Michael Jerabek, ADB Senior Workplace Relations Consultant, discusses preventing harassment & bullying by nurturing emotionally healthy organisational cultures

Introduction
Workplaces are in a double bind
The five characteristics of emotionally healthy organisations
Conclusion

Introduction

There is an emerging trend within progressive organisations of acknowledging and developing emotional intelligence (EI). This is a timely and positive phenomenon, however, EI’s focus on improving personal and interpersonal skills and awareness does not go far enough in ensuring emotional health in organisations. No matter how emotionally aware individuals are, if the emotional culture of the organisation is based on dysfunctional dynamics, we will get an organisation where what is preached and what is practised is not aligned. This article touches on the characteristics that define an emotionally healthy system where harassment and bullying are minimised.

Our emotional make-up, coping mechanisms and psychological issues cannot help but make themselves felt at work. This affects the quality of workplace relationships and therefore organisational effectiveness.

One of the biggest taboos in the workplace is the inclusion of any feelings that are potentially disruptive and/or threatening. Most organisational cultures prohibit the level of emotional honesty needed to bring these issues up and resolve them in a constructive manner. Additionally many individuals lack the skills to deal constructively with them – hence the confusion that defines most workplaces’ emotional dynamics.

As our emotional reality already permeates and shapes every aspect of our working life, this taboo, far from preventing the feelings from making themselves felt in the workplace is destructive as it prevents us from resolving issues.

So how do we create an organisational system that is emotionally healthy?

Characteristic 1: Validation of emotions

The ‘entry level’ requirement is the right to validation of emotions. All humans feel the same emotions – anxiety, vulnerability, fear, hatred, love, affection, joy, jealousy etc. It is what we do with them, how we handle them and express them that is constructive or destructive.

If feelings are taboo in a group, they will still find expression on some level (e.g.: through behaviour such as backstabbing, gossiping, undermining and sabotaging, loss of morale, absenteeism, formation of covert cliques etc.). They accumulate and are likely to emerge in an inappropriate and destructive manner or alternatively deaden group dynamics, repressing creativity, passion, energy and joy along with the ‘undesirable’ emotions. This may also lead to harassment and bullying in the workplace. On the other hand, a culture that validates emotions is in for a challenging, confronting but also fulfilling and ultimately productive ride of growth and development.

An example of the impact of inappropriate emotional repression:

Let us consider a manager who is uncomfortable with conflict. If they avoid dealing openly with issues that may give rise to conflict, they are effectively avoiding carrying out a large part of their duties as those parts of organisational life that are contentious or could lead to clashes of views are likely to be minimised, invalidated, denied or ignored. This has the effect of allowing issues to go unaddressed and organisational creativity, which is largely a function of diversity of views and perspectives, will dwindle.

A natural and necessary extension of validating emotions is the freedom to appropriately (i.e. skilfully, with due respect for the needs and rights of all involved) express these emotions.

In the workplace many of us are uncomfortable with the expression of others’ feelings especially if they are confronting in character. This can result in an explicit or implicit ban on expressing how one feels which in turn causes a major problem – for it is our feelings that tell us when we feel wronged or in need of support, thus allowing us to address the issue behind the feelings. In many workplace cultures it may be unacceptable, for example, to acknowledge feelings of vulnerability so as not to appear less than ‘together’. This may be so especially in some environments where traditional attitudes such as: ‘a man should be able to take this without complaining!’ or ‘typical woman – there she goes crying to the boss…’ prevail.

It is therefore important that our workplaces provide a forum that is supportive of expressing and resolving relevant emotional issues such as conflict, personal boundaries, anxiety and other emotional dynamics in a healthy way; i.e. openly, but in an appropriately contained, safe way.

An example of appropriate expression of one’s feelings:

‘When we reach an agreement and you do not honour it or tell me that you won’t honour it, I feel disappointed because my professional needs and boundaries have not been respected and met.’ (in this case, using ‘disappointed’ instead of ‘angry’ is the ‘appropriateness’ component in action).

Boundaries enclose and define our personal territory/space. As individuals, we all have physical, mental, emotional and spiritual boundaries. As workers, we also have our professional boundaries. Our boundaries vary in their rigidity and flexibility, strength and vulnerability, closeness or expansion from person to person. We therefore need to take others’ rights and needs into consideration and may need to negotiate with and adapt to them.

Many problems in the workplace arise from inappropriate or unhealthy personal or professional boundaries. To facilitate the creation of characteristics 1 and 2 above, we need to be clear about our boundaries and feel comfortable asserting them. Absence of healthy boundaries can give rise to intentional or unintentional bullying behaviour and the victims’ perceived inability to respond to such appropriately. Presence of clear and appropriate boundaries supports a culture based on the tenets of respect, personal responsibility and professionalism.

Impact of inappropriate boundaries – a real-life example:

Mark, a foreign aid worker, was brought up by a strict, autocratic father who treated him more like a marine recruit than a child. Mark now treats his employees (he is a manager) with complete disregard for their needs and boundaries. He interferes with everyone’s job, supervising in the most minute detail workers who are not even under his supervision. His father did not respect his personal space and right to self-determination, and the son in turn never learned to respect the boundaries of others. Unnoticed by him, Mark’s behaviour can create a work environment full of tension, hidden resentment, passive aggressive behaviour and lower retention/high absenteeism rates.

Every organisation has its quota of ‘no-go’ areas – situations that are unmentionable. These taboos are often based on the often largely unconscious drive to avoid the anxiety that arises when the status quo is challenged and/or certain unpalatable truths are brought to the surface. The consequences? Lack of transparency and accountability, a split between stated values and values-in-use, formation of cliques, passive aggressive behaviour etc.

An example of an organisational taboo:

The volunteer CEO of a community organisation had known the community’s spiritual leader and guru for more than 20 years and had a close relationship with him. The CEO progressively took on more responsibilities despite the fact that he simply did not have sufficient time to handle his existing ones. The outcome was that things were not getting done and the community was suffering but nobody dared to bring this issue up for fear of insulting the CEO who had become, through his association with the spiritual leader, untouchable.

The first step towards overcoming organisational taboos is to create a culture where devils’ advocates offering alternative ways of perceiving or doing things are encouraged rather than scapegoated – which is an all too common reality in most organisational cultures. No shortcuts here, I am afraid – only a culture that is built on trust and a firm commitment to the reality principle is an antidote against organisational taboos.

There is generally a taboo against feeling and expressing anger and/or engaging in conflict in the workplace. There are a number of reasons for this, most traceable to the anxiety that conflict gives rise to, our lack of skill in managing this area and the uncertainty and chaos that often result.

However, in order to be able to express one’s feelings authentically and appropriately, and in order to maintain one’s boundaries and be capable of dealing with organisational taboos, staff need to be able to feel at home with conflict (i.e. be able to communicate assertively, use active listening and apply conflict resolution skills). Furthermore, the organisation’s culture needs to be willing to be open to constructive conflict and appreciate its importance in creating a culture that promotes transparency, diversity, respect and personal responsibility.

In turn, integrating these characteristics into an organisation will build the foundations for the long-term health and functionality of its culture as well as minimising dysfunctional interpersonal/group dynamics such as harassment and bullying.

In summary, I offer some things to consider:

• Cultural change will not eventuate unless clear and unambiguous support is given by senior management. Without executive support, it is difficult to attempt major organisational change as the perceived divergence between what is said (espoused values) and what is practised (values-in-use) will lead to widespread cynicism and more resistance to much needed change.
• An organisation choosing to develop its emotional health will face a ‘healing crisis’ of sorts as hitherto repressed dynamics and issues are brought to the surface to be resolved. This needs to be acknowledged and accepted and sufficient resources made available to manage this.
• Imparting basic communication skills across all levels of the organisation (assertive communication, active listening and conflict management skills) is invaluable in promoting functional relationships generally and emotionally healthy organisations specifically.
• At an individual level, being able to reflect on what conditioning and emotional issues drives us in different circumstances and how this may be affecting the quality of our interactions within the workplace, is invaluable.