Understanding Workplace Bullying in the Police Subculture

A September 2014 CareerBuilder.com survey found 28 percent of workers have felt bullied at work, with almost one in five (19 percent) of these employees having left a jobs because of it. That more than 1 in 4 employees – adult employees, let’s be clear – have experienced behavior that is or is perceived as bullying from coworkers or bosses should shock us; bullying is a playground scourge of children, right?  But with such high numbers obviously it is being seen, even if not personally experienced, by an even more significant number of workers.  And with most of our readers here being affiliated with law enforcement?  Well, maybe we’re not even shocked at all.

In our last article on burnout (“Dealing with All Kinds of Burnout”) we referenced the contribution of “the politics and stresses inside the office” as a significant trigger for burnout; ask most cops about their greatest source of stress and and you’ll likely hear some version of “… the a**holes on the street I can handle.  It’s the ones in Administration you need to worry about.”  They’ll often describe bureaucratic inefficiencies, out-of-touch naiveté, petty jealousies, and other annoyances.  But sometimes what cops are talking about is straight up bullying by small-minded, vindictive individuals who’ve plotted, scammed, or stumbled into positions of power and now have no other way to command respect but to wield rank as a bludgeon.  Other bullies may not hold formal power, instead commanding informal control over their domain by what is essentially schoolboy thuggery, all grown up.

A few statistics on workplace bullying

Of those who reported being bullied at some point in their careers:

• Nearly one in four (24 percent) reported the bullying occurring in their present jobs, with bullied workers in management roles most likely to report this;
• High school graduates without higher education had a greater tendency to feel pressured by a bully, although nearly one in four bullied workers (23 percent) with bachelor’s degrees or higher reported it happening in their present positions; 
• Forty-five percent of workers reporting being, or having been, bullied pointed to their boss as the main offender, with another 25% reporting bullying coming from someone even higher in the organization. Forty-six percent claimed bullying by co-worker(s);
• Most often only one person was the bully, but nearly one in five workers (19 percent) said the incidents occurred in either group settings, with multiple aggressors, or with more than one person participating over time;
• Comparing public and private sector workers found government employees “were nearly twice as likely to report being bullied (47%) than those in the corporate world (28%).” 

Unlike private sector employees who can more easily leave a job for greener, or at least friendlier, pastures if their employment situation is intolerable, public employees may be bound in place by the understandable goal of reaching a pension too lucrative to give up for the less certain post-employment future of the private sector, that they have seniority and benefits they’d rather not surrender, or they hold a job that simply doesn’t exist outside government service. 

“Additionally, bullies in the public sector may enjoy far greater job protection, particularly if there are strong civil service rules and/or union contracts granting them security the corporate employees — whose employment is more likely to be “at-will” — do not have. In fact, in some cases of bullying, the victim and aggressor might even be seeking the help and shelter of the very same union in their dispute.”

What is a “workplace bully”?

In an April 6, 2014 Forbes article, “Is Your Boss a Bully?” Carol Kinsey Goman defined workplace bullying as…

“the repeated, health-harming mistreatment of an employee in the form of verbal abuse or behaviors that are threatening, intimidating, or humiliating. Bullies at work practice psychological violence. They yell, insult, throw tantrums, steal credit, spread rumors, withhold crucial information, and/or socially isolate their targets by excluding them. The body language of bullies includes staring, glaring, or totally ignoring the target when he/she speaks. Bullies often engage in aggressive finger pointing, invade personal space and use touch as a measure of control (a bone-crushing handshake) or a means to patronize (a pat on the head).”

As we’ve studied, written about, and trained on the topic of police morale over the last few years, we’ve been struck at the feedback given us in person, on comment boards, and via email, from police officers of all ranks and positions describing demoralizing behaviors that can objectively be called “bullying.”  While it may seem ridiculous to think of bullying being a problem in 21^st Century American policing, it is a problem for a great many officers and departments.

We knew low morale was a problem in law enforcement, quickly came to learn how much of it originated from within, and are coming to see that bullying is a problem in the law enforcement workplace. 

What we’ve found is that bullying in policing can take many forms, most commonly:  

·        Persistent teasing and pranks that clearly go beyond that of affectionately including someone as “just one of the guys”;

·         Withholding (“siloing”) information to undermine another’s performance;

·         Deliberately undermining, minimizing, or blocking the use of power and influence of someone who legitimacy holds greater knowledge, status, or ability than the bully, for the purpose of lowering the bullied officers status and reach;

·         Badmouthing or rumor-mongering; coalitioning against the victim; intentionally being slow to back up — or even refusing to come to the aid of — a targeted officer (rare, but not unheard of);

·         Intimidation, outright threats, or physical abuse of the victim employee. 

In each of these scenarios, establishing status, power, and control over the bullied is the goal.  Bolstering weak ego strength and compensating for concerns over his or her own stature and ability is the bully’s motive.

While any of these can show up in different ways, whether peer-to-peer bullying or across rank and departmental divisions, top-down bullying is often cited by cops, with the practice seemingly legitimized under color of supervisory or management privilege. We’ve found this form of bullying often shows up as: 

·         Inconsistent or disparate treatment of employees under a single supervisor who shows favoritism toward certain subordinates, while scapegoating others, with no clear reason why;

·         Minimizing or ignoring serious transgressions by the favored, while amplifying or never forgiving those of the targeted;

·         Gossiping about or undermining a subordinate to their peers, or publically chastising;

·         Holding targeted officers to higher, even impossible, standards of performance;

·         Deliberately standing in the way of professional growth and advancement for personal reasons.

How workplace bullies choose their targets

Driven by personal or professional insecurities, weak ego strength, and a desire to assert authority or bolster their own status, adult bullies most often target those they perceive as threats or whom they feel targeting will offer them some advantage.

Studies show the victims of adult and workplace bullies exhibit certain shared characteristics, such as:

·         Excelling at their job, often exceeding their bullies in competence;

·         A tendency to be popular, well-liked, and often at the center of attention;

·         Possess high morals and integrity;

·         Demonstrate a strong work ethic; and,

·         Maybe most importantly, are perceived as unlikely to fight back against the behavior. 

Usually compensating for their own real or feared weaknesses, adult and workplace bullies try to eliminate or marginalize those they sense are better, might make them look bad, receive more attention, are “different” than some expected norm of behavior or attribute(s), or may surpass and thwart their own advancement.  Bullying in any environment is toxic, but in a police environment it may be especially toxic, is a source of much of the low morale described by officers of all ranks, and a contributor to such serious burnout, anxiety, and depression.