WORKPLACE BULLYING FACT SHEET

Workplace bullies are people who belittle, humiliate, and threaten their colleagues and co‐workers. Organizational cultures exacerbate the problem when leaders either do not understand workplace bullying or dismiss it as tough management.

 Bullying is more devastating than all other work related stresses combined;  Fifty‐four million people have been bullied at work;  Bullying costs American organizations billions of dollars annually.

A systems approach to designing a training program that addresses the root causes and involving individuals at all levels provides skills for dealing with this phenomenon and can promote a harmonious working environment.

 In the workplace bully behavior can be subtle or glaringly obvious;  Bullying is any activity that causes the target to experience negative feelings resulting in the bully receiving some sort of satisfying emotional reward;  Organizational leaders either do not recognize the detrimental effects of workplace bullying or they do not know how to productively manage it. As a result, bullies continue their reign of terror and targets worry about the bully, lose trust in the company, or leave their workplace.

Workplace bullying must be explored in a sustained and systematic manner because organizations have a responsibility to protect their employees from psychological harassment.

 Bullying negatively affects the human body and can cause cardiovascular problems, adverse neurological changes, immunological impairment, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, and skin disorders;  The most common bullying health effects are anxiety, irritability, depression, and post‐traumatic stress disorder;  Some research has found that workplace bullying exists primarily because of a lack of positive leadership performance and bullying thrives especially when the direct supervisor avoids managing conflict.

The Workplace Bullying Institute, Research Director, Gary Namie, PhD, and Zogby International conducted 7740 online interviews of a panel that is representative of the adult population of the United States in 2007. This is the largest national scientific survey of the phenomenon of workplace bullying to date.

Key Findings

 Workplace Bullying is an Epidemic…37% of American workers, 54 million people, have been bullied at work. It affects half (49%) of American adults, 71.5 million workers. (Section 2, page 4) ______The 4Civility Institute is a not‐for‐profit institute that is dedicated to civility, ethics, alternative dispute resolution, mediation, restorative justice, and behavioral transition. Tony Belak, JD and John‐Robert Curtin, PhD www.4civility.org 502‐417‐0521

 Bullying is Same‐Gender/Same‐Race Harassment Ignored by Current Laws and Bullying is 4 times more prevalent than illegal forms of “harassment.” (Section 4, page 9)

 American Employers Can and Do Ignore Bullying…in 62% of the cases, when made aware of bullying, employers worsen the problem or simply do nothing (Section 4, page 10) despite losing an estimated 21‐28 million workers because of bullying. (Section 8, page 16)

 Most Bullies are Bosses – the Stereotype is Real…72% of bullies are bosses. 55% of those bullied are rank‐and‐file workers. (Section 5 page 10)

 Bullying Most Strongly Affects Women…women are targeted by bullies more frequently (in 57% of cases), especially by other women (in 71% of cases). (Section 3, page 7)

 Bullying is a Public Health Hazard…for 45% of bullied targets, stress affects their health. 33% suffer for more than one year. (Section 7, page 15)

 Bullied Individuals are not “sue crazy,” Many Fail to Even Complain…only 3% of bullied targets file lawsuits. 40% never complain. (Section 7, page 14)

 Perpetrators Suffer Little Despite Inflicting Suffering…targets have to stop the vast majority of bullying (77%) by losing their jobs despite being the ones harmed. (Section 8, page 16)

______The 4Civility Institute is a not‐for‐profit institute that is dedicated to civility, ethics, alternative dispute resolution, mediation, restorative justice, and behavioral transition. Tony Belak, JD and John‐Robert Curtin, PhD www.4civility.org 502‐417‐0521