The authors of the article are Alexia Georgakopoulos from Nova Southeastern University in USA, LaVena Wilkin from Sullivan University in USA, and Brianna Kent from Nova Southeastern University in USA. The article was published on January 2011. The article explores the problem of workplace bullying in organizations, the negative impacts of bullying, and the solutions the above social problem. According to the findings of the study, the social problem of bullying in workplace is fostered by the organizational cultures whereby leaders have less knowledge on workplace bullying. The study provides that, all organizations must conduct training of the individuals on all levels to address on the root causes of workplace bullying as well as providing skills on how to resolve the issue. The author thesis is increasing awareness on behaviors and actions that are relates to workplace bullying and provision of solutions for effectively addressing the problem.
Main Ideas of the Article
Bullying is a psychological violence that is performed repeatedly over a given period. Most of workplace conflicts that are not resolved on time, they escalate into bullying. Some of the workplace bullying include; verbal threats, spread of gossip and rumors, public critism, and public humiliation of the target. Workplace bullying also encompasses work obstruction, withholding of vital information, discrimination in training, assigning of impossible tasks, isolation of the target, and issuing of a job loss threat to the target (Georgakopoulos, Wilkin, Kent, 2011). There are various why people are bullied in workplace, they include; low self esteem, overachieving, being outside a group, and lack of self confidence. Leadership styles such as autocratic tends to threaten job security and fosters stressful pressure and working conditions thereby stimulating workplace bullying. Besides, organizational changes such as downsizing and mergers often trigger workplace bullying due to increased workload with limited resources.
The increase in workplace bullying has been fostered by lack of awareness or knowledge by most of the organizational leaders on how to deal with workplace buying. Besides, the failure to address workplace bullying by putting an end to it results to negative judgment by the target who views the organization response as abusive behaviour. Also, when organizational culture does not address the social problem of bullying in the organizations it is seen to support continuance of the problem. Moreover, toleration of bullying behavior in the organization makes it part of the entity culture. Thus, bullying has a trickle down effect granting the organization with the responsibility of solving the problem of workplace bullying. Bullying in workplace is a costly as it leads to high levels of absenteeism, high staff turnover, and low staff motivation and morale (Georgakopoulos, Wilkin, Kent, 2011). Besides, workplace bullying fosters reduction in staff productivity and development of stress related illnesses, thus the organization spends additional funds competing employees. One of the strategies of solving the workplace bullying is the development of internal conflict resolution programs to increase awareness on how to deal with the problem. Besides, anti-bullying laws my help in eliminating bullying in workplace by ensuring organizations that fail to stop bullying behaviour are fined.
Conclusion
The study was focused at increasing awareness on behaviors and actions that are relates to workplace bullying and provision of solutions for effectively addressing the problem. In addressing the problem of workplace bullying, individuals at all levels should first understand it. Some of the benefits of eliminating bullying include establishment of a safer and a healthy environment for the staffs thereby stimulating organizational profits. According to the study findings, organization culture is a major stimulator of the problem of workplace bullying. Besides, inability of employees and organizational leaders to deal with the problem fosters lack of recognition of the workplace bullying. Moreover, continuance of workplace bullying is stimulated by tolerating or ignoring of the behavior by the organizational leaders. According to the study findings, bullying is mainly carried out by managers who use their power in the wrong manner by intimidating their subordinates. Also, workplace bullying affects the target negatively, as it lowers their self-esteem, and makes them helpless especially if the situation is not addressed by the organization leaders. The effects of workplace bullying affect the way target outside relationships. The basis of bullying by the bullies include age, gender, physical disability, and belonging to a minority group.
References
Georgakopoulos, A., Wilkin L., Kent, B. (2011). Workplace Bullying: A Complex Problem in
Contemporary Organizations. International Journal of Business and Social Science 2 (3)
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