Bullying At Work

It is deplorable to participate any type of bullying behaviour in Australia.  However, even though the majority of organisations have policies and procedures on defining, acknowledging and dealing with bullying, the reality is that much of it goes undetected.  Furthermore it can be difficult for the victim to prove and therefore to protect against.  This is attributed to the fact that a considerable proportion of bullying behaviour is unnoticeable.  Here is a useful definition and subsequent description of workplace bullying as described by Namie (2003, www.bullyinginstitute.org):

1)    The recurring mistreatment of a person which can be very detrimental to a person’s mental wellbeing

2)    The bully dominates others by acting in an dictative or omitting manner

3)    The bully selects a victim and persuades others to take part in bullying behaviour

4)    Bullying in the workplace affects the victim’s work production, and therefore is damaging to the business or organisation

5)    Bullying can commence with individual
harassment and increase to include a whole work unit, severely paralysing productivity.

Verification of the following in the workplace can signify that bullying or similar behaviour is occuring:

=>  Occasions where a person appears to change their disposition

=>  The development of secret agendas which create confusion and division between management and staff

=>  Segregated groups, struggles for power, collusion and manipulation

=>  The presence of ostracism, intimidation, verbal abuse and violence

Victims share lots of common characteristics.  Victims of bullying are typically female and they are usually very resilient, as they tolerate the behaviour for a lengthy period of time, often without complaint.  The victim isn’t weak but is usually highly accomplished, independent, strong, proficient in their work and highly educated. The bully seems to feel threatened by the personal qualities of the victim.  Usually the bully is in a position of authority over the victim, and is able to recruit others to participate in bullying behaviour, sometimes without them being aware of what’s going on.

Verbal abuse, undermining, stand-over tactics, criticism, gossiping and false accusations are all common tactics employed by bullies.  The covert tactics such as rolling of the eyes, giving the silent treatment and “accidentally” shutting the door in the victim’s face are possibly the most damaging and the most difficult to prove.  Victims, especially if not very articulate or attentive, possibly might not be able to directly name the bullying behaviours - instead they may have a “gut feeling” or a sense of low self-esteem.

The bearing on the victim is profound and results in a large number of psychological and medical symptoms (In a sample of 1 000 victims, Namie identified 33 symptoms which were related to workplace bullying).  Depression, anxiety and elevated levels of stress are usual psychological symptoms of bullying.  Insomnia, weight gain, high blood pressure, heart disease, irritable bowel system and a lowered life expectancy are all likely medical symptoms of prolonged bullying.  Even after the victim settles into a new workplace, these effects still persist.  The first noticeable signs are sometimes a drop in performance, arriving late to work, not turning up to work or even giving in notice.  Where the bully targets a whole work unit, it is very likely that the staff turnover will be relatively high.

Unfortunately, the organisation inadvertently penalises the victim and rewards the bully – nearly all victims end up being fired, transferred or quitting whereas fewer than 13% of bullies lose their jobs or are transferred and less than 4% discontinue their bullying behaviour after punishment or sanctions.

Many bullies get promoted or rewarded in some way; hardly any are held accountable for their behaviour.  Due to this, organisations lose skilled and competent employees as over 70% of victims hand in their resignitation, are relocated or fired.

It is necessary to employ a range of highly sophisticated and effective psychological assessment techniques in order to recognise the subtle signs of psychological distress caused by bullying.  Interventions which alleviate tension, mediate conflicts and develop a harmonious work environment are imperative in order to accomplish a deep and permanent psychological transformation.

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Tags: Bullying in the Workplace, Psychologist Perth, Workplace Bullying
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