Bullies In The Workplace

Bullies in the Workplace
One of the common issues that workers have to deal with is workplace bullying. There is a difference between workplace bullying and harassment. “Workplace bullying is a persistent pattern of mistreatment from others in the workplace that causes harm. It can include such tactics a verbal, nonverbal, psychological, physical abuse, and humiliation (Wikipedia, 2016)”. Bullies intimidate people whom they perceive as being weak; in fact, they believe that they are better than their victim. In contrast, harassment victims experience discrimination because of the following: sex, age, race, disability, religion, color of their skin, and gender. Markedly, there are laws and policies in place for workplace harassment, but not
The target must make the proper steps to stop the bullying. First, the victim must evaluate the situation to make sure that they are not partially responsible for the situation and it is not a form of discrimination due to race, age, gender, etc. It is good to get advice from a trusted individual. Second, document the time, date, location, and specifics about the encounter in a notebook. This notebook is to be retained in a safe place to prevent theft of this important information. If the victim have to save on a computer, do not save on a work computer. Third, have a one-on-one talk with the bully about their actions. Explain in a polite and kind manner that their actions are not acceptable and try to stay calm during this encounter. Moreover, if the one-on-one meeting does not stop the abuse, the victim should report the incidents to their manager or human resources. In the case of retaliation situations, the victim should talk with an employment lawyer or the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The National Labor Relations Board will help a victim if the company retaliates against them because they filed a complaint. If all you do fails, it is a good idea to update your resume and start looking for a new
Office gossip can indicate that bullying is in the workplace. Employers should inform employees that gossiping is not tolerated in the workplace and how damaging it can be for the victim. Managers need to be trained on how to recognize bullying and the how to conduct the investigation. Managers need to have an open-door policy so that employees can feel comfortable talking about any type of issues. Likewise, employers can adopt an employee assistance program which can provide confidential counseling and assist the victim by reporting the bullying incident to the