National Experts' Book Shows Employers Why & How to Stop Workplace Bullying

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May 24, 2011, 03:01 ET

BELLINGHAM, Wash., May 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- John Wiley & Sons released The Bully-Free Workplace: Stop the Jerks, Weasels & Snakes from Killing Your Organization on May 24. It is the long-awaited how-to guide for employers who want to voluntarily combat workplace bullying from Drs. Gary and Ruth Namie. The Namies are the most recognized experts in the field in North America.

The authors of the book are principals at the Work Doctor®, the firm that originated the workplace bullying consulting field in the U.S. in 1998.

Workplace bullying is not simply inappropriate, annoying or uncivil behavior or conflict. The Namies define it as repeated, health-harming mistreatment by one or more employees that takes the form of verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, humiliation, exploitation of known vulnerabilities, or work sabotage.

"Few employers do anything about it. Good employers want to do the right thing, but don't know what to do," says Dr. Gary Namie. "We wrote this book for leaders in all organizations. With this book, there will be no more excuses for inaction and indecision."

According to the 2010 US national scientific survey from the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) and conducted by Zogby, 35% of all adult Americans, 54 million, know first-hand workplace bullying. The Namies founded WBI in mid-1997.

Despite bullying's prevalence, employers can ignore it because 80% of incidents are legal. The Namies started the campaign for an anti-bullying law for the workplace in 2003 in California. To date, 21 states have introduced some version of the bill called the Healthy Workplace Bill (HWB). At this time, there are 15 separate bills current in 11 states, with prominent support in the state of New York from Assemblymember Steve Engelbright and Senator Diane Savino. "It seems inevitable that ... the HWB will become law," wrote Jason Habinsky and Christine Fitzgerald from Hughes Hubbard & Reed in the Jan. 2011 New York Law Journal.

"Employers cannot afford to sustain the losses that bullying causes. Bullies are too expensive to keep," warns Dr. Namie. "The Bully-Free Workplace provides a necessary toolkit for employers who are waiting on a law to compel action."

SOURCE Work Doctor