Bullying in the workplace is a sinister practice that happens, ignored, in almost all organisations to some degree. The gravity and depth of its effects means that all employers should pay close attention to whether or not they have this problem. The typical profile of a victim is not what you might think – typically they are skilled, fervent, loyal employees that the organisation can’t afford to lose, yet more often than not the bullies stay and even get promoted to continue to inflict more suffering whilst the most valuable employees leave. Read this article to find out more.
Bullying is deemed to be unacceptable behaviour in Australia and most other developed countries. Although many organisations have bullying policies, most workplace bullying goes unnoticed. It can be difficult for the victim to demonstrate that bullying is taking place and therefore guard against it. This is because of the invisible nature of most bullying behaviours. Below is a comprehensive definition and description of workplace bullying as discussed by Namie (2003, www.bullyinginstitute.org):
1) The repeated maltreatment of a person which can be very damaging to a person’s mental wellbeing
2) The bully dominates others by acting in an authoritive or omitting manner
3) The bully selects a victim and coerces others to join in bullying behaviour
4) The victim’s work production is disturbed by the bullying behaviour, and therefore the employer’s business or organisation suffers
5) Bullying can start off with individual harassment and increase to include an
entire work unit, severely paralysing productivity.
The existence of workplace bullying can be signified by:
=> Incidences of strange behaviour or personality conflicts
=> The development of concealed agendas which segregate management and staff members
=> Elite groups, struggles for power, coercion and manipulation
=> Incidents of omission,threats, harassment, aggressive behaviour and even violence
For the most part, victims of workplace bullying share lots of common characteristics. The victim is generally a female and is usually very resilient, having put up with the bullying behaviour for a significant period of time, sometimes without complaining. The victim isn’t weak but is often well educated, quite accomplished, strong and independent. Her strengths often scare the bully. The bully is usually someone higher in authority and recruits others to participate in the bullying, sometimes without their knowledge or awareness.
Common methods employed by bullies include false accusations, stand-over tactics, criticisms, gossiping, undermining, verbal abuse and coercion of others to participate in bullying behaviour. The methods which are the most damaging and most difficult to prove are the covert tactics such as glaring, rolling the eyes, taking no notice of the victim and “accidentally” shutting the door in someone’s face. Victims of workplace bullying possibly might not be able to directly identify the bullying behaviours, but may have a “gut feeling” or sense of low self-esteem.
The impact of bullying on the victim is considerable and can create a significant number of psychological and medical symptoms – in a study of 1 000 victims of bullying, Namie identified 33 specific symptoms. Depression, anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are usual psychological effects of bullying. Insomnia, weight gain, high blood pressure, heart disease, irritable bowel system and a decreased life expectancy are all possible medical symptoms of prolonged bullying. Even after the victim settles into a new workplace, these effects are still present. Generally the first noticeable signs are poor performance, absenteeism, lateness or quitting work. A high staff turnover is usual when a bully is creating dysfunctional interpersonal dynamics within a work unit.
While many victims end up getting fired, transferred or just decide to leave, less than 13% of bullies get fired or transferred, and of those than are punished or sanctioned, less than 4% discontinue their bullying behaviour.
Hardly any bullies are held responsible for their behaviour – the majority are simply ignored or get rewarded in some way, sometimes even promoted. This means that organisations lose skilled and competent employees as over 70% of victims quit, are relocated or fired.
It is necessary to use a variety of highly sophisticated and effective psychological assessment techniques in order to identify the subtle signs of psychological distress caused by bullying. A deep and permanent psychological transformation can be accomplished by employing methods which alleviate tension, mediate conflicts and develop a harmonious work environment.
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