The Ultimate Cost of Workplace Bullying: Police Brutality

by May 23, 2017

I’ve recently come across several articles regarding workplace bullying in law enforcement. Articles from media channels such as Courier Mail, the New York Times, and the Guardian have flooded my inbox with sad stories and alarming stats.

Australia’s Union secretary Mick Barnes even called the Gold Coast police headquarters “bully central.”

How sad… and how confusing. How is it that people focused on stopping bad behaviors are actively behaving badly? They’re supposed to protect civil rights, not invite them… Aren’t they?

I don’t get it.

How are organizations supposed to implement a positive workplace when the government, our guidepost and ringleader, can’t even set the example?

Yes – I’m aware of the lingering presence of police brutality and the work that is going into stopping it. I know that activists, along with the government, are doing the best of their ability to end police brutality. Although I don’t discredit this attempt, I don’t think they should view bullying as a tiny slice of the pie. It’s actually a pretty fat slice.

Bullying is the catalyst of police brutality. It invites rage, harassment, and other bad behaviors that trigger police brutality. Unless we put a stop to it, law enforcers will continue to allow the misconduct to thrive.

Bad behaviors are systemic, and are a social phenomenon. They don’t happen in a vacuum. The organization and its culture is what allows these behaviors to thrive.

So… Here’s looking at you, Government. What’s up with your culture?

Something is off, so I decided to do some digging.

What I found

A highly critical report by the College of Policing reported a “macho, arrogant, bullying culture” in the industry. The study, which examined cases of alleged misconduct involving chief police officers and staff, described bullying as a feature of a “’command-and-control” management style.

I found the study informative and enlightening. I’ll leave the facts to the reporters, so I’ll just leave with you with a few of my key takeaways:

According to a police insider:

“[The force] is defined by a macho, arrogant, bullying culture and it tends to recruit a particular kind of candidate in that mould.”

“Being a large force it is possible to shove people around, move them into other roles, and this is used as a threat to force a particular approach, particularly around performance management.”

And… my favorite:

“You get your first chief officer appointment and you suddenly wake up and think, ‘I can be the bully.’”

What I gathered

It is clear as day. Bright workers are promoted, and with their promotion comes a badge of honor in the form of the right to bully. Bullying is being passed on from chief officer to chief officer as if it were a righteous skillset.

Because this behavior has become so engraved in police officers’ brains, it’s going to take a lot for the police department to change its culture – and it’s not in the form of additional laws, regulations and anti-bullying policies. It’s in the form of replacement.

The next step

Negative and aggressive workplace behaviors are systemic. In order to effectively remove them, holistic and system-wide solutions should focus on prevention, not correction.

Police department officers shouldn’t focus on the corrective actions involving eradication of problems and negativity. Instead, they should find solutions that create a safe and civil workplace.

That’s the secret: replacing bad behaviors with positive ones.

Rather than saying no to bullying, police department leaders should be saying yes to a civil workplace. This can be done by facilitating employees’ ability to work together in creating a workplace where positive, professional relationships will thrive.

They can do this by focusing their efforts three areas: policy, culture, and leadership.

Policy: Implementing a healthy workplace corporate policy provides information about what respectful and civil behavior looks like in your organization. This policy also addresses behavior that may not be as egregious as sexual harassment, for example, but is uncivil enough to cause a breakdown in communication and damage work product and customer service.

Culture: Address what behaviors should be seen from the police force, then include these behaviors in the healthy workplace policy. You can use them to create values statements and action items, and intertwine the list with performance management programs. Following the policy, training can be provided on those behaviors, as well as in areas that highlight positive behavior, including conflict resolution, negotiation, interpersonal communication, assertiveness, forgiveness, gratitude, empathy, stress management, leadership, and optimism.

Leadership: Leadership must be transparent about their support for a civil work environment for it to come to fruition. In addition, leaders should be trained on positive leadership skills, coaching uncivil employees, and publicly rewarding those who engage in positive workplace behaviors. They should be trained in building upon employee strengths, rather than finding and correcting their weaknesses.

Conclusion

As long as policies focus on quotas for speeding tickets, NOT engaging in police brutality, and policies that cover discrimination, for example, the bigger picture is being ignored.

And at this point, with bullying spreading around like an infectious disease, it seems culture change is nearly unattainable for police departments. Nearly… but not completely.
Serious changes in policy, culture and leadership must be made, starting with chief officers. It will be quite the challenge, however – if done effectively – it can save the police force’s brutal environment. Better yet, it can save lives.

Do you know how much money chronically bad behavior costs your company? Spoiler alert – it’s a LOT higher than you want it to be. Download our data and worksheet to see how it’s costing your organization and what you can do to fix it.

 

About Catherine Mattice

Catherine Mattice, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is President of consulting and training firm, Civility Partners, and has been successfully providing programs in workplace bullying and building positive workplaces since 2007. Her clients include Fortune 500’s, the military, several universities and hospitals, government agencies, small businesses and nonprofits. She has published in a variety of trade magazines and has appeared several times on NPR, FOX, NBC, and ABC as an expert, as well as in USA Today, Inc Magazine, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, and more. Catherine is Past-President of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), San Diego Chapter and teaches at National University. In his book foreword, Ken Blanchard called her book, BACK OFF! Your Kick-Ass Guide to Ending Bullying at Work, “the most comprehensive and valuable handbook on the topic.” She recently released a second book entitled, SEEKING CIVILITY: How Leaders, Managers and HR Can Create a Workplace Free of Bullying.

Why leadership’s ‘Hands-Off’ approach to culture is costing you more than you think

Picture this: you’re actively working to foster a positive workplace culture, but managers and leaders are adopting a 'hands-off' approach. At first, it seems harmless, even convenient—but beneath the surface, it's quietly wreaking havoc. Top talent? They're slipping...

Elections and Leadership: 3 Ways Your Reaction Can Impact Your Team

Election season tends to bring division and tension, and it’s hard to avoid. Even if you’ve reminded your team to steer clear of political conversations at work, it’s likely that the topic will still pop up here and there. The truth is, having employees with different...

You Have It All Wrong: 4 Ways Employers Can Successfully Influence Well-Being

Did you know that the World Health Organization (WHO) classified burnout as an occupational phenomenon? In other words, while leaders and HR tend to classify burnout as a personal failing, as evidenced in the way they tackle it with offerings of gym memberships and...

5 Tips You Haven’t Seen for Engaging Hybrid And Remote Workers

According to Forbes, one in five workers is working remotely and 98% of workers want to work remotely at least some of the time. Yet, despite the flexibility that hybrid and remote work offer, engagement is a major challenge. In fact, the 2023 State of Remote Work...

Measuring Onboarding Effectiveness: Key Metrics for Success

Having an employee orientation program is a great start. It usually involves getting paperwork signed, introducing new hires around the office, and providing some initial training. But are you truly onboarding your employees? Effective onboarding is more than just a...

Measuring Recruiting and Hiring Success: Key Metrics to Track

In the past, recruiting was often a "spray and pray" approach—posting job openings everywhere and hoping the right candidate would find their way to us, even faxing over their resumes. Thankfully, recruiting today is far more strategic, thanks to the internet and...

HR Ninja-ing: 9 ways to impact culture with $0 budget

Workplace culture is an uphill battle when the budget is tight or, worse, nonexistent. You’re expected to create a thriving, engaged workforce, but the reality is harsh: Gallup reports that only 32% of U.S. employees are engaged at work. Meanwhile, disengaged...

It’s Labor Day: Are you celebrating your workers or burning them out?

This last Labor Day should have been a day of rest—a chance for employees to recharge and reflect on the contributions they’ve made to their organizations. But for many workers, the reality was likely far from relaxing. A 2023 Gallup survey shows that only 32% of U.S....

Case Study: HR’s Pleas Are Heard, Resulting in Positive Culture Change

HR professionals often find themselves fighting an uphill battle to create a positive and safe workplace. Not to rub it in, but we thought we’d share a case study of what could be when the opposite occurs. Read on and see what happens when leadership listens to HR, as...

FREE WEBINAR: Getting Leadership to Listen to HR

Do you ever feel like you're pouring your heart into your work, only to have it go unnoticed?  As an HR professional, you’re tasked with and excited about creating a positive workplace, solving complex issues, creating and implementing strategies, and driving...