This article has been reproduced
with the kind permission of Keith Munday
The Bullying of Teachers Through the Use
of Formal Disciplinary Procedures
by
Keith Munday 2003
Index
Abstract
Bullying: Definitions, Organisational Culture
and Legal Obligations
Research
Approach
Background Information on the Target of Bullying
and the Bully
Disciplinary Procedures
Breaches of Disciplinary Procedures
Techniques Employed by the Bully
Conclusions
References
ABSTRACT
Bullying
comes in many different guises; ranging from the primitive
and blatant through
to the subtle and heavily camouflaged.
Included towards the latter end of
this continuum of behaviours are those situations
where the policies and procedures
designed to ensure fairness and justice at work
are used by unscrupulous managers
to thwart these aims.
This
article draws on a case study involving a teacher subjected
to disciplinary action instigated by
her head teacher, who, in the opinion of the writer, used
the school’s disciplinary
policy as a ‘weapon in her
bullying armoury’.
Examples of the head’s conduct
which caused a serious deterioration
in the teacher’s
state of health are examined.
Specific areas of procedural abuse
are discussed with respect
to the control of information and
the exploitation of ineffective checks
and balances.
The
article endeavours to show that bullying can ‘stack
the odds’ heavily in favour
of the perpetrator,
thereby ensuring the likelihood
of justice is significantly
diminished.
BULLYING:
DEFINITIONS, ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AND LEGAL OBLIGATIONS
top
The
insidious nature of bullying in the workplace is being
increasingly
exposed and
the world of education is no
exception as far as this
phenomenon
is concerned (e.g.
Adams, 1992; ATL, 1996; Blase & Blase,
2003; European Agency for Safety and
Health at Work, 2002; Field,
1996; Graves, 2003; Hoel & Cooper,
2000; NASUWT,1996;
Randall, 1997; Randall, 2001;
Rayner, Hoel & Cooper,
2002;
Tehrani, 2001).
Whilst
the importance of high ethical
standards is
espoused in public,
the reality, as seen through
the daily experiences
of many teachers,
is frequently
very different. The way in
which they are
treated is all-too-often
unfair, degrading,
and arguably illegal. Given
this state of affairs,
this article considers the tactics of those educational
managers who set out to malign
the professional,
as well as, the personal lives of
their colleagues through
abuse of
the disciplinary
process.
The
term ‘workplace bullying’ conveys
a range of nuances. The
Andrea Adams Trust talks of:
Unwarranted,
offensive, humiliating, under-mining [sic]
behaviour towards an individual
or groups of employees
and
An
abuse of power or position,
that can cause such anxiety
that people
gradually
lose all
belief
in themselves,
suffering
physical
ill health
and mental
distress
as a direct
result.
(The Andrea
Adams Trust,
1997, p.
1)
Einarsen’s
definition (1998) highlights the feelings
of
the victim:
bullying occurs “when someone persistently
over a period of time, perceives him/herself
to be on the receiving
end
of negative actions from
one
or several others,
in
a situation where the one at
the
receiving end has
difficulties
defending
him/herself
against
these
actions” (p.2).
Randall
(1997)
comments: “Bullying
is
the
aggressive
behaviour
arising
from the
deliberate
intent
to
cause physical
or
psychological
distress
to
others” (p.
4), whilst
White
(1999) emphasises
the
stress caused
by
the
bully’s
actions
which in large
measure are
the result of “organisational
factors,
such as weak management or
a culture of
fear ……….” (p.
29).
There
are compelling
grounds for
believing that
bullying is
rife within
teaching.
The UK National
Workplace Bullying
Advice Line,
founded in
January 1996,
dealt with 1,992
cases of
bullying during
the first
25 months
of its
operation, and
approximately 20%
of these
cases concerned
teachers, lectures
and school
administrative staff
(Field, 1998).
The most
comprehensive research
undertaken in
the UK,
by Hoel
and Cooper
(2000), found
that teaching
was amongst
those occupations
at highest
risk from
bullying with
15.5% of
teachers stating
they were
currently being
bullied, and
35.4% saying
they had
been bullied
over the
last five
years.
Consideration
of the
issues involved
is helped
by having
in mind
those overlapping and
interwoven concepts
implied by
organisational culture.
The labels
applied to
the dynamics
of the
psychological contract and management
style, provide
a vocabulary which
facilitates discussion
of the
issues involved.
It is
the constantly
evolving reciprocal
nature of
relationships which
matters to
those who
constitute the
organisation’s
workforce. And
it is
the ability
of researchers
to capture
the essence of
these relations
hips which
adds credibility
to their
findings and
conclusions.
Power,
control and
authority are
useful in
explaining both
why and how
managers bully.
Morgan (1998)
mentions in
his list
of the
sources of
power: reliance
on formal authority;
the use
of organisational
structures, rules
and regulations;
control of decision
processes; control
of knowledge
and information;
and interpersonal alliances,
networks and
control of ‘informal organisations’.
All of
these are
at the bully’s
disposal and
have a
clear resonance
in the
light of
the evidence
presented in this
article.
Notions
of good
practice and
quality (Munday,
1999), coupled
with the
legal obligations imposed
upon
organisations, provide
benchmarks or
criteria, against which
to examine
the suitability
of an
organisation’s
culture
in
practice
for
the business
it is
engaged in.
West-Burnham’s
(1997) seven
key
precepts help
to aid our
understanding of
total
quality;
two of
them, focusing
on the
customer and
driving
out
fear,
are
worthy of
note in
this context. The
significance of
the former precept derives
from the
fact: “The customer is the raison
d’être of
the
organisation and
also provides
the definition
of quality” (p. 37). The customer
is “anyone
to whom
a product
or service
is provided” (p.
41), and
it, therefore,
follows that
customers include
those who
work within
or for
an organisation.
When viewed
in their
capacity as
recipients of
services provided
by schools,
teachers are
customers, and
have the right
to be
treated with
respect and
courtesy by
their employers.
The significance
of the
latter precept
relates to
the fact
that “the
only way
to a
climate of
improvement is to
create a
culture which
is based
on positive
regard and
a sense
of being
able to learn” (p.
37). It
follows that
schools cannot lay
claim to
being total
quality organisations if
they
fail to
act on
any of
the precepts.
Bullying is
the antithesis
of behaviour
based on
positive regard.
Bullying
is a
major source
of ill-health
which can
have profound
consequences for organisations
, as
well as
the victims.
Employers may
face heavy
financial penalties and
loss of
reputation should
they become
subjected to
legal action.
They may
also pay
a high
price in
terms of
increased levels
of absenteeism,
high staff
turnover, and declining
levels of
performance, apathy
and low
morale. (European
Agency for Safety
and Health
at Work,
2002; Trades
Union Congress,
1998; Travers & Cooper, 1996).
Problems associated
with relationships
with colleagues
are a
major factor causing
stress amongst
teachers (Webster,
1990; Brown & Ralph,
1994), and
Health and
Safety Executive
publications are
now including
bullying as
a cause
of stress-related illness
(e.g. 1997).
Cooper has
provided telling
statistics: he
estimates that bullying
is responsible
for one-third
to one
-half of
employment-related
sick
leave (cited
in Stephen,
1998), and “that
some 40
million working
days a
year are
lost because
of bullying
at work,
more than
160 times
the number
of days
lost through strikes.
The cost
to the
overall economy
probably lies
between £3
billion and £4 billion
a year” (cited
in NASUWT,
1996, p.
1).
The
implications of
dysfunctional organisational
culture
have been
highlighted in
a number
of reports
dealing with
abuse and
malpractice. Scandals,
such as
those reported
by the
inquiry into
children’s
heart surgery
at the
Bristol Royal
Infirmary (BRI Inquiry,
2001), are
the more
disturbing when
they relate
to a
range of
caring professions
engaged in
the provision
of social
services, medical
treatment and education
- areas
where one
would expect
the highest
standards of
care and
concern
to ensure
the safety
and well-being
of clients.
A number
of common
themes emerge
from the
inquiries undertaken:
- serious
breakdowns in communication
- flawed
systems of managerial oversight
- an
unwillingness to act upon complaints which are merely
ignored and
swept to
one side
- a genuine sense of fear and helplessness on the part of those
wishing to
expose the
truth
- a
climate of implied, and at times explicit intimidation,
and
- a
disregard for the tenets of good practice and laid-down
policies, let alone
the law.
The
judgements
of employment tribunals
and various inquiries
make it clear there is often
a complete
breakdown in
trust, in
respect for
natural justice,
and in
the application
of the
rule of
law -
all essential
ingredients in
caring and
supportive relationships.
Bullies have
shown time
and again
an overwhelming
contempt for
the interests
and well-being
of their
clients and
fellow workers.
They believe
themselves to
be unaccountable
and above
the law,
and tend,
at least
in their
own terms,
to thrive
where abuse
is allowed
to flourish
and fester.
The situation
is compounded further
when the
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