Upward bullying: When employees think they can run the show

She came to work early, rarely took a full lunch break, and almost always worked past 5 p.m. Six of her nine employees considered her an effective leader. She ran a successful department until her other three direct reports drove her out.

Empowered by their victory, this “gang of three” ran off two successive managers before the company’s senior leadership realized they had a problem.

We rarely discuss upward bullying and its impact, but we should. Researchers estimate 14% of workplace bullying is upward and can result in career derailment for managers targeted by bullying employees. Even worse, when an organization allows a clique of employee bullies to succeed, they become unmanageable.

Employees who bully

Like other bullies, employees who bully feel no remorse. Employee bullies may include those who see their manager’s job as a promotional opportunity and will stop at nothing to topple the manager. The uproar they create through backstabbing, gossip, disrespect and covert sabotage empowers them. They often possess protections that prevent their manager from handling the bullying, such as strong out-of-office or nepotistic relationships with their direct manager’s supervisors.

Why bullied managers don’t ask for help

Bullied managers rarely ask for help. They may feel shame because others believe a manager should be able to handle an employee’s antics. They may lack power, knowing the bully employee has the protection of a union contract or friends in high places that don’t see the bully for what he is. The bully employee may possess talents making them hard to replace, or may have worked in the organization for years, making firing them an uphill battle with significant negative consequences.

How bully employees succeed

As I describe in “Beating the Workplace Bully,” upward bullying often begins with subtle gaslighting, withholding of key information, behind-the-manager’s-back belittling and other covert behaviors that erode the manager’s ability to supervise. Bully employees generally have more time and opportunity than the manager to connect with coworkers and to turn them against the manager.

Solutions

If this column hits home because you’re a bullied manager or realize you have a bully-infested department within your organization, you need to act justly yet swiftly. The longer you wait, the worse things get. Bullies destroy a work environment with toxic behavior, driving out good employees and frustrating their immediate managers until they reach a boiling point and react.

If you’re a targeted manager and too embarrassed to ask for help, drop your shame baggage. A bully’s problematic behavior isn’t necessarily a direct reflection on your leadership ability, but failing to act would be.

You can’t allow bully employees to run the show or otherwise allow them free rein to act out until things spiral out of control. As the manager, you need to lead. You can’t afford to downplay what’s going on, nor to bury yourself in your work while allowing your bully employee unchecked access to their bully pulpit. No matter how large your workload, invest time in your relationships with each of your employees. Bully employees cultivate covert relationships with their peers and poison them against you. They can’t accomplish this if your employees know and like you.

Finally, let fairness guide you to the right action. Is it right and just to let a bully employee get away with bad behavior? No. You’re the manager; you need to act.