Case Study
Bullying Bosses
Question 1.
What aspects of motivation might workplace bullying reduce, are there likely to be effects on an employees self-efficacy? If so what might those effects be?
Answer:
Workplace bullying may reduce an employee’s self-esteem, safety and
security and self actualization according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
Bullying in the work place reduces a person’s self-esteem, they feel
disrespected and not valued as an employee. The negative effects of
bullying are so severe that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and even
suicide are not uncommon. If a worker is bullied it can lead to an employee
not delivering good production, losing respect for management, no goals
will be completed. The employee does not care about others feelings,
becomes irresponsible and is late for work often. They loose belief in their
capabilities and the employee will be doubtful to all things they are doing.
Workplace bullying can also affect the employee’s self-efficacy. Self-
efficacy, according to Psychologist Albert Bandura is people's "beliefs about
their capabilities to produce designated levels of performance”. Employees
with low self-efficacy have trouble with the entire work process, from
accepting work assignments to the actual performance of job duties.
This answer reflects the significant impact that a bullying boss brings not
only to the workplace in terms of employee productivity but also in terms of
psychological damage that certain individuals are subject to.
Question 2.
If you were a victim of workplace bullying, what steps would you take to try to reduce its occurrence? What strategies would be most effective? What strategies might be ineffective? What would you do if one of your colleagues was a victim of an abusive supervisor?