Office Bullying October 28, 2010, 5:00PM EST

Office Bullies: The Big Business of Battling Them

The fast-growing industry boasts best-selling books, lucrative speaking fees, even an anti-bullying university

By Spencer Morgan

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With his goatee, Darth Vader-sized bald head, and an NFL lineman's build, Gary Namie doesn't look like someone to mess with. And in his case, appearances do not deceive. Namie has carved out a tough niche—he's the guy who bullies the office bullies. Two weeks ago in San Francisco he and his wife, Ruth, were set to give a keynote address at a seminar hosted by a group called California Healthy Workplace Advocates. They were scheduled for a similar event the next day in Sacramento. At $10,000 per appearance, the Namies are becoming the Sarah and Todd Palin of the rapidly expanding office bullying universe—a universe that owes its existence, in large part, to the Namies.

In 1995, Ruth Namie, then a clinical physician at a health maintenance organization, found herself in the crosshairs of a vicious female superior named Sheila. Namie mentions Sheila every time he tells their story, since, he says, she "tormented," "traumatized," and "tore apart" Ruth's confidence, using the classic bullying techniques like berating her skill in front of co-workers, spreading rumors, disrupting her work, and screaming at her. After consulting an attorney, the Namies discovered there was little legal recourse for non-discriminatory bullying. By 1997, the passage of such legislation became Namie's white whale. As he says, Sheila "messed with the wrong guy," even though, technically, she messed with his wife.

More than a decade later, the former University of Southern California management professor has become the Erin Brockovich for workers tired of their boss's hysteria. And in the American worker, Namie has the perfect client. According to a survey conducted by business research association the Conference Board, employee satisfaction is sinking. Last year, only 45 percent of workers claimed to be satisfied with their jobs—a significant decrease from 61 percent in 1987. Pollster John Zogby reported in August that 34 percent of American workers said they'd been bullied at the office. The data reinforce 2009 University of Phoenix findings that the recession has given bullies an excuse to mistreat co-workers.

In a classic chicken-and-egg twist, the purported rise of the office bully has turned anti-bullying experts into well-paid gurus. Valerie Cade, an anti- bullying coach in Ontario, gives 40 speeches a year for up to $7,500 apiece. A rise in demand, she says, has forced her to decline multiple invitations. Calgary-based Anton Hout, the founder of Overcomebullying.org, offers a selection of anti-bullying- inspired posters and fine art prints. The site also hawks his most recent book, the artfully titled What Every Target of Workplace Bullying Needs to Know. Fellow Canadian Chris Hinkle, the creator of Firm Foundations, offers a self-service package for $350.

Still, Namie occupies a rarefied position in the anti-bullying hierarchy. The co-founder of the Bellingham (Wash.)-based Workplace Bullying Institute, he's hoping to leave his fingerprints on history. With his help, on Oct. 19, El Paso, Tex., declared the first ever Freedom From Workplace Bullies Week, which was celebrated with events in four states and an anti-bullying conference—entitled Powerless to Powerful—in anti-bullying hotbed, Saskatchewan.

The big week was more than a decade in the making. After Ruth Namie's bullying experience, the couple founded the Campaign Against Workplace Bullying in San Francisco in 1998. Two years later, they helped establish the inaugural U.S. Hostile Workplace Survey. The poll coincided with the release of their book, The Bully at Work, which has since sold 80,000 copies and remains the magnum opus of the genre. In 2003 they renamed their group the more important- sounding Workplace Bullying and Trauma Institute, later boiled settling on the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI), which still sounds pretty important. In 2008, they took the bold step of establishing WBI University, the first college of its kind, in Bellingham. The university's three-day seminars cost $4,600 for individuals and $6,000 for corporate representatives. Next semester is already sold out.