I have had the honor of speaking at the American Council on Education (ACE) Women’s Leadership Forums this fall.
The topic was reflecting on strategies to deal with bullies during career ascension. As we close 2016, and people think of new goals for school, family, and careers, reflecting on how to avoid the bully is a good topic to consider.
Based on my research, in particular Bully University, turnover is a certain sign that people leave a contentious environment. No one wants to report to work that is a war zone, where people are dismissed, berated, and undervalued. Even if someone is not the direct target of a bully, one colleague watching another colleague at the unwelcomed end of a tongue lashing can motivate by standers to flee the organization.
Here are some things to investigate when interviewing:
- Ask about turnover. How many people have moved on to other jobs in the last two years?
- Ask the current staff how long they have worked there. If a good number joined the department in the last two years, turnover may still be an issue.
- Are there internal candidates for the position? Or are there people on staff who transferred internally to this department? This might be tough to find out, but internal people typically do not apply to transfer in to a department with a known bully.
- Is there a climate survey? Ask HR to furnish such if possible.
- Look at the facilities. If the organization is not willing to take care of the building, they’re probably not willing to take are of its employees.
- Do a Google search. Are there any recent lawsuits or bad press that can inform you about the culture?
- Use your own warm network. Call colleagues or professional acquaintances to find out about the position.
Remember, the interview is not just about the organization interviewing you… you need to interview them to discover if this a healthy organization, or one that can lead to stress related ailments. Taking a job is a life style decision. Be as judicious about them as they are about you.
Read more posts by Leah Hollis, Ed.D. here. Leah is a contributing blogger for JenningsWire.
JenningsWire.com is created by National Publicity Firm, Annie Jennings PR that specializes in providing book marketing strategies to self-published and traditionally published authors. Annie Jennings PR books authors, speakers and experts on major top city radio talk shows that broadcast to the heart of the market, on local, regionally syndicated and national TV shows and on influential online media and in prestigious print magazines and newspapers.
