Bullying is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s society. It is most commonly thought to be found in schools or online, but it is becoming increasing popular in the workplace. Organizations must establish anti-bullying policies to stop this detrimental behavior. Targets of workplace bullying often suffer from a multitude of health problems such as depression and anxiety. In this paper, we will examine the reasons why bullying has become so common in the workplace, the damaging effects, and what can be done to help stop this behavior. Bullying should be considered as a problem for the entire organization, not just an issue for the target. According to the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI), workplace bullying is repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators (WBI, 2015). Bullying can come in many forms including abusive conduct that is threatening, humiliating, or intimidating. Along with the verbal abuse, there can be sabotage, or work interference that impacts work performance. The WBI states that 35% of the workforce in the United States have been bullied. This equals 1 in 3 workers who have been victimized. As a result of this staggering statistic, organizations must address this problem. This paper will expose the traumatic effects of bullying, and will show interventions and recommendations for a solution to this growing social injustice. Bullying, or mobbing, was first researched by Dr.
Bullying is found in the workplace as well. Types of workplace bullying can include: threat to professional status, threat to personal standing, isolation, overwork, and destabilisation. Questionnaires were sent to 1,580 National Health Service community trust employees and 1,100 completed surveys were recorded. Out of these, 294 employees (27%) reported being destabilised and 255 (23%) reported being isolated in the workplace (Quine 230). Destabilisation in the workplace often entails giving an employee meaningless tasks or not giving them the credit for what they have done. Withholding training or special opportunities away from an employee are types of isolationism. While being destabilised and isolated are both passive acts, they are forms of bullying. Even though bullying is considered a childish act, it occurs in adulthood, and that is
Unfortunately there is not only bullying in schools, there is bullying in the workplace as well. These are unacceptable behaviors that arise within a workplace situation. Bullying the workplace can take many forms and it’s not easy to always identify. The Fair Work Act 2009 made recent amendments that came into effect in January 2014 to define workplace bullying as occurring when an individual; group of individuals; repeatedly behaves unreasonably towards the worker, group of workers of which the worker is a member; and the behavior creates a risk to health and safety (Le Mire & Owens, 2014). This definition focuses on three main elements of bullying behavior, it is repeated, unreasonable, and creates a risk to health and safety. All three elements must be satisfied in order for bullying at the workplace to be found. Bullying behaviors could be things that are victimizing, humiliating, intimidating or threatening, but it is not limited to just those behaviors.
Workplace bullying is a widespread issue in which people need to be educated on in order to put an end to it. Its causes are complex and multi-faceted and yet preventable. Workplace bullying puts unnecessary strain on the employees It is the employer and organizations responsibility to provide a bully free environment for their employees. Employees should have the right to feel safe in their work environment and be free from workplace bullying. Employers need to be held accountable and have a plan in place to protect the employees from this type of violence. Unfortunately that is not always the case, in some instances the employer is the one doing the bullying. Workplace bullying carries many definitions in which will be
Adult bullying in the workplace has become quite commonplace and its consequences can be far-reaching. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 146 million Americans are employed in the United States, and an estimated 54 million of those are bullied at work (Namie, 2007). These statistics are staggering. Bullying is defined as a combination of verbal abuse and behaviors that are humiliating, threatening, or intimidating and create harm (health, social, or economic) to individuals and may interfere with their productivity at work (Namie, 2007). With a prevalence of bullying taking place in the workplace, it appears that organizations need to better provide a sense of community and psychological support to its employees to address this widespread issue. The appropriate communication within the organization can make all the difference.
Our workplace safety is in need of reconstruction, not because of physical, ergonomic, chemical or biological hazards but because of bullying. According to Hanley and O'Rourke (2016, p. 352) workplace bullying is a "psychological hazard" towards its victims health and undermines the "successful pursuit of corporate and employee objectives". Workplace bullying is certainly a prevalent issue that is consequential to its victims and the state of Australia's companies. Although there have been Fair Work Commision jurisdictions placed against anti-bullying (eg. January 1 2014) Hanley and O'Rourke argue that these laws are a "minimalist" solution to this anti-social epidemic. Workplace bullying with its many forms should be recognised as a criminal
The WBI is the first and only U.S. organization dedicated to the eradication of workplace bullying that combines help for individuals, research, books, public education, training for professionals-unions-employers, legislative advocacy, and consulting solutions for organizations. (Workplace Bullying Institute, 2014). The institute has helped through thousands of interviews to confirm what types of employees bullies usually target. The bully usually focuses on skilled employees that have the ability to be successful and who are usually brighter than the bullies. The principal weapons that bullying bosses and coworkers employ were alienating the targets from social interaction and withholding validation forcing other coworkers to separate themselves for fear they will become targets (Workplace Bullying Institute, n.d.).
Bullying in the workplace is a larger than life problem victims are everywhere. The act of bullying comes in many different forms and actions and is an unethical behavior. Have you or someone you know been a victim of workplace bullying? To answer the question, in most cases if not ourselves we know someone that has experienced workplace bullying. The statistical numbers according to Namie (2014), recorded in Workplace Bullying Institute in the section labeled the key findings, the statistics provide the same information in a similar statement “27% have current or past direct experience with abusive conduct at work” (Namie, 2014, para. 2). The description of bullying is defined and recognized as an extreme issue in the
Workplace bullying is a prevalent issue in today’s society. With its huge effects on workers and organisations, it is important to raise awareness and take action against workplace bullying. A large number of media sources do exactly this. Websites, reports, surveys, and more have all been created to inform on and prevent workplace bullying. These sources are all a valuable and effective way of making changes to current workplace bullying and progressing towards safer working
This study also has significance to stakeholders as it examines the impact on physical and mental health of employees and co-workers. How are teams affected by workplace bullying? Consequences of being a target of a workplace bully affect not only the individual but also the teams on which the target is working. Co-workers must pick up the slack for the bullied employees who either don’t come to work or quit because of the circumstances they are
Although bullying conduces to be popular in schools, we usually neglect that it could indeed appear in our workplaces. Eventually, the children who were bullies in their schoolyards will mature into young adults in which they may become bullies in the workplace as well. Nonetheless, the foodservice industry has exceedingly displayed this phenomenon in which it is essential to examine. For this purpose, in the study conducted by Kitterlin, Tanke, and Stevens (2016), aim to investigate the presence of workplace bullying behaviors in the foodservice industry by analyzing the experiences of students. In addition, they conducted their study by sampling 440 students, ages 18 and 24 years old, currently working the food service industry in the Southeastern
bullying, our society will observe a rise in workplace violence and targets that will experience
Workplace bullying is type of pervasive practice that an employee experiences from individuals who seeks out supremacy. Bullying can involve verbal, nonverbal, physical abuse and humiliation. This abuse can affect businesses with inefficient way of working that is both costly and preventable (Wiedmar, 2011, p. 35). There are many types of workplace bullying: threats to professional status, personal standing, isolation, overwork and destabilization (Baack, 2012). Some conflict can be face-to-face confrontations in which is the most visible and needs to be handle swiftly. Another form of conflict can involve different types of messaging or social network. I will discuss both the impact on the employee and organizations that’s involved with workplace bullying. I will then discuss a time that I was involved in a situation in which I was a victim of workplace bullying. There are steps that need to be taking when workplace bullying is occurring. At the end leadership and environment must create formula for stopping workplace bullying (Wiedmer, 2011, p. 35).
Bullying in the workplace is the topic that Heeman has addressed and evaluated with the aid of research from additional authors. Communication plays a major role in bullying when brought into the workplace and it can continue for extensive lengths of time if not managed and handled properly. The roles of bullying are included in Heeman’s report which are the bully, the target, and the bystander. The costs on the workplace can be threatening to the staffing, productivity and the overall work environment. Percentages and research are presented proving the amount of bullying that actually takes place in the workplace. Ways to combat the bullying are introduced into the report to include understanding and taking action to stop and prevent the bullying from continuing. Heeman concludes his report by mentioning that researchers need to focus their attention on finding solutions and ways to intercept bullying to lower the statistics and ratios.
Whatever happened to that notorious and villainous playground bully? Well, that dreadful tyrant still exists and will never cease from intimidating others; he or she enters the work place and continue to terrorize colleagues with his or her disruptive and hurtful behavior. Almost everyone has succumbed to bullying in life, whether it was in the role as an innocent target, horrible aggressor, or tacit bystander. Thus, recently social media seems to express utter disdain with bullies terrifying innocuous classmates in schools, but many organizations overlook workplace bullying and underestimate its power since it is not a punishable offense. Consequently, almost 14 million American adults succumb to bullying daily, and millions more experience the mortifying consequences of witnessing the maltreatment (Namie, 2011). Therefore, this brief research will discuss the impact of workplace bullying on the organization and answer the following questions:
Aside from the demotivational factors previously mentioned, workplace bullying should also be noted as a force negatively impacting the climate and performances in the workplace. Mary Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth Cotter, Steve Bernfelf, Laura Carter, Ashley Kies and Nadya Fouad (2001) commence their discussion of workplace bullying by revealing some of the more notable definitions of the concept, as these are featured within the specialized literature.