Bullying in the Work Place - Term Paper Example

Bullying In The Work Place Introduction Bullying has been defined as unwelcome and persistent conduct from an individual towards another individual. This conduct may be in the form of criticism, isolation, and fault-finding, being shouted at, excessive monitoring, humiliation, exclusion, and invalid warnings among many others. Perpetrators of bullying in the workplace venture their conduct in a repeated pattern of incidents that are intended to offend, intimidate, humiliate or degrade a person or persons. It is the interest of this discussion to inform the reader on the aggressive and harming instrument of workplace bullying (Field, 1996). This discussion will study ways of handling bullying, consequences of the employees involved in bullying, and the effects of bullying in the organization they work. Discussion Bullying is closely associated with learning institutions, but a growing number of reported cases of workplace bullying is worrying and shifted the focus. Workplace bullying is defined as any negative conduct that shows little or no regard for the workers by their employers or colleagues. This humiliating misconduct may be generated by a worker against another worker or worse still, by a person of higher authority in the workplace to the workers. According to Douglas (2001), the reason as to why managers bully their workers is presumably to hide their inadequacies from the board and the workers. He reiterates that only inadequate managers bully their workers. 80% of workplace bullying occurs between a manager and an employee. Managers or senior workers are said to engage in bullying to hide their inadequacies and weaknesses. They transfer the blame of ineffective work product to the employees tactfully through bullying. Among co-workers, bullying is common, although not as pronounced as is from managers to the employees. The reasons for bullying among co-workers are rather different. Some of these employees often believe that they can secure themselves a promotion if they can make fellow employees look incompetent in front of their seniors. Some of them also think that by bullying others, they will hide their lack of skills in doing things, by blaming it on others (Field, 1996). However, bullying among colleagues is not as common as bullying among senior workers to the employees. The fear of losing one’s job makes many of these employees never report cases of bullying (Douglas, 2001). How to Deal With Work Place Bullying It is often extremely hard to prove to bully as a form of criminal activity. Many perpetrators of bullying behavior often go unpunished because there lacks enough evidence to prove that their behavior causes harm. Nonetheless, the best way to deal with bullying in the workplace is to be informed on how to protect oneself from any acts of abusive conduct perpetrated either from a co-worker or the manager. Maintaining substantial personal boundaries with your seniors and bullying co-workers is perhaps the best way to self-protection (Adams & Crawford, 1992). When one is being bullied especially by a co-worker, the best way is to stop them from their actions and explain how one feels about their harassing behavior. This action, as he reiterates, invokes in them the consciousness of their behavior prompting a change from their actions. Keeping calm is another way of dealing with a bully. This helps in preventing a confrontation if one were to react towards the bullying behavior. Keeping calm helps someone from getting upset, thereby avoiding a collision that would otherwise project the whole situation (Field, 1996). Consequences and Effects of Bullying on the Employees There are numerous consequences of bullying to the employee affected. There have been cases of reported health problems to persons exposed to this misconduct. These include psychological and physical harm and injuries. Targets of bullying have cited health implications on their part that include psychological and physical concerns. Bullied workers have demonstrated signs of acute stress which affects their overall performance in the workplace. Stress has numerous negative effects on the employee’s mental and physical health, resulting in the employee’s absence from work or lack of productivity in the workplace. Studies have shown a growing number of suicidal cases and post-traumatic stress disorder among victims of bullying (Hadikin & O’Driscoll, 2000). Other common negative effects of bullying include severe stress, emotional exhaustion, and fear. Their peer communication, overall performance, and group cohesion are widely affected, prompting them to consider exiting the premise feeling frightened and demotivated. The subsequent loss of self-confidence and low self-esteem prompts this exit from the workplace following deep feelings of anger and inability to cope. When all these elements are considered, the overall performance of the employee including inter-personal relationship is affected. The resulting stress disorder can often lead to the absence of work, illness, and even resignation. Some of the victims of bullying choose to dislocate from their place of work following repeated abuse (Hadikin & O’Driscoll, 2000). Consequences and Effects of Bullying on the Employer There are several effects and consequences to the employer due to bullying of employees. The most common effect is financial costs, which result from reduced efficiency from the affected employee. Low productivity and a drop in profitability of the company are felt when workers are psychologically or physically ill. The acute psychological illness may result in frequent absenteeism and sick leave. The victim may develop poor morale, lack of commitment and loyalty, which may record poor productivity. When workers leave the premises citing victimization, the company is forced to begin a process of recruiting and training new employees, which is an added cost to the company (Adams & Crawford, 1992). Bullying can also have a serious impact on the employer due to costs in terms of legal charges the victimized employee may choose to pursue. A bullied employee can make a personal claim against the employer who may have failed to provide to the employee a safe working environment. Time wasted in settling court cases and poor publicity are negative consequences to the employer. The employer may also be indebted to cater for costs associated with subsequent counseling of the employee should the employee consider seeking a counselor’s assistance (Adams & Crawford, 1992). Conclusion Workplace bullying can severely weaken an individual’s self-esteem and confidence. When this situation is left unmanaged, the business experiences loss of profitability, poor production, and lack of efficiency from the victims of bullying. This discussion has highlighted different ways of handling bullying that is remarkably efficient to the victim. However, when it comes to the legal pursuit of the offense, there lacks proper legislation to define bullying, making it hard to seek justice. Many of the offenders of bullying often go unpunished because it is difficult to bring out evidence of bullying to the court. References Adams, A., & Crawford, N. (1992). Bullying at work: How to confront and overcome it. London: Virago. Douglas, E. (2001). Bullying in the workplace: An organizational toolkit. Aldershot: Gower. Field, T. (1996). Bully in sight: How to predict, resist, challenge and combat workplace bullying: overcoming the silence and denial by which abuse thrives. Wantage, England: Success Unlimited. Hadikin, R., & O'Driscoll, M. (2000). The bullying culture: Cause, effect, harm reduction. Oxford: Books for Midwives. Read More