by Mike Hall, Mar 24, 2007

Anybody who works for a living knows not all the bullies are in the school yard. Some of them have moved to the nice office with a view—the boss’ office. This week, a new study by the Employment Law Alliance finds that 45 percent of workers say an abusive boss has bullied them.

The poll defined bullying boss actions as yelling, rudely interrupting, publicly criticizing, making sarcastic jokes and teasing remarks and giving dirty looks. These actions take a serious emotional and psychological toll on workers and reduce workplace productivity, say employment experts.

Stanford professor Robert P. Sutton, author of The No Asshole Rule—Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t, says:

This national survey adds to a growing mountain of evidence showing the abuse of power is a rampant problem in the American workplace.

Corliss Olson, a labor education professor at the University of Wisconsin Extension School for Workers, recently told The Capital Times that downsizing, higher productivity demands and increased competition play a role in generating abusive boss behavior.

We’re beyond lean and mean. We’re anorexic and vicious.

That may be why the poll finds 64 percent of workers surveyed say they should be allowed to fight the bullies—in court. According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, nine state legislatures are considering bills to give workers some types of legal protection against abusive action by bosses.

One protection already available to workers is a strong union contract that gives them the right to pursue grievances against employers. Bosses still may be mean jerks, but a union contact makes it a lot easier to challenge their bullying.

For more information on anti-bullying legislation and advice on how to deal with a bully boss, go to www.bullybuster.org.