Provide a review of the article. Describe the impact of workplace bullying on both the victims and the organization.
The article Workplace Bullying: Costly and Preventable is a picture of the current environment in almost every organization. Bullying is referred to as the mistreatment of individuals through any action or word. The employers are ranked at the top for bullying their employees. More than 50% of the individuals bully their subordinates and shockingly, only 3% victims’ look for a legal remedy. It not only shatters their confidence but also results in the stressed and unhealthy environment at the workplace. To combat bullying, policies have to be in place. It is a silent epidemic so everyone should contribute to end this unhealthy practice.
Impacts on the Victims
Whistle blowers, who usually expose the fraudulent or suspicious people, are more prone to this havoc. Also, gender plays an important role. Men are mostly bully and females fall prey to them. Consequently, an unhealthy organizational environment is formed. The employees are not only stressed, but their interpersonal communication is also mitigated. Bullies have strong control over the targets which they use to tease and block them and ultimately, the victims quit the job. Moreover, the victims observe many medical issues too. A stressed environment augments their anxiety which is followed by clinical depression, post-traumatic stress and panic attacks.
Impacts on the organization
If organizations tolerate individual bullying then the organization itself suffers. No employees want to be a part of an organization which does not provide them with social security. Targets are forced to leave the jobs which hurt the organizational structure and development. If they do not quit, they demand transfers. Transfer of the employees is a costly process and it damages the organizational structure as well. Another undesirable result of bullying at workplace is absenteeism. Excessive absenteeism decreased the productivity of the organization and it adds to the stress of those employees who come to work. They have to bear the market pressure alone. Leaders must take actions to take care of the individuals as well as the organization.
Reflect on a time when you may have witnessed workplace bullying. Discuss at least two practices of workplace bullying addressed in the article that were applicable to your scenario
Bullying is the most undesirable yet, prevalent practice in the organizations. I can recall the time when a very dear friend to me was subject to this social behemoth. She was a lively person who did her degrees unscathed but, at work place, she could not escape her boss lady. A happy person, doing well at work and having social wealth had to face her vitriol. My friend was taken aback when their boss broke the work team, only because they were doing well. She would call names at their faces, and discuss the people sarcastically even calling them failures. It not only damages the productivity of the employees but also, resulted in ineffective and inefficient organization. To add to their stress, boss lady propagated false news of their inefficiency to competitors and other industry members and all these people could not leave their office because they feared that no one will hire them. They are still working in the same organization, without any remedies for this. Such employees destroy the self-esteem and self-confidence of the workers.
Another case of bullying which I am familiar to is even disastrous. Imagine a man in early 40s falling prey to it. He was the target of his managers who left to stone unturned to destroy his mental peace and work productivity. They alienated him in the office and, made him work alone. Also, they started screaming to his face and that man lost his confidence. He became a nobody in 5 years that he gave to that organization. He left that place and now, he cannot work. He is seeking medical assistance for his anxiety and panic attacks. He is not sure if he will ever be able to be serve any organization because yes, he is scared of bullies and afraid of the future, the way kids will cope up to them.
Recommend at least two techniques from the article that management should implement to provide a positive impact on workplace bullying. Support your response with additional information from the textbook or additional research.
Accountability of the Bullies
First of all, a silent code should not be implemented in the organization. There has to a be a good communication channel so that, any employee, if fells any insecurity, can report to the upper hierarchal level of management. However, most of the times, bullies are supervisors, therefore, the victim must be assured to social security so that he can state the facts and report against a senior. Also, sometimes, its hard to believe that the favorite employee of the boss is a bully. In such cases, the boss has to shelve the favoritism and do justice to the victim. Not only the confirmed bullies should be punished, but also, the suspected ones should be warned. When a person, who is involved in any bad deed, gets punished or exposed, other fear to commit that deed. On the flip side, if the person is set free, the prevalence of bad deed becomes unstoppable.
Policy to fight Bullying
Policy and procedure regarding this problem can vary from the extensive supervision to the legal actions against the wrongdoers. Also, everything needs to be documented. Any individual facing such problem can dig down the documents and find his way to a solution. Although, people at workplace can argue about the policies but it is the job of the leaders in an organization to make them understand. These policies help the employees to learn what is bullying and what it is not and how can they stand against it. Educating the employees at the workplace is mandatory.
Reference
Baack, D. (2012). Management Communication. Retrieved from https://ashford.content.edu
Ramsay, S., Troth, A., & Branch, S. (2011). Work-place bullying: a group processes framework. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 84(4), 18. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=fdda6e 82-c478-41a2-a99d-6b13c8cd56fc%40sessionmgr4010&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpd mUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=edsbig.A275726774&db=edsbig
Wiedmer, T. L. (2010). Workplace bullying: Costly and preventable. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 77(2), 35-41. Retrieved from the ProQuest database.
