Workplace bullying is a form of employee abuse arising from unethical behaviour and leading to victimization of the employee. It is an increasing worldwide problem which is still largely unknown and underestimated. It can produce negative consequences on the quality of life and an individual’s health mainly in the emotional psychosomatic and behavioral areas. This post aims at raising “Awareness” of this growing issue and follows 4 parts:
I. What is Workplace Harassment?
II. What are the effects of Workplace harassment?
III. What factors engender such behaviour?
IV. What can an organization actively do keep workplace harassment away ?
What is Workplace Harassment?
Workplace harassment is a repeated unreasonable behaviour directed towards an employee or group of employees that creates a risk to the health and safety of the employee. It is also known as bullying, employee abuse, mistreatment, emotional abuse, bossing, victimization, intimidation, psychological terrorization, psychological violence, etc. It often involves the misuse or abuse of power where the target can experience difficulties in defending themselves.
What are the effects of Workplace harassment?
Effects of workplace harassment could be include
- anxiety reactions,
- apathy
- insecurity
- insomnia
- irritability
- hair loss
- ulcers
- migraine
- eating disorder
- melancholy
- mood changes
- hypertension
- asthma attacks
- cardiac palpitation
- increased alcohol intake
- increased smoking
- social isolation
and a long list which you could easily guess.
What factors engender such behaviour?
Some factors which increase the probability of harassment at work are:
A. Management factors
· Inertia of Management and higher level staff
· New management methods
B. Work organization factors
· Chronic understaffing and heavy work constraints
· Badly defined tasks
· Excessive hierarchy
· Insufficient instructions and lack of information
What can an organization actively do to discourage workplace harassment?
1. Primary prevention
i. Information and education on bullying and its consequences
ii. Guidelines containing information on the nature and extent of the problem and its effect on health and quality of life.
iii. Code of ethics
iv. Contracts
2. Secondary prevention
i. confidants
ii. mediators
3. Tertiary prevention
i. early diagnosis of health effects on the affected employee(s)
ii. consciousness raising in groups or as individuals
In absolute terms, prevention of bullying is based on the possibility of achieving a great cultural change of individual values, attitudes, verbal expressions and ways of interacting.
However, such a culture change is a long process which can be favoured by combined efforts to raise awareness and to arouse individual insight into this phenomena.
