Everyone Benefits from Recognizing and Stopping Workplace Bullying

Bullying in the Workplace Everyone benefits from recognizing and stopping workplace bullying

WHAT IS WORKPLACEWHAT IS WORKPLACEBULLYI BULLYING? NG? APPROXIMATELY 25%* OF U.S. COMPANIES REPORT HAVING SOME DEGREE OF WORKPLACE BULLYING There is no single definition of workplace bullying. Under proposed 25% OF 25% Reported bullying, law, the term “abusive conduct” is used to describe bullying in the ORGANIZATIONS defined as “repeated workplace. Generally, this refers to conduct in the workplace that a SURVEYED intimidation, slandering, reasonable person would find hostile, offensive or unrelated to the social isolation, or humiliation by one or more employer’s legitimate business interest, taking into account the persons against another.” severity, nature, and frequency of the conduct. Bullying is most often worker to worker. “Abusive conduct” includes using derogatory remarks, insults or *Source: National Institute for Occupational name-calling; verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct that is Safety and Health. threatening, intimidating or humiliating; sabotaging or undermining a person’s work performance; or attempting to exploit an employee’s psychological or physical vulnerability. WHATWHAT ARE THE ARE EFFECTS THE EFFECTSOF WORKPLACE OF WORKPLACEBULLYING? BULLYING? Employees who are deliberately subjected to severe and abusive work environments can suffer psychological, physical, and economic harm. NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON EMPLOYEES: • Feelings of shame and humiliation, • Stress and loss of sleep, WHATWHAT DO WORKPLACE DO WORKPLACE BULLIES LOOK BULLIES LIKE? LOOK LIKE? • Severe anxiety, panic attacks and depression, • Post-traumatic stress disorder, • Suicidal tendencies, Workplace bullying • Impaired immune system, sometimes, but not • Gastrointestinal disorders, always, involves an • High blood pressure, inappropriate use of • Increased risk of cardiovascular disease. power by one person over another. The NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON EMPLOYERS: bully may be a • Reduced employee productivity and morale, person in a position • Lower retention, increased turnover and absenteeism, of authority such as • Added costs associated with hiring and training new a supervisor, employees, manager or • Increase in costs associated with investigation of complaints, someone with • Legal, medical and workers’ compensation claims-related seniority who may costs. feel threatened by the victim. Sometimes WHATWHAT CAN CAN YOU YOUDO ABOUT DO ABOUT BULLYING BULLYING AT WORK? AT WORK? workplace bullying involves a co-worker who is insecure, EMPLOYEES: impulsive or does not • If you are the target of workplace bullying, remember you are respect the feelings not alone, of others. Workplace • Each time you experience bullying write down when, where bullying can come from a single person, group conduct (mobbing) or a and what occurred, and the names of witnesses if any, company culture that allows this kind of behavior. • Save copies of documents, emails, memos, photographs, etc. to substantiate the bullying behavior or to disprove the bully, • Tell your manager, supervisor, human resources department COMMON FORMSCOMMON OF BULLYING: FORMS OF BULLYING: or upper management, • If necessary, seek the help of a doctor or counselor.

• Unwarranted criticism of a co-worker’s work, ideas or EMPLOYERS: appearance, • Commit to a zero-tolerance bullying policy, • Yelling, swearing, sarcasm, or other verbal abuse, • Communicate to your employees what are unacceptable • Excluding or socially isolating the targeted co-worker, behaviors, • Stealing credit for or damaging someone else’s work, • Train employees to recognize bullying, encourage and identify • Embarrassing or humiliating someone for no reason, reporting procedures, and let employees know the • Placing demands on an employee without a legitimate consequences for bullying in the workplace, business reason. • Follow up on all incidents of bullying behavior IMMEDIATELY.

Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. § 654