Why Some Employers Are Reluctant to Address the Issue on Workplace Bullying - Term Paper Example

Understanding Why Some Employers Are Reluctant To Address The Issue On Workplace Bullying And Recommending Ways For The Employers To Address This Issue To Protect It Employees I. Introduction Bullying is one of the biggest issues that plague the workplace these days. Not only does this issue affect the employees individually, it also affects the overall productivity performance of the entire company. Yet, despite the fact that bullying affects workers performance and company productivity, not all organizations are keen to pursue this issue and set up mechanisms that prevent bullying in the workplace. Several studies pointed to the fact that the bosses are usually the culprits in bullying cases hinder the resolution of issues on bullying (Cunningham, & Cordeiro, 2006; Jefferson, 2007). According to a story run by the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) dated May 10, 2006, “nine out of 10 workers said they had worked for a bad manager and 25% said management styles had become too harsh.” Since bullies in the workplace are usually the bosses and the managers, a number of organizations around the world are reluctant to tackle the issue of bullying (Cunningham, & Cordeiro, 2006; Jefferson, 2007). II. The current situation regarding bullying in the workplace Bullying in the workplace comes in different forms but the common characteristics of bullying include persistent, repeated and often continuous behaviour by one worker to another (Tracy, Lutgen-Sandvik, & Alberts, 2006). Often times, the act of bullying is associated with the imbalance of power between the bully and the victim ((Tracy, Lutgen-Sandvik, & Alberts, 2006). More often than not, the victim of bullying feels inferior to the bully thus the cycle of bullying continue with the victim usually suffering in silence (Rowell 2005). Very few people really want to stand up to the office bully especially if the bully happens to be the boss. The fear of losing ones job often keeps an employee from complaining about the kind of treatment that he or she gets from his or her boss. Since most bullies happen to occupy high ranking positions in the workplace, it very important to distinguish bullying from tough management styles. We have to understand that not all types of situations that bring about stress in the workplace can be considered as bullying. According to Rowell (2005), bullying is often a negative and persistent abuse that manifests itself in the form of (a) social isolation which often come in the form of silent treatment, (b) spreading rumours to embarrass the employ, (c) a direct or indirect attack on the person’s personal life or attributes, (d) excessive and unjustified criticism either done publicly or privately, (e) hovering or over-monitoring of work, (f) verbal aggression both in public or in private (g) withholding of vital company information which concerns the other employee, (h) withholding job responsibility designed to make the employee feel inadequate, (i) trivial fault finding, (j) replacing routine work with menial jobs and (k) giving unrealistic deadlines or setting unattainable goals (Salin 2003; Rowell 2005). Based on the Health & Safety Executive Report entitled ‘Mental Health and Stress in the Workplace: A Guide for Employers (1996) around 360 million working days were lost every year in the United Kingdom and more than half of these lost working days can be attributed to work related stress. The trend of lost productivity continue through the years and another report by the Health and Safety Executive entitled ‘Managing Stress at work’ (1999) further presented data which indicates that work related stress in the United Kingdom is on the rise. If we take a look at the data presented by the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), nine out ten individuals they interviewed said that they have be subjected to certain types of bullying at the workplace (BBC, 2006). In most cases, the people who were involved the bullying of workers are the bosses themselves. For examples, some bosses like the idea that they can wield power over their subordinates so they tend to ask their subordinates to do several tasks at the same time (Tracy, Lutgen-Sandvik, & Alberts, 2006). If the subordinates cannot cope up with the unfair demands of their bosses, their bosses yell at them (Tracy, Lutgen-Sandvik, & Alberts, 2006). Bullying can have tremendous effect on people and some people tend to suffer more than the others. According to Keashly & Harvey (2005), victims of bullying often suffer from (a) post-traumatic stress disorder, (b) financial problems stemming from reduced productivity and absences from the workplace, (c) reduced self-esteem, (d) phobias, (e) sleeping disorders, (f) eating disorders, (g) digestive problems, and (h) increased number of episodes of depression. For example, a bullied employee often could not sleep at night and as result, he or she comes to work tired as stressed out. Technically, there are three ways that the company may be affected by bullying it in premises, namely, (a) when the bullied employee finally decides to that he or she had enough of the bullying and quit his or her job, the company will have to spend money to look and train his or her replacement, (b) an employee who is continually bullied will use part of his or her working hours to deflect the bully so the company actually ends up paying for the hours spend by the employee in trying to get the bully off his or her case, and (c) when the bullying gets ugly and the employee files a complaint to the authorities, the company will have to spend money to investigate the case of bullying (Keashly & Harvey, 2005). A good example of bullying that turns ugly is when the bullied employee suffers from psychiatric injury because of work related stress (Tracy, Lutgen-Sandvik, & Alberts, 2006). III. Factors that have contributed to bullying in the workplace There are a number of factors that increase the risk of bullying in the workplaces. Some of these factors include significant organizational changes including technology change and major internal restructuring and employee shuffling (Keashly & Harvey, 2005). In most cases, when the organization undergoes major changes, some people may be displaced in the process. For instance, employees who are not good at using new technologies may be subjected to certain degree of bullying from their bosses and even by their colleagues because they are seen as weak and slow at learning new things (Keashly & Harvey, 2005). The characteristic of the person, his or her gender, his or her age, status in life and the kind of position that he or she holds in the office may also increase the person’s risk of being bullied (Raynor & Keashly, 2005). Women and transsexual are often subjected to discriminatory treatment at the workplace. According to Tracy, Lutgen-Sandvik, & Alberts, (2006) women are often discriminated upon because of their child-bearing functions which transsexuals are usually frowned upon because of their gender. Between women and transsexuals, the later often endure more acts of discrimination and in fact, there are certain organizations that do not admit transsexuals (M v Chief Constable (Birmingham Industrial Tribunal Case No. 08964/96 (20/12/96). Other factors that increase the risk of bullying in the workplace are workplace relationship and work systems (Raynor, & Keashly, 2005). When it comes to workplace relationship, the inefficient flow of information between the different organizational levels and the lack of employee participation in the decision making process at the workplace often increase the risk of bullying (Raynor, & Keashly, 2005). Note that withholding vital information that may affect certain employees by their bosses or supervisors constitutes bullying (Ishmael, 2008). The worst part of its is that since the bosses and the supervisors are often involved in the decision making process, they gain even more leverage over their subordinates so they end up with so much power to control the working conditions of their subordinates (Ishmael, 2008). In the case where the manager is the bully, the company often does not want to investigate the case (Cunningham & Cordeiro, 2006). When it comes to work systems, organization constrains, unclearly defined roles and functions of staff, lack of strong policies governing staff behavior, staff shortage, role conflict and interpersonal conflict often fuels bullying in the workplace (Raynor, & Keashly, 2005). The fact that the company does not have strong policies regarding employees conduct and behavior often lead employees to think that bullying is not an issue and since these people think that badgering their co-employees is acceptable, they pick on an employee whom they think is helpless (Spector & Fox, 2005). On the other hand, the failure of the company to define clearly the roles and functions of its employees can lead to cases of bullying through shifting of workload towards a subordinate (Raynor, & Keashly, 2005). The constant shifting of workload to a subordinate will eventually take its toll on the hapless employee and he or she may suffer from work related stress (Raynor, & Keashly, 2005). IV. The legal position regarding bullying Under English law, bullying is not specifically mentioned as an offence in the workplace. However, there are ways for employees who are victims of bullying to obtain legal redress in court. The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 for instance provides a venue for employees who are victims of harassment to obtain legal redress of their grievances. Common law has also set legal precedence regarding the eligibility of employees to get compensation from the company if they are bullied in the workplace. According to the court in the case of Majrowski V Guy’s & St. Thomas’ NHS Trust, the employee can be held vicariously liable for damages if any of its employees harass or bully his or her co-employees within the company’s premises. The rationale behind this ruling is that since the company or the employer has control over its employees, it has the duty of care to prevent cases of harassment or bullying in the workplace. The failure of the employer to prevent or investigate reported cases of harassment in the workplace can be pinned against it as a breach of the duty of care. Another way for the employee to obtain legal redress from bullying is through the implied duty of trust and confidence attached to employment contracts in the United Kingdom. If the employee suffered damages due to the breach of the duty of mutual trust and confidence on the part of the employer, he or she may seek redress under the Employment Rights Act 1996. V. Organization and other strategies that can be used to combat bullying in the workplace There are many ways that an organization can protect its employees against bullying by their bosses and their co-employees. According to the Rowell (2005) one of the best ways to combat bullying in the workplace is for the institution to implement a zero tolerance policy towards office bullies. The policy on zero tolerance towards bullying should be made known to all workers in the office and education campaign regarding the rights of the employees should be conducted in order to educate everyone (Rowell, 2005). The employees should be made to understand that they do not have to put up with the antics of the office bully and that if they feel that they are being bullied, they should know how to deflect the bully (Welham, 2009). Aside from instituting a zero tolerance policy against workplace bullying, the employer should also encourage reporting of bullying incidents (Rowell, 2005). Moreover, the employer should encourage open doors policy in the company (Salin, 2003; Rowell, 2005). According to Rowell (2005) closed office doors may encourage bullying and harassment in the workplace. To resolve cases of bullying in the workplace, the employer should provide for a support system to this policy (Royal College of Nursing, 2005). To do this, the employee should set up a complete complaint resolution process (Royal College of Nursing, 2005). When providing a complaint resolution scheme to employees, the company should give the employees different options including formal and informal resolution process. A good complaint resolution scheme should include an option for the employee to talk directly to the bully with or without mediation. On the other hand, if the employee prefers to let the company mediate, he or she should be given the option to request for informal or formal resolution of the issue. An informal process of resolving issues of bullying in the workplace is much faster and less stressful for everyone (Uff, 2006). This approach is usually effective to resolve informal complaints of an employee. Simple incidents of bullying that does not require the company to effect punishments against the employee or employees involved should be resolved through an informal process (Uff, 2006). In most cases, “an informal resolution process takes the no-blame approach to the issue and the both parties are asked to come to an amicable agreement to refrain from committing any acts that constitutes bullying towards each other” (Ontario Safety Association For Community and Health Care, 2009). While informal resolution is quick and does not carry with it certain punishments, a formal resolution process is usually associated with exhaustive investigation, mediation and giving appropriate punishments against the guilty party (Ontario Safety Association For Community and Health Care, 2009). The formal resolution process usually involve (a) the lodging of a formal complaint, (b) an initial response where the human resource officer or any designated person meets separately with the parties involved in the allege bullying incident, (c) the appointment of an investigator to look into the matter, (d) the appointment of an investigator after the initial meeting with the parties, (e) conduct of the actual investigation, (f) presentation of findings, (g) appeal on the findings and decision of the investigating team, and (h) final resolution (Ontario Safety Association For Community and Health Care, 2009). While the bullying incident is being investigated, the employer should give the bully and the victim access to counselling and rehabilitation. The counselling process will help the victim cope with the incident. On the other hand, counselling will help the bully recognize his poor attitudes and help him or her change his or her behaviour. VI. Conclusion Bullying is a serious problem that organizations should address thoroughly. It doesn’t matter if the bully himself or herself happens to be a top official of the organization. The fact that he or she is bullying someone makes him or her liable towards the person that he or she has offended. Even though our English law does not specifically say that bullying in itself is illegal, common law has been establish to give victims of bullying legal redress. However, employers should not wait until such time when their employers resort to court proceedings for redress of bullying. To prevent bullying in the workplace, the organization should institute measures that will prevent the abuse of power in the workplace. If an organization institutes a zero tolerance policy against bullying, bosses and employees will think twice about picking on someone. Bibliography Books and Journals 1. Cunningham, William G., & Paula A. Cordeiro.  (2006). Educational Leadership:  A Problem-Based Approach.  Toronto: Pearson. 2. Godwin, K. (2009) Dealing with bullying and harassment in higher education. Equal Opportunities Review. No 188. May. pp 13-14. 3. Harthill, Susan (2008), Bullying in the Workplace: Lessons from the United Kingdom (August 14, 2008). Minnesota Journal of International Law, Vol. 17, p. 247, 2008 4. Health & Safety Executive (1996), Mental Health and Stress in the Workplace: a Guide for Employers. HSE. 5. Health & Safety Executive (1998), An Assessment of Employee Assistance and Workplace Counseling Programmes in British Organizations. HMSO. 6. Health & Safety Executive (1999), Managing Stress at Work. HSE. (Discussion Document DDE10) 7. Ishmael, A. (2008) Bullying and harassment policies. Equal Opportunities Review. No 176. May. pp8-10. 8. Keashly, L., & Harvey, S. (2005). Emotional Abuse in the Workplace. In S. Fox and P. E. Spector (Eds.) Counterproductive Work Behavior: Investigations of Actors and Targets (pp. 201-235), American Psychological Association: Washington, DC. 9. Raynor, C., & Keashly, L. (2005). Bullying at work: A perspective from Britain and North America. In S. Fox and P. E. Spector (Eds.) Counterproductive Work Behavior: Investigations of Actors and Targets (pp. 271-296), American Psychological Association: Washington, DC. 10. Rowell, P (2005), ‘Being a “target: at work: Or William Tell and how the apple felt’, JONA, vol. 35, no. 9, pp. 377-379. 11. Salin, D (2003), ‘Ways of explaining workplace bullying: A review of enabling, motivating and precipitating structures and processes in the work environment’, Human Relations, vol. 56, no. 10, pp.1213-1232. 12. Spector, P. E., & Fox, S. (2005). Stressor-emotion model. In S. Fox and P. E. Spector (Eds.) Counterproductive Work Behavior: Investigations of Actors and Targets (pp. 151-174), American Psychological Association: Washington, DC. 13. Tracy, S. J., Lutgen-Sandvik, P., & Alberts, J. K. (2006). Nightmares, demons and slaves: Exploring the painful metaphors of workplace bullying. Management Communication Quarterly, 20, 148_185 14. Uff, R. (2006) Best behaviour: tackling bullying and harassment. IRS Employment Review. No 845, 21 April. pp17-20. 15. Welham, C. (2009) Victims can bite back. Employers’ Law. May. pp20-21. Laws and Cases 1. Employment Rights Act 1996 2. Majrowski V Guy’s & St. Thomas’ NHS Trust [2006] UKHL 34 3. M v Chief Constable (Birmingham Industrial Tribunal Case No. 08964/96 (20/12/96) 4. Protection from Harassment Act 1997 Online sources 1. Bullying bosses rife across UK’ (May 10, 2006) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4756587.stm 2. Jefferson, Ann (2007) The Bullying Boss Academic Leadership The Online Journal Volume 4 - Issue 4 http://www.academicleadership.org/emprical_research/The_Bullying_Boss.shtml 3. Ontario Safety Association For Community and Health Care (2009) Bullying in the Workplace: A Handbook for the Workplace http://www.osach.ca/products/resrcdoc/rvioe528.pdf 4. Royal College of Nursing (2005), Working Well Initiative: Bullying and harassment at work, United Kingdom, viewed 13 March 2009, http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/193504/000926.pdf Read More