New CT Bill, LA Times Article, and Recognizing Signs of Bullying

Please sign our Connecticut petition for the bill currently before the legislature: https://www.change.org/petitions/pass-hb-5464-act-concerning-state-employees-violence-and-bullying-in-the-workplace-in-connecticut#updates

The LA Times has published an interesting article about the Healthy Workplace Bill that is well worth reading: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-workplace-bullying-20110319,0,1767245.story
State bills against workplace bullying gain traction
Proponents say workplace bullying is widespread and procedures for dealing with it are ineffective. They back a model called the 'Healthy Workplace Bill.'

Texas Healthy Workplace Advocates has gained some recognition across the state, and this article offers some tips about how to recognize bullying in the workplace, which can be subtle and not always easy to admit: http://www.reporternews.com/news/2011/mar/18/abilene-workers-complaining-about-bullying-says/

Suzy Fox, a workplace researcher, has identified six common types of workplace bullying.

“Any of those, any one of us does once in a while,” Fox said. It’s when a pattern of behavior develops that bullying takes place, she said.

- Threatening or intimidating behavior. This can be verbal threats or nonverbal, like glaring, Fox said. Cyberbullying also can fall in this category, Fox added.

- Demeaning behavior. Not only does this include insults and put-downs, but also excessively harsh criticism of job performance, according to Fox.

- Isolation. The silent treatment, said Fox, or leaving the room when someone else enters or excluding them from work meetings.

- Abusive supervision. “That’s threatening you with job loss,” Fox said, or blaming workers for things that aren’t their fault, along with unreasonable work demands.

- Work sabotage. “That’s intentionally destroying or stealing your work or your material,” Fox said.

- Harm to reputation. This includes spreading rumors and also some cyberbullying that can ruin a worker’s reputation, Fox said.