When you hear the stories about bullying making headlines around the country, the majority of stories relate to the bullying taking place in schools where kids are being especially cruel to their peers. But the reality is bullying is happening everywhere, including on the job and as a result, there have been some very serious consequences.
Bullying in the workplace is common among co-workers but is also present in the relationships between employers and employees. Intimidating others in work situation often goes unreported due to an employee’s fear of being terminated or their worry over a co-worker’s retaliation. As a result, the bullying continues on and often leads to violence in the workplace.
Examples of bullying in the workplace include verbal or written harassment, sexual harassment, intimidation, unwarranted blame, unfair treatment, swearing, isolation, humiliation, and being forced to meet unrealistic goals or deadlines.
Those being bullied may not always handle with the situation well. If there is no report and no support, many times people will begin to develop emotional issues which can trigger violence. Without proper protocol in the work environment, bullies tend to continue working to break their employees or their co-workers. Recent headlines have captured the after effects when victims of bullying return to work with a gun or other weapon, seeking revenge and some type of relief from their pent up emotional stress.
Bullying in the workplace can happen on an individual basis or can be several workers bullying an individual for any number of reasons. It is a reality even in adult-oriented workplaces and must be dealt with accordingly with employers instituting anti-bullying policies and having a no-tolerance attitude for anyone involved in bullying, whether in person or via the computer, known as cyber-bullying.
