Another problem is that to gain redress, a wronged employee usually has to sue the company involved, not the individual. Both Cordella and Perry predicted workplace incivility will become more of an issue in coming years. The pace will quicken when people start to hold corporations responsible for the behaviors of supervisors. Perry said professional conduct codes someday will be the norm. As employees say, 'I don't want to be treated like that,' the company's response may well be to adopt a formal policy.
Some companies already have.
Bob DeSchuiteneer, director of communications for the SEA, said compared with the history of worker mistreatment that the unions were created to address, current complaints about verbal bullying may not sound as serious. He said he had a company manager admit to him once, in a graduate business course he was taking, that a common method of getting unwanted employees to leave is to treat them harshly. And he said employees' fears about retribution for complaining are justifiable. They understand that they have to put food on the table and pay their mortgage, so the pain of being willing to take the bullying is a lot less than the alternative, which is to lose your job. John Crosier, president of the Business and Industry Association, said it only makes good business sense to listen to employees' concerns.