Bullying at the Workplace - Literature review Example

Bullying at the Workplace Every day, the workplace undergoes various changes as the diversity as the workplace becomes a dynamic place for the realisation of the inherent behaviours and strengths. Bullying has become one of the issues arising from such encounters, making it a point of concern amongst many policy makers as well as employees. Many define bullying as intimidating, offensive, insulting or malicious behaviour that emanates from an individual’s abuse or misuse of power through means that humiliate, undermine, injure or denigrate the recipient. This shows there is an individual who is at a higher level and another at a lower level, and the aspect of power makes it easier for those at the top to bully the others. It can be physical, emotional, social or verbal abuse meted to an individual without taking into consideration the different attributes of the society. Further, the acts can take place anywhere from shops to offices to workshops, restaurants, government organisation and private entities. It could be taking place against volunteers, interns, work experience students, causal employees, apprentices and even the permanent employees. As such, it is not discriminative of race or gender, though most women report higher incidences of bullying and harassment in the workplace across the world. Many blame the male-dominated society for these incidences. It is important to differentiate between bullying and aggression. Aggression is a single act done to an individual and then stops. Bullying is a repeated act or acts against an employee or a recipient that creates an on-going pattern of behaviour. Managers are not the only people who can bully employees. Bullying can also come from supervisors, contract workers, co-workers or even labour representatives. Prevalence: main causes and the statistics Some of the instances of bullying go unreported because the culprits fear the repercussions. When the pattern persists for a long time, the effects could be detrimental to the employee. It can lead to lesser cases of success because of the intimidation noted. These employees become less confident and less productive because they cannot put all their energy into their work. They will limit their contributions because they feel depressed, stressed, scared and anxious as they go about their duties. The uncertainty of their time at work also limits their interactions outside the workplace (Johnson and Rae 2009: 85). Absenteeism is another likely encounter that could endanger the employee’s participation at the work place. Some will even report digestive and sleep disturbances because of the kind of bullying they undergo while at their place of work. Others will be treated for cases of high stress, and instances of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common. Even if some are working, they may face financial constraints because they have to be absent from their workplace, and some may even quit their jobs because they can no longer persevere (MacIntosh 2005: 665-667; Beale and Hoel 2011: 8-10). The problem is that the prevalence rate is high in many organisations. According to a study done by Schat, Frone and Kelloway, the prevalence rate I the US alone was 41.4% which represented at least 47 million employees (2006: 25). These employees had suffered from psychological aggression at work within the past year. Another 13% reported psychological aggression on a weekly basis. In some instances, corporate of institutional bullying takes place and becomes part of an institution. This is a bad pattern because it is difficult to report it anywhere. The management and employees as a whole have taken it as part of their organisation culture, and it becomes difficult to report the management to the authority. In these organisations, it very easy to perpetuate bullying because certain attributes increase the risks of such-like behaviours. These may include attributes such as internal restructuring, workplace relationships, and a lack of policies to safeguard employees from such issues (MacIntosh, Wuest, Gray and Aldous 2010: 912). Namie and Namie (2011: 24) note that more than 49% of American adults have been affected by bullying at their workplace, and the epidemic is spreading at a very high rate. Namie further notes that bullying has been found to be more prevalent in the offices four times more than the recorded forms of illegal harassment. Though the American employers can do much more to prevent the increasing cases of bullying, 62% of victims say they informed their employers but they ignored them. Some even worsen the problem for the victims or do nothing at all. The problem is that many industries lose employees due to bullying, with an estimated 21-28 million quitting their jobs because of bullying. Most of those who report such instances say that bosses are the first source of bullying they receive at the workplace. At least 72% of employees cite stereotypical cases of bosses bullying them, and 54% of those are rank-and-file employees. Women are targeted the most in bullying cases with 57% of the cases reported, and more than 71% of these cases are by other women. It is important to appreciate that bullying is a public hazard that needs to be dealt with immediately. Amongst those targeted by bullies, 45% of them experience stress-related ailments. More than 30% of those suffer from these ailments for more than a year. The only shocker is that only 3% of the bullies face lawsuits in court, and 40% of the victims never complain about their experiences. This is despite the findings that show the victims have to do something to stop the bullying, with more than 77% quitting their jobs to avoid on-going bullying instances (Namie and Namie 2011: 28-36). This could be leading to a loss of close to $6 billion dollars annually for the US economy, which means more needs to be done to combat this behavioural attribute. Increased medical costs and insurance for employees lead to low morale as the money they earn is constantly settling bills or not enjoyed due to stressing conditions. The organisation has to contend with the lost opportunity costs that lock out employees from maximising their potential despite their possession of relevant skills. With high turnover, low quality staffs are attracted because the motivated employees wanted a place where their skills are maximised. This creates an impoverished workforce that lacks the needed motivation to keep the company afloat and competitive in the market (Simons, Stark and DeMarco 2011: 133). Another missing thing in these in this organisation is a good communication model. Communication is an important attribute in quelling the issues that take place in the organisation. Communication is a tool that can limit the occurrence of misunderstandings that could hinder the progress of other employees. Communication can the source or cause of bullying. Some words are seen as rude, but some organisations may use them frequently until they become part of their workplace lingua. This means that anyone who is not happy with the terms used will have to put up with despite the harms caused (Weiten, Lloyd, Dunn and Yost Hammer 2009: 69). Further, the communication may also feature attributes such as hand gestures, facial expressions, and nonverbal communications. The problem is that the diversity in the workplace could make some signs quite harmless, while other cultural backgrounds view them as derogatory if used in public. Sometimes, when going to report demeaning behaviours, the communication breakdown between the employer and the employee could hinder a proper resolution of issues within the workplace. As such, it is important to have a good rapport between employers and employees to make life easier and more accommodative for the two parties (Cooper, et al. 2009: 223; Beale and Hoel 2011: 8-10). An emerging threat to threat is the aspect of cyber-bullying. The growing technological advancements have made it easier to track individuals where they are and communicate with them instantly. These technology developments have brought with some increased forms of communications such as email, social media, text messages services and websites (Kohut 2008: 59; Keashly and Neuman 2004: 340). Some will take advantage of these technologies to disturb another employee without caring about their feelings and work schedules. They take advantage of lax policies at the workplace because some of the employers have not placed any emphasis on this form of bullying. Instead, the bullies continue with their activities and do not receive any form of castigation even when reported. The increasing number of people complaining of being bullied by people they know is on the increase and this is alarming because the next generation of employees will be dependent on technology for their day-to-day activities (Simons, Stark and DeMarco 2011: 135). Intervention With such statistics in the public domain, many are concerned that the managers are quite lax in dealing with the issue. The need for interventions cannot be overemphasised because employees need to feel safe and secure. The only problem is that the employers seem to condone the bullying and some are at the top in conducting these bullying activities. The involvement of all stakeholders is essential in preventing the continued occurrence of bullying in organisations (Namie and Namie 2000: 229; Boyes-Watson and Pranis 2010: 109). If the managers are not willing to change the way things are done, it is important to always enhance the potential of having others within the chain of command who can institute the changes made. Those at the lower cadre could play a huge role in stopping these occurrences. They can unite with their fellow workers and support them against any bullying that comes from the top. This will send a good message to the management that the employees are tired of seeing their friends attacked, bullied and made to suffer in the pretext of pushing them to meet their goals (Parsons 2005: 320). The employees can also form independent support groups that can assist in the rehabilitation of the stressed employees as they seek to get back to their old self. In most instances, co-workers are the ones affected the most by any increased cases of bullying because the individual has to look for different ways of covering up when one of the employees quits or is absent from duty. Turnovers affect the organisation too because they have to recruit new employees. This is costly. Therefore, it is important to come up with local mechanisms in case the management is not willing to assist (Swearer, Espelage and Napolitano 2009: 98-9). Legal protections allow employers to be mandatorily responsible for the wellbeing of their employees. This means they have to abide by the provisions of the law that require them to ensure that the workplace is free from anything that could hinder the realisation of the intended goals. As the law ensures they manage their organisations as stipulated, unions and labour representatives can make appearances and offer their services to employees promising them quick resolution of their cases. This will prompt many employees to seek redress and enhance the growth of their careers. Different countries have different policy in use. The US uses Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as one of the main legal notices that prohibits the discrimination or harassment of employees based on race, religion or colour (Strandmark and Hallberg 2007: 335). The Equality Act of 2010 in the UK allows employees to sue their employers in case they are discriminated, victimised, bullied, or harassed while on duty. It places equality on everyone and defines what can be termed as bullying at the workplace. It is always important to have such policies because the workplace should be a productive place not a place where employees be harassed by people who do not feel obliged to obey the code of conduct. Others that are active include the Protection from Harassment Act of 1997, the Communications Act of 2003, and the Malicious Communications Act of 1988 (Beale and Hoel 2011: 8-10). Electronic communication laws are also being formulated to protect employees from cyber bullying as well as electronic communications that could lead to distress. These legal attributes require instant attention and allow as many people as possible to enjoy their productivity and maximise on their potential. The important thing is to come up with the appropriate means of achieving one’s goals and ensure that the workplace allows for one’s proper utilisation of the requisite attributes (Martucci and Sinatra 2009: 80; Cleary, Hunt, Walter and Robertson 2009: 40). Canada allowed each of the states to pass individual laws that would protect the workers before coming up with a general occupational health code that would protect the federal employees. As such, legal interventions seem to be the most apt in ensuring that employees remain safe and at work without having to endure any bullying at their place of work (Sugai and Horner 2006: 250-2). The employers can take it as a challenge to structure the workplace as an environment that allows for self-autonomy and individual mastery as a way of making people responsible for their behaviours. Some will hide along the lines of corporate culture and disturb others as they try to do their work. As studies show, if the manager takes the frontline in fighting against bullying, the rest will take that as a cue to proper behaviours at the workplace. They will be instrumental in spreading awareness of the rights of all employees across the divide. The individual challenge and mastery allows for clarity while working and creates a better chance of meeting individual goals within the organisation (Olweus, Limber, Flerx, Mullin, Riese and Snyder 2007: 122). They will also encourage employees to report and that will lead to better awareness and reduce chances of the vice escalating. The manager should intervene immediately once an employee reports any bullying to prevent any continuation of such vices. This will set the precedence for the rest and allow employees to understand the rules they are and as the company warrants. This will also be essential in understanding the origin of the problem and come up with new ways of dealing with the problem and its root just to save the employees from continued distress (Salin 2003: 1220). Research Methods One of the quantitative methods that can be effective in researching on bullying is the use of surveys. Most of the surveys contain questions that require answers to eleven qualitative comments that range from the experiences to the way the victims dealt with the situation. Institutions have customised their surveys to meet the exact needs of their employees. A good example is the National Education Association Bullying Survey, which allows for the education officials to estimate the extent of bullying in schools. Another one is Bullying in Nursing Education Questionnaire (BNEQ) survey method (Simons, Stark and DeMarco 2011: 136). This was developed to help researchers understand the extent of bullying at the workplace, creating better understanding of the issue at hand. There is the negative acts questionnaire that allows researchers to track bullying incidents in an organisation by asking respondents to tick against those acts that are prevalent at their workplace and affect them while doing their work. The included questions help them deal with different actions that could be contributing towards the increase in bullish acts at the workplace. Surveys are important in this form of research because it allows the researchers to come up with the requisite knowledge on the topic of discussion (Grubb, Roberts, Grosch and Bright-well 2004: 410). It uses the form of questions to help understand the issue at hand better and come up with conclusions based on sampling. This is an important way of understanding the extent of the issues clogging the institutions and can be very essential in creating the requisite mechanisms that will provide them with the appropriate knowledge on the bullying issues in their line of research. Institutions that have tailored surveys provide the appropriate information based on the issues that employees face while on duty. Thus, it is an important form of data collection. To collect qualitative data, observations and interviews are appropriately for extensive data collection. Since the researcher has a chance to talk to the employees directly, it is important to get the required data and use it appropriately (Baillien, Neyens, De Witte and De Cuyper 2009: 8). The focus should be on the alternative research methods that will provide more data on bullying in organisations where one may not get the express permission to talk to employees. The important attribute is to understand the required platforms of dealing with employees and conduct research by observing the way they operate and relate with each other. Surveys can also be used for qualitative purposes, but the use of interviews and observations allows the researcher to gather more by participating in the daily activities of the employees (Agervold 2009: 268). In conclusion, bullying is an act that takes place almost on a daily basis across the world. Some condone it while others castigate it. Whatever side one is in, it is always important to make good use of the available mechanisms to help fight against this vice. Managements across the world have to ensure that the workplace is favourable for everyone without discriminating against anyone. This will make many employees productive, save companies lots of money, increase company profitability, entrench good morals, as well as ensure a motivated, efficient and reliable workforce. Every employee requires the support of the management because it details the importance of having policies that work. These policies will only work if they meet the requisite objectives that lead to efficacy in the workplace. Future research should deal with the different forms of bullying in the workplace that are prevalent yet many ignore them on the account of lack of evidence. Some do not have the ability to report their cases to the authorities and that denies many researchers the ability to understand the issues that may be present but ignored at the workplace. More research methods should also emerge to help narrow down the issues within the workplace. References Agervold, M. (2009) “The significance of organisational factors for the incidence of bullying”, Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 267-276. Baillien, E., Neyens, I., De Witte, H. & De Cuyper, N. (2009) “A qualitative study on the development of workplace bullying: Towards a three way model,” Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 1-16. Beale, D. & Hoel, H. (2011) “Workplace bullying and the employment relationship: Exploring questions of prevention, control and context”, Work Employment Society, vol. 25, pp. 5-18. Boyes-Watson, C. & Pranis, K. (2010) Heart of hope: A guide for using peacemaking circles to develop emotional literacy, promote healing, and build healthy relationships, Boston: Centre for Restorative Justice. Cleary, M., Hunt, G.E., Walter, G. & Robertson, M. (2009) “Dealing with bullying in the workplace: Toward zero tolerance’, Journal of Psychosocial Nursing, vol. 47, no. 12, pp. 34-41. Cooper, J.R.M., Walker, J.T., Winters, K., Williams, P.R., Askew, R. & Robinson, J.C. (2009) “Nursing students perceptions of bullying behaviours by classmates”, Issues in Educational Research, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 212-226. Corbin, J. & Strauss, A. (2008) Basics of qualitative research (3rd ed.), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Einarsen, S. (2000) “Harassment and bullying at work: A review of the Scandinavian approach” Aggression and Violent Behaviour, vol. 5, pp. 379-401. Grubb, P.L., Roberts, R.K., Grosch, J.W. & Bright-well, W.S. (2004) “Workplace bullying: What organisations are saying”, Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal, vol. 8, pp. 407-422. Johnson, S.L, & Rae, R.E. (2009) “Workplace bullying: Concerns for nurse leaders,” Journal of Nursing Administration, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 84-90. Keashly, L. & Neuman, J.H. (2004) “Bullying in the workplace: Its impact and management.” Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 335-373. Kohut, M.R. (2008). The complete guide to understanding, controlling, and stopping bullies & bullying at work: A complete guide for managers, supervisors, and co-workers, Ocala,FL: Atlantic. MacIntosh, J. (2005) “Experiences of workplace bullying in rural areas,” Issues in Mental Health Nursing, vol. 26, pp. 665-679. MacIntosh, J., Wuest, J., Gray, M.M. & Aldous, S. (2010) “Effects of workplace bullying on how women work,” Western Journal of Nursing Research, vol. 32, no. 7, pp. 910-931. Martucci, W.C. & Sinatra, K.R. (2009) “Antibullying legislation-A growing national trend in the new workplace”, Employment Relations Today, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 77-83. Namie, G. & Namie, R. (2000) The bully at work: What you can do to stop the hurt and reclaim your dignity on the job, Napierville, IL: Source-books, Inc. Namie, G. & Namie, R. (2011) The bully-free workplace: Stop jerks, weasels, and snakes from killing your organisation. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Olweus, D., Limber, S.P., Flerx, V.C., Mullin, N., Riese, J. & Snyder, M. (2007) Olweus Bullying Prevention Program: Schoolwide guide Center City, MN: Hazelden. Parsons, L. (2005) Bullied teacher, bullied student: How to recognize the bullying culture in your school and what to do about it, Markham, Canada: Pembroke. 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. Simons, S.R., Stark, R.B. & DeMarco, R.F. (2011) A new, four-item instrument to measure workplace bullying. Research in Nursing and Health, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 132-40. Strandmark, K.M. & Hallberg, L.R. (2007) “The origin of workplace bullying: Experiences from the perspective of bully victims in the public service sector” Journal of Nursing Management, vol. 15, pp. 332-341. Sugai, G. & Horner, R. (2006) “A promising approach for expanding and sustaining school-wide positive behaviour support” School Psychology Review, vol. 35, pp. 245-259. Swearer, S.M., Espelage, D.L. & Napolitano, S.A. (2009) Bullying prevention and intervention: Realistic strategies for schools, New York: Guilford. Weiten, W., Lloyd, M.A., Dunn, D.S. & Yost Hammer, E. (2009) Psychology applied to modern life: Adjustment in the 21st Century (9th ed.), Clifton Park, NY: Cengage. Read More