Organizational or Worplace Bullying: A Social Issue - Essay Example

?Organizational Or Workplace Bullying: A Social Issue Heinz Leymann is considered a pioneer in the field of bullying concerning adults. He used the term “mobbing” in his works. This term was also used by Konrad Lorenz in 1966 to talk about aggression among birds and animals. An example of mobbing among adult humans would be forcing an employee out of an organization through segregation, gossip, shaming, and other similar acts. His studies of children inspired him to consider adult behavior as well (Lutgen-Sandvik & Sypher, 2009). As compared to bullying among children, adult bullying may be unheard of. However, it is indeed an existing problem. Since most adults are spending their lives working, this is the usual arena for this kind of abuse. A worker has to adapt to particular jargons and norms in communication, uniforms or dress codes, organizational hierarchies, and colleagues’ behavior. The higher-up’s principles and the institution’s philosophies have to be acknowledged and sometimes memorized by the newly employed staff. Likewise, work legislations as well as apparently customary gossips commonly generate enough stress already. If these sources of pressure will still be added by stressors from a bully, life for the victim will seem unbearable. Workplace bullying can make one’s career challenging since it interrupts efficiency and lessens a person’s determination. Bullying can happen to anybody. This even includes professionals along with those who are highly educated. Some employees engage in unfair leverage by maneuvering others. There are some who have the propensity to exploit a co-employee or a subordinate. Some may become targets because of resentment on the part of the bully. There may be occasions when the bullied workers want to fight back and express themselves. However, they usually choose to stay silent because of fear of losing their jobs. Having a bully for a boss is really torturing. This entails being provoked and daunted quite often. This abusive behavior also affects the victim’s peers, relatives, and other members of his social universe. In 1995, the Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union (MSF) in the United Kingdom identified workplace bullying as determined, invasive, insulting, or abuse of power which make the victim feel distressed and helpless (Ellis, 2010). An individual may be a victim of organizational bullying if he experiences unjust dealings verbally or behaviorally. This is manifested by an ethos of intolerance because of the abuse of authority or influence from both sides. This is backed up in an article from the Australian Psychological Society. This is about a study conducted by Mellington, a psychologist. She said: Workplace bullying is repeated, unreasonable behavior directed toward an employee, or group of employees, that creates a risk to health and safety. However, across differing workplace bullying definitions, there remain four key elements: workplace bullying is a workplace conflict; it is enduring and repeated in nature; it is inappropriate and possibly aggressive; and it results in a level of (physical and/or psychological) distress. (Gregor, 2004, p. 3) Recently, in 2010, Catherine Mattice and Karen Garman defined workplace bullying as a methodical hostile communication, exploitation of workers, and undertakings intended to put down one or more employee that leads to a harmful and unethical power imbalance between the bully and target(s). This result in psychological concerns of victims, and cost huge financial damage to an organization. Over time, the concept of bullying in the workplace has not generally changed. However, there have been more studies concerning the issue. There have also been more books published on how organizational bullying has affected individuals’ health, cognition, as well as the economy. Another current literature is from Chaplin (2010), he wrote that “bullying has reached epidemic proportions.” (p.2). People spend a significant part of their lives in the workplace. With the company of bullies, a worker has to deal with various problems concerning his physical, social, cognitive, and emotional aspects. Over the last era, job descriptions in different disciplines have changed. It is understandable that when a person deals with adjustments or transformations, stress is a side effect. A work place atmosphere depicted by systematized duties, deference, and general reception encourage positive individual welfare. If somebody encounters too many and difficult requests from a bully, he may have more mistakes and could have more illnesses. Seemingly, many stressful jobs are described as having few prospects for progress and these conditions may be caused by bullying since it creates workplaces that do not give much freedom for change and decision making avenues. Regarding the institution or the company, it could face crises on loss of constructive labor force, decreased output, and diminished employee enthusiasm. These situations may then be factors that make people in the workplace incur absences more often. As stated by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries and Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention, bullies may select victims who make them feel insecure. This could be anybody who is more famous, smarter, or merely distinctive. For some, they may be victims just because of physical qualities (weight, appearance, and height). A person’s social and economic standings are also reasons. For instance, a staff may be isolated because of his race, religion, or gender. Most noticeable bullies are active, insistent, and communicative. They also usually disregard the rules to flaunt their supremacy (2011). On the other hand, the less noticeable bullies are discreet, modest, and even courteous. Nevertheless, they acquire leverage through dishonesty and deceitfulness. Commonly, bullies are egotistical, hungry for dominance, obnoxious, and conceited. They themselves have their own psychological issues to settle with. For example, when an employee asks for the authorization of his superior several times and has been denied or snubbed without adequate explanation, he would then feel very uncomfortable. Rather than utilizing healthy criticisms, bullies are fond of using unsolicited and skeptical comments. Some employees badmouth their coworkers by overtly discussing about their faults or frailties. A number may want to emphasize their power by not keeping engagements and deals they themselves have set. These tactics may make others depend on them for nothing. In another way, some managers may pretend to listen to complaints but they actually negate each grievance of their employees. Unfortunate employees may be used as escape goats for those who are supposed to take responsibility for mishaps. Workplace bullies also ignore issues by snubbing them. Some may act irrationally and flaunt their irritation or anger to others. For instance, a secretary may be puzzled when the boss suddenly comes into the office steaming. In most cases, the poor victim becomes the target of displacement of the bully’s anger. Others may impede their victim’s paperwork or self enhancement activities by withholding certain properties. A certain bully in power may purposefully assign a certain employee in a working environment that is not conducive to productivity. Several may harass their victims through unwelcome sexual advances. To address bullying in organizations, the government must treat this concern in a similar status with other forms of abuse. As stated by Ellis, employers and even the government do not recognize this issue even if one third to one half of work stress is attributed to workplace bullying. Therefore, being able to deal with the causes of work pressure can lead to increased performance and lower attrition rate. This means that a company can save substantial amounts by taking care of its workforce. At present, there is no clear cut definition of workplace bullying like that of “harassment”. Even several trade unions have not made significant stances regarding this issue (2000). Though there have been improvements as years passed, the quantity and quality are still not enough to call the attention of the legislators and a number of employers concerned. Employees’ welfare and the management’s responsibilities regarding this issue must be appraised and addressed. Therefore, more longitudinal researches are helpful in having more responsiveness on organizational bullying. Furthermore, both employees and employers can benefit from information drives and seminars to achieve a higher level of awareness among various populations. Along with this may be programs alleviating job stress that could have been caused directly or indirectly by bullying. Knowledge and skills in preventing and addressing bullying in the workplace may be enhanced through workshops as well as utilizing organizational tool kits. To actualize the aforementioned recommendations, the survey method is very much applicable. In this case, a sample from each city or area may be chosen to answer questionnaires on organizational bullying. It may then be beneficial to consider factors such as nature of job, position, employment status, race, and gender in the survey. This kind of assessment is also better backed up by participant observation. This is more appropriate when studying smaller samples such as a certain organization or company. With unobtrusive observation, content analysis is a very likely outcome. In this situation, an in depth evaluation reflects what has been investigated in the real working scenario. Lastly, a case study may advance a group’s well-being by aiming to address specific concerns. For instance, when employees in an establishment experience bullying, a case study will help determine its causes and recommend valuable insights on how to tackle the crisis. With these methods, concerned individuals will have more consciousness about bullying in the workplace. More people can also be more sensitive, thus, be inspired to engage in proactive measures in dealing with and avoiding this kind of abuse. Reference List Ellis, A. (2010). Workplace bullying, stress, employment law and you. Workplace Bullying. Retrieved from http://www.workplacebullying.co.uk/aethesis.html Chaplin, M. (2010). Workplace bullying and the cure . Finalized Four. Retrieved from http://www.law.upenn.edu/journals/jbl/articles/volume12/issue2/Chaplin12U.Pa.J.Bus.L.437(2010).pdf Gregor, S. (2004). Fighting back: workplace bullying in Australia. Australian Psychological Society. Retrieved from http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/inpsych/workplace_bullying/ Lutgen-Sandvik, P. & Sypher, B.D. (2009) Destructive organizational communication. New York: Routledge Press. Mattice, C.M., & Garman, K. (2010, June). Proactive solutions for workplace bullying: Looking at the benefits of positive psychology. Paper to be presented at the International Association for Workplace Bullying & Harassment, Cardiff, Wales Washington State Department of Labor and Industries and Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (2010). Work place violence Retrieved from http://www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/Research/OccHealth/WorkVio/default.asp Read More