End Workplace Abuse

The workplace abuse playbook: 1. Workplace abuse typically begins when one employee, who is generally insecure and/or jealous, is threatened by the competence or demeanor of another employee. They try to convince both the target and others in the workplace that the target is incompetent by minimizing them and their work. 2. In toxic work environments, when employees report psychological abuse to HR or higher-ups, those authorities willfully ignore the complaints. Employers are not liable for psychological abuse nor do they want to be. The employer misleads the unsuspecting employee to believe they have a legitimate complaint process to remedy the problem. 3. The employer fails to alter the employee’s work environment. The employer doesn’t remove the stressor (bully) and prolongs the complaint process. The emboldened bully continues to harass and abuse the target without consequence or deterrent. The employee is further victimized. The unsuspecting employee voluntarily leaves because of the health harm, is fired due to the health harm, or dies, succumbing to the silent killer stress of the work environment. There is significant physical, mental, and emotional injury as well as severe economic harm. 4. The abuser wins. Their perceived competition is gone. The employer wins. Their perceived threat of liability is gone. The unsuspecting employee had done nothing to provoke either. 5. Trauma occurs. When the employee realizes the full perpetration and institutional complicity of tampering with their health and livelihood, forcing them off the payroll to avoid liability, and that there’s no legal recourse for any of it, trauma upon trauma occurs. Join us to #Endworkplaceabuse #HoldEmployersAccountable and #StopBullyingandMobbing: WPSAct.org

Researcher Christine Porath said that “time wasted at work or spent searching for another job could cost companies up to $300 billion a year (more than the total net profit of the Fortune 500 companies)” (2016). Some of the business costs associated with workplace misconduct include productivity, absenteeism, rehiring costs, and legal costs (Meidav & Vault Platform, n.d.) as well as retrospective costs to its image, reputation, and credibility (Segal, 2022). The associated societal costs of TANF and SNAP and the healthcare systems fall on unwitting taxpayers, as our government and hospitals are left to deal with sick, traumatized, unemployed, and uninsured citizens. ”…the United States experiences about fifty-nine thousand excess deaths and about $63 billion in incremental costs annually compared to what would be predicted given its per capita income level. Considering the total toll previously estimated (of about 120,000 excess deaths and $180 billion in costs), our analyses indicate that about half of the deaths and about a third of the incremental costs from workplace conditions appear to be potentially preventable if the United States were more similar to other advanced industrialized economies,” according to Stanford professor Jeffrey Pfeffer in this book Dying For A Paycheck (2018). Sign the petition: https://lnkd.in/eWjVpxEH

When we suffer in toxic work environments, we often feel alone and fearful. We may not know who else has experienced abuse at our workplaces. And we may fear retaliation for speaking up (since the outcome is often more abuse). But speaking up collectively is what has the greatest chance of results. And going through the media (even anonymously) can give you your voice back your abuser took AND provide the accountability our legal system too often doesn't. I'm tapping into that collective power that has the most likelihood of getting reporters' attention — to get employers to change their ways. I'll contact reporters and/or hold a strike (based on options in your state) when at least three employees at one company report bullying and are willing to share their experiences, even anonymously. Fill out the form using the link below, and if at least two others from your company (current or former employees) do the same, I'll setup a Zoom call so we can come up with a game plan to expose the toxic work culture at minimal risk to you. Report your company for a toxic work culture: https://lnkd.in/eaywxjv2

For months, Dr. Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey documented and reported the blatant bullying of President John Moseley to the proper workplace authorities, including the Board of Curators who oversee the President at Lincoln University in Missouri where she served as the Vice President of Student Affairs — to no avail. On January 8, 2024, 49-year old Dr. Candia-Bailey took her own life, attributed to workplace abuse — bullying and the institutional complicity that not only disregarded her complaints but also escalated the abuse to purge her from the payroll to avoid a perceived threat of liability. Employers are not liable for psychological safety nor do they want to be, which is why they ignore complaints and shift blame. Their ignoring of complaints further harms innocent employees who have done nothing other than ask their employer for a safe work environment free from all forms of abuse. Voice & Action Virtual Rally Join End Workplace Abuse on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, New Year’s Day, at 1pmET for our first annual Voice & Action Rally, which will include exclusive interviews from Dr. Candia-Bailey’s husband and her best friend as they turn their pain into purpose to raise public awareness around this phenomenon, a silent epidemic that affects millions of employees each year. RSVP: https://lnkd.in/ed6DevjE Justice for Bonnie Nationwide Protest Then join us for a nationwide protest on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, as we stand in solidarity and demand Justice for Bonnie on the first anniversary of her needless death due to these inhumane and cruel workplace practices that operate under the radar of any form of accountability. It’s is no time to remain silent. Every one of the perpetrators, including the Board of Curators, remain in leadership positions at Lincoln University. We demand nothing short of a full independent investigation. RSVP: https://lnkd.in/e2-QJ7fN Sponsored by Clover Lane Media, LLC https://lnkd.in/egJSxyY9 and My Silence Is Not For Sale https://lnkd.in/eqEqkTXX #JusticeforBonnie

We need a law. Employers are not explicitly liable for the psychological harm of their employees, nor do they want to be. Employers choose to avoid a perceived threat of liability over human well-being. The Workplace Psychological Safety Act takes that choice away and provides a cause of action for employees who suffer from psychological abuse at work. Sign the petition to pass the Workplace Psychological Safety Act: https://lnkd.in/esvFcTsA

A corrections officer suffered from abuse at work: https://lnkd.in/enjc3d6i #EndWorkplaceAbuse

"Human connection, exercise in moderation, spirituality, and focusing on activities that bring us joy and take us out of laser-focusing on the abuse can all help offset the pain and lead to recovery. Once the initial shock and stress wear off, targets tend to look more to positive vices to aid in healing."

Workplace mobbing expert Kenneth Westhues says both the mobbers’ fear of violence from the targeted employee and the targeted employees’ fear of violence from the mobbers exists when mobbing occurs, making the work environment both toxic and unsafe. Sign the petition: https://lnkd.in/eWjVpxEH

You’re invited to share your experiences to fill a gap in workplace research by helping us understand the impact that bad experiences have on how people feel about their jobs and companies. This survey should only take 5-10 minutes of your time. By completing the survey you will get a free report at the end of the study period (a $300 value, in December). If you sign up before the end of the year, you can also take the survey with your team. We will provide a complimentary team report for all members. Start the survey as an individual: https://lnkd.in/dd3A2WcA Sign up your team, and we’ll have a personalized link for you within 72 business hours: https://lnkd.in/gNqd_3HZ To get a copy of the report, you’ll need to provide your contact details at the end of the survey, but you can choose to keep your survey responses anonymous. Your feedback is important and will help Humanalysts continue to improve their work. For any questions, or if you need assistance to complete this questionnaire, please contact Nicole DeKay, [email protected].

"Regardless of semantics, the era of prima donnas needs to come to an end. Not all industries have them, but powerful people shouldn’t abuse their power, in any job. Professionalism is a skill and a tool that businesses should push to promote efficiency and good work performance. All workers, moreover, need mechanisms to protect themselves. These can and should include formal avenues, such as human resources or union representatives, but they can also include educating workers to help one another in difficult situations. In schools, we learned long ago that the real power of the bully is the backing of a group. Without that backing, bullying tends to fall flat. This doesn’t mean that a boss relies on the approval of other workers, but it does mean that a worker who’s the target of a bullying boss may find herself better able to manage the job if she has support and kindness from co-workers."