How to Manage When Co-Workers Cause Someone to Resign
Workplace bullying by co-workers can cause employees to resign. According to a survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute, 35 percent of employees were targeted in 2010. Behavior, such as yelling, criticizing and ignoring an employee, can result in loss of productivity and other costs associated with recruiting and training a new employee. In addition, the resigning employee may seek expensive legal remedies. Management is responsible for curbing this type of behavior and ensuring that it is not repeated in the workplace.
Exit Interview
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Conducting exit interviews of employees who leave your company can give you insight to challenges that they experienced in the workplace. If you suspect co-workers caused an employee to resign, ask questions that relate to the level of contentment at work. Employees who are leaving the company may be more open to discussing people and events that forced them to leave. Ask for details about specific complaints regarding co-workers. Find out where and when the treatment occurred, who was present and what was said. It may be too late to salvage the employment of the person who resigns, but you can use the information to prevent it from happening again.
Investigate
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Some bullying, or harassment, is illegal and violates laws that protect employees from disparate treatment due to certain characteristics, such as race, sex, religion, national origin, color, disability and age. The employee who was forced to resign because of poor treatment by co-workers may file a discrimination complaint with the state or federal government and sue the company, so you need to find out if any illegal behavior occurred. With the information gained from the exit interview, meet with possible bullies and witnesses individually and determine if there is a pattern of bullying only certain types of people. If you find that co-workers did cause an employee's resignation, even if it does not appear to be discriminatory, talk to upper management and the human resources department, and take action against the perpetrators.
Discipline
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If you have evidence that co-workers caused the employee to resign, determine the appropriate level of discipline to end the bullies' behavior. If no previous complaints are on file and the behavior was not egregious, a simple discussion and verbal warning may suffice. In addition, give the bullies performance appraisals that detail the allegations, the appropriate workplace behavior expected and when they will be reviewed again. State that, if no improvements are made, further discipline up to, and including, termination may occur.
Follow-Up
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Meet individually with staff members again to ensure that no further bullying behavior has occurred since the investigation and discipline. Institute a company policy that describes workplace harassment and the consequences of picking on employees. Give mandatory training to staff members and detail the discipline that can take place if someone is found to have bullied others. Develop a formal confidential complaint procedure outside the department, such as with human resources, to report co-workers who exhibit a pattern of targeting specific individuals.
References
- Workplace Bullying Institute: Results of the 2010 WBI U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey
- Ater Wynne: Avoiding Litigation Risks Arising Out of Employment
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices
- Graziadio Business Review: Are Workplace Bullies Sabotaging Your Ability to Compete?
Resources
Writer Bio
Carol Deeb has been an editor and writer since 1988. Her work has appeared in magazines, newspapers and online publications, as well as a book on education. Deeb is a real-estate investor and business owner with professional experience in human resources. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from San Diego State University.