Bullying In The Workplace
It is intolerable to participate any kind of bullying behaviour in Australia. A substantial proportion workplace bullying goes unnoticed despite the fact that most organisations have policies and procedures to define, acknowledge and deal with bullying. The occurrence of bullying behaviour is tricky for the victim to prove, and therefore it is hard for the victim to defend against this behaviour. This is owing to the invisible nature of various bullying behaviours. As illustrated by Namie (2003, www.bullyinginstitute.org), workplace bullying may be defined and described as:
1) Bullying is the recurring mistreatment of a person which has destructive effects on the person’s mental wellbeing
2) Commanding and prohibiting acts driven by the bully’s desire to manipulate others
3) The bully selects a victim and pressurises others to participate in bullying behaviour
4) Workplace bullying disturbs the victim’s work production, and therefore is damaging to the business or organisation
5) It can escalate from individual harassment to an entire work unit who are engulfed in fear and productivity is hindered.
Proof of the following in the workplace can signify that bullying or similar behaviour is happening:
=> Occasions where a person appears to change personality
=> The presence of concealed agendas which segregate management and staff members
=> Elite groups, tussles for power, conspiracies and manipulation
=> Incidents of prohibition,
undermining, harassment, aggressive behaviour and even violence
There are various things in common between victims of bullying within the workplace. Typically the victim is female and resilient, since she has tolerated the bullying for at least two years, often without even complaining. Typically the victim is well educated, highly accomplished, independent, strong and proficient in their work. The victim’s strengths may threaten the bully. The bully is usually someone higher in authority and recruits others to take part in the bullying, sometimes without their knowledge or awareness.
The tactics most commonly utilised by bullies include false accusations, criticisms, stand-over tactics, gossiping, undermining, verbal abuse and getting others to turn against the person. The covert tactics such as rolling of the eyes, giving the silent treatment and “accidentally” shutting the door in someone’s face are perhaps the most damaging and the most difficult to prove. Victims, especially if not very articulate or observant, may have a “gut feeling” or sense of low self-esteem but may not be able to distinguish any bullying behaviours.
Bullying has a profound impact on the victim and creates a significant number of psychological and medical symptoms (In a sample of 1 000 victims, Namie identified 33 specific symptoms). Depression, anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are typical psychological symptoms of bullying. Medical conditions associated with bullying include insomnia, weight gain, high blood pressure, heart disease, irritable bowel syndrome and a decrease in life expectancy. These effects tend to persist even after the victim finds a new job. The first detectable signs are sometimes a drop in performance, arriving late to work, not turning up to work or even quitting. Where the bully is creating non-productive interpersonal dynamics within a group, there is likely to be high staff turnover.
Unfortunately the victim generally ends up quitting their job, getting transferred or fired while the bully rarely loses their job or gets transferred and less than 4% of those who are punished or sanctioned actually quit their bullying behaviour.
Only a small portion of bullies are made accountable for their behaviour – nearly all are simply ignored or get rewarded in some way, sometimes even promoted. Due to this, organisations lose experienced and competent employees as over 70% of victims decide to leave, are relocated or fired.
Established, effective psychological assessment techniques are needed to identify even the most subtle signs of psychological distress caused by bullying. Additionally, skilled interventions that help diffuse tensions, mediate conflicts and develop a harmonious work environment, are crucial for a deep and permanent transformation.
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