When you think of the word “bullying,” what image comes to
mind? Chances are it's your school-age children. However, a remarkable 35% of working
Americans have been bullied in their jobs. That’s over 53 million people. In
addition, about 15% of workers have witnessed others being bullied. The impact
on an organization’s bottom line can be significant, including stress-related
medical and disability claims, increased absenteeism, decreased morale, and
loss of key talent.
Workplace bullying can include obvious behaviors such as raised
voices, cursing, insulting, and ridiculing, but it also comes in more subtle
forms, such as spreading malicious gossip, making invalid criticisms,
micromanaging, stealing credit for accomplishments, placing unreasonable work
demands, threatening job loss, and/or excluding employees from social events.
I think we all know that bullying has a very negative impact
on the target, including decreased morale, increased stress, loss of sleep,
depression, shame, and embarrassment. However,
what we may forget is that bullying has serious effects that go beyond the
victim.
