Workplace bullying is quickly rising. Workplace bullying is continuous mistreatment of employees by one or more bullies that causes emotional/physical harm to the victim. The bully is normally a person in a position of authority, but co-workers may also be the perpetrator(s).
Workplace bullying can be defined as:
- Verbal threats, or threatening behavior.
- Intimidation.
- Sabotage.
- Manipulation.
- Rumors.
- Isolation.
- Unrealistic deadlines.
These are just a few examples of how workplace bullying is defined. To see how a workplace bully and victim are defined, click on the tab labeled "ARE YOU A BULLY/VICTIM" in the navigation bar.
Workplace bullying can be defined as:
- Verbal threats, or threatening behavior.
- Intimidation.
- Sabotage.
- Manipulation.
- Rumors.
- Isolation.
- Unrealistic deadlines.
These are just a few examples of how workplace bullying is defined. To see how a workplace bully and victim are defined, click on the tab labeled "ARE YOU A BULLY/VICTIM" in the navigation bar.
Workplace Bullying Statistics
- It has been estimated that 54 million Americans have been, or have been bullied in the workplace.
- 72% of workplace bullying is commited by bosses.
- 49% out of all employees in the workforce today have been bullied in some way. A large number of these victims will suffer from conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of the abuse.
- A company that has 1,000 employees will lose 1.2 million dollars as a direct result of bullying. This is from sick pay, loss of production, and the costs for people leaving because of the bullying.
- 62% of companies ignore that it is a problem or ignore that it is even happening in their facility.
- 1 in 6 adults are currently being bullied in the workplace.
- Illegal discrimatory harassment occurs in only 20% of bullying cases. This means that 80% of bullying is legal!
Unfortunately, bullying in the workplace in most states is not illegal, unless it involves harassment based on discrimination such as race/color, religion, national origin, sex, age (40 years and older), or sexual orientation (to name a few). In this case, you may be able to seek help from your local EEOC department. However, it is critical that we raise awareness on workplace bullying so we can ban all types of workplace bullying in every state of America. It is also important to build proof of the incidents, research to see if your civil rights were violated, and if possible, have co-workers on your side who have witnessed the bullying. Bullying may be reported to your local human resources department.
Canada, Australia, France, and Britain have already passed laws against workplace bullying due to its rising number of awareness. Universities have been conducting studies on adult bullying. There is only hope for the future against workplace bullying, as long as we continue to raise awareness of the issue, and push the subject of workplace bullying as a major issue in America's workforce.
Workplace bullying costs a company money ( one of the statistics stated above). It would make sense to voluntarily tackle workplace bullying. It seems that the only way employers will pay mind to bullying in the workplace is if there is a change in policy. Luckily, over 20 states have begun introducing an Anti-bullying legislation called "The Healthy Workplace Bill". Current status of this can be found at www.healthyworkplacebill.org. You will be able to find different ways to help make workplace bullying illegal. We must fight to make that change!