Workplace Bullying

The Impact of Workplace Bullying

By Ronald Bennett

BUS600: Management Communications with Technology Tools

Instructor:  Bob Miller

March 31, 2014

Bullying at the workplace is devastating for employees and damaging for the organizations as well. Workplace bullying is the persistent exposure to interpersonal aggression, and mistreatment from colleagues, supervisors, subordinates and other work related individuals. Bullying is a prevalent form of organizational violence that threatens the overall health of the individual and the workplace.

Workplace bullying creates a toxic work environment and this negative behavior imposes direct costs on the individual and organization. Hence, workplace bullying involves the issues of worker rights, health and safety, and effective management within the organization. Bullying, however, unlike other forms of workplace violence, is a form of psychological harassment than physical. “According to the Workforce Bullying Institute (WBI), to combat workplace bullying, often referred to as psychological harassment or violence, employers must have full range of policies in place and means available to them to create and maintain a healthy workplace culture and climate” (Wiedmer, T. L., 2011).

Workplace bullying is not only harmful to the targeted individuals in the experience, it is also damaging to the non-bullied workers and to the life of the organization. For example, incidents of bullying decrease the morale, productivity and the general work-quality of the bullied and the non-bullied workers. Bullying, is a common reason for why some workers leave jobs, which increases the cost of recruiting, hiring and training.

I have not been involved with bullying but have had conversations about it with my peers. As stated, in the article bullying can be a form of gossip as well, especially, if the information received was in a negative way. I do know of a co-worker that was just negative about the company and the upper...