University), for being among the pioneers in prodding HR to move in this direction. Teri and Gary Metcalf have authored Stop Bullying at Work: Strategies and Tools for HR, Legal, & Risk Management Professionals (2nd ed., 2016). Their helpful guidebook provides a very smart, management-oriented perspective on this topic.

And now, this podcast further shows an interest from those within the HR community to play a leadership role in addressing bullying and related mistreatment at work. For reasons that Gary, Berta, and I examine during our discussion, this path is not risk-free for HR practitioners working in the trenches. But the fact that the conversation is shifting toward a claim of greater agency for HR in this realm is genuinely encouraging. Stay tuned.