Clarkston-based expert appearing on 'Dr. Phil'

Oct. 5—A target of workplace bullying featured on an upcoming segment of the "Dr. Phil" TV show once contemplated suicide.

The individual is one of four people who receive guidance on the show from Dr. Phil and Gary Namie, a Clarkston resident and founder of what is now the Workplace Bullying Institute.

The segment is scheduled to run at 3 p.m. Thursday on networks in the United States and Canada, including KLEW in Lewiston and KREM in Spokane as well as at 7 p.m. on KSKN in Spokane.

Suicidal thoughts such as those described by the guest on "Dr. Phil" happen a lot among people who have been bullied on the job, Namie said.

"Don't confuse bullying with teasing," he said. "This is harmful."

An expert witness in court cases, Namie has written books about the topic with his wife, who was bullied in her job.

He's also done more than 1,200 media interviews in a variety of formats, appearing on Good Morning America and the Today Show.

This is his first time appearing with Dr. Phil (McGraw), and Namie believes the topic was handled well.

"He told his own bullying story," Namie said. "He was sympathetic. For that, I give him credit. It's very easy in this society to victim-blame. ... He understood bullies can be irrational and lie."

The show was filmed at the Paramount movie lot in Hollywood and the show covered Namie's travel expenses.

Namie had to be on the set at 6:30 a.m. Recording before a studio audience started at 9:30 a.m. and was complete by 11 a.m.

The time he spent on the show will get information about the dangers of workplace bullying to Dr. Phil's audience of more than two million viewers, Namie said.

Workplace bullying involves repeated, harmful mistreatment such as abusive conduct, verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, humiliation or work sabotage, he said.

"It's got to be harmful," Namie said. "If you are truly not hurt, it's not bullying."

The majority of the time, he said, it's superiors mistreating employees. A significantly smaller share of the cases are among coworkers or managers getting sandwiched between bullying subordinates and bosses.

"Petty tyrants" terminate the best and the brightest in their professions or create conditions so inhospitable any reasonable person would quit, Namie said.

One of the most effective approaches for targets of workplace bullying is to ask other employees if they are being mistreated by the individual who is a problem for them, initially without disclosing their own issues, he said.

If others are being bullied, it's sometimes possible to convince management that it's too expensive to keep the bully because of the costs of absenteeism, turnover, severance pay and legal settlements, Namie said.

"You're going have to fight this fight on your own and that's the problem," he said.

Aggravating the issue even more are the high stakes in the workplace. Only 12% of those who leave end up earning more at jobs where they are safe.

On the flip side, about 26% never work again, losing their identities along with the ability to pay for basics like food and shelter, Namie said.

"This ruins people's lives," he said.

He and his wife, Ruth Namie, who has a doctorate in clinical psychology, founded the Workplace Bullying Institute in 1997.

They did so after she was "tormented" by a supervisor who "could not stand" how Ruth's "innate empathetic skills allowed her to empower individuals with chemical dependency problems and families facing inevitable conflicts," according to the institute's website.

Eventually, Ruth was given a severance, according to the website.

Gary Namie is a social psychologist who has taught university classes at several institutions, including the University of Southern California.

In their work at the institute, the couple has heard more than 12,000 stories of workplace bullying on a toll-free line.

"The prevalence of it is absolutely at an epidemic rate," Namie said.

The institute at one time had a brick-and-mortar location in Bellingham, Wash., but they moved to Clarkston to be close to a grown son, who landed employment in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley.

"For her personal health," his wife's role has diminished in the institute over the years, according to the institute's website.

Most of Namie's legal work as an expert witness is done from a home studio in Clarkston, where the institute records educational materials that are sold to unions and organizations. The institute's signature training program, "Workplace Bullying Institute," is taught live online instead of in-person in San Francisco.

Free resources about workplace bullying are available at workplacebullying.org.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.