Verbal Abuse in the workplace

[bobbiejontx]

There is an employee here at my workplace that has been here for 5 years. I have been here about 18 months and I have heard many things about this particular person, none of them positive but I TRY to be a good person and not prejudge but when I got the pleasure of working with her closely I can totally see where everyone comes from. She constantly pinpoints someone in our department to pick apart everything they do. Constructive criticism is always welcome but her approach seems more like DESTRUCTIVE criticism. She has made several employees on more than one occassion CRY, these are employees that are not normally known for taking anything too seriously. She approaches everything as if you are a complete idiot and makes you feel totally inferior. I know this because she has done the same to me however, I had a meeting with her in my office one day about her approach to me and she now treads lightly when she has something to say to me but these other employees don't have that advantage. The problem is, the buck stops here. How does this stop? I am HR and the owner/CEO/President of the company thinks she is the greatest thing since sliced bread and immediately comes to her defense anytime anyone says anything negative about her. Any suggestions?

 

[mike]

There is an employee here at my workplace that has been here for 5 years. I have been here about 18 months and I have heard many things about this particular person, none of them positive but I TRY to be a good person and not prejudge but when I got the pleasure of working with her closely I can totally see where everyone comes from. She constantly pinpoints someone in our department to pick apart everything they do. Constructive criticism is always welcome but her approach seems more like DESTRUCTIVE criticism. She has made several employees on more than one occassion CRY, these are employees that are not normally known for taking anything too seriously. She approaches everything as if you are a complete idiot and makes you feel totally inferior. I know this because she has done the same to me however, I had a meeting with her in my office one day about her approach to me and she now treads lightly when she has something to say to me but these other employees don't have that advantage. The problem is, the buck stops here. How does this stop? I am HR and the owner/CEO/President of the company thinks she is the greatest thing since sliced bread and immediately comes to her defense anytime anyone says anything negative about her. Any suggestions?

Document every complaint and make sure not to miss an iota. If you have a pile of complaints against an employee on file then you can inform the CEO that she is a serious liability should she ever skirt the line of a lawsuit. Imagine what it will look like should the company get sued and nothing has ever been done to deal with an employee who has a laundry list of complaints with no disciplinary action whatsoever.

 

[Beth3]

Being a jerk is not against the law and nothing she has done is illegal; therefore there's no basis for anyone to sue the company.

The good news is that she WILL apparently back down from this behavior when it's confronted. I suggest you find a manner to discuss this employee's behavior with the CEO in a way in which he's less likely to react defensively. Rather than tackle it head on, discuss your concerns with him about employee morale and the potential for increased turnover because so many employees are unhappy. When he wants to know why that is, tell him there's a "style" issue that needs to be addressed with someone and that while this employee's work contributions are solid [assuming that's true], the behavior is causing considerably distress among the workforce and you'd like to discuss that with the employee. By this time, the CEO is going to ask who you're talking about (if he hasn't already guessed) but you've made your case to address this as a BUSINESS problem, not a "personality problem."

Make your case based on the impact her behavior will have on the business if it remains unchecked and be very careful not to "attack" the employee directly (since the CEO is sensitive to that) and have action steps outlined on the discussion that needs to take place with the employee. Tell the CEO you're happy to handle this (which will be a relief to him) but that his support of the plan is essential so you can construct a win-win for everyone - the business, the employees, and even the individual who's causing the problems.