The Bully-Free Workplace: Stop Jerks, Weasels, and Snakes From Killing Your Organization

Bullying Can Kill Your Organization

Beware how you take away hope from any human being

—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Consider the case of Kevin Morrissey.

In 2010, Morrissey, the managing editor for the Virginia Quarterly Review, a literary magazine housed on the campus of the University of Virginia, committed suicide. He left behind the tale of three years of torment at the hands of senior editor Ted Genoways. The university president's office and human resources had known of Morrissey's multiple complaints but had failed to either investigate or suppress Genoways. After his suicide, it was Morrissey's sister who affixed the label of bullying to the case, which caused quite a stir within the academic community across the country.

The provocative nature of the story of Mr. Morrissey's suicide prompted academic writers to recognize bullying in their host institutions.¹ According to the employer's own internal investigation report, the complaints about Genoways were merely “conflicts between a creative, innovative manager and persons who did not share” his views. The employer's report exonerated Genoways. But the campus faced a public relations nightmare for months. The incident undermined the integrity of the VQR as well as the university.

When violence is directed outward, it can lead to a workplace homicide, as it did in the following scenario:

On April 16, 2007, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) student Seung-Hui Cho, age 23, murdered 32 professors ...