Teamwork Is Important In a Workplace Environment - Essay Example

WORKPLACE BULLYING By Location Introduction Team work is important in a work place environment to enable an organization to function properly and attain goals and overcome hurdles. However, the establishment of a team that consists of all the employees in the work scenario is subject to various inhibitions. These inhibitions are diverse, ranging from mistrust among the employees to unequal treatment of some colleagues. Nevertheless, bullying in the workplace is the greatest issue preventing the players in this organization from actively coming together to work in unison, which would see the prosperity of Company X. Bullying as a term on its own means imposition of domination or the manipulation of others as a result of using coercion, threats, intimidation, or abuse (Field 2014, p. 1). In the workplace scenario, bullying is said to occur if an employee is involved in harmful mistreatment from others usually on a pattern that is persistent. This type of bullying is complex as the bullies are not easily detected as they work within policies and rules of the organization. Workplace bullying is said to be overt if it occurs openly and is seen by everyone or covert if the bully works behind the scenes so as not to be detected. The issue of bullying in the workplace came to light after we received several complaints in the anonymous feedbacks of the recently concluded survey on the workplace environment and how it is impacting the employee output. Many comments had complaints by junior employees getting bullied by their seniors. For instance one complaint talked about how one supervisor has a habit of making some of his juniors feel psychologically abused by labeling them as inferior. This affects the ability of Company X to work in unison as a team as it reduces employee morale which is not limited to an individual (Field 2014, p. 2). The aim of this report is to provide a proper framework towards the eradication of this issue in Company X. Possible causes The main reason for the targeting of an individual may be that the target is a skilled worker and a good employee. The bully views the target as a threat to his or her job when he sees that the target is performing a good service which makes them eligible to promotion (Field 2014, p. 1). The target may also be a popular character in the workplace which may not be playing very well with the bully who resorts to mistreatment in the hopes of making others dislike him or her. Another cause of targeting is the vulnerability of the target. This is mainly because the bully knows that there is a less likely that the target will respond. Stereotyping of employees due to certain aspects of their lives such as race, gender, religion, and sex, is also a large cause for targeting by bullies. However, to enable the proper functioning of company X, it is necessary to eradicate bullying in the workplace notwithstanding the cause. Actions to be taken Since the main source of bullying is the thought that are others are competitors, Company X’s employees are going to be involved in activities outside the workplace environment, which will be fully funded by the company. These will include interdepartmental sports competitions, field trips, as well as competitions with other organizations. These will seek to improve interactions among the employees so as to establish more friendly relationships other than the existing professional ones. The participation in competitions as a team will also help in building teamwork relationships that will greatly reduce bullying. Company X will organize seminars and other programs that sensitive on the detection, avoidance and the actions to take on workplace bullying every year. This will encourage the reporting of these cases and encourage the general reduction in the instances of bullying in the work environment. The sensitizations will also provide knowledge on the outcomes of office bullying and the effect it has on the direction of the organization. This will result on the destruction of the misguided idea that bullying a junior employee who is a performer secures the employment of any individual. This is because the bullying may affect the overall morale of the company which will affect the sustenance of the organization (Field 2014, p. 3). The company will also organize gender, culture and religious interactive forums where the employees will get the chance to learn about the genders, culture and religions of other employees. The aim of this action is to see a steady stereotyping of employees on the terms of the various aspects of their lives. The functionality of this action in the reduction of workplace bullying is that the reduced stereotyping of employees will mean that fewer employees will be mistreated on such rounds. As the manger of this organization, I am going to enforce a policy that has zero tolerance on any bullying in the workplace. This policy is meant to encourage employees being bullied to come forward and report the perpetrators of these vile acts. If it is proven by concrete evidence that any employee, rank not withstanding, has been involved in the bullying of another employee, he or she will be automatically discharged from employment. Expected outcome The expected outcome of these steps is that there will be a steady reduction in bullying in the al workplace environments of Company X. This will mainly be the result of the sensitization of the employees on the issue. It is also my expectation that there will be more employees coming forward to report the issue without fear of repatriation or the effect the action will have on the direction of their career. The actions outlined in this report are also gong to see a steady reduction in case of stereotyping. Conclusion The actions outlined above are important for the reduction and gradual elimination of workplace scenario bullying. However, their functionality only runs as deep as the employee participation in the process. Acts such as reporting the acts as well as providing witness accounts are important in the elimination of the vice. Nevertheless, I believe the actions outlined in this report will be efficient in the process with the support of my colleagues. Bibliography Field, E. 2014, Worlplace Bullying. 1st ed. [ebook] Available from: http://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncab.org.au%2FAssets%2FFiles%2FField%2C%2520E.%2520Understanding%2520workplace%2520bullying%2520at%2520school.pdf&ei=1QVtU_CRFcWY1AW9yIGYDA&usg=AFQjCNEkoptctdgCFti40EJZbQGh4fL4HQ&bvm=bv.66330100,d.d2k [9 May 2014] Read More