Workplace Bullying with Timothy Dimoff

Workplace bullying and violence seldom happens in a vacuum but rather are led up to with warning signs and events. In this episode, I talk with Timothy Dimoff about workplace bullying and violence. Workplace bullying is usually not physical, but it is ongoing. We talk about steps you can take if you are a victim of workplace bullying and ways to prevent it from the very beginning.

Timothy Dimoff is president of SACS Consulting and Investigative Services, a high-risk HR and security consulting and investigation firm. As a nationally recognized expert in high-risk security and human resources, he is a sought after consultant, speaker, media commentator, and expert witness. Timothy has more than 40 years of experience in law enforcement, corporate security, and consulting.

We talk about workplace bullying and violence and exactly what they are and the difference between the two. We specifically discuss what types of behaviors to look out for, things you can do to limit these behaviors, and how you can protect yourself from emotional and physical violence. Timothy shares steps you can take if you are a victim of workplace bullying or violence.

Show Notes:

• [00:48] - Timothy's first career was 20 years in law enforcement at an Akron, Ohio police department, and then the federal task force.
• [02:04] - His career has been rewarding because he has been able to take everything he has been taught in both careers and apply it toward a positive.
• [02:34] - The low-level workplace bullying is intimidation. People go out of their way to embarrass, intimidate, or degrade someone to get themselves to a higher level, promotion, or even just look better.
• [03:21] - Higher-level workplace bullying is when somebody that really just has a higher level of anger or dislike for someone and they really want to go out of their way to damage them in some way. It could be physical, but a lot of times it is just mental or social.
• [04:05] - You need to watch out for someone setting up and presenting you as somebody that you're not.
• [05:18] - Human nature is simple. Where you get your reaction is where you continue and the severity increases. Try and downplay anything that happens especially in the beginning stages.
• [06:50] - Bullying is defined by one major thing. It is an ongoing continuous off and on type of action.
• [07:39] - You should be logging what is going on with the date, time, what they said, and what they did.
• [09:47] - About a third of the accusations that happen they discover are false.
• [10:27] - It is very difficult for companies to investigate these types of cases internally by themselves. Using an outside company sets the tone that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.
• [12:49] - If the bullying goes unanswered by management it can turn into workplace violence.
• [14:50] - Sometimes employers terminate an employee and get some pretty strong messages of aggression or potential retaliation. Once you have any kind of termination and there is an indication of these things you need to put some precautionary measures in place.
• [17:02] - SACS has a threat response team that they deploy out to boost security, research the potential perpetrator, assess their level of anger and aggression, monitor them, and figure out how to track them and defuse them down.
• [18:32] - As a society, we are showing more aggression as an answer to disagreements. Many people think that it is a proper reaction and they have a right to respond that way.
• [19:23] - Sports, politics, and other types of events and debates can get very aggressive, mean, and attacking.
• [19:48] - Timothy's number one suggestion for any employee that feels uncomfortable or unsafe is logging the instances. That gets more effective results than anything else they can do.
• [20:16] - What if it's the owner of the company that is treating their employees this way?
• [22:37] - If you are having problems with your direct supervisor then you take your complaints to the CFO, HR person, or another supervisor you respect and ask if they can help you.
• [23:12] - Bullying is not just between employee and employee. A supervisor has a distinct advantage to use their level against an employee in the wrong way.
• [24:05] - SACS Consulting works with both companies and individuals. Most companies call them to objectively find the truth.
• [26:37] -SACS Consulting will work with companies if they want to find and live with the truth.

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