A good example of the problems workers face is found in the media's coverage of West Virginia's DHHR and Sharpe Hospital in Lewis County. Sadly, state taxpayers are as much a victim in this situation as disgruntled workers.

How the role of Human Resources (HR) has evolved over the past two decades is instrumental to understanding why workplace problems are on the rise.

My HR career began in 1980 with the Miller Brewing Co. and then Kraft Foods. Our role in each company was made crystal clear. We were expected to build and continuously improve the partnership between employees and the business. If we did a good job, our union-made products would make it to market and consumers would have no reservations about buying them. Would you feed your kids Kraft Mac n Cheese or drink a Miller Lite if you thought workers in those companies were being mistreated? With so many great products to select from, you probably would not.

Starting in the early 1990s, the HR function began to modify its traditional role. HR began to position itself as a "Partner to the Business." The idea was to shift from a transactional role with employees to a more strategic role in advising management on organizational redesign, and reducing costs to compete in what was fast becoming a global economy.

In hindsight, the shift to being more focused on the business left employees to fend for themselves. This was arguably the start of record downsizing, layoffs, off-shoring jobs, reductions in pay and benefits, the elimination of retirement programs, and the end of loyalties between workers and employers. It gets worse.

In a 2008 study funded by the Ford Foundation ("Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers: Violations of Employment Laws in American Cities"), researchers found widespread evidence of workplace violations that HR must have overlooked or allowed. This included poor working conditions, wage theft, forced and unpaid overtime, and other forms of worker mistreatment. Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg resulting from HR turning its head.

Another emerging trend in worker mistreatment involves "Corporate/Institutional Bullying." This is when employee bullying becomes entrenched in an organization and accepted as part of the workplace culture. Here are some examples, supplied by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries:

* Placing unreasonable expectations on employees, where failure to meet those expectations means making life unpleasant (or dismissing) anyone who objects.

* Dismissing employees suffering from stress as "weak" while completely ignoring or denying potential work-related causes of the stress.

* Encouraging employees to fabricate complaints about colleagues with promises of promotion or threats of discipline.

How do you know if bullying has become accepted as part of an employer's culture? Watch for these tell-tale signs: Aloof leadership, inconsistencies in HR policy administration, favoritism toward workers who keep quiet about unfair practices, lack of openness in downward communication, lack of honesty in upward communication, lack of due process, questionable terminations, increased grievances and disciplinary actions, inability to fill vacant positions, resignations, requests for transfers, and increased absences due to sickness.

The media has done a good job of documenting similar problems inside DHHR and Sharpe Hospital for two years. This includes a dramatic rise in grievances and disciplinary actions, a continuing high volume of unfilled positions, lawsuits that contend unfair practices, wrongful terminations, and DHHR's defiance of a court order to fix pay problems. More recently, lawmakers have become involved in facilitating gripe sessions for their constituents who work at Sharpe.

In response to the growing publicity, DHHR has apparently put Sharpe on notice to modify its callous ways. Chatter around the water cooler is about the silliness of watching known bullies being required to express birthday greetings and mingle amongst the patients. However, like victims of post-traumatic stress, Sharpe's workers have become sensitive to sudden behavior changes and skeptical of intentions that are too little and too late. At this point, genuine relief can only come by watching the bullies being escorted off the premises. Why this did not happen starting two years ago demonstrates how DHHR has allowed corporate/institutional bullying to become an accepted part of Sharpe's culture.

Every resident of West Virginia has unknowingly become a victim of the bullying taking place inside Sharpe. Like it or not, taxpayers are footing the bill for DHHR turning its head to this problem. Tax dollars allocated by the Legislature to fund hospital expansion plans may have to be diverted to cover the rising costs of grievance hearings, lawsuits, settlements, reparations for unfair pay practices, and perhaps even poor patient care. It's time for the bullying to end.

Garton, a graduate of Lewis County High School, Glenville State College and the University of New Mexico, led the global staffing for the Miller Brewing Co. and Kraft Foods. He is now an author and speaker and operates a company to provide career training for veterans. He lives in Chicago.