It's difficult enough to experience verbal abuse from a total stranger on the train or in a busy market. Verbal abuse is even more of a challenge when it's heaped on you by a co-worker or supervisor, someone you must come in contact with to earn a living. As a business owner, protecting an employee from verbal assault involves being proactive.
Odds of Being Abused
The U.S. Workforce Bullying Institute released a report in 2010 indicating that 35 percent of workers asked reported that they had been bullied on the job. One of the most common forms of bullying is verbal abuse. Although the Roman statesman Seneca claimed that "all cruelty springs from weakness," that can be cold comfort to an employee who is being abused. It is up to you as a business leader to find a way to make verbal abuse stop.
Know What to Look For
The verbal abuser most commonly has seniority or is in a leadership position that gives him greater standing in the company. He may have created his own "posse," a group of friends who watch him as he serves up abuse. This person feels good about himself only when he is making someone else feel badly. That may mean giving someone a verbal tongue lashing for a simple mistake or simply talking down to the other person in an attempt to break that person down. His friends aren't going to stand up to him for fear of becoming his target. The first time you hear that this employee has verbally abused someone, you may be surprised. Chances are, he's been charming in your presence as he seeks to move up in stature in the company.
Employee Protection
Unlike most first-world countries, there are currently no federal or state laws written to protect U.S. employees from verbal abuse. However, failure to nip an abusive employee's behavior in the bud can cost you big. Under regulations from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, or OSHA, you as a business owner can be held liable for not providing an employee with a safe and healthy workplace. An employee faced with verbal abuse can fairly claim that the abuse interferes with her ability to go about her daily job duties. You can be held responsible for retaining the services of an employee who verbally abuses another employee.
Proactive Intervention
An abused employee's first line of defense should lie within your company. All employees need to know that they have a right to tell their supervisor, human resource representative or you when they are being verbally abused. Just as in elementary school, most bullies pick on people who won't fight back. Once an employee has been warned that his behavior will not be tolerated, he may back off. Unfortunately, in an attempt to save face, his abusive behavior may escalate or he may find other ways to punish the original victim. No matter how valuable the abuser has been to your company, it is up to you to demand good behavior, with consequences for not complying.
Legal Rights
If an employee who has been verbally abused is not adequately aided at the company level, she may hire an attorney to take her case to court. Even without precise laws on the books that address the issue, OSHA standards seem to have enough bite to get the attention of courts. For example, the Indiana Supreme Court in 2008 awarded a nurse $325,000 for her claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress and assault after she was screamed at by a surgeon. Once you've heard a hint of abuse occurring within your business, you become part of the problem. You must either address it head on or be prepared to answer for your failure to do so.