Now that the elections are over (goodbye Sarah Palin, I hope), I can refocus this Blog on what it was intended for … dealing with the Pit Bulls with Lipstick in the Workplace. The Staboteurs who can make your workplace life hell.
At a recent book signing for my latest book, Stabotage! How to Deal with the Pit Bulls, Skunks, Snakes, Scorpions & Slugs in the Health Care Workplace, I was deeply impressed by the dozens of stories–awful stories–about being undermined in the workplace. I was surrounded by the nurse execs of the top rated hospitals in the country–hospitals that gained Magnet recognition, primarily because of their quantative nursing excellence.
So, you are thinking, “If they are so hot, how come they’ve got bad girls and boys in the workplace?”
The answers are multiple… workplaces tolerate mediocrity; they hope that the toxic players will go someplace else; if there is a Union involved, there’s the belief that the potential lawsuit isn’t worth it; some believe that HR is the enemy and they won’t do anything, etc., etc.
The new study cited within Stabotage reports that undermining and Stabotage is on the increase–the difference between sabotage and Stabotage is intentionality–women and men who Stabotage indend to cause mayhem and harm. Over 26% of the female respondents (3,000 plus) reported that if they had their druthers, they would prefer not to work with other women–a bit difficult if one works in health care. Over 53% said they have quit workplaces because abusive and bullying behaviors. And, the culprit? Over 63% said it was their manager, a significant increase from the study undertaken in 2003 for Zapping Conflict in the Health Care Workplace.
Where do we go? First, only work in workplaces that have a zero tolerance for bullying and abusive behaviors. Remember, silence condones offensive actions–don’t bite your tongue. Learn how to confront–if you don’t, you approve of the behavior. Track down my CarefrontingScript–there are articles on my website, www.Briles.com as well as referenced in my books. I’ll do a later Blog on Carefronting.
If you work in health care, or know someone who does, get the Stabotage book.
Tags: bully, bullying, conflict, Judith Briles, pit bulls with lipstick, sabotage, stabotage, zero tolerance
