One of the major concerns for employees is that they may become the target of workplace bullying. People have been chosen as targets of bullying for a variety of reasons (Gordon, 2022). Some people are jealous of their coworkers’ competence or popularity, and others who are good at teamwork are bullied because they make it difficult for bullies to be dictators in the workplace. Bullying is also motivated by a sense of discrimination based on race, gender, age, and other factors. When certain conditions are discovered in people, everyone, including colleagues, subordinates, and even bosses, may become targets of bullying. Workplace bullying can occur in a variety of settings. Making someone unwelcome in a community, displaying a furious or rude attitude, or spreading gossip are all examples of exclusion.
What are the consequences of workplace bullying? According to Redman (2022), victims are psychologically harmed. Victims of mental injuries lose self-confidence, which has a direct impact on job performance. Unfortunately, mental injuries can continue to claim victims in the future. Not only will mental health suffer, but so will physical health. Bullying-related stress can result in fatigue, colds, headaches, and other symptoms. These symptoms can eventually lead to fatal diseases such as cancer or heart disease. Bullying has also had an impact on workplace productivity (Jarrett, 2020, as cited in Redman, 2022). When people are subjected to bullying, their performance will be used to defend themselves, even if they are not the targets, and workplace productivity will suffer. Employees will sometimes change jobs to avoid being bullied at their current workplace. Even if employees stay, the workplace’s service quality, employee motivation, and absence or turnover rate will all suffer.
So, how do we put an end to workplace bullying? According to McGovern (2021), this is the critical role of workplace managers. To begin, managers must develop a policy outlining how to deal with or punish bullying, complete with definitions and examples. Furthermore, managers can educate employees and keep them away from the desire to bully in order to make them kind and polite. If an incident of bullying occurred, managers were required to investigate the incident with the HR department and inform the bullies of the problems, preferring to lead them down the regenerative path. Finally, managers must assist victims in recovering.
Victims can collect evidence of bullying and consult with managers or the HR department to help managers deal with bullying immediately.
References
Gordon, S. (2022). How Workplace Bullies Pick Their Targets. [online] Verywell Mind. Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/reasons-why-workplace-bullies-target-people-460783 [Accessed 12 February 2023].
Jarrett, C. (2020). Workplace bullying is more harmful than we realised. [online] www.bbc.com. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20191219-workplace-bullying-is-more-harmful-than-we-realised [Accessed 12 February 2023].
McGovern, M. (2021). 5 ways to help leaders manage bullies. [online] HR Morning. Available at: https://www.hrmorning.com/articles/manage-bullies/ [Accessed 12 February 2023].
Redman, B. (2022). The Effects on Mind & Body of Bullying in the Workplace. [online] Small Business – Chron.com. Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/effects-mind-body-bullying-workplace-32257.html [Accessed 12 February 2023].
Webber, F. (2022). Personal Attack at Work- 6 Best Defensive Ways to Handle it. [online] FlexMyFinances.com. Available at: https://flexmyfinances.com/personal-attack-at-work/ [Accessed 12 February 2023].
