The percentage of workers who reported being victims of bullying at work rose from 27 percent last year to 35 percent this year, according to a survey.
The annual study, conducted by Harris Interactive, found that 17 percent of workers went so far as to quit their jobs in order to avoid bullying, with another 16 percent indicating that they suffered health-related problems associated with being bullied. Allowing bullying to go on in an office can be detrimental to the work environment, productivity, employee loyalty and other important aspects of business.
Almost half of workers reported that they did not confront their respective bullies and most incidents of this behavior went unreported at the organization, according to the survey. This makes things particularly difficult for managers and HR experts, since they may not be aware of an ongoing bullying problem if none of the victims brings it to their attention. While 48 percent of those who reported being bullied indicated their bosses were responsible, 45 percent pointed to co-workers as the source of their problem. Almost one-third attributed the bullying behavior to customers and more than one-quarter said that someone higher in the organization than their boss bullied them.
While hesitation to report bullying is a serious problem no matter who is responsible, instances where a boss or someone higher in the company hierarchy is responsible may leave employees feeling there is no one they can turn to who will be willing to listen. Incidents with a customer, similarly, may be problematic because the worker fears being held responsible.
Bullying often goes unnoticed
Regardless of the relationship between bully and victim, the study clearly suggests that there is a strong impulse against reporting incidents. HR personnel, managers and supervisors must collaborate to make it clear that bullying will not be tolerated and establish appropriate standards of conduct. Enforcing them consistently and ensuring that employees feel comfortable reporting any inappropriate behavior can be challenging.
Among workers who reported being bullied, the most common incidents involved misplaced blame, the application of double standards or ignoring an individual. Correctly attributing responsibility for mistakes and allocating praise for successes can be challenging, depending on how an organization is structured, but this sort of behavior can drive away talented and productive individuals.
An organization's HR management system should be designed and run to avoid these problems and ensure that employees' accomplishments and errors are properly tracked and attributed. While the way workers define bullying varies, they typically use the term to refer to unfair treatment. Employers should review their practices and procedures periodically to make certain that they are not overlooking issues just because they go unreported.
