Bullying in the Workplace, the Possible Effects of Bullying - Essay Example

Running header: Business Student’s name: Instructor’s name: Subject code: Date of submission: Bullying in the workplace Introduction: Bullying in the workplace is a risk to workers health and safety and is hence best dealt with if appropriate steps are taken to prevent it from occurring and by quick response to it in case it occurs. This is because it will be difficult to address it when it has continued for long and hence it becomes harder to repair broken working relationships in such circumstances. This will in turn have an effect on the affected employees morale and ability to deliver. For instance, in the above scenario, the intern being bullied is only able to persevere for three days and asks for a sick off in the fourth day as she can no longer put up with the bullying behavior (Fox, 2009). Obviously this has had a direct negative effect on her morale and hence ability to deliver. This is because she can not continue with her training during her sick leave and if she is to continue in the same environment, she might not offer quality service to the patients since she might become stressed, depressed and even confused hence being unable to effectively deliver service. As such, organizations need to have in place systems that will prevent bullying in addition to having clear procedures for responding to any allegations arising. This is every organization’s responsibility under the WHS act of provision of safe and healthy working place. But what is bullying in the workplace? This paper explores the issue of bullying in the workplace as has been observed in the intern’s scenario. In so doing, the paper will explain what bullying in the workplace entails, what it is and what it is not, the possible effects of bullying as well as the rights and responsibilities of the employer and employees as far as the issue of bullying in the workplace is concerned. What is bullying in the work place? Generally, workplace bullying can be considered as any repeated and unreasonable behavior that is directed towards an employee or a group of employees and which creates a risk to the employee/s health and safety. This implies that the bullish behavior has to be of persistent nature and could also involve a range of behaviors over time. In addition, the behavior has to be unreasonable and a reasonable person would see the behavior/s as unreasonable including it being of threatening, victimizing, intimidating or humiliating nature (Fiona, 2014). Some of the behaviors that are considered bullying in the workplace when directed to an employee/s intentionally or unintentionally and hence likely to create risk to health and safety include behaviors such as; i) Abusive, offensive or insulting comments or language. This also includes unjustified complaints and unjustified criticism. The intern in this case has been exposed to such behaviour by her preceptor. ii) Deliberate and continuous exclusion of the employee/s from workplace activities including withholding of information vital to effective work performance. For instance, the preceptor doesn’t even care whether the intern has acquired all the information regarding the workplace that would help her effectively carry out her duties and responsibilities (Isc.sa.gov.au, 2014). iii) Settling of unreasonable timelines while constantly changing deadlines for the worker/s including denial to access information , consultation, supervision or resources thus bringing a detrimental effect to the worker/s iv) Spreading of malicious rumours and misinformation about the worker/s as well as excessively scrutinizing the worker at work. v) Continuous change of work arrangements including rosters and leave deliberately with an aim of inconveniencing the worker/s. Workplace bullying can occur in a number of ways including through text messaging, emailing, instant messaging, internet chartrooms and similar channels. In addition, bullying could be directed to a single worker or a group of employees. It can occur at any level including downwards from managers to employees, sideways among employees or upwards from employees to supervisors and managers. It is also worth noting that some factors contribute to bullying in the workplace. For instance, it seems that the preceptor is bullying the intern due to workplace fatigue as she notes that they are understaffed. Other factors that might contribute to workplace bullying include the following; a) Power –in most cases, it is the senior employees who bully their juniors just as has been observed in the intern’s scenario. b) Self esteem –at times, those who bully others may be putting them down in a bid to boost their own self esteem and confidence owing to their feeling of inadequacy. c) Difference- sometimes as has been observed in the intern’s case, some employees may bully others for seeing them as different or new. d) Perceived threat – some people may bully others if they perceive them as personal threat or as threatening to their position within the workplace e) Organisation culture –a workplace’s culture is depicted in its values, beliefs and what is considered normal behaviour within the organisation. A positive culture encourages employees to adopt appropriate behaviours which promote respect for one another. On the other hand, a negative culture where inappropriate attitudes and behaviours are condoned by the management may encourage such acts as bullying in the workplace. Actions that may not amount to workplace bullying Some actions taken by management are aimed at effectively directing and controlling the way work is performed and hence may not amount to bullying when carried out in a reasonable manner. Such actions may include; Setting of reasonable standards, deadlines and performance goals including roistering and allocating working hours with reasonable requirements (Varian, 2001). Transfer of an employee for operational purposes including not selecting an employee for promotion after following and documenting a reasonable process. Informing a worker/s about their unsatisfactory performance in line with workplace policies including informing him/her of their inappropriate behaviour objectively and confidentially Restructuring and termination of employee/s contract What are the possible effects of bullying? Workplace bullying can have devastating effects both to the worker and the workplace. As has been observed in the intern’s scenario, she is already demoralized and is even unable to report to the workplace on the fourth day. This is because she feels that the bullying by the preceptor is too much and can not even accommodate it for one more day. In other words, workplace bullying is usually harmful to the person it is directed to as well as to those witnessing it. Such persons will react in different ways depending on their characteristics and the specific situation. In essence, workplace bullying can result in extensive health problems (both physical and psychological) for those being exposed to it as well as to the organization within which it is being perpetrated. The worker/s that is being bullied may experience anxiety, panic attacks, stress, trouble with sleeping as well as higher blood pressure, ulcers and similar stress related illnesses. Their morale as stated above will be negatively affected and hence lowering their productivity. Research shows that the bullied employee/s will experience trouble in making work related decisions; they will have incapacity to work or concentrate (Daniel, 2005). They will loose on self esteem hence becoming less productive. Reduced productivity results from loss of motivation, health and stress complaints as well as the amount of time they spend in trying to defend themselves and avoiding the bully, ruminating about the situation, networking for support and planning on how to deal with the situation. In addition, the bullied worker will feel isolated and may even struggle with depression eating disorders, posttraumatic stress disorders and in worst cases, they may contemplate suicide. The affected worker/s is left much traumatized thus feeling powerless, confused, disoriented and helpless. It is true that workplace bullying causes more harm to the employee/s than sexual harassment would. The bullied worker/s would show more job stress and hence less commitment to the workplace, higher levels of anger and anxiety than a sexually harassed employee would. In essence, the bullied person and those who witness the bullying are at high risk of requiring medication and would most likely be prescribed psychotropic medications including sleeping peels, tranquilizers and antidepressants. The bullied worker will also experience physical illness including muscular tension, digestive problems and headaches. In addition, they will experience deteriorating relationships with fellow employees, friends and family. At worst, such an employee will be forced to quit the job for being unable to handle the stress that comes with bullying as happened in the interns case. Bullying in the workplace also has detrimental effect on the company or the employer and hence it is a cost to the employer. First, it disrupts the work environment while negatively impacting on workers morale which leads to reduced productivity. The work environment becomes hostile while encouraging absenteeism and increased workers compensation claims. In addition, bullying is likely to result in legal issues for the company which is a cost to the employer (Johansen, 2011). In addition, the impact of bullying also affects the co-workers of the bullied, customers, business associates and customers. For instance, a worker witnessing the bullying is even more likely to quit job than the one experiencing it. Effects of bullying to the employer can be summarized as follows; i) High staff turnover which also comes with increased recruitment and training costs to the employer ii) Low morale and motivation for the organization workers leading to low productivity. This is a loss to the employer since he/she pays for less production. This has been observed in the case of the intern for after reporting for training/work for only three days, she is so much de-motivated that she has to ask for sick leave on the fourth day as she feels that the first three days have been too much. This has in no doubt affected her morale and hence productivity. In other words, her being demoralised and de-motivated is also a loss to the hospital since the hospital can not receive her services as long as she is not in for training. Even when she returns, she is not expected to be as enthusiast for work since she might be uncomfortable with the bullying if it continues. iii) Disruption of work in case there are complex complaints about bullying being investigated. iv) Costly worker compensation claims and legal actions which are a cost to the employer and increased absenteeism rates. What are the rights and responsibilities of the employer and employees? As stated above, workplace bullying has detrimental effects both to the employer and the employee and hence both have a responsibility in stopping it. Handling bullying however depends on the work environment, the nature of bullying and the systems availed in the workplace. The employee being bullied has a role to take a formal or informal approach to stop bullying from going on. The employee could undertake the following steps in stopping bullying; i) Check whether the organization has a workplace bullying policy and complaints resolution procedure for workplace bullying and follow it in stopping the bullying acts (Gordon, 2012). ii) Seek advice from the human resources office on what to do about the situation iii) Keep a detailed record of the incident that is as accurate as possible to use in case formal steps are undertaken iv) Approach the bully as soon as possible and inform him/her of the unwanted behaviour and your unwillingness to put up with it. v) Make use of counselling services to develop strategies of dealing with the bully and the effects of bullying vi) Make use of formal procedures if informal ones prove unsuccessful. The employee has a right to seek for compensation for workplace bullying owing to discrimination based on sex, religion, personal responsibilities or disability. If workplace bullying forces the worker to quit her/his job, he/she has a right to file a lawsuit for fair dismissal .the employee also has a right to file a workers compensation claim to recover any medical expenses incurred as a result of workplace bullying. In addition, the employee has a right to lodge a complaint in the court for emotional distress to recover damages resulting from bullying. In regard to employee responsibility in stopping bullying practices, the WHS act places responsibility on employee to take reasonable care in avoiding acts that adversely affect the health and safety of a person at work (Needham, 2004). Thus an employee who fails to act where appropriate will be in breach of the act. Employees particularly those in positions of authority should thus avoid engaging in bullying practices in the workplace. Similarly, employers have rights and responsibilities in stopping bullying at workplace. Under the act, the employer has a duty of care to ensure employees are safe from risk to health and injury at work. As such, the employer should take steps for preventing bullying incidents at workplace. The employer also has a duty to investigate complaints and address and document issues raised about bullying while taking appropriate action where necessary (Noreen, 2012). Failing to take reasonable steps to eliminate or reduce bullying in the workplace is in breach of WHS act and is likely to result in penalties for the employer. Under WHS act, the employer’s responsibilities include; -provision of work environment devoid of risks to health and safety -provision and maintenance of safe systems of work -Monitoring workers health and safety and workplace conditions to prevent work related illnesses and injuries -Provision of appropriate information, training, instruction and supervision to workers to ensure work is safely carried out. Conclusion: As stated above, workplace bullying impacts both the employee/s being bullied and the organization negatively. As such, organizations should come up with strategies that eliminate or minimize incidences of bullying in the workplace. The employer has a role of building a collaborative safety culture through directing attention to safety and creation of contexts where people speak up and solve their problems together (Australian Business Consulting & Solutions, 2014). In this regard, the employer ought to create a code of conduct which will define professional behaviors and those that are unacceptable and develop procedures and policies for response. It is important for the management to realize that conflicting bullying and maintaining a bullying free workplace is in their best interest. As has been observed above, it would be less costly to prevent workplace bullying than having to intervene in incidences such as the intern’s scenario. Employers therefore ought to strive to create an environment that encourages teamwork as well as positive interaction. This way, they will be assured of productive and successful workplaces. Employees on the other hand should commit to abide by this code of conduct. In case of bullying practices, employees should be encouraged to report. Regular surveys and focus groups should be created. In addition, the employer should provide training for managers, leaders and all staff ob how to respond to bullying incidences. It would also be advisable for the employer to form an interdisciplinary committee for overseeing that the code of conduct works. This ways, incidences of bullying in the workplace will be reduced or even eliminated. Consequently, the associated negative effects and costs will have been eliminated. References: Fox, S2009, building a framework for two internal organizational approaches to resolving and preventing workplace bullying. Alternative dispute resolution and training, Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, vol. 61, no. 3, pp. 220-241. Fiona, M2014, Rights of employees on bullying in the workplace, Retrieved on 20th April, 2014, from; http://smallbusiness.chron.com/rights-employees-bullying-workplace-15201.html Isc.sa.gov.au, 2014, Workers rights: Workplace bullying, Retrieved on 20th April 2014, from; http://www.lsc.sa.gov.au/resources/15_WWC_Workplace%20bullying.pdf Varian, M2001, Consequences of workplace bullying with respect to the well-being of its targets and the observers of bullying. Scandinavian Journal of work environment and Health, vol. 27, pp. 63-69. Daniel, M2005, Disruptive behavior and clinical outcomes: Perception of nurses and physicians, American Journal of Nursing, vol. 105, pp. 54-64. Johansen, B2011, Dealing with workplace bullying: A practical guide for employees, London, Rutledge. Gordon, S2012, What are the effects of workplace bullying? Retrieved on 20th April 2014, from; http://bullying.about.com/od/Effects/a/What-Are-The-Effects-Of-Workplace-Bullying.htm Needham, A2004, Workplace bullying: The costly business secret, Penguin Global, Sydney. Noreen, T2012, Workplace bullying, symptoms and solutions, Rutledge, London. Australian Business Consulting & Solutions, 2014, Overview of the WHS act and Regulations, Retrieved on 20th April 2014, from; http://www.australianbusiness.com.au/whs/news/overview-of-the-whs-act-and-regulations Read More