The Effects of Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination by Management in the Workplace - Research Paper Example

The Effects of Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace Volumes have been written on workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination and their adverse impacts on individuals and organizations. However, workplace is a nightmare for many people in the United States even today. Individuals encounter a number of physical and psychological illnesses and injuries due to these issues in their workplace. Bullied workers are usually less productive and weak in decision making. It is always a firm’s best interest to ensure bullying-free work environment. When compared to post- bullying ruling, preventing workplace bullying is more cost effective for organizations. This paper will discuss how workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination affect individuals in their workplace and organization as a whole. The Effects of Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace As EEO describes, “Workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination can affect staff morale, creativity and productivity, and create an unhealthy workplace culture”; and it also defines bullying as an “ongoing, unreasonable behavior which is often intended to humiliate or undermine the recipient but is not specifically unlawful” (EEO). The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (1994) defines harassment as “any unwelcome comment, conduct or gesture that is insulting, intimidating, humiliating, malicious, degrading or offensive” (as cited in Robertson, 2012, p. 59). Regardless of the intensity or frequency of events, such incidents can adversely affect someone’s performance, contribution or work environment. According to EEO, workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination include “physical, degrading or threatening behavior, abuse of power, isolation, discrimination, sexual and /or racial harassment”. To begin with, “the effects of bullying and harassment lead to increased absenteeism due to anxiety, panic attacks, fear, depression, stress and ill-health” (EEO). Healthy work environment is essential for employees to demonstrate their full potential. Emotional constraints limit their involvement in organizational matters, and this will eventually affects the profitability of the firm in the long run. Emotionally intelligent leaders will avoid every chance of bullying or harassment in the workplace. They will consider employees as the most potential asset of the firm that has profound influence on the sustainability of the firm. Increasing rate of absenteeism is the direct impacts of workplace bullying, harassment, and discrimination. Employees who are affected by these evil practices tend to be away from the workplace. Secondly, the effects of bullying, harassment, and discrimination lead to unaddressed stress which can further cause errors at work, injury, fatigue, illness and disease. Modern firms pay emphasis to employees’ overall development to ensure the sustainability and productivity of their business. Personal Development in its full sense refers to the development of mind, body and spirit. This comprehensive approach ultimately adds to the competitive advantage of the firm. Firm that confronts bullying cannot ensure employee development. This instead will create a chaotic situation in which employees are prone to illness and fatigue. Workplace errors and accidents are also likely where workers’ minds are distracted by external pressure. Thirdly, it includes reduced performance and productivity caused by isolation, breakdown in work relationships, distraction, and low morale. Unity and teamwork is vital in modern business firms where information sharing and problem solving play major role in every activity. Workforce cohesion is impossible where employees confront relationship breakdown and conflict. They work only for work sake, and this will affect their own career growth as well as the overall productivity of the firm. Diversity is the facet of modern workforce, for strategic leaders know the significance of arranging a multicultural environment, and they align a wide pool of skilled labors. Diversity does not always cause conflict but enhances the scope of the group once variety is well deployed. However, this is possible only if the entrepreneurs avoid bullying, harassment, and discrimination in the workplace. Furthermore, these issues only increase the number of unhappy and unmotivated staff in the organization. Self esteem and motivation constitute the driving force in employees’ performance. Motivation is a wide subject for incessant research among modern organizations. Volumes have been written on employee motivation and performance appraisal. Theories suggest that individuals’ level of motivation depends on their traits, needs, goals, and many other factors. They can be motivated either by intrinsic rewards or monetary rewards. However, healthy work environment is the most important aspect that motivates every employee regardless of the type of rewards he/she is offered. The managers must appreciate employees for their exceptional achievements and innovation so as to encourage them for better performance. On the other hand, if the leaders ignore the performance or harass employees unreasonably, employee motivation is unlikely. Unhappy staff will cause damage to the organization deliberately and inadvertently. Issues like bullying, harassment, and discrimination give rise to increased staff turnover. Organizations today spends huge amount on employee retention strategies. Staff turnover is one of the major challenges many organizations confront today. This issue is highly evident in healthcare industry with regard to nursing job. Issues like lower wages, work related stress, and long working hours are often reported as the reasons for staff turnover. However problems like bullying, harassment, and discrimination also intensify staff turnover in many organizations though often undermined. Staff turnover incurs rise in operational costs as this forces the firm to invest more in recruitment and training. The departure of experienced staff affects the whole functions of the organization. Therefore, avoiding issues like bullying is very important in workplace regardless of the nature and size of the industry. Furthermore, it increases management’s time spent investigating and dealing with complaints. Unlike traditional organizations, technology driven modern businesses involve very complex functions and structure. The new interface requires management to spend more time and efforts to ensure the sustainability of the firm. In this context, if the workforce is affected by issues like bullying, this will impede the progress of the business in terms of time management. In addition, it brings on an unhealthy workplace culture and accelerates ongoing conflicts. Each organization has its own culture founded on its core values and mission objectives. The management must observe that its members comply with the code of conduct in order for achieving the organizational objectives. An organization has accountability to its all stakeholders ranging from employees to the end customer. Any issue that affects the cohesion of the organization will adversely affect the stakeholders’ interests as well. Conflicts between members will have far reaching effects on the organization unless they are addressed on time. Moreover, conflicts in workplace induce industrial action. Some labor unions exercise unfriendly modes of actions to meet their interests. This will affect the management negatively. According to Rayner, Hoel, and Cooper (2003), the reasons of such immediate actions are often developed from issues related to bullying, harassment and discrimination, and policy differences emerged from the views of certain individuals among the employees. In many contexts, certain external pressures on the working groups also cause industrial action (XIII). Such situations disrupt the functions of management, and the net result includes strike, chaos, and economic loss. Trade unions are integral part of industrial relationship, and it is essential for the company managements to recognize and accept them legally and ethically. However, management must be aware of the fact that trade unions have the potential to damage the business too. Hence, any chance for workplace conflict should be rapidly addressed. All organizations value their goodwill and reputation. Only a reputed firm can attract customers, investors, affiliates, and skilled labors to the firm. However, issues like bullying, harassment and discrimination can damage the reputation of the firm all of a sudden. Reputation cannot be gained overnight. A firm’s reputation is the result of its members’ endurance and hard work. Therefore, the management and the members have a collective responsibility to avoid all unfair situations to safeguard the firm’s reputation. Finally, the issues usually advance to expensive litigation procedure and end up in negative publicity. There are cases when organizations have to raise huge funds to compensate damages. When it comes to Individuals, the costs involved often surpass their expectations. In addition to the economic loss, the firm will have to suffer from bad reputation, which will have dreadful impact on the firm in all aspects. Therefore, avoiding conflict should be the prime focus of the management in workplace. Waters (2013) insists that an employee can overcome bullying only if he improves his confidence, resilience, and support network. This will gradually force the bully to stop their act because as Waters says, bullies can be bullies only if they have allies and victims. Companies must try to identify bullies in the workplace to deal with this issue so that they can easily enhance the workplace cohesion and productivity. According to Douglas (2001), bullies usually show some characteristics like pointing others’ mistakes, abusing, shouting, disregarding others’ rights, forcing others to work long hours, and many more (pp. 44-45). As mentioned in the Federal Communications Commission Encyclopedia (n.d.), unlawful harassment violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Therefore employees have the right to make an EEO complaint on workplace harassment by approaching FCC, EEO Counselor or other EEO official within 45 calendar days of the date of the incident. In total, Workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination adversely affect staff morale, creativity and productivity, and create a harmful workplace culture. An entrepreneur/leader is supposed to be impartial and hence devoid of emotions. However, leadership is an art that deals with humans, and it requires a unique solution to every situation. At the same time, emotions cannot be overlooked if one has to become a superior leader. Managers will benefit if they combine reflection with analysis and action. However, reflection is not episodic in nature. It is a continual process that needs to be nurtured and shaped. Management must reflect if any of their actions or policies hurt the sentiments of the individuals in workplace. Such reflection about a management incident can enhance learning among managers and thereby the overall productivity of the workgroup. References Douglas, E. (2001). Bullying in the Workplace: An Organizational Toolkit. England: Gower Publishing, Ltd. EEO Trust. Harassment and bullying in the workplace. Retrieved from http://www.eeotrust.org.nz/toolkits/harassment.cfm FCC. Understanding Workplace Harassment (FCC Staff). Retrieved from http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/understanding-workplace-harassment-fcc-staff Rayner, C., Hoel, H & Cooper, C. (2003). Workplace Bullying: What we know, who is to blame and what can we do? NY: CRC Press. Robertson, S. (2012). Taking the Lead: Strategies and Solutions from Female Coaches. Canada: University of Alberta. Waters, D. (29 Oct 2013). How to deal with... the workplace bully. The Telegraph. 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