Welcome to Minding the Workplace, the blog of the New Workplace Institute. This blog is dedicated to news and commentary about work and employment relations, as well as to discussing and sharing useful books, articles, media programs, and Internet sources about the workplace. Dignity at work, workplace bullying, and psychologically healthy work environments are recurring themes.
My name is David Yamada, and I’m a law professor at Suffolk University Law School in Boston and founder of the New Workplace Institute (www.newworkplaceinstitute.org), a research and education center promoting healthy, productive, and socially responsible workplaces. I have a special interest and expertise in the legal and organizational implications of workplace bullying.
My goal is to post 3-5 times a week. I hope you will enjoy this blog and add your comments in response. If you have suggestions for topics, relevant research studies that you think might be ripe for summarizing, etc., please share them with me in the comments or e-mail me directly at david_yamada@yahoo.com. (Please note, however, that I cannot provide legal advice or coaching on workplace bullying and other employment situations.)
About the name of the blog: The name Minding the Workplace was inspired by an excellent book, Anthony G. Amsterdam and Jerome Bruner, Minding the Law (2000), in which the co-authors use psychological insights to analyze the work of lawyers and judges.
LEGAL ADVICE
Although this blog discusses legal topics at times, it does so for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. I am a strong believer in obtaining a legal consultation before matters get out of hand, and if you are in a developing employment dispute, it may be wise to seek a lawyer’s advice. For employees who are in search of an attorney who specializes in employment law, the website of the National Employment Lawyers Association (http://www.nela.org) provides online referral guidance and links to state chapters.
MORE INFORMATION
The New Workplace Institute website includes downloadable papers and bibliographies on workplace bullying and related topics: http://www.newworkplaceinstitute.org.
For more about my work, including links to downloadable pdf copies of my scholarly articles on workplace bullying and other employment topics, see my bio on my Suffolk webpage at: http://www.law.suffolk.edu/faculty/directories/faculty.cfm?InstructorID=59.
NEW WORKPLACE INSTITUTE LEADERSHIP
The New Workplace Institute is fortunate to have the support of an outstanding group of individuals who serve as board members and advisory committee members.
(All affiliations are provided for identification purposes only. Service as a board member or advisory committee member does not imply agreement with the opinions expressed in this blog — diversity of opinion is a good thing!)
Board of Directors
Denise Doherty – Denise is a veteran of the aviation industry, having worked for over 20 years in a wide variety of management and line positions for a major airline. She organized and implemented airline employee support programs in Boston following the attacks of September 11, 2001. She has a special interest in organizational behavior and in supporting psychologically healthy work environments.
Evelyn Haralampu – Evelyn is a partner and director of the employee benefits practice at the Boston law firm of Burns & Levinson. She is widely respected for her expertise in employee benefits, including being named a “Massachusetts Superlawyer” based on a survey of Massachusetts attorneys and election as Chair of the Boston Bar Association’s ERISA/Employee Benefits Committee.
Gisele Michel – Gisele is principal of a consulting service, ICatalyst (http://i-catalyst.us/home), which coaches individuals and organizations towards positive change. She served as the development director of a Boston-based non-profit organization that provides immigration services to individuals of all nationalities. She also was a founding co-chair of the City-Wide Dialogues on Boston’s Ethnic & Racial Diversity.
Jeffrey Rosin – Jeff is a partner in the Boston office of Constangy Brooks & Smith, LLP, a national law firm specializing in employment law. He has represented individuals and companies in a wide variety of employment matters. For two consecutive years he has been named a “Massachusetts Rising Star” in the legal community by Boston Magazine. An emerging author, his first mystery, Lipstick’s Legacy, was published in 2005.
Ann Rudy – Ann is a graduate of Suffolk University Law School with significant experience in the non-profit sector, currently an organizer on health care policy at Community Catalyst. Her independent study paper, “Out of the Asylum and Into the Workplace: Employment Discrimination Against the Mentally Ill,” was one of the primary inspirations behind the Institute’s Safety Net Project.
James Whitters III – Jim is a long-time Boston attorney, having earned partnership status with major Boston law firms. A devoted civic activist, he has provided significant pro bono efforts to reform politics and non-profit organizations, including service on the boards of the Massachusetts NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund and Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
David Yamada — David is the Founder of NWI and a Professor of Law at Suffolk University Law School in Boston. He is an internationally recognized authority on workplace bullying and psychologically abusive work environments, having written leading analyses of workplace bullying and the law and authored the Healthy Workplace Bill, model anti-bullying legislation that has been the basis of bills introduced in over a dozen state legislatures since 2003. For more about David’s background, see his bio at: http://law.suffolk.edu/faculty/directories/faculty.cfm?InstructorID=59.
Advisory Committee
Brandie Conforti (Partners in Health)
Russ Davis (Jobs with Justice)
James Green (University of Massachusetts, Boston)
Ronald Gross (Columbia University Seminars)
Susan Harthill (Florida Coastal School of Law)
Loraleigh Keashly (Wayne State University)
Georgia Katsoulomitis (Attorney and Organizational Consultant)
Dan King (Career Planning & Management, Inc.)
Lisa-Marie Mulkern (Non-Profit Administrator)
Gary Namie (Workplace Bullying Institute)
Ruth Namie (Workplace Bullying Institute)
Joel Neuman (SUNY-New Paltz)
Jorge Srabstein (George Washington University School of Medicine)
Lamont Stallworth (Loyola University Chicago)
Melissa Walsh (Massachusetts Life Sciences Center)
Kenneth Westhues (University of Waterloo).
AFFILIATIONS AND LINKS
I am affiliated with several organizations that are relevant to this blog, the New Workplace Institute, and employment relations in general. In order to highlight their work and to inform readers of pertinent associations, I am providing information about them and my activities. However, please note that this is not a complete listing of my professional and civic memberships and activities.
Workplace Bullying Institute, http://www.bullyinginstitute.org
Since 1998, I have been affiliated in a pro bono capacity with the pioneering initiatives of Drs. Gary and Ruth Namie. Their Workplace Bullying Institute remains the most important American entity addressing workplace bullying. Gary has taken the lead role in organizing support for the Healthy Workplace Bill, anti-bullying legislation that I drafted in response to my research on workplace bullying and the law.
Suffolk University Law School, http://www.law.suffolk.edu
Since 1994, I have been employed at Suffolk University Law School, and currently serve as a tenured Professor of Law. Suffolk has provided institutional support for the New Workplace Institute and for my research and public education activities on employment law topics.
Labor and Employment Relations Association, http://www.lera.uiuc.edu/
LERA is a multidisciplinary research and education organization of scholars and practitioners in fields related to employment relations. I have been a member for many years and currently serve on the board of the Labor and Employment Law Section.
Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies, http://www.humiliationstudies.org/
HumanDHS is a global network of scholars and practitioners across the disciplines who are committed to affirming dignity and ending humiliation in society. Since 2007 I’ve been a member of the HumanDHS Global Advisory Committee.
Americans for Democratic Action, http://www.adaction.org
ADA is one of America’s oldest and most experienced liberal policy advocacy groups. It is very supportive of the labor movement, workers’ rights, and civil rights. I have been an active national board member and executive committee member for some time, and I served as chair of the ADA Workers’ Rights Committee.
