The 10 Most Common Mistakes Corporations Make That Lead To A Hostile Work Environment

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by Lynne McClure June 2003

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No corporation purposely arranges to have a hostile work environment – especially today, when violence costs U.S. businesses $36 billion a year and Supreme Court decisions require companies to prevent, not just react to, all forms of harassment. Yet corporations make 10 common mistakes that can easily lead to a hostile work environment – even though these costly mistakes can be corrected.

1. Denial: executives and managers think “it can’t happen here.”

2. Fear of confrontation: managers ignore employees’ poor job performance and high-risk behaviors – and fail to document either -- because they do not want to confront the employee

3. Failure to facilitate: when two or more employees have problems with each other, the manager tells them to “work it out” themselves, instead of facilitating a discussion

4. Rewarding flattery: managers want their egos stroked more than they want honest input or feedback about how things are going

5. Rewarding macho behavior: managers want male employees to “take it like a man,” instead of discussing situations that make employees angry

6. Making excuses: managers “explain,” to themselves, unusual behaviors on the part of employees or peers they know well, instead of seeing the behavior for what it is and taking appropriate steps

7. Allowing isolation: managers allow technical specialists to be “exempt” from teamwork and from team thinking

8. The “buddy” system: managers reward and promote employees on the basis of friendship instead of performance

9. Workaholism: managers require – overtly and covertly – that employees spend an excessive number of hours at work

10. Refusing to change: managers keep things “the way they’ve always been,” instead of making appropriate changes and helping employees adapt

Biography

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Lynne McClure, Ph.D. is nationally-recognized as a leading expert in managing high-risk employee behaviors before they escalate to violence and other hostile acts at work.

Dr. McClure identifies eight categories of high-risk behaviors, based on personality disorders and mental illnesses defined in the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual IV (DSM-IV). Her categories portray what these conditions look like in the work setting. Unlike "profiles" - which focus on demographics, and which tempt managers to "diagnose" employees - her categories put structure on observable behaviors. Her methods empower managers to intervene early without contradicting ADA or EEO requirements. She received her doctorate in business from Arizona State University and has had counseling training at the Gestalt Institute and Milton Erickson Foundation.

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Website: www.mcclureassociates.com

Additional articles by Lynne McClure

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Lynne McClure	LMcClure@McClureAssociates.com      07/11/03
Cost of workplace violence
Regarding the report stating that workplace violence costs U.S. businesses $36 billion a year: the source of this report was the Workplace Violence Research Institute in California. Add New Comment

Bill Withers,   Collingswood NJ	wwithers@rocketmail.com      07/11/03
cost of violence source
Can you please tell us the report or reports that find the $36bn cost of violence to business? It will be most helpful. thanks. Add New Comment

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