MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESPONSES TO WORKPLACE BULLYING: SYSTEMS, SYNERGY, AND SWEAT
    Presented by David C. Yamada Professor of Law and Director, New Workplace Institute Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts
    Presented at the Sixth International Conference on Workplace Bullying, University of Quebec at Montreal, June 2008
    
    Introduction For some time, I have wanted to step back and assess where the workplace bullying “movement” is going and how our individual and collective efforts complement one another. My own work in this realm has concentrated on the legal and public policy implications of workplace bullying. In doing so, I have been continually enriched and enlightened by the work of scholars and practitioners in other fields who are committed to learning about, and fashioning responses to, this destructive phenomenon. These endeavors include academic research, public education, management training and consulting, psychotherapy, and employee advocacy. This paper is an attempt to engage, however briefly, in a broader assessment of where we are and what we must do. I have used the terms “systems,” “synergy,” and “sweat” to frame this discussion, because I believe they capture well certain values and qualities behind our efforts.
    Contact Information: dyamada@suffolk.edu; 617-573-8543; Professor David Yamada, Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02108 USA. The New Workplace Institute is a non-profit research and education center promoting healthy, productive, and socially responsible workplaces. It is partnering with organizations such as Suffolk University and the Workplace Bullying Institute on programs and initiatives. The Institute website address is www.newworkplaceinstitute.org.
    
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    Systems
    System – “a regularly interacting or interdependent group of items forming a unified whole” (MERRIAM-WEBSTER DICTIONARY) Example 1: Health Systems -- What are the potential benefits of educating health-related stakeholders about workplace bullying?
    
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    Example 2: Legal Systems -- What are the effects of enacting workplace bullying legislation in the form of the Healthy Workplace Bill?
    
    These diagrams are works-in-progress; feedback is appreciated. Please do not use without permission. Developed with Inspiration 8.0b, at the suggestion of Denise Doherty, New Workplace Institute.
    
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    Synergy
    Synergy – “a mutually advantageous conjunction or compatibility of distinct business participants or elements (as resources or efforts)” (MERRIAMWEBSTER DICTIONARY)
    Prime Example Stale Einarsen, Helge Hoel, Dieter Zapf and Cary Cooper, editors, Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace: International Perspectives in Research and Practice (London: Taylor & Francis, 2003). Section titles The Problem The Evidence Explaining the problem Managing the problem: ‘best practice’ Remedial actions: a critical outlook Contributors Robert Baron, Cary Cooper, Hope Daley, Stale Einarsen, Sirkku Fallenius, Louise Fitzgerald, Helge Hoel, Adrienne Hubert, Mike Ironside, Karen Jagatic, Peter Jordan, Loraleigh Keashly, Lena Korppoo, Duncan Lewis, Andreas Liefooghe, Kate Mackenzie Davey, Susan Marais-Steinman, Maj-Lis Mattila, Paul McCarthy, Vicki Merchant, Eva Gemzoe Mikkelson, Joel Neuman, Branda Nowell, Dan Olweus, John Pryor, Charlotte Rayner, Jon Richards, Denise Salin, Roger Seifert, Michael Sheehan, Anne Spurgeon, Noreen Tehrani, Maarit Vartia, David Yamada, Dieter Zapf. Professional fields and academic disciplines represented Education Law, Public Policy, and Dispute Resolution Management and Human Resources Occupational Health Organizational Behavior Psychology (Clinical, Industrial/Organizational, Social) Impact • The first, and still the best, multidisciplinary anthology of research and analysis on workplace bullying – an excellent example of “intellectual synergy.” • An excellent starting place for any budding researcher new to the topic. • Articles demonstrate, individually and collectively, how workplace bullying is best understood, and responded to, in a multidisciplinary context.
    
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    Sweat
    Sweat – “to manipulate or produce by hard work or drudgery” (MERRIAMWEBSTER DICTIONARY) I. The Work of Gary and Ruth Namie http://www.bullyinginstitute.org/
    
    Founders of the Workplace Bullying Institute and predecessor initiatives Major Projects/Activities Public Education (website, publication, public speaking, media outreach) Co-Authors, The Bully at Work Partnerships with Academicians and Practitioners Consulting, Advising, and Coaching Employers and Employees Organized and sponsored First U.S. Conference on Workplace Bullying Legislative Campaign – Healthy Workplace Bill Major Accomplishments • Leading role in placing workplace bullying into the vocabulary of U.S. employment relations through multifaceted research, writing, and public education work. • Critical networking role, linking individuals engaged in research and practice. • Spearheading anti-bullying legislative campaign at the state levels.
    
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    The Work of Kenneth Westhues http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/~kwesthue/mobbing.htm
    
    Significant Relevant Works (Mellen Press series) Eliminating Professors The Envy of Excellence Workplace Mobbing in Academe Winning, Losing, Moving On Remedy and Prevention of Mobbing in Higher Education Major Accomplishments • Conducts cutting-edge research, analysis, and commentary on mobbing in academe. • Underscores the importance of detailed narrative and engaged reflection towards understanding and responding to abusive behavior at work. • Raises uncomfortable, necessary questions about the culture and politics of academic life and the potentially counterproductive effects of policies and legal intervention.
    
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    How effectively are we sharing and exchanging the fruits of our work?
    As a community of scholars and practitioners interested in researching and responding to the phenomenon of workplace bullying, how are we doing in terms of crossing conventional lines of networking, communication, and education? Evaluation Scale: Poor, Fair, Good, Very Good, Excellent. • • • • • Scholar-practitioner dimension: Scholars engaging practitioners, and vice versa. Evaluation: Good/Very Good. Faculty-student dimension: Faculty mentoring student research on the topic of workplace bullying. Evaluation: Fair. Media dimension: Scholars and practitioners accessing the mass media to educate the general public. Evaluation: Good. Multidisciplinary dimension: Researchers and practitioners sharing & using knowledge across disciplines. Evaluation: Very Good. Employment relations “mainstreaming” dimension: Moving bullying beyond a niche or silo topic, into the mainstream of employment relations. Evaluation: Poor/Fair in U.S.; Good/Very Good in Canada, Australia, Europe, etc. Geographic dimension: Thinking and acting on local, national, and global levels. Evaluation: Poor/Fair at local levels; Very Good at national & global levels.
    
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    Starting Points for Discussion: Fashioning a Systemic, Synergistic, and “Sweaty” Agenda
    This Place in Time This is an issue whose time has come. Those of us who are addressing workplace bullying through research, education, advocacy, and practice are in a unique position to make a difference. It is a special opportunity and a sacred responsibility. Information Dissemination Research, analysis, and commentary on workplace bullying are growing fast. We need to find ways in which to make this information more accessible for scholars and practitioners alike. Maintaining this Community • Periodic gatherings such as this one are tremendously informative and empowering. • Travel is becoming more expensive, and the Internet and e-mail are burdens as well as blessings. How can we stay usefully networked? • How will we grow this community without losing our sense of community? Reaching Out • Underrepresented disciplines and fields, including public health, medicine & psychiatry, clinical psychology, labor studies; • Undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional school students in pertinent disciplines; • Opinion leaders in the realm of employment relations generally. Avoiding Fruitless Pursuits • Agreement on a singular term (bullying, mobbing, work trauma, workplace harassment, workplace abuse, etc.); • Agreement on a singular definition; • Agreement on a uniform set of measures. Steadfast Commitment and Fellowship We must appreciate that feelings of impatience, frustration, sadness, outrage, and despair are best engaged through the building of a vocationally, intellectually, and geographically diverse multidisciplinary community committed to dignity in the workplace.
    
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