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Redbook Magazine Quotes Daniel: Women Need to Know They Don’t Have to Take Bullying in the Workplace

Women Need to Know They Don’t Have to Take Bullying in the Workplace

Namie is skeptical of HR’s ability to broker change, and Teresa A. Daniel, Ph.D., an employment lawyer and dean of the Human Resource Leadership Program at Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky, agrees that going to HR can make things worse — and has in many cases. Nonetheless, she argues that it is the first step: “HR can be a great resource, but it depends on the culture of the organization. At organizations that say, ‘We treat everybody with respect and won’t allow this kind of interaction to stand,’ bullies end up either getting fired or quitting.”

If taking the issue higher up doesn’t net results, Daniel advises women to begin “an aggressive search for a new job. The problem with staying in a workplace bullying situation is that over time you start to feel devalued, and the more devalued you feel, the less confident you are to go out and get another job. So it’s a real slippery slope.”

Our experts are hopeful that soon, quitting won’t be the best option most women feel they have. “For the first time, I am really hopeful,” Daniel says. “I think the changes we are seeing with respect to sexual harassment after the #MeToo movement are going to spill over. Women are becoming more vocal because for the first time they have some confidence that they will be believed. The atmosphere is changing, and corporations will hopefully realize they can’t tolerate any kind of bad behavior at work and will impose accountability,” she says. Whether or not those changes come to pass in the near future, the bottom line is, says Daniel, “It’s important for women to know that they don’t have to take it anymore.”

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