The Prevalence and Impact of Bullying In the Workplace

The Prevalence and Impact of Bullying In the Workplace

Introduction

This paper sets out to examine a phenomenon that has been studied relatively recently: that of workplace bullying. Bullying has been established as a feature of schools and playgrounds for many years and as such has received considerable attention. Contemporary studies of bullying at work have drawn from the original conceptual base in childhood studies and have developed the topic to be applicable to modern-day working situations. Within a decade, research in this topic has grown to a point that it is well established in several countries.

Bullying

The term “workplace bullying” has been described as a global concept that incorporates harassment, intimidation, and aggressive or sometimes violent behaviors. Several terms have been used by researchers to describe the same basic phenomenon. The term “bullying” has been used predominantly by researchers in the United States and Ireland, Australia, and Northern Europe, while German researchers have typically used the term “mobbing.” In North America, the issue has been studied under a number of different names and the research in the United States to-date is currently viewed as somewhat fragmented.

Workplace bullying is unwarranted humiliating offensive behavior toward an individual or groups of employees. Such attacks are typically unpredictable, unfair and often unseen. It is an abuse of power or position that can cause such anxiety that people gradually lose all belief in themselves, suffering physical ill health or mental distress as a direct result. The U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey (2003) recently reported that a majority of the mistreatment that occurs is overt, with a majority of targets (54 percent) reporting that the bullying mistreatment occurred openly in front of others (Yamada, 2003, 399). Only 32 percent said it was conducted behind closed doors, and 10 percent said it occurred in an office with the door kept open so others could hear.

Some gender differences among bullies also emerged in the study, with 57 percent of male bullies reportedly using public bullying tactics (as compared to 49 percent of female bullies) and 47 percent of female bullies conducting the mistreatment behind closed doors (compared to just 38 percent of male bullies). Confirming the incidence of mistreatment occurring openly in front of others, in the Workplace Bullying Survey, 95 percent of the respondents indicated that they had actually witnessed the mistreatment or abuse at least once, while 97 percent said they were “aware” of the problem (Vartia, & Mattila, 2003, 340). Although many researchers have included physical abuse in their categorization of bullying, they all agreed that the behaviors involved in workplace bullying are mainly of a psychological rather than a physical nature.

Discussion

Bullying occurs when a person is constantly tormented by a person or a group with more power, either by physical strength or social status.

Types of bulling

There are two types of bullying: direct and indirect discussed below (Rayner, & Fîoel, 2007, 199):

Direct bullying

The young victim is attacked verbally or physically. Examples include: pushing, hitting, laughing, damage equipment, take ...