In today’s tough and stressful economic market, many employees and employers feel under the gun to perform. Unfortunately, the stress of expectations can sometimes result in less-than-professional behavior.
According to a survey by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), over 24 percent of companies surveyed stated that workplace bullying had occurred within the past year. In that survey, bullying is defined as “repeated intimidation, slandering, social isolation, or humiliation by one or more persons against another”.
That NIOSH survey was originally conducted through workplace managers. Several of them implied that some of the workplace bullying was worker-to-worker. In phase two, when workers were surveyed, 16 percent said they were “regularly bullied” by their supervisor. Overall, 50 percent of workers said they had an abusive, bullying boss at one point in their careers.
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Out of that 50 percent who felt that they were bullied, over half stated that their supervisor initiated the bullying.
According to the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) national scientific survey, 37 percent of the adult Americans—an estimated 54 million workers—report that they have been bullied at work. 13 percent stated that the bullying is current, and 24 percent stated that it had happened historically. An additional 12 percent of those surveyed witnessed bullying and vicariously are made miserable.
So how can employees determine if they are being bullied? How can a manager determine if he has a problem with a supervisor? Should a company be regularly looking for signs of workplace bullying?
The Work Doctor is a consulting firm that helps companies deal with workplace bullying. On their Web site, they define bullying as “repeated, health-harming mistreatment”, and the behavior usually includes “verbal abuse, threatening behavior, intimidating or humiliating, or interfering with work.”
An example of bullying provided by the Work Doctor was the sales manager who encouraged her workers by firing a stun gun behind their heads as they entered the weekly sales meeting.
Often, employees or employers are reluctant to confront hyper aggressive managers and staff. They fear lawsuits and difficulty replacing workers who are considered indispensable.
The Work Doctor stated that the truth is it is costlier to fail to act than it is to pursue solutions. Bullies are undermining legitimate business processes and people without awareness. Work Doctor encourages companies to examine the real costs of unwanted turnover, absenteeism, lawsuit or complaint settlements, workers comp and disability claims.
The point being made is that workplace bullies can become very expensive to a company. In today’s tight market, current losses warrant greater weight than imagined future worst-case scenarios.
Frequently, bullying promotes the bosses agenda, and sometimes does so at the expense of the company’s goals.
Sometimes, a particular division or department is being impacted by bullying. The Work Doctor website lists warning signs, including increases in turnover, complaints, and/or litigation, as well as decreases in productivity or profits.
One option employees always have is to find another job. But in the current economy that is not an option for obvious reasons. In that case, other action might be an option.
The website Bully Busters has many links that provide employees with options on how to deal with workplace bullying. For example, there are links discussing how to reclaim dignity, how to cut stress, and how to conduct whistle blowing within the organization.
One option offered is to provide a bully boss a detailed plan of action where certain work could be reassigned that will make her life easier. Suggestions should be framed in a way that will look at how the idea succeeds.
Other suggestions for dealing with a bully in the workplace include -
- ask for advice from other trusted workmates. They may heave dealt with similar situations.
- never sink to the same level as the bully. Conversations with the bully should always be calm and professional.
- keep up your workplace friendships. Do not let a bully foster your isolation.
- do your job well, like always. The workplace bully wants you to fail.
- communicate with management regarding assignments. Bullies may try to insinuate your work is inferior. Make sure the boss knows the truth.
- the way you handle the situation will allow workmates to judge the situation. Stay calm.
Online sources:
National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/
The Work Doctor http://www.workdoctor.com/
Bully Busters http://www.bullybusters.org/
