The Workplace Bullying Institute
The American Pioneers
The Drs. Namie

Dr. Ruth Namie has a doctorate in clinical psychology. Her personal experience became the impetus for the U.S. workplace bullying movement. Her female supervisor at a psychiatry clinic, a clinical psychologist named Sheila, who hated doing therapy as a profession, tormented Ruth who was beloved by her clients. Ruth’s innate empathic skills allowed her to empower individuals with chemical dependency problems and families facing inevitable conflicts. Sheila could not stand it. She stripped Ruth of duties. The next day Ruth left the large California HMO. Within the year, she was given a severance that effectively ended her clinical career.

Why did Ruth’s previous manager at another clinic not warn her about Sheila? He was a mouse, well aware of Sheila’s wrath. Was it harassment? No. Learning that lesson required hiring and firing a lawyer. Did EAP help? No. The unethical EAP woman shared confidential info with management but did not reciprocate with info from them. How did HR do? Ineffective, fearful of Sheila. As we ratcheted up pressure, the HR coordinator quit. Was the Administrator responsive? No. She exited immediately into quiet retirement. The internal legal department hired an external S.F. defense firm to handle Ruth’s case. In the end we negotiated her severance.

Ruth Namie, PhD

As a Couple

Ruth and Gary began in June 1997 the organization that became the Workplace Bullying Institute today. On a toll-free line, they heard long-version, painful stories from over 12,000 bullied workers in all industries. Ruth became the definitive expert on the devastating effects of bullying on targeted workers, having personally experienced PTSD. For her personal health, Ruth’s role in WBI over the years has necessarily been reduced.

Ruth’s professional life before graduate school found her in Hawaii as Training Director for Sheraton Hotels. That background, coupled with the immersion in workplace bullying, led her to create the only comprehensive training program for professionals in the world on the topic: WBI Workplace Bullying University®. Courses began in 2008 and have been periodically offered every year since. In 2020, University changed from an in-person 3-day intensive course taught in San Francisco to a virtual, remote course spread over two consecutive weekends. In 2023, University became available to individuals for purchase, allowing playback on a schedule convenient to them. And for the first time, the program was deemed emotionally safe for bullied targets.

The Namies have been married 41 years.

Together, the Namies wrote the popular books, BullyProof Yourself At Work (DoubleDoc Press, 1999) , The Bully At Work (Sourcebooks, 2009) and The Bully-Free Workplace (Wiley, 2011). Watch for their next book in spring 2024.

They also published academic journal articles and book chapters based on WBI research. They’ve appeared in the Journal of Consulting Psychology, International Journal of Communication, Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal, Ivey Business Journal, Journal of Employee Assistance; and contributing chapters in the books Destructive Organizational Communication and Workplace Bullying: Development in Theory, Research and Practice. They wrote three chapters for Workplace Bullying and Mobbing in the United States. M. Duffy & D.C. Yamada (Eds.). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Press. 2018.

Gary Namie, PhD

Dr. Gary Namie is a social psychologist with a long record of teaching graduate and undergraduate university courses in management and psychology — at Scripps College, University of California Santa Barbara, University of Southern California, University of San Francisco and others. He won national and campus teaching awards. He was also corporate manager for two regional hospital systems as director of internal training and consulting services. He began consulting to organizations as The Work Doctor® in 1985.

Remarkably, as a college student, Gary worked 36 months at Washington Steel Corp. in his hometown. Life at the mill (unrealistically all male back then) taught him more about group dynamics, good management principles, positive bonding among workers, and benefits of unions than all of his graduate school education.

In 1997, in response to Ruth’s bullying experience (and his own vicarious one), the couple imported Workplace Bullying to the U.S. from England. Using his research background, he wrote, and WBI commissioned, Zogby analytics to conduct the frequently cited scientific national prevalence surveys. In addition, several WBI-site-based studies have been conducted. The media regard Gary, after 1,200+ interviews, as the go-to expert. He leads advocates to enact the anti-bullying Healthy Workplace Bill in US states. Gary is considered the originator of the workplace bullying consulting field. He serves as expert witness in bullying-related legal cases for counsel for plaintiffs and the defense.

Gary is

  • Widely regarded as North America’s foremost authority on Workplace Bullying
  • Social Psychologist
  • Award winning university teacher, American Psychological Association
  • Author of academic articles & book chapters
    Former professor of management and psychology, 21 year academic
  • Former director of organizational development in multi-facility healthcare systems
  • Researcher, five scientific U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey & definitive online surveys
  • Director, Workplace Bullying Institute, established 1997
  • Consultant to organizations since 1985
  • Spokesperson for media on workplace bullying — 1,200+ interviews
  • Co-designer & faculty for Workplace Bullying University® Training for Professionals and services for Unions and Organizations
  • Expert witness in state and federal courts for plaintiffs and defense
  • Union member & union advocate
  • National director of campaign to enact the anti-bullying Healthy Workplace Bill
Tricia Ulberg

Graphic Artist

Credit Due:
Dave Phillips, WBI Tech extraordinaire since 2009, keeps us current, moving into the future.
Sole responsibility for WBI website content is Gary’s.