My definition of pettiness is "when a person or persons intentionally takes or causes any action that inflicts discomfort, pain (physical or mental), anxiety, anger or frustration on another person."

Pettiness anytime or anywhere is hurtful. But when the actions occur at work, the negative feelings are magnified many times over. The feeling reminds me of someone scraping their fingernails on the blackboard. In the workplace, this behavior can cause turmoil, negative employee morale, tension, reduction of performance and personal conflicts. Pettiness varies upon each individual's life history, education, and status within the company. By it's very nature, pettiness takes many forms of actions from spreading rumors to moving or taking items belonging to another person. There are no limits to pettiness.

Due to its very nature, pettiness may not be caught by management until an employee implodes and the situation then becomes a crisis. Management must be ever vigilant to detect anyone engaging in this type of behavior in addition to many other potential negative behaviors.

Petty behavior knows no boundaries, it can be directed at management, fellow employees or even customers. In the worst case scenario, pettiness is originated by management.

Ferreting out a cause for the behavior can assist in stopping the negative behavior. However, the probability of identifying an initiating point of the pettiness is slim to none. You may be unable to ascertain the reason, but you must still deal with the situation immediately.

Serious consideration should be given to the double threat associated with pettiness targeting a person that also begins to meet the requirements associated with protected categories defined by anti-discrimination laws.

Unfortunately, there will always be indivduals who feel that they are better than others based on race, gender, national origin, physical condition, etc. Once management becomes aware of a situation involving this type of behavior, action must be taken to prevent escalation of the situation and possible repercussions by the targeted individual or group.

There may be multiple layers and players in such a scenario, so obtaining the largest amount of accurate data regarding the deeds those suspected should be the goal of the person investigator who is preparing recommendations for management actions to resolve the issue. The goal is to return the workplace to a settled and peaceable atmosphere. When the situation requires immediate action, use temporary or reversible measures that allow time to conduct a complete and fair analysis with a long-term solution.

If you choose to ignore a situation in the hopes that it will go away, it would be equivalent to being in a car without brakes that is speeding toward a cliff with the driver believing the car will stop safely by itself. The result in each scenario will be a disaster.

A person committing such acts might feel as if management agreed with his or her philosophies regarding how to mistreat others. The victim will most likely feel managers are simply ignoring the issue and therefore put the company at risk for legal action.

There is no excuse for making a fellow employee, staff person or customer feel anxiety or hurt due to petty actions. If you are guilty of this behavior or observe such behavior by another person, stop it immediately.