Workplace Bullying

The article explains the issue of workplace bullying which is very common in many organizations. It highlights the target audience, bullying behaviors and the practices of an organization to deduce the occurrence of the menace. Workplace bullying is an activity carried out by malicious people whose main aim is to gain power and control. It can take different forms like verbal abuse, physical mistreatment, humiliation, and even sabotage.  However, it has various consequences on both the victims and the employer organization. The effects range from financial, health, morale, and even the overall productivity of the firm (Namie, 2003). Workplace bullying is associated with negative consequences and can affect anybody without discrimination. Organizations should come up with policies to prevent harassment of employees. The policies should be availed to the employees so that they can have grounds to defend their rights. Additionally, respect should be enhanced in the work environment as a way of dealing with workplace bullying.

According to the article, workplace bullying is very prevalent in the US. 37% of the employed people undergo harassment. However, only a small percent report to the employer or law enforcement agencies (Lutgen‐Sandvik, Tracy, & Alberts, 2007). It is also evident that most of the bullies are bosses, and they majorly target women. A great percentage of the victims of bullying experience stress-related health complications.

Workplace bullying has various consequences to the victims. One of them is financial losses. In most cases, the target people in workplace bullying end up losing their jobs through unclear ways or resigning due to the increased pressure. Additionally, the victims may spend a lot of money dealing with the health complications brought about by the harassment.  There also health complications associated with workplace bullying (Lutgen‐Sandvik et al., 2007). One of them is stress related problems like anxiety, insanity and depression. Workplace bullying has significant impacts on the personal relationships of the involved parties. This is because the bullies in most cases have control over the life of the target. As a result, when victims lose their jobs due to the harassment, they have a bad relationship with the perpetrators. The victims of workplace bullying may be forced to transfer or be discharged without good reasons. Other may also be forced to quit their jobs due to the poor functions of their mind due to the harassment.

Workplace bullying also has significant impacts on the organization. One of them is reduced productivity of the victim employees, which interferes with the operation of the firm (Namie, 2003). In most cases, the employer is not aware of the humiliation acts. As a result, this harassment reduces the output of employees; hence the profitability of the organization is affected. Additionally, workplace bullying destroys the reputation of companies. In most cases, high employee turnover is associated with poor management and treatment of the human resource. Due to harassment and humiliation of employees, an organization is forced to incur a lot of expenses in recruitment, selection and training of new employees (Lutgen‐Sandvik et al., 2007). When, employees resign due to the effect of bullying, the organization is forced to replace them. Thus, workplace bullying not only affects the victims, but also the organizations. As a result, it is importers cooperate with the workers to deal with the menace, which is affecting many organizations.

In the organization I used to work in, one of my colleagues was harassed and intimidated by our boss. The bullying began when the love affair which the two has went sour. As a result, the boss decided to mistreat the junior employee as a way of revenging. However, the victim did not report the matter to the employer, but was forced to resign due to the uncomfortable working environment. The boss used various forms of harassment. One of them was setting unrealistic and undesirable targets for the victim. He expected her to execute task which were beyond her ability, failure to which she would be punished by the boss. The bully also treated the victim differently. She was required to report to work earlier than usual in order to meet the unrealistic targets. The victim also left the office in late hours. As a result, the target felt humiliated because she was not in a position to achieve her targets like other employees in the organization. The boss also gave negative reports about the victim, which has acted as a barrier towards the development of her career.

There are various techniques which can be used to reduce the cases of workplace bullying in organizations. One of them is setting and implementing policies regarding harassment in the place of work. Organizations should give a clear outline of the legal consequences of workplace bullying. This will prevent people from harassing their colleagues for fear of facing the rule of law. Another technique is to address the reported or suspected cases of bullying directly. This will show the seriousness of the organization to deal with the matter. This can be achieved by enlightening the workforce on what bullying entails and encouraging them to report any cases of harassment. This will discourage people from bullying their colleagues in the work place.

 
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