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Work place bullying |
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A survey conducted by national institute of occupational
safety and health revealed a startling factoids. Bullying takes place at
least one in four work place in united kingdom, where as the incidence of
workplace bullying happens one in six in united states. A study conducted
by national health workers painted a bleak picture, what with 38% of the
workers surveyed claiming to be the target of bullying in the past year. A
study conducted by TVC suggested that over 2 million people had been
bullied at the workplace in past 6 months.
What is bullying ?
Bullying at work is defined as repeated, health-
endangering mistreatment of a person by a perpetrator, driven by his/her
urge to control the target. Every work place has its own share of
conflicts and problems. They are germane to corporate life. But bullying
at work place is unacceptable and should not be allowed to take firm
roots. Bullying may take many hues and spring from many sources. The worst
part of it is that the victim, many a time does not realize that he/ she
is being bullied. If an individual find himself /herself asking a
fundamental question like "should I take a rude, arrogant, and
callous behavior from a rank stranger" and the resultant answer is a
"big no", he / she may be at the receiving end.
Bullying may usually come from managers, peers,
colleagues, or worse even staff. But in many instances, it is the manager
who turns out to be a corporate Monster behaving like a hell's child in
the work place. A recent study commissioned by Roffey park, the executive
education and research organization threw up startling pointers. Asked to
identify the perpetrators of bullying, 63% of the respondents pointed to
the senior managers, while 20% of the respondents alleged the role of
colleagues in bullying. In contrast, aggrieved customers were cited by
only 18% of the respondents. It is a fallacy to believe that it is men who
are generally perceived to be a corporate bully. The corporate lore has it
that a women can do a fine job of bullying and can teach a lesson or two
in bullying to her male counterparts. Psychologist Garie nomie, PRESIDENT
OF WORK PLACE BULLY AND TRAUMA INSTITUTE conducted an on-line survey of
1000 people, believed to be the victim of bullying at work. The survey
revealed that 58% of the bullies were identified to be women.
Interestingly, their targets are also commonly believed to be women.
Bullies can operate in more ways than one. They chose to target the victim
in subtle ways. Suddenly the victim may find the responsibilities being
snatched away, information being withheld and resources being blocked.
Unrealistic target and deadlines may be fixed. Undue delay may be caused
in sanctioning leave. Promotional and training opportunities may sought to
be blocked. Victim may even be shunted to inconsequential post to cut
him/her down to size. Spectacular performances by the victim go unsung and
unacknowledged. But the minor infractions will be met with opprobrium.
Each day becomes a dreadful and frightening affair. So while the victim
skulks away in silence, the bully goes on the rampage, undermining the
targets self-worth, self-confidence, self-respect and performance. In many
instances, victims are too frightened and traumatized to come forward and
recount their experiences. A study by mercer human resources consulting
suggest that a less than 6 out of 10 employees would feel comfortable to
report instances of bullying un the workplace.
The report also suggest that the marked reluctance to
spill the workplace bullying beans is not confined to the employees at the
lower echelon of the company. Only a less than two -third of middle
ranking managers are quite comfortable reporting the incidence of
workplace bullying.
The colleagues and co-workers can be of little use. The
co-workers are aware of the goings-on, but do not come forward to help the
victim, fearing the backlash from the bully.
Bullies can inflict a greater damage upon the organization
in general and victims in particular. The onus is on the top management to
stop the bully in his/her track. Seen against this background, it is
imperative to de-mystify the persona of the corporate psychopath called
"the bully".
DE - CONSTRUCTING THE BULLY'S PSYCHE
The popular stereotype of the bully being
"strong-willed, powerful, and in control" is passé'. On the
contrary, bullies are quite coward and lily-livered. They have a
overwhelming urge to be one upon others. they resort to bullying by
controlling the target. Bullies suffer from poor self-worth, low
self-esteem and lack of confidence. Many a time bullies behave the
way they do, because of their own deep-seated securities. Bullies are
incapable and incompetent in their professional and personal lives ant
they fear being discovered of their inadequacies. Bullies like to control
others. Bullies are also pathetic liars, cheats, manipulative, malicious,
jealous, bitter, frustrating, despotic, and lazy. the most marked trait of
the bully is that of being charmingly urbane and suave, with an embedded
deceitfulness. bullies thrive on cheap, base and gross tactics to control
others. Bullies can make the target look vulnerable by isolating his/ her
Achilles heel and magnify it. Bully can succeed in making the targets
smaller mistakes look 20 times worse than they actually are. In contrast,
the target may be a talented, able, competent person and well-liked by the
co-worker. Invariably, bullies pick on such persons, who they perceive to
be a potential threat. Bullies operate with main objective of driving the
victim out of organization. in many instances, they do succeed in their
attempt. After realizing their hidden agenda, they move on to the next
target.
BULLYING IS FRAUGHT WITH DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES
Bullying can have a debilitating effects on the well-being
of the organization. A Recent study shows that bullies waste between 10%
and 52% of their time at work place. Much of their time is gobbled up in
defending their action and mobilizing support among other members of the
organization. Consequently, it is the organization which has to pay the
big price. Employer has to groan under the burden of absenteeism, labor
turnover, sagging morale, strained working relationships, less efficiency
and productivity, separation package and defending costly law suits. A
study conducted by IRS EMPLOYMENT REVIEW Revealed the negative effects of
bullying reported by respondents included problems with staff absence
(26%) and turnover(24%).But the most worst impact had been on workplace
relationships(39%) and morale ((28%). but the bullying usually hits the
employer where it hurts the most_ The Bottom-line.
BULLYING PUTS THE VICTIM IN AN EMOTIONAL STRAIT JACKET
The victim may experience an indescribable bouts of
depression, stress, panic, anxiety, sleeplessness, loss of appetite and a
complete withdrawal. Besides impeding the ability to make an informed
decisions, bullying saps the energy level of the victim, leading to
flagging productivity, less efficiency an mounting frustration. There is a
overwhelming sense of helplessness and a felling of emasculation. This
impaired emotional structure may extract a strong price from the victim by
way of upsetting his equations with family and friends. Marriage may
suffer due to the anxiety and the depressive behavior of the victim. The
charm in the friendship may lose its sheen as the victim may suffer from
heavy bouts of social withdrawal. But such victims can resurrect
themselves from the emotional abyss they have slipped into, by taking
medical care. Professional counseling will also help matters. The victim
may still regain their equanimity, if they move on to other organization
and find their feet and voice.
MANAGIMENT VIGILNCE HOLDS THE KEY
Companies are fully alive to the growing menace of work
place bullying and that the failure to address the problem in its entirety
can prove to be a colossal mistake. Companies should take substantive
steps to stamp out and obliterate work place bullies. Though companies
have a anti-bullying policies in place, bullying is still rife across work
places. If the anti-bullying were to succeed today, the stern message must
percolate down the hierarchy that the bullying tactics are wholly
unacceptable. Top management must display keen sensitivity towards the
incidences of bullying brought forth by the targets. The top management
should see the problem in proper perspective rather than brushing it aside
as "raving and ranting from the whining kind" The top management
should raise the awareness level about anti-bullying policies
institutionalized by the company. Whenever the instances of bullying was
brought to light, the management should investigate the matter seriously
and objectively. Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, care
should be taken to ensure that the victim is protected. The investigation
must be conducted must be conducted in a open, transparent and objective
manner. The company should also arrange for assertiveness training for the
benefit of employees. Create an empowered organization and vibrant
culture, promoting diversity and employee-friendly culture.
Work place bullying is morally, socially indefensible and
emotionally unacceptable. workplace bully is a monster who needs to be
exorcised. work place
Bully do not have any place in a truly empowered
organization.
Bullying is a serious problem. Put it down with heavy hand
or Ignore the problem at your own peril. you have a choice. References:
www.workplacebullying.com |
