AWI JOURNAL VOLUME 9 | NUMBER 4 | DECEMBER 2018 T HE O FFICIAL PUB LICA TION OF THE A S S O CI A T I O N O F W O R K P L A CE I NV E S TI G A T O R S
A VIEW FROM CANADA
The Impact of Workplace Bullying By Jason Walker and Miranda Mae Phillips
Workplace bullying is a serious issue, one that can have long-term negative systemic and individual impacts, and the target of workplace bullying may be exposed to increasingly harsh forms of aggression, incivility, and social exclusion., Workplace investigators face an ever-increasing need to respond to situations of suspected bullying and harassment in an objective, fact-based way to determine if bullying has in fact occurred. For organizations, workplace bullying is known to lower work productivity and engagement; contribute to a loss of job satisfaction, increased sick time and absenteeism, and higher employee turnover; and expose the company to increased legal risk.3 At the individual level, workplace bullying has been attributed to severe adverse long-term outcomes including, but not limited to, mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and, in some cases, suicide.4 In order to be effective, workplace investigators should be aware of these impacts. Investigations of alleged workplace bullying are often complex, emotional, and challenging. It can be difficult to draw evidence-based decisions. However, it is clear that the impact on a target’s mental health and well-being must be an integral part of the decision-making framework.
The Extent of Bullying
Bullies in the workplace are common to almost all organizations, across cultures and industries. Whether overt or covert, actions by bullies are undertaken to intimidate and harass, which affects the well-being of the impacted individual (who is often referred to as the target). The U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey (2003) reported that most targets (54 percent) reported that the bullying occurred both overtly and in front of others and involved such actions as name calling, making derogatory or harmful remarks towards the
individual, questioning competence, and teasing. Only 32 percent said bullying occurred behind closed doors and 10 percent reported that bullying happened in an office with the door kept open so others could hear. These findings indicate that in some workplaces bullying is part of the organizational culture to such a degree that it often happens out in the open; however, it also occurs in private. In the United States, studies consistently show that the rates of workplace bullying are between 10 and 20 percent; the first responder population (police, fire, ambulance/emergency medical services) reveals even higher rates of bullying, 40 to 60 percent, which is an incredibly high and alarming figure.5
What Is Workplace Bullying?
Workplace bullying is a kind of interpersonal mistreatment that is more severe than simple incivility. It is a complex and deliberate constellation of actions that are harmful when directed at an individual (or individuals) and may create an oppressive work environment.6 Research into workplace bullying has grown significantly over the past 25 years, and it shows the prevalence and outcomes related to the phenomenon are severe and significant.
Workplace bullying was first defined in the research, and later the courts, through the investigation of the mistreatment of bank employees. The term “workplace bullying” is described in various ways including harassment, incivility, sexual misconduct, emotional abuse, emotional or psychological terror, and victimization. The most commonly used definition of workplace bullying in the academic literature comes from the work of Ståle continued on page 4