Towards Employee Wellness: Rethinking Bullying Paradoxes and Masks

Abstract

“Wellness in organizations” should focus on the well being of individual workers. At a time when the wellness of individuals is increasingly being threatened in our workplaces, I argue that one way wellness can be sought is through careful examination of routine organizational practices. To make this point, I look to the problem of bullying in organizations and, in particular, traditional organizational responses to bullying. The paradoxes of protective legislation and protective workplace policies are explored, before numerous organizational masks that serve to bolster these paradoxes are discussed: the mask of stereotypes; the mask of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR); the mask of counseling; and the mask of training. The way towards wellness in organizations lies with the recognition of unintended distortions and limitations on existing legislation, policy and process, and the critical assessment of traditional remedies.